What Is Love?

“That has changed as well. You will be joining the civilians at Alet Academy. All Menhits are being integrated into the general population after they’ve been decommissioned.”            “Are we all being decommissioned, Sir?” Nyla had only met one other Menhit before, but she knew of at least half a dozen.            “All juvenile Menhits, yes. The adults’ fates are still being determined.”            They were interrupted by a knock on the door. A nurse poked her head in and announced, “General, the family is here to pick her up.” Stepping inside, she placed a folded pile of clothes on the chair next to Nyla’s bed before hurrying out.            “Good, good. Get d

Someone using her name downstairs roused Nyla from her nap. Even with her ring on, Nyla could clearly hear the discussion in the family room.“Mason, go get Nyla for dinner,” Edmond barked at his daughter. There was no rustle of movement. “Now,” he hissed, his tone frigid with displeasure.“Why do I have to?” Mason whined.Edmond sighed. “Because I told you to. Until you are eighteen, you will do as I say.”Mason snorted in disgust. “You’re so old fashioned, Dad. It’s not like that anymore in the real world. Imagine what the voters would think if they knew that you run your house like a prison.”“Mason,” Veronica warned. “Do what your father says.”“Why? I don’t want to be around It.”“For the last time,” Edmond growled. “Nyla is not an ‘it’, even if she’s a Menhit.”“

“Well, don’t you look nice!” Veronica squealed, fluttering around Nyla. The pair stood before the new smart mirror hanging over Nyla’s closet door, inspecting her appearance.After dinner the night before, Veronica had brought bag after bag of clothing into Nyla’s room. As she unpacked each item, she explained why she had picked it out for Nyla. Most of the reasons had to do with Nyla’s blonde hair, which was so different than Veronica’s curtain of ebony.She had arrived at Nyla’s door at six that morning insisting that Nyla needed help getting ready. When called upon to pick her outfit for the day, Nyla settled on a plain long sleeve top in a color Veronica called ‘sea-green’ and a pair of jeans. It would hide the lingering burns on her arm from the night before. “So simple, yet they look so stylish on you because of your tall frame! I’m so happy they fit!” Veronica admired loudly. “I

The next day followed the same pattern as the day before, except for the bathroom incident. After emerging from a stall, Nyla found her path blocked by Sarah. Her hawk nose was scrunched like she smelt something terrible.“Nyla,” Sarah purred. She gave Nyla a once over, and stopped on the gloves she wore. “What are the odds of us seeing each other here?”“Statistically likely, actually,” Nyla automatically responded.Sarah blinked twice, seemingly lost for words.Nyla stepped around the girl and headed for the sink.“You’re the only girl I’ve ever seen Eason be around. He doesn’t even spend time with his sister.” Sarah said while following her.“He’s my host family,” Nyla responded.Sarah stared at Nyla in the mirror. “That’s not it. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m going to find out. There’s something… d

The first weekend posed a dilemma for Nyla. She didn’t know what to do with herself. All the Brauns seemed to be busy with one thing or another, and Nyla wanted to stay out of their way. The best she could do was keep to herself in her room. At a loss as to how to occupy the endless hours, she spent all of Saturday lying on her bedroom floor, gazing up at the ceiling. Her head felt hollow, the same way her chest did – as if someone had taken a dull spoon and scraped out all her insides.That first night in the house, she had quickly realized the bed was too soft, too foreign to lay on comfortably. The cots she had slept on all her life were hard, the thin mattresses doing little to cushion the metal bars that ran through their centers. After tossing and turning for several hours, she had grabbed the flattest pillow and lightest blanket and laid out on the floor. The plush carpet cushioned her just enough to keep her hips from aching. Once comfortable, she had fall