Family

I.
Khara was waiting for breakfast, looking at the perfectly maintained backyard through a glass wall that took up the entire west wall of the dining cum kitchen. She was lost in her thoughts, barely noticing her little brother outside, playing with their dog, a mature Labrador. Even though the sliding doors were shut, she could hear faintly the alternating barks and shouting. She lost track momentarily then she heard laughter as the dog leaped onto the boy and both rolled on the perfectly maintained grass.
‘Breakfast is ready,’ a calm female voice sounded on the counter where Khara was seated.
She reached over, softly depressed a circular button that was the same colour as the counter top and a panel slid open where she had been leaning her arms on. Fresh toast and orange juice came up on a white plate and ceramic cup. She picked up the chilled juice and sipped it, feeling as she usually did in the mornings, wistful and a bit lazy.
Mum buzzed into the kitchen with her usual, brisk pace, dressed in a neat pantsuit that matched her nicely plaited hair. She gave Khara a peck on her cheek as she passed.
‘Good morning Punchkin. Where’s Levin?’
The girl lazily pointed with her finger to the glass wall while munching her toast. Mum followed her gaze to the garden.
‘Please call him in. There’s just enough time for an unhurried breakfast before the transport arrives.’
Khara leaned over the same speaker she had used to give instructions for breakfast and said,
‘Get Levin,’
A small screen lit up next to the speaker and the boy’s face came up, moving erratically before going off screen,
‘Levin! Mum wants you to come in. Breakfast!’
The boy came back into view. Khara looked out to the garden and saw the boy now on one knee peering at the dog’s collar. She saw him move his mouth over there and his voice popped out of the speaker beside her,
‘Five more minutes, pleaseee….’
Mum leaned over Khara’s shoulder,
‘Levin, please come inside now! You’ve had your fun.’
Through the glass wall, Khara watched Levin, with a shake of the head, get up and stomp to the door on the side, the dog quickly realizing where he was going and following at his heel. As he came in, mum was already sitting at the counter with both her and Levin’s plates ready, gave another instruction,
‘Put him away please. You have exactly fifteen minutes before the transport arrives.’
Levin went to a rectangular door by the wall and tapped it. The door slid open to reveal a recess with a charging dock.
‘Come on Helium. Here.’
The Labrador went over obediently – no hesitation – and turned around and sat. Levin reached over, ruffled the dog’s fur several times and then, pressed a hidden point on the animal’s neck. The dog became still. He pulled a wire out and attached it into an opening under a flap just along the dog’s backbone. Its eyes closed and it became completely motionless. The wall socket had a series of indicator lights that were running continuously. Levin stepped out and shut the door of the recess.

II.
Khara put her reading device down on her lap and looked up. From her clothes strewn bed, she noticed that the wall clock showed that it was half-past nine.  Dinner was long done, homework and a little surfing for her while Levin as usual rollicked with Captain Helium. Mum was preparing for her day tomorrow, speaking on and off with colleagues on her communication device, and checking emails. At least, Khara thought, the family routines were back to normal.
For a while after the accident, everything was in shambles. Countless hospital trips. Insurance people. Police. Courts. All the fear. The loneliness. With her father having left when she was a kid, Khara had to make a lot of decisions herself while her mum and brother were both in hospital on life-support. With no other relatives nearby to depend on and only pre-planned health and insurance coverage, lawyers advising her and her own trust fund to use for expenses, she had gone through a tough time. Until she had a mum who could make decisions once again. And a younger brother who could be his usual annoying self again.
Mum’s voice, asking Levin to get ready for bed and his familiar moan that he used as a response for just about anything that he didn’t like, made her feel bittersweet. She had really missed that. The sounds that reminded her of her family. It was not the same as before the accident but this was close.

III.
The dim bedroom light shone on Levin’s excited but sleepy face as he was tucked into bed by mum. Once done, she sat by the edge of the bed and looked at the wall bookshelf that was within arm’s reach. It was filled with his books. Levin was talking,
‘Mum, do you know what Captain Helium did this evening?’
‘What did he do?’
‘Guess!’
‘Hmmm,’ she was running her finger along the spines of the books, ‘did he learn a new trick?’
Levin scrunched his face, as if she had totally missed it,
‘Nooooo. This evening, in the garden, Captain Helium was able to differentiate between a real spider and a fake. He left the fake alone.’
‘How did he do that?’
‘I had left my toy on the grass and was operating it remotely. Guess what? Captain Helium took a few sniffs and went away.’
‘But he loves spiders. It’s not part of a dog’s usual diet but he does like hunting spiders and insects, doesn’t he?’
‘Exactly. How did he know mum?’
Mum picked a book, put it on her lap and took a moment, thinking of possibilities.
‘He was being charged all day today while we were out right? Maybe there was an upgrade that was downloaded that allows him to do that. The models of Labradors they make nowadays have software that can be upgraded repeatedly. That means Captain Helium will keep learning new tricks for many years to come.’
Levin’s eyes brightened,
‘Yes, that’s probably what happened mum. That’s so cool!’ then his eyes dimmed when he saw the book that mum had selected to read to him.
‘Not that book mum! Tell me Pinocchio’s story.’
‘Again?’
‘One more time please. It’s better than that boring one you picked.’
Mum read the story and Levin listened, growing sleepier with every page. After several minutes, mum closed the book and leant down to kiss the boy.
‘You’re falling asleep Levin dear. We’ll continue this tomorrow okay? Goodnight.’
She planted a big kiss on his forehead. Levin gazed at his mum, clearly on the edge of consciousness before drifting off. He said softly,
‘Mum, am I a real boy or am I like Pinocchio?’
Mum smiled, her face close to the boy’s.
‘Let’s see. Is there a flap on your butt like Captain Helium’s for powering you up?’
Levin giggled and mum joined him.

