He put his arm around her shoulder, and she thought the beating of her heart must be easy for him to hear. It sounded so much louder than the distant cries of the seagulls, the soft roar of the surf and the wind sighing in the branches overhead. "I could never leave you, Roxanne" he whispered.
She knew she shouldn't do this, it was way too early, but her body seemed to have a will of her own. She turned toward him and
"Trine!"
Her father's bellow almost makes her jump out of her skin. Of course, he's downstairs and cannot possibly have any idea what she is reading. Anyway she had locked the door to make sure her annoying big brother wouldn't come barging in while she was in the depth of a book. She knows what he thinks about those books. She would bet that he has his own stuff to read that is much worse than this, some of the girls in class have reported in great detail on books and magazines they have found under boys' beds and places like that. She checked both under the bed and under the pillow, but found nothing. He has a locked drawer though, it is probably there. But he always carries the key with him, the...
"Trine!"
Oh scraps, she forgot her father. "Yes?" Why does her voice sound so tiny compared to theirs?
"Telegram for you!"
"For me?" She unlocks the door and peeks out.
"I left it on the phone." He doesn't need to say more, she better pick it up before Tom comes in. Who would send a gram these days anyway? Everyone uses the phone, unless you're not at home, and even then they usually call later instead of leaving a telegram. She scampers downstairs and races to the phone.
From: Starborn Manor
To: Lithus Place Farm
Attention: Trine Lithus
Greetings! It is I, Ben's little sister. I have been thinking a lot about you after your brother was here. Your brother was very nice and we all like him a lot. Ben says that you are much the same, so I think we would all like you a lot too. But Ben says you seem to be afraid of him and was hiding most of the time when he was there.
I want to tell you not to be afraid of Ben. Ben is the most kind and gentle boy in the world. He would never do anything to hurt you. Also, I thought that perhaps you were worried about sleeping with him, like your brother. That is not a problem. I used to sleep with Ben until I was 11, and even though I was smaller than him he never crushed me or stole all of the bedclothes in the winter. So don't worry.
Ben likes you, and since he is very nice, you will like him also. Therefore the sum of happiness in the world will increase if you get together.
Best regards,
Rita Starborn (a.k.a. "Rigel" although I am born on Earth!)
OK. Breathe deeply. The first two lines are made by the system, and there is not likely to be anyone at the Starborn Manor who would pull a prank on her. So, yeah, this is almost certainly a letter from the world's third most important person. That in itself is reason for worry. Of course, it does not help that it is about her and the second most important person in the world, who is actually probably the most important of them all to her. Or is he? Does she really feel that strongly about him, or is it just a crush that was fun as long as she knew it could never happen?
That's why she is terrified, she realizes. It is not about pictures and a scrapbook anymore. It is not at a safe distance, daydreams about a boy who is mostly a myth. Now it is about a living, breathing boy... no, young man. He may be looking young even for a 17year old, but he is more mature in other ways, more knowledgeable, seeing deeper. And if he sees deeper into her, what will he see? Shallowness, daydreams that are more like night dreams in that they don't stand the touch of light. Lies, sweet little lies, fantasies that were never meant to be real. And now, suddenly, scaringly, he is real. And not just him, others are getting involved as well. She did not ask for this!
She looks at the print again, and her eyes fall on a strange string of words. "sleeping with him, like your brother." What is that supposed to mean? Of course, she also claims to have been sleeping with her brother, so she must mean it literally, snoring and all. But why would her brother even consider sleeping with a boy, literally or otherwise? Is there something about him she doesn't know? That would certainly explain the lack of magazines with severely undressed girls, which other brothers supposedly have. She was only joking, but what if...? But in that case, why would they want to bring her into it? She shakes her head. No, she does not want to think like that!
But she should write back, at the very least to make sure this Rita character does not take the matter further, for instance by involving their parents. That would be the end of the world for sure. What to say? What to say? She retires to her room, poring over the letter until she comes up with a suitable reply.
From: Lithus Place Farm
To: Starborn Manor
Attention: Rita Starborn
Thank you for your telegram! Please don't show any of this to your brother. The reason I was hiding from him was not that I was afraid of him, but because I was ashamed. I had not expected him to see me sick and dirty and helpless and without proper clothes. Therefore I felt totally crushed with shame and could not face him again. It is not his fault. If only I had known that he was coming, this would not have happened. But even then I would not be like you and your brother. I am just a common girl.
