Finding Vera

Alina eyed the slight girl who was offering water to the people seated at the tables in the small waiting area. She was a skinny little thing, with thin brown hair hanging past her shoulders and partially covering her face.

She never looked up. She never smiled. She didn't even seem to walk the same way the children in Alina's compound walked...she moved as if pulling her body along out of necessity.

"Who is she?" Alina asked the man who had been assigned to her.

Flagged down for not having a microchip while making a trip to the city to gather supplies for the compound, Alina found herself stuck at the government waystop filling out paperwork to have the chip finally put in. The man in front of her had not been subtle in showing his disdain for a grown woman who still had not accepted this obligatory "convenience" offered by the government. He glanced at the girl.

"Oh that? Just a non." Alina blinked.

"A what?"

"A non. You know..." The man trailed off, noticing the look of confusion on Alina's face.

"Seriously? Have you been living under a rock out there?" Alina pursed her lips, her gaze unwavering.

"Humor me."

"It's a non." The man waved his hands as if to explain.

"Its parents declined humanity. They came to enlightenment that they weren't actually human. Obviously the offspring of two non-humans cannot be human either."

The man sneered at the little girl as she passed by, eyes cast down. Alina could feel the revulsion in her stomach threatening to make her sick.

"I'm sorry. You're trying to tell me that this girl's parents decided to not be human anymore?"

The man's eyes narrowed in a threatening manner.

"The correct term is declined humanity. They didn't decide anything-they just realized that they had never really been human to begin with."

"And why is this girl here now?"

"It's not a girl. It's not human. It is now property of the state - obviously. Do you backwater hicks not even have Toggle out there? How do you not know this?"

Alina took a deep breath, trying not to let the rising fury she felt show in her eyes.

She answered the man's questions and she received the chip. What could she do at this point? She had avoided it as long as she could. It was done in a matter of five minutes.

She left the building and went to the cafe across the street. Sipping her espresso at a little table outside, she watched the waystop.

Hours passed, people came and went. Finally as the sun was beginning to set, the last employee walked out of the building, turning off the lights behind her.

The little girl had never come out.

Alina waited a few minutes, then casually walked over and rapped on the door. After a few moments, the door opened a crack, a pair of big brown eyes looking out.

The little girl stared up at her without speaking a word.

Alina bent down on one knee to look her in the eyes.

"Sweetie, if I told you there is a place where people would love you and take care of you, would you come with me?"

The little girl remained mute, but she began to tremble.

"Please," Alina implored. "If we're going to do this, there isn't much time."

The little girl stood trembling a moment longer, then finally nodded. She pushed the door open and slipped out, throwing herself into Alina's waiting arms. As Alina carried her toward the train station trying her best to appear casual she hugged the trembling little girl close.

"Sweetie, what's your name?"

The little girl didn't say a word, but pulled out a small heart shaped locket that had been tucked under her shirt. Alina glanced down and read the inscription.

Vera.

"Vera?" The little girl nodded.

"Well Vera, you're safe now baby. You are a person. You're a beautiful little girl, and I'm taking you to a place where people will see that and love you."