16
My mother was shaking so badly that she stumbled and fell after just a few steps. She pushed herself up and kept walking, only to fall again.
My father and brother rushed to her side, supporting her as the three of them made their way to the fence.
I didn’t move. I just sat on my rock, watching them.
My mother reached a trembling hand toward me. “Stella,” she whispered, “is it you? Is it really you? Mom’s going crazy… I think I’m going mad…”
remained still.
My father and brother stared at me, their faces a mixture of disbelief and dawning horror.
I had no desire to engage with them. I turned and started walking back toward my den.
“Stella, don’t go!” my mother suddenly dropped to her knees, her voice breaking into a heart–wrenching sob. “It is you, isn’t it? Please, come back.
Let me just… let me just touch you… just once…”
n
I let out a soft snort. Fine. I’d go take a look at those 100% Regret Meters.
Once again, we faced each other through the bars. A few feet of space, but a world of difference. An insurmountable gap between life and death.
My mother stretched her hand out as far as it could go, her voice trembling. “Stella, I know it’s you… I felt it from the very first moment… You even
sent me a text. You still remember your mother.”
It wasn’t remembrance. It was hatred.
So, I shook my head.
My mother froze, all the strength seeming to drain out of her body. My father and brother’s eyes went wide, their mouths agape in disbelief.
I could shake my head.
The next moment, they lost it too, lunging at the fence.
“Stella! It really is you! You’re alive? Tell me, what happened?”
“Stella, please, take my hand. We can start over, please…”
…They chattered on and on,
I continued to shake my head. I casually picked at my ear, scratched my butt, and let out a series of mocking “ooh–ooh–aah–aah” sounds.
Humans. So ridiculous.
All three of them went–silent, slumping to the ground in a daze.
The zoo director cautiously approached them. “Sir, ma’am… a monkey’s actions can seem human–like, but it doesn’t mean anything. She’s just a
monkey.”
“Just… a monkey…” my father and brother whispered, their heads bowed. In that instant, they seemed to age decades.
Only my
mother continued to stare at me, her gaze unwavering.
As I walked away, her cries followed me. “Stella, it is you! I know it’s you! You won’t forgive me, is that it? Stella! My Stella! Mommy was wrong… I
was so, so wrong!”
I didn’t look back. I didn’t stop. Like a carefree monkey, I disappeared into my troop.
Diag Host’s parents‘ and brother’s Regret Meters have all moved out Mission completel!
Chapter 2
[Ding! Host’s parents‘ and brother’s Regret Meters have all maxed out. Mission complete!]
The damn System popped into my head.
Before I could even process it, the world went black, and I collapsed.
