Private Visitation Rights - From Mother, My Dear Boy...

[Sha'ri Sorkh]

Now Playing - Notation

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A corridor lit with dim candlelight extended through the middle of a desolated structure. Freshly lit flames gathered smoke in the claustrophobic tunnel, giving the illusion of mist settling across the floor - thick wafts ascending out of the holes in the marble building which gave way to the sky.

Moonlight evaporated the receding shadows that slowly danced on the wall, as Sha'ri crept out of the darkness. She waited patiently under the midnight glow, for someone... She stood still like a statue - her porcelain mask well camouflaged against the marble walls of the ruins.

It wasn't long until hurried footsteps accompanied the sounds of chittering bugs echoing across the area. Someone had finally arrived, and a small fidget of Sha'ri's neck suggested a glimmer of anticipation.

The sounds of someone breathing heavily echoed throughout the marble structure, until Sha'ri was finally face to face with the intruding individual...

 

[Dice Thorne]

Dice Thorne vaulted across the crumbling walls surrounding the ruins. He was beginning to cough up spit from running so far, and for so long. He was given specific coordinates to this planet, at this location... So that he could see his mother.

Once a year, he could see his mom for a maximum of ten minutes, before his mother Sha'ri is extracted. Her circumstance remained vague to Dice, who could only hold onto hope for this very day.

As he turned the corner into the corridor that cut through the middle of the building, he came face to face with his mother, who remained clad behind her porcelain mask.

[^]"M...Mo-... You, remember me, right?"

Dice Thorne only knew one thing - his mother's memory was barely clinging on. She could only interpret Dice Thorne as his younger, five-year-old self. This was the age he was taken away from Sha'ri, and ever since, her recollection of Dice's aging has lapsed into confusion on multiple occasions, leading to long periods of anxiety between the two as the years passed.

Dice grit his teeth, waiting for a response.

 

[Sha'ri Sorkh]

"Oh... My son... My child... I see you... You're so tall..."
Sha'ri had successfully maintained some sort of recollection from their previous yearly visit. Her boy was so big... He was becoming a man. Sha'ri could only weep under her mask as a period of long silence followed her statement.

They simply stared into each other's eyes, bewildered by the other. Every second was true quality time - simply being within the presence of one another soothed the trauma etched into both of them just a little bit more.

"Dice... Thorne... You took his last name... It sounds nice... You were a gamble on hope - it was a miracle you survived being born... I was so sick, so injured... Yet you came to us, blinded by the light of reality... Crying, but the fact you could cry was a blessing in itself. Chase told me your chances were up to a dice roll, haha... You were so beautiful... You are, so... Beautiful."

"..."

"... I'm sorry dear, that was morbid..."

 

[Dice Thorne]

[^]"It's fine... Oh! Uh, we're running out of time... Too much looking at each other. You look... Healthy."
Dice stood there for a moment, cracking his frown into a soft grin as he waved one of his gauntlets in Sha'ri's direction.

[^]"... I love you ma."​

 

[Sha'ri Sorkh]

"And I will always love you. I will... Protect you... My little boy..."
It became clear her perception of reality was beginning to blur into forgetfulness once again, for a time at least. She could only see the small boy she left on that fateful day, clinging to the door, desperately commanding her to stay.

"Goodbye, little hope..."

She faded into the darkness, leaving Dice Thorne alone in the dark, as the moonlight began to shift away.

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Aboard a small space-faring ship, Sha'ri was sandwiched between two black armored soldiers in a small sub-room in the vessel. Another man sat across from them wearing a tight black suit with purple accents. He was a human man with long black hair covering most of his features.

"Wasn't that lovely? Sha'ri... You are so, so lucky... To have this privilege. Never squander it. Never."

Sha'ri remained silent, as she could only frail in the face of her captor. To do otherwise would result in the execution of her precious son. She would not allow her boy to die... She would be the shield that would hide him from the darkness of the galaxy.

She would do what was necessary to save their souls.

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THREAD END​