System Seven (66 page)

More time passed with
barely a hint of a breeze. The sun warmed his face. He opened his eyes and with
an effort pulled himself to a sitting position. His muscles felt like they had
been marinated in the calm. He took a deep breath. And another. He wiggled his
feet to get his heart rate back up.

She smiled at him.

“Alrighty then.” He
thought of his mother and father and all the things they had done for him. He
owed it to them to keep trying, to keep learning.

“Nice job, babe,” Kaiya
said. She watched his face and waited for it. Over the next minute, the winds
gradually returned until pendants on a nearby pole flapped again. Her eyes
glistened.

A small cheer went up
as the first kite leapt back into the sky.

He smiled at her. “How
about that.”

About the Author

Michael J. Parks was
born and raised in California’s Sacramento Valley. His interests include
technology, the occult (defined: “knowledge of the hidden”), nature,
art, music, and writing.