I hope my brother was behaving well when he visited you. He is also just a farmboy and does not what to do all the time. I hope we are not a bother to you.
Sincerely,
Trine Lithus.
Over the next half hour, Trine passes by the phone repeatedly, worried that her brother might run in and grab whatever printout may be lying there. This does not happen, though, and eventually there is a reply.
From: Starborn Manor
To: Lithus Place Farm
Attention: Trine Lithus
If Ben likes you when you are dirty and sick, he will surely like you when you are clean and healthy. So there is no reason to worry. I don't know exactly how shame works, but if you are not guilty you do not need to hide. And even if you have done something you shouldn't, you can just ask for forgiveness. This is much better than hiding.
Also don't worry about Ben seeing you without clothes. Both of us have had human anatomy in our home schooling, and we have seen many pictures of ordinary humans. They look just like us, only more varied. Although I was surprised to see your brother had hair that was not shown on any of the illustrations. But it was really not scary at all, more funny, and I am sure Ben will like you even if you are hairy too.
I am glad you wanted to write to me, and I hope our families will continue to have good relationships together in the future. Please feel free to write or call me about anything.
Best regards,
Rita Starborn.
What in the name of all that is whole and goodly? "Hair that was not shown on any of the illustrations"?? This is not good. What has that idiot been doing at the manor? Sleeping with the boy and showing things to the little girl? No, this makes no sense. He may be a bit slow sometimes when it comes to common sense, but he is not out and out insane.
"Dad! Where's Tom?"
"Probably cutting some wood, he promised to do it today. He should be finished soon."
Trine does not answer. She pulls on her boots and storms out.
"TOM!"
"Hi. If you're coming to help, you're a bit late."
"I am not coming to help!"
"If you're coming to watch, you won't have more than five minutes tops, so enjoy it."
"What were you doing with that girl?"
"Huh?" Tom stops and pulls his arm across his forehead.
"Rita Starborn! What were you doing with her?"
"You're still on that trip? Look, she is 13 and not big for her age. Lay it off before I start to think you are serious."
"I
am serious! What did you do?"
"Well, first we greeted
each other when we met. There was a small misunderstanding where she
thought Ben and I were boyfriends, but that seems to be mainly
because she doesn't yet know quite what a boyfriend is."
"I hope you didn't try to demonstrate!"
"Have you cracked completely? Of course not. Her mother is taking care of that matter."
"So what happened next?"
"We ate dinner, which was quite good. I told you that already. Then her mother went to some peace conference. We played scoopball. Then we played Q-bus, a kind of domino in three dimensions. It was actually quite fun. Then we changed into pajamas and went to bed."
"Where did you change?"
"In a bathroom. And of course we changed separately."
"Did she ever see you without clothes on?"
"Are you insane? Why would I walk around in other people's home without clothes? It is bad enough to do it at home..."
"Not at all? You slept in your pajamas?"
"Yes of course. Are you having nightmares? Relax, there is at least one of us who doesn't bowl over Starborn in a bath towel. Not that he seems to hate you for it. Not that I think any boy would, even such a plain girl as you. You may be underage, but you still have some, you know, stuff."
"I
don't want to hear that from my own brother! It's bad enough that
you sleep with boys and streak small girls, if you're not looking at
your sister as well!"
"You need sleep. Possibly
sedatives and a cell without any sharp objects."
"I'll find out the truth. I will find out for sure, and then you will have to come up with a really good explanation."
"I look forward to it, little sister. And I honestly think you should take a day off tomorrow."
From: Lithus Place Farm
To: Starborn Manor
Attention: Rita Starborn
I am very worried about my brother. Please tell me how you came to see his body hair. I will try to get this thing fixed without involving other people unless it is necessary. I apologize if my brother has not been doing the right thing while visiting you.
Yours faithfully,
Trine Lithus.
From: Starborn Manor
To: Lithus Place Farm
Attention: Trine Lithus
Tom was very nice when he was here. After dinner he offered to help wash the dishes. Normally I would do it that day, but our mother said it was OK. When he pulled up his shirt sleeves so they would not be wet, I saw that he had a thin layer of dark fur on his arms. Nobody in my family has that, and it was not visible on the pictures of humans. They only had hair on their heads, under their arms, around their genitals and in one picture a man had some hair on his chest. I guess the pictures were just not very close, or it could be because he is a farmer and works with animals. Anyway, don't worry about it. I am sure Ben won't mind if you have hairy arms too.
Your friend,
Rita Starborn.