Lovers of Babel (34 page)

             
I dropped my hand from his shoulder.

             
“Why is it treason to speak my mind? You see?
Mr. Riley
is trying to control our every thought until we have no free will,” I said.

             
He glanced over at Chad. “Did you find the book?”

             
“Yessir we did. There are many copies of it floating around Providencia.”

             
“And did you get to read it?” Grandpa asked.

             
“Not all of it, but some yes.”

             
“Did you read the part that says to obey your master?”

             
“Grandpa!”

             
“You are treading on thin water my precious granddaughter. You don’t realize the seriousness of what you’ve done. I have not told you everything about our past because it is the past. It holds no relevancy to the present. Society has changed. We no longer look to the Book of Wisdom for guidance. We look to our leader. That’s the way it is and that’s the way it has to be or risk judgment from our leader.”

             
“Only God can judge me!” I burst.

             
“What did you say!?” He walked closer to me. “What on earth have they told you there?”

             
“Out of all the people here, I thought you would understand. After all, you lived in the old age.”

             
“Sage, the truth and the love of freedom has been kept in my heart since then, yes. But I wouldn’t dare let it escape these lips. The hatred for that book stirs in almost every heart,” he said.

             
“What is it worth living a lie, grandpa? Is it worth keeping the truth locked away all your life? How can you live knowing that you are being forced to live a life that you are so adamantly against? Your own son took that away from you.”

             
My grandfather walked slowly over to the corner window.

             
“Once he realized that I wouldn’t have powers, it was almost like he shunned me. To him, the naturals were third class citizens.”

             
“And this is the leader that you continue to serve so faithfully?” Chad said.

             
“He is my son…after all. I must love him. I made him.”

             
I walked over to my grandfather and placed my hand on his back.

             
“Please, come with us. You can live a life of truth. You can be accepted by others and treated like an equal. You don’t have to continue to serve a malicious ruler. The Equinox is a dead end. There’s no life here.”

             
He turned around to look at me.

             
“Even if I were to go back with you, I wouldn’t survive the journey. I am too old to make it.”

             
“No, we can teleport you. You don’t have to stay here,” Chad said.

             
“Even so, everything I have is here. I am too old to start over. This is my home and this is where I’ll die.”

             
“Grandpa please!” Tears were welling up in my eyes.

             
“You are right. What is it worth to live a lie? You are so young and have so much to live for. Don’t waste your youth here under the tyranny of your father. Go. You have the truth, now go and take it with you and never look back.”

             
“But I-I…can’t leave you,” I began to cry.

             
“You will never leave me child. You and I both have the love of the truth in our hearts so that makes us bound together for all eternity. Come,” he said with sadness in his voice.

             
He held me in his arms and wept. I had never seen him cry before and that made me sob into his shoulder. Chad came over and rubbed my back.

             
That was the last time I saw my grandfather. He was the only source of wisdom in my life growing up, until I found a new source. I found the Book of Wisdom, even though I was still skeptical of its power.

             
The pain of losing my grandfather was too much to bear. I cried all the way to my house. The verse on my arm was fading like the remnants of my past.

             
When we got to my house, Chad stopped me, gazed into my eyes and put his hands on my shoulders.

             
“Sage, it’s going to be okay. We’ve got something greater to live for now. Don’t worry about leaving the past behind, because the future is much brighter.”

             
“Thank you.”

             
I paused for a second.

             
“And I-I…couldn’t have done this without you with me all this time,” I said.

             
He gave me a smile.

             
“I know.”

             
Chad left to go tell his parents while I confronted my mom.

             
She nearly fainted when she saw me at the door. She grabbed my wrist and dragged me inside, slamming the door behind me.

             
“Where on EARTH have you been!? Do you know that the entire Equinox is looking for you?”

             
Her eyes were red and bulging.

             
“I know mom.”

             
“And Mia! That poor girl is probably sitting in a jail cell as we speak! All this time I thought it was you in my h-house, but all along I w-was being deceived!” She broke down in tears.

             
I wrapped my arms around her thin frame.

             
“Mom I’m sorry, but I had to go with him. I had to in order to find out why father wanted that book so badly.”

             
“And did you find out why?”

             
I nodded and looked at her sympathetically.

             
“Have a seat mom. I don’t know how to tell you this delicately so I’ll put it plainly. Father has plans to control all civilization so that we are all in allegiance to him. He wants to strip us of our basic rights so that we can’t think for ourselves. That book was the one and only thing getting in his way of achieving that. The people who took the book from him know that and want to preserve the book so that others have a chance to look beyond the grid and find the truth.”

