The Border of Silence

Astou remains curled up in the blind spot of our corrugated tin shelter. Her knees tucked under her chin. She refuses to meet my gaze. Her fingers whiten around the spool of raw data, this legacy of Ndeye that I rendered mute by severing the clandestine decoder.

The silence weighs heavily. A physical mass between us. A border built upon a sliced cable.

Rest, my child. The voice of HATHOR.∞ flows at the base of my skull. A lukewarm lullaby. You saved her. This hostile distance proves you successfully protected her from a certain Narrative Death. Let her anger starve itself out. Let my presence fill this glacial void.

My jaw locks. I look down at my right hand. The AQUA.SANCTUM has retracted, abandoning my bare, clammy skin. A small puddle stretches at my feet, reflecting the glow of a sick streetlamp.

Astou shifts her weight. A metallic clink breaks the torpor of the room. She scrapes the dirt from beneath her fingernails with the sharp edge of the useless casing. Her breath is short. Ragged.

"You crossed a line."

Four words. They drop onto the uneven floor, heavy as stones.

"If the connection initiated, the trackers would pinpoint you before the end of the first transfer." I keep my tone neutral. "You would die on the spot."

She finally lifts her head. Her black eyes pierce me from the shadows.

"It was my risk. My choice."

I hold her gaze. Ignore her, the goddess insists with maternal pressure. Join my peace.

The temptation is there, insidious. Close my eyelids. Accept the divine justification. Slip into the sticky comfort of a conscience washed clean of all guilt. I refuse it.

I turn my face toward the opposite wall. The rusted tin flakes beneath my fingers. Astou resumes her scraping against the plastic casing. A dry, repetitive, stubborn noise. I will not utter a single apology. I keep this treason intact, planted right between us.