Close Remembrance (The Krinar Chronicles 3)

Emerging from the pod, Korum and