             
She looked at me a long while and then bowed her head.

             
“What are you planning to do about it?” She said blankly.

             
“Right now I plan to go back to the place where we were and bring you with me.”

             
She rose her head and looked at me regretfully.

             
“There’s no way that’ll happen. I must stay at your father’s side. I can’t just leave him like this.”

             
“But he’s an evil man!”

             
“Even so, Sage, he is my husband.”

             
“Your
husband
would turn you into a mindless droid if he could! He doesn’t care about anyone but himself! Wake up mom! This is reality. Please, come with me.”

             
“No! I won’t. I’m too afraid of what might happen. I-I-“

             
“You don’t have to be afraid. You can live a life with no fear, no worry or regret. Just come.”

             
“I can’t go. And neither can you. This is our home Sage!”

             
She stood up and I started backing away from her.

             
“Mom do you hear what I’m telling you!? This whole place is a joke! Please, don’t do this. Grandpa already stayed. Don’t-“

             
“Grandpa stayed? See? Your family is here. We aren’t going anywhere. Your place is here. Besides, you are the rightful heir to your father’s leadership seat. You can change things yourself if you wanted to.”

             
“That’ll be many years from now! By then I would have been brainwashed into doing his evil bidding; unable to think for myself. No, I don’t want any part in that.”

             
She grabbed my arms.

             
“Please Sage don’t leave me. Don’t go back. I’m sure if you apologize to your father he will pardon you. Just say you’re sorry and come home.”

             
I yanked my arms out of her grip.

             
“No. I can’t do this. I can’t live a lie. I’m too young to be trapped here. If you aren’t coming with me then…then, I guess this is goodbye.”

             
I walked over to her and kissed her forehead gently.

             
“Mother, you will always be in my heart.  No matter what you see in the future. No matter what happens between our two worlds, know that I love you.”

             
“I…love…you too, my child. I love you,” she said through tears.

             
As I began to open the door I turned around.

             
“The next time you see me I will not be your little Princess Sage. I just want you to know.”

             
She cradled her head in her hands and I left home.

             
Chad met me at our rendezvous spot a little while after I spoke with my mom. I had some time to think about our conversation. A part of my regretted leaving. This was my home and now I was leaving in a blatant act of betrayal toward my family. Even so, how could I live there knowing that the truth was out there somewhere? I would’ve been half a person.

             
When Chad walked up to me he had a rosebud cupcake in his hand.

             
“What’s that for?”

             
“Do you not know what today is?”

             
I thought for a second.

             
“No.”

             
“It’s your birthday. My mom gave me this to give to you.”

             
“Wow, 17. I can’t believe I forgot my own birthday.”

             
“I can. This past year has been a whirlwind. It’s a wonder you even remembered to take a shower!” He said laughing.

             
“Hey! Actually I can’t remember the last time-“

             
“Phew let’s just pretend I never mentioned it.”

             
I was glad that the old Chad was coming back.

             
“So what did your parents say?” I asked.

             
“Well, as you can see they aren’t here. They said that since Christine was just a baby that it would be dangerous to take her away from home for an undisclosed amount of time. I couldn’t help but laugh to myself. They think I’m leaving temporarily. I guess they figure I’m always gone exploring some place, so I’ll come back just like before.” He lowered his head and took a bite out of my cupcake.

             
“Did you tell them that you’ll be gone probably forever?”

             
“I didn’t have the courage. I told them ‘I’ll see you soon’.”

             
His eyes were getting misty so I gave him a long hug. We stood there hugging for the longest time soaking in the weight of our decision. We realized that our lives were really about to change forever.

             
We trekked to the edge of the grid as planned, but once we made it there we heard the Authorities appear behind us. Someone must’ve seen us while we were in town and alerted them. We were planning to go to the grid pen and find Mia and escape, but now our plans were ruined.

             
We tried to get away, but to no avail. When I saw Chad disappear with the Authority my heart stopped. I Remembered what Chad told me about the portal trail that all teleporters leave behind once they trek and quickly waved my hands around above me to find it.

             
Suddenly, there it was, in all of its glistening glory.

             
I stepped back a few feet and ran like my life depended on it. In a way, it did. Chad was a huge part of my life. It was almost like he was a part of me. If he jumped, I jumped. If he ran, I ran fast enough to catch up. He was always by my side and now my best friend was gone. I had to get it back.

             
I jumped into the air as though I was reaching for the stars.