IV.
‘How’s your mum?’
‘Back to normal.’
‘Is she as bossy as she was before?’
‘Not as much. But she still comes and gives me talks about boys.’ Khara said with a snicker.
The voice on the line laughed.
‘All mums and dads have got that in them. They can’t help themselves.’
‘Hmm.’
‘How’s Levin?’
‘He’s normal. You wouldn’t think that he’d been in a car accident. I think he’s just gonna get more annoying as he grows up.’
Silence.
‘Glad to hear your family is back to its old routines and habits. Was really worried for you for those few months.’
‘Yeah. Thanks for your support Jade.’
‘Just wish I was able to come over more often but it’s not possible when I have to go to an out-of-state school.’
‘Nah, don’t worry about it. You were the biggest help through your phone calls. It was good to have someone to talk to especially when I was practically alone for those first weeks. Your few calls were timely, I’ll tell you that.’
‘I really admire you Khara. I’ve no idea how you managed by yourself. Didn’t they expect you to move in with a guardian since your mum was in hospital with those injuries.’
‘Yeah. But I spoke with the people from the hospital and the police. They sent over a lady who worked with the childcare department or some government agency that looks into cases of kids with no parents or with parents hospitalized and unable to make legally binding decisions. As a sixteen-year old, it seems by law I needed to have a guardian. There was an option for me to choose not to stay with one if I could demonstrate that I was independent.’
‘Who’s the guardian?’
‘Uncle J.’
‘The one in California?’
‘Yeah.’

‘That’s too far away to move for a couple of months. And how would you visit your mum and brother?’
‘Exactly. That’s what I told the lady who came to see me about my guardian. I was allowed to stay here and needed to report to her every other day. It was fine. Then I had to make the arrangements with the insurance company.’
‘They were supportive?’
‘Very. They sent some people over within a day to check the house out and see what I needed. They took care of all that.’
‘Everything was covered by insurance?’
‘Everything. Best thing my mum did. They asked for the police report, accident details, hospital records – that kind of stuff. Then it took a couple of weeks more before they sorted things out. But everything went well.’
‘Good. What are your plans now?’
Khara gave a laugh that sounded sad.
‘Plans? Honestly, I’ll be happy to make it one day at a time. Think I’ll try to finish school this year and see how it goes.’
‘That would be a good start. It’s all going to get better now, girl. The worst is over.’
Silence after the phone was switched off. A few sobs came from Khara as she returned to the screen of her laptop.

VI.
The door opened and mum entered the softly lit room. She walked up to the bed, reached over to the back of the bed post and pulled out a chord which she extended until it reached the sleeping figure of Levin.
She adjusted the boy’s head on his pillow, pulled up his duvet to his chin, felt for a bit and tapped a point on his crown and plugged the chord to it. Levin’s eyelids remained shut but the orbs beneath started pulsing.
Mum walked over to the door, turned to check the boy and the room, then went out. She stopped at Khara’s door, knocked twice and let herself in.

VII.
‘Not asleep yet Punchkin?’
Khara, who had just wiped off the tears in her eyes couldn’t stop herself breaking into a smile when she heard the name. It was the nickname that her parents had given her when she was a toddler. She turned from her laptop to the door.
‘No mum. A bit more work to do.’
‘And no calls on the phone? Jade or some new boy?’
‘Done with the phone mum. Spoke with Jade. Just got to work on one more assignment then I’ll turn in okay? Goodnight.’
‘Goodnight. Make sure you use the blanket. Think it might rain later and it could get chilly.’

VIII.
It was close to three in the morning. The intense rain outside had wound down to a persistent drizzle that kept a background hum going on in the otherwise silent house. The bedroom door opened and Khara stepped into the hallway. She rubbed her eyes, pulled her hair up and tied it into a knot and walked over to the last room. She waited for a moment, trying to hear above the hum of the rain. All was quiet and there was no room light streaming out from under the door. After a few minutes, she tried to turn the knob and found that it was locked. She reached into her pyjama pocket and pulled out a key card and slotted it into the panel on the door. An indicator light changed from red to green and she entered. The street light on the corner of their street lent its faint rays through the rain-splattered window, illuminating the bed in a shadow-filled light, where mum was asleep. Khara walked up to the bed and stood looking at the woman lying there.
‘Punchkin’ Khara remembered the words. It was the last thing her mother had said to Khara as she drove the family car on their way into town while Levin was wrestling with Captain Helium in the rear seat.
Khara had reminded her brother to put on his safety belt for the thousandth time. Her mum, her hands steady on the steering wheel, had said calmly,
‘Levin, your sister is advising you for your own safety. If you don’t listen, do not expect to go unpunished once we get home.’
‘What will the punishment be if I don’t use the safety belt?’
Mum turned to look at the boy,
‘Levin, you had better start listening when someone advises you. Since you asked, there will be no TV and games for a week…’
‘No mum! That’s not fair.’
Khara lost her patience, ‘It’s also not fair that you do not listen to me or mum!’
Mum turned back to face Khara, still speaking in her usual calm tone,
‘Punchkin.’
That’s when the truck appeared, blindsiding their car on the driver’s side. Khara was the only one who escaped with minor injuries.
Khara wiped her tears away and reached over to the back of the bed to pull out a chord and plug it into mum’s head.