2019-03-04 23:16![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lux_mariko
lux_marikoStory: Starting Again
Year: 2986
Word Count: 470
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Mariko
Warnings: References to the fire and pretty bad scarring/people staring at said scars.
Mariko hasn't gone out much, not since she came back from the CSP Station, not since...not since Lux. It's not the scars themselves that bother her--granted, she doesn't really like to look in the mirror, either (Lux used to make her feel so pretty, and now...)--so much as the way people look at her. Makeup won't cover them, not really, and after a dozen failed skin grafts she gave up on that, so it's...obvious. And she can't really blame them for staring, it just gets...
It hurts.
But she likes being outside, especially walking down on the beach, so she goes out there when it's foggy and cold and deserted. She does this in the early mornings, mostly, or sometimes late at night--whenever she needs time to think.
And today, she's thinking that...it's been years, now, and she should really move on with her life. Red Sky's made her an offer, and she wants to take it.
And, at the same time, she doesn't want to take it, because leaving the planet doesn't really feel all that fun or exciting or safe anymore (even if she can't really imagine herself in a planetside job, either), and it's not like the work she'd be doing would be interesting. If she takes the job, she'll make a crapload of money doing really boring things for kind of sketchy people.
But it's a step out the door, and one she can shut behind her. Because the longer she stays here, on Earth, endlessly walking the beach when it's cold and grey and no one's there to watch her...
The longer it feels like she's stuck in neutral. She doesn't like that feeling, either.
And, yeah, her parents have been wonderful, and more than helpful, and she needed this time, but...
She watches the mist curl around a giant, square rock on the ocean, digging her feet into the sand.
Red Sky isn't her future. Not her whole future, anyway. She knows she won't want to stay there long. But she won't have to deal with people staring at her so much, and at least she'll be translating again. Even if it's boring things for sketchy people. It's a place to start, and she could do worse.
It's warming up now, and the sun is burning off the mist, so she should probably start heading back in. And call Red Sky, tell them that she's taking the job--and tell her parents that she's taking the job.
That'll be a fun conversation.
She stands up carefully, brushes off the last of the sand, picks up her shoes, and makes her way back to her parents' house.
Space is daunting now, more than inviting, but it's still where she's always pictured herself in the end, and she's finally ready to start again.
Year: 2986
Word Count: 470
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Mariko
Warnings: References to the fire and pretty bad scarring/people staring at said scars.
Mariko hasn't gone out much, not since she came back from the CSP Station, not since...not since Lux. It's not the scars themselves that bother her--granted, she doesn't really like to look in the mirror, either (Lux used to make her feel so pretty, and now...)--so much as the way people look at her. Makeup won't cover them, not really, and after a dozen failed skin grafts she gave up on that, so it's...obvious. And she can't really blame them for staring, it just gets...
It hurts.
But she likes being outside, especially walking down on the beach, so she goes out there when it's foggy and cold and deserted. She does this in the early mornings, mostly, or sometimes late at night--whenever she needs time to think.
And today, she's thinking that...it's been years, now, and she should really move on with her life. Red Sky's made her an offer, and she wants to take it.
And, at the same time, she doesn't want to take it, because leaving the planet doesn't really feel all that fun or exciting or safe anymore (even if she can't really imagine herself in a planetside job, either), and it's not like the work she'd be doing would be interesting. If she takes the job, she'll make a crapload of money doing really boring things for kind of sketchy people.
But it's a step out the door, and one she can shut behind her. Because the longer she stays here, on Earth, endlessly walking the beach when it's cold and grey and no one's there to watch her...
The longer it feels like she's stuck in neutral. She doesn't like that feeling, either.
And, yeah, her parents have been wonderful, and more than helpful, and she needed this time, but...
She watches the mist curl around a giant, square rock on the ocean, digging her feet into the sand.
Red Sky isn't her future. Not her whole future, anyway. She knows she won't want to stay there long. But she won't have to deal with people staring at her so much, and at least she'll be translating again. Even if it's boring things for sketchy people. It's a place to start, and she could do worse.
It's warming up now, and the sun is burning off the mist, so she should probably start heading back in. And call Red Sky, tell them that she's taking the job--and tell her parents that she's taking the job.
That'll be a fun conversation.
She stands up carefully, brushes off the last of the sand, picks up her shoes, and makes her way back to her parents' house.
Space is daunting now, more than inviting, but it's still where she's always pictured herself in the end, and she's finally ready to start again.
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