On the way home
My head throbbed.
Maia rested. Finally allowed herself to close her eyes. Even exhausted, she had resisted for a long time before surrendering to sleep. So far from the impenetrable, fearless woman I had met. Unimaginable that she could be so vulnerable.
The painkillers had clearly softened her defenses.
At the apartment
I settled Maia into bed, prepared the IV, and changed her dressings.
The absence of a biochip prevented a connection to the machine. A nanochip had to be implanted in her hand. Immediately, her vital signs appeared on the holoscreen. Stable. Good.
Relieved, I relaxed. The day's entire emotional burden weighed on my eyelids. Keeping my eyes open for even a few more minutes became an effort. I fell asleep in the nearby armchair.
"Hey, wake up." A muffled voice called. "Akiko!"
I woke with a start. "Yes?"
I came to in a bad mood. My neck ached. My numb arms tingled. The sensation spread through my body.
Orange light crept through the window. I realized I had forgotten to darken the glass.
"Akiko?" Maia called again.
I examined her injuries. They had improved considerably. I mean, how was that possible? Only a few hours had passed. I avoided thinking too much.
"How are you feeling?" There was a dry taste in my mouth. Exhaustion had outweighed hunger the night before. My stomach growled.
Maia smiled. "You hungry too?" she said huskily.
"You too? Sorry, I fell asleep and didn't notice." I picked up the apartment's physical remote and handed it to Maia. "I'll bring us some food. If the light bothers you, adjust the brightness."
I prepared a hearty breakfast: fruit, bread, and juice.
I hoped she would eat everything. Maia was visibly malnourished and dehydrated. Everything suggested she had been eating poorly for many lunations. She needed to eat.
I brought her a tray. Maia leaned back against the headboard.
I settled into the armchair. "Try to eat everything."
She nodded. Moved her arms, the effort drawing a groan of pain. "Shit. Hurts so much. Those…" Her gaze found her reflection in the mirror, scowling. "Tsk, they got my face."
I knew she would fall silent if I asked what had happened, so I contented myself with focusing on her condition. "Want some help?"
Maia nodded.
I stood and picked up a fork, speared a piece of fruit, and brought it to her. She bit into each piece, savoring it.
"How much does it hurt? Can you feel your legs?"
"Yeah, they hurt more than my arms. My back too. My rib's fractured. My face… everything hurts." Maia let out a breathy chuckle.
How could she laugh in that situation?
"Has this happened before?"
She kept eating.
"You know, I need you to answer. I'm a doctor. I have to understand your medical history. Have you fractured a rib before? My approach needs to be different. You can keep the details to yourself if you prefer."
She sighed. "It's happened… I'm full. That was delicious, thanks so much."
"You're welcome." I sat in the armchair again and ate my breakfast.
After a while, I persisted. "All right. How many times?"
Maia was looking out the window. Seemed absorbed in thought. I thought she would ignore me again.
"Many. Hard to say exactly… but it's my first time getting treatment this good." She tried to smile, but it came out as a grimace of pain.
I held back a laugh. Cute.
"I'm going to take an X-ray, all right?"
Maia shrugged.
I finished eating.
"So, no biochip?"
"From the Aether Network? Yeah."
I found that strange. Everyone in São Paulo had biochips implanted at birth. The Aether Network prohibited their removal. Even foreigners had theirs.
"Any allergies?"
Silence.
"No?" I picked up a nanochip. "I'm going to place this nanochip on the back of your neck. It's painless. All right." I moved her hair aside. Even her fine body hair had that singular pallor. I cleaned the area and applied the nanochip.
Maia shivered.
The worst that could happen was a rare allergic reaction.
"Everything okay?" I realized how close we were. Her warm breath brushed my arm. I moved away, but heat was already coloring my face.
Her eyes followed me. "I… everything's fine."
"Good." I cleared my throat. Sat beside her and studied the panel. "Maia, do you have NB-Mend in your bones?" My lips parted.
That should have been impossible. Once again, I held back the whirlwind of uncertainty. Questions burned inside me.
"You have many broken bones. The fractures are almost imperceptible. Your rib has a larger injury." I pointed to the panel. "See those metals? They're nanites that bond broken bones. They carry out bone reconstruction. UNITED is testing this nanoprototype in New York. How do you have it?" I turned to her. "How do you have this?"
Nothing.
"Only going to give me silence? Fine." I sighed. "I'll change your treatment. Increase the calcium dose and inject Metaline. It's a metallic liquid that boosts the healing action of NB-Mend's nanites."
