The Other Side of Life (Book #1, Cyberpunk Elven Trilogy) (11 page)

“
Boys will be boys,” Tavia
remarked, before seeing Nin and Anya to the side. “Hey there,
Anya!”

Anya waved back, though Tavia had already
turned to go back to her work.

“
Tavia’s getting everything
ready,” Nin continued from where he had left off. “Fake security
tapes, and all the little, but extremely important details. She’s
really good at that.”

Anya sat on the couch, keeping cool and
calm. “Keys in metal case, hit ‘2-1-7’ to unlock. Grab keys labeled
‘Janitor’s Room’ and ‘V.’ Wait for Tavia to distract head guard.
Get missing parchment piece,” she summed up.

Nin put a hand up, in salute.

Anya smiled, imagining the already handsome
Nin in military attire, before looking blankly up at the ceiling.
“We have…a few hours to burn.” What were they going to do in the
meantime?

Nin tapped his fingers together, as Anya
observed the fine bone structure of his face. “Come with me,” he
said. Furtively, almost.

A few hours,
he thought,
to get to
know you a little better…

It was why he’d asked to meet at nine. No
one needed three hours to explain the directions on a map.

Chapter 6:

Nin started crossing the living room. Anya
followed close behind, soaking in the relaxing invitingness of the
underground living arrangement. It encouraged one to lie back,
unwind, and savor the simple things in life.

“
I thought elves
were…against technology,” she said, turning back for a look at
Tavia’s room. The door was open; Tavia was working on three
different screens at once.

Nin hesitated. Had they ever given that
impression?

“
Didn’t you say something
about the history of elves and humans…” Anya explained, “having a
falling out because of art and science?”

One of Nin’s shoulders went up in a
half-shrug. “We keep up with the times.” He opened a door which led
to a pantry. “Some of our elders think technology’s the way to the
devil, though, or some even say the devil’s way in.”

Anya saw a basket with rolls of bread, on a
circular wooden table. A bottle of olive oil and a small,
cinnamon-scented candle stood beside the basket. Celtic music
played softly, somewhere in the background. Or was it Elven?

Nin removed his black leather coat. He was
wearing a black shirt underneath, which fit quite snugly to his
toned body. Anya was enjoying the view—he had more lean muscle than
she initially guessed.

“
What would you like to
eat?” Nin asked. “And, to drink?”

Anya would have accepted bread and water, if
that was all that was available. While she wasn’t a fussy eater,
she did have her preferences. “I like milk,” she said, “and meat.
Lots and lots of meat.”

Nin turned quietly, without a word.

“
Oh…” Anya felt a cold
volley of pinpricks on the back of her neck. “You’re
vegetarians?”

Nin had gone into an opening at the back of
the pantry. Anya heard the sound of a couple of doors opening, then
shutting. They sounded quite like refrigerator doors.

“
Bread is fine!” Anya
yelled, grabbing a piece. “I think killing animals is cruel,” she
continued, almost babbling. “But I’d just die if—”

A strong aroma filled the pantry just then,
teasing Anya’s taste buds.

Nin was standing with a platter piled high
with shreds of roasted meat. “Rabbit okay with you?”

Anya knew she wasn’t the only one who’d kill
for some of that. She stared at the platter, before Nin placed two
bottles of milk and some cutlery onto the table.

Anya was ravenous—she had never tasted such
good food before. She couldn’t remember the last time she had sat
down to a nice meal—with fresh, non-prepackaged food.

“
How many seasons, I
mean”—Nin corrected himself—“how old are you, Anya?” The
candlelight gave Nin’s mysterious eyes an inviting, warm
glow.

Anya swallowed her food before replying.
“Eighteen,” she answered, before adding, “What about you?”

“
It’s complicated, but in
human years, I’m the same age as you.”

“
In Elven years?
Complicated, how so?”

Nin wondered whether to launch into the
metaphysical theories behind the comparison of Elven years as
compared to other beings. “Two hundred and eight. It’s something to
do with the attractions between the atoms of the universe, the
basis of all forms of life.”

Anya stopping chewing for a moment,
bewildered.

“
In other words, our sense
of time is slightly different from yours,” Nin said with a wry
smile.

Our.
Anya pondered on the word, that referred to the Elven species
as a whole, collectively.

“
So, what’s it like being
an…” Anya turned her head toward the living room, in the direction
of Tavia and Dresan. “…elf?”

Nin leaned back, stretching his legs out.
His feet touched Anya’s. She noticed—though he didn’t seem to. “I
could ask the same of you, you know…what’s it like being a human?”
Nin said playfully. Then he continued more in earnest, “The three
of us here are a band of thieves who scour the world for lost Elven
treasures. We’re a little bit like you and Leticia, actually, in
that sense. Puts all our training to good use.”

“
Training?”

Nin’s fingers brushed against Anya’s, as he
steadied the platter she was setting back on the table.

“
Ever noticed how skilled
elves are, with a bow and arrow? In fantasy books, and
movies…”

Anya nodded. She was recalling watching Lord
of the Rings and how good the elves looked in the movie. Now she
wondered if Tolkien had maybe met real elves, like she and Leticia
just did…

“
It’s not just a
myth.”

Bits and pieces of Anya’s
research the day before—before Leticia and Julius had stepped into
her room—resurfaced in her memory.
Something about not being fooled by the lean bodies of elves,
about the strength that lies underneath...

“
We also help the elves do
their good work, those who live alongside humans. We make sure
they’re…well-funded.”

Anya grinned, showing the upper row of her
teeth. “Why hide your identity?” Deep down, Anya knew the answer,
and she wasn’t pleased with the fact.

A slightly overcast, yet knowing look, went
across Nin’s face. “Blending in is safer. Humans are notorious
for…stirring up a lot of trouble, especially about things they
don’t understand.”

Anya paused, waiting. “I’m human, you
know.”

Nin waited for the same length of time
before answering, “I’ll take my chances.” He gave a semisweet
smile. If he had nothing but bad vibes from Anya and Leticia, he
wouldn’t even have stepped out from behind the pillar at the stone
church.

“
If you don’t mind me
asking—have you had any work done?” Nin suddenly changed the
subject. He gently held Anya’s chin, tilting her face slightly to
the side. “You’ve a nice nose. You can tell me, I can keep a
secret.”

Anya was a little surprised—and flattered to
receive the compliment—but shook her head quickly. “No, no…I’m…all
real. No plastic surgery for me.”

Maybe in the future, when
things start sagging,
said a small voice in
Anya’s mind.

Some elves weren’t adverse to technical
implants, and Bioware: genetically engineered implants which
enhance a person’s abilities. A few elves had also augmented their
bodies with TN.09 implants, but not Nin. Dresan supported the
fusion of man and machine. What if machine intelligence surpassed
human or Elven intelligence? That was why Nin always held himself
back, from invasive cybernetic surgery. He just couldn’t trust
it.

“
I think it’s funny…it’s
like how the rich starve themselves skinny, while the poor perish
from thirst and hunger. Can humans excel in life, only if they look
perfect?”

Anya looked back at Nin. “All three of you
look pretty…perfect.” She said the last word with a patronizing
touch.

Nin licked his upper lip. “Aesthetics is a
natural thing for us.”

“
Unfair.” Anya folded her
arms and pouted. “It’s all to do with looks, with humans. The
hotter and younger you look, the better. That’s what gets you ahead
in life.”

“
Then humans should all be
altering their looks.”

“
They do—those who can
afford it, and those who want to ‘get ahead’ in life.
Leti—”

Anya cut her sentence off midway. She wasn’t
supposed to say anything about that. Leticia was a natural beauty,
or so she said, to everyone who asked!

Nin raised an eyebrow. “Yes? What about
L…”

The expression on Anya’s face gave it
away—she hoped Nin would do as he said he would, and keep a secret.
Even from the other two elves he had introduced them to.

She sighed. “Leticia has always been,
attractive…but she’s had some…procedures, to enhance a woman’s
features.”