"You have Metaline?" Maia seemed surprised. A sudden interest.
"Yes. The nanoresearch was tested in São Paulo for a while. I took part in coweaving the liquid."
"So they make it here…" she murmured to herself.
"Only when UNITED requests it. I have some because I keep a personal supply."
"How long until I recover?"
"At least half a lunation, thanks to NB-Mend. Without it, recovery would take a lunation." I studied the data. Stable. The nanochip had connected safely.
"Will you take care of me until then?"
The question caught me off guard. Oh, dear. I was overthinking. This was nothing. I felt relieved to have my back to her. Inside me, a field in flames.
"Y-yes." I faked a cough. "Until you can manage basic self-care, I'll help you."
I hurried out of the room. Lacked the courage to face her. Feared she would read the insecurity in my eyes. I leaned against the wall, feeling my lunar blood finally flow.
A racing heart. Feeling overflowing.
Perhaps I needed a few cardiac tests.
I worked remotely. Received the CogniSynth research results. Sent reports to the team. Sometimes, I went to check on Maia. Why did I think about her so much?
I discovered she seemed content watching comedy films. Even though she did not so much as smile.
My favorite time to visit? When the sunset set the gray sky ablaze. Orange. Pink. Lilac. A colorful spectacle that flooded the room. Illuminated Maia. Reflected its vibrant colors on her. A beauty unlike any other!
I leaned against the doorway. Admiring that scene once again, distracted.
"Akiko." She caught me off guard. "I need a bath."
Almost two days had passed. Her wounds had improved. She could move her arms. Her legs hurt less.
The dressings were large. I had only cleaned her superficially. It had been a long time since I had last bathed a patient.
"Can you move? If so, I can prepare the bathtub." I spoke without thinking much.
"No. If you could help me…" Maia huffed, aware of her own condition.
"I-I…" I turned away. My face burned. Why was I like this? I hated those strange sensations. "Of course. I'll prepare your bath first."
A peculiar flutter danced in my stomach. Ah, sometimes even medicine hesitated to name things. Or perhaps it was me.
I turned on the faucet. The water calmed me. I switched on the whirlpool jets so she could relax even more.
I returned to the bedroom to get her.
She leaned on my shoulders. Maia was heavy. She planted her feet on the floor, easing the weight.
As I helped her along, steam filled the bathroom.
I placed a small stool at the end of the bathtub. Left Maia leaning against the sink.
"Can you manage on your own…?" I hoped she understood. Taking off a nightgown should have been easy.
Those minutes felt like an eternity. Ah, this was becoming more and more embarrassing. I should have felt calmer. How many times had I done this?
Water splashed.
"Yes." She chuckled.
Relieved that she understood, I turned and sat on the stool. Set aside a sponge and some mild liquid soap. Used a container to wet her hair.
Maia rubbed her skin slowly. I could imagine how sore she was. She tensed at every touch.
"Do your parents have piebaldism?" I worked shampoo into her hair.
"Y'know…" She changed the subject. "I have a lot of questions about you."
Oh, she did? Imagine mine! I rolled my eyes. I knew she would fall silent if I asked again.
A long pause. Splashes of water echoed.
"The main question is: why did you help me?"
"I saw you were hurt. As a doctor, I took an oath."
Yes, it was true. I would have done the same for anyone. Except… except bringing someone to my apartment would have been unthinkable. Flustered, I suppressed a huff. How I wanted to see her expression…
She grunted. Wet her face. "Right."
"Are you feeling better? I added a substance to ease the pain." I spoke distractedly, stroking her head.
"Yes, much better. Thanks." Maia leaned forward and handed me the sponge.
I washed her back carefully. The least injured area, yet marked by so many scars. With every pass of the sponge, another scar appeared. One very large scar cut across her back from shoulder to waist. I traced it lightly with a finger.
She shuddered but remained silent.
"There. When you're finished, call me…"
Maia almost fell as she tried to stand. She struggled to brace herself against the edge of the bathtub.
I caught her quickly.
"Sorry. I wanna get out." She was trembling.
I kept my eyes fixed on her face, avoiding looking down. Damn it, why on earth did I care about this?
"It's all right." I supported her so she could stand. Handed her a towel. Looked anywhere else.
Maia laughed teasingly. "Is it that ugly? I mean, the injuries."
Could she just pretend this had never happened?
"No, I'm used to it."
Her smile collided with a sudden unease. "Hmm, good to know my wounds are in good hands."