Nin didn’t bat an eyelid. “How many
procedures?”

“
A brow lift—non surgical—
for…” Anya raised her brows and her hands along with them, to
signal a high arch. “Lips,” Anya said, automatically licking hers.
“Boobs, but a decent size. And a very slight nose job. Though she
said that was to ‘fix a deviated nose septum.’”

She covered her mouth, then looked away,
resting her head on her hand. “Oh no,” she whispered. She’d never
told anyone, ever. She hated how it slipped out. Trust was
something she shared with all her close friends.

“
I won’t tell.”

Anya felt like smacking herself across the
face. What more would she carelessly let Nin know about, just like
that?

Nin was quiet. “We’ve heard of young people
undertaking these…cosmetic proceedings, after being accepted to a
prestigious university or job…because they felt they were expected
to resemble a preconceived image of perfection. Is that true?”

Anya looked a little blank, like it was a
no-brainer, and standard fare for everyone. “Yes, it is.”

“
That’s sad. How plastic
and artificial life has become. It gets harder and harder to find
something…real.” Nin interlocked his fingers, and stretched out his
arms. “Real love, real friends, real body parts…”

Anya felt so near and yet so far. She
yearned to be in his arms. She was drawn to his depth, to the
reserve of energy in him. She couldn’t lie to herself—she wanted
him, to know and share the real existence he seemed to
understand…just that something that was real…that could be shared
between them.

Anya wondered how much of Nin’s history
she’d be able to dig out. She felt compelled to ask, since he’d
gotten Leticia’s Secret out of her earlier. “I wonder what your
family thinks of you.”

Nin tilted his chin up, slightly. “Which
one?”

“
Are they…family?” Anya
turned her head toward the living room again.

“
Friends are the family you
choose.” Nin could pack a lot in a few words.

“
Yeah, I know what you
mean. Leticia and I are BFFs.” Anya looked down at her hands on the
table, as she tapped one of her heels against the ground. Nin’s
feet stayed in place. She gazed up at Nin. “You know what that
stands for?”

“
Best Friends
Forever.”

A message came in on Anya’s cell, from
Leticia:

Ok, will be there at 11.45. Thanks!

“
Do
you
have a boyfriend?”

Anya dropped her phone onto the table, then
covered it with her hand, pretending she had wanted to slam it
down. “Had one, when I was sixteen.” Anya half-smiled at Nin, as
she recalled the absurdity of the experience. She played with her
drink bottle, twirling it around in her hand. “He was kind of
psycho…he used to stalk me. Both on and offline, after things
stopped…working out.”

“
Couldn’t get enough of
you?”

Anya shrugged and rolled her eyes, in a “who
knows” kind of gesture. “I can’t even picture him clearly.”

“
It was that
bad?”

Anya could picture her ex’s online avatar on
1stWorld better—a combat-clad army cadet named ‘Nuke.’ Her own
avatar was space opera styled.

“
I never knew if he was
more infatuated with ‘Sinead’—my online avatar,” Anya explained to
Nin, “or my computer gaming skills in real life.” After all, she
had been the champion of the 2033 1stWorld Girls’ Solo Division.
“Some people live their lives online. That’s the side of life
they’re more comfortable with.”

The words “side of life” stood out, to the
both of them.

Nin thought of
Na’urtha.
“The other side
of life,” he said aloud.
Na’urtha
was sacred to the elves. He hadn’t mentioned it to
Anya and Leticia, when they first saw the third portion of the
poem. It was a resting place for souls, for the chosen dead, and
rarely talked about, because not much was known about
it.

“
That doesn’t really count,
does it?” Anya continued.

“
Hmm?”

“
I mean, it was mostly an
online relationship…”

“
People get married,
divorced and die because of relationships that develop online,” Nin
pointed out. “The feelings are still there, even though it might
not be face to face.”

Anya smiled at what Nin said. “Yeah. It took
a while for things to…settle.”

“
Breaking up is hard to
do.” Nin hummed a tune Anya had trouble recognizing.