"I-I…" I left the bathroom in silence.
She was the first person to make my heart race like this. Unthinkable that I would act so stupidly around someone.
"Let me know when you're done." I threw the words into the air.
Maia finished. I took her to the bedroom.
Darkness filled the sky. Announced dinnertime. I ordered two boxes of Japanese food. I liked cooking my own meals, but I was too tired for that. Or rather, to think.
After a while, we were both looking out the window.
Silence filled the space.
Maia broke it. "Can you sleep here? It's a lot of space for so much… loneliness."
Curious to see a side of Maia I had never imagined seeing. She seemed more relaxed. Even with that aura of permanent alertness.
"Yes, I feel lonely too, but I'm so busy I forget about it."
Why had I told her that? As though she cared.
"Anyway, I can sleep here. This armchair turns into a bed." I went to get a pillow and a blanket.
Maia whispered something. It escaped my ears, but sounded like… "It's more than loneliness, I…"
"Sorry, could you repeat that?" I asked, looking over my shoulder.
"N-nothing. I didn't say anything."
My hands sweated. Why was I so nervous? Why was all her evasion bothering me so much?
I returned and settled in.
"Thank you for taking care of me." Maia smiled. An icy smile. "I'll always remember what you're doing. I wanna repay you. Anything you want. Except… except…" She sighed. "This. I'm uncertain about this. I can't answer your questions. I can't."
My heart stopped for a moment. A chill ran through my blood. Time seemed to slow. Everything happened in slow motion.
"Don't worry about repaying me. You helped me on that train. And that night at the bar. I did this because of my oath. I would have done it for anyone." I tried to keep the nervousness out of my voice. "I ask everyone questions. Whether they answer is their choice."
I lied. Most people did not interest me.
A sudden melancholy surfaced on Maia's face.
No. It must have been my imagination.
"Right, of course. About that night… anyway, I'll rest now. Good night."
Something subtle changed during that lunation.
From then on, we stayed quiet. I asked about her condition. Maia answered with her usual coldness.
Sometimes her lips parted, as though she were about to say something, but the next instant, they sealed shut. Whatever she intended to say, she preferred to swallow the words.
Time passed.
The frequent application of Metaline and NB-Mend restored her bones. Stronger than a normal bone structure. Maia complained of a metallic taste. A common side effect. I did not know how UNITED's research was progressing, but Maia's results were impressive.
That reminded me…
"Maia, I know I said you'd already done enough to repay me."
She stood tall, strong, scars all over her body.
How had she gotten them? I pushed those thoughts away.
Maia would leave that night. Perhaps it would be the last time I saw her. I wondered why I was making such a big deal of it. She was a person, and people existed by the billions.
But… it was as though she sang a song, at a frequency that resonated with my soul like no other.
"Yes. What is it?"
"Could you help us? I mean, there's this nanoresearch project. It studies the Rh-null blood factor. If you give us samples of your blood, you could help a lot of people," I said with more confidence than I felt.
"How can I send those samples?"
I tried to hide my surprise. I had expected a refusal. "Hmm… could I send an android to collect them?"
"You can do that?"
"I-I can. How?"
She shrugged. "Message me. We'll meet in Centrália."
"A-all right."
"Is that it?" Maia came closer. Gave me a penetrating look. Almost destabilizing.
All her vulnerability had vanished. That person before me. A terrifying aura. She could break through anyone's defenses. And she was destroying all of mine.
"Th-that's it." Damn it. I swallowed hard. "I'll give you a box of Metaline." I tried to move.
Maia blocked the way.
I held my breath. My heart pounded.
"Thank you. Again. For everything." She whispered tenderly.
I struggled to think clearly. Her honey-colored eyes numbed me.
Perhaps what she truly wanted to say remains veiled, because she kept it to herself. She stepped aside.
It took me a while to react. Unable to take in those sensations. I felt lost. Maia left me lost.
"Want me to call a taxi?" I handed her the box and walked her to the door.
"No." She stopped at the entrance. "So…"
I looked down. "Please, no more thank-yous."
"Yes. The oath. I understand. See you when you collect my blood?" She smiled spontaneously.
I nodded, unsure how to respond. The whole situation had become so strange.
"All right. See you." Maia waved.
"See you."
To be entirely honest, what I felt as I watched her walk away was the urge to ask her to stay. Instead, my Maiden kept the desire to herself.
I would be happy to see her again.
So much mist.
Her words echoed in my head. Affected my heart deeply.
I wanted to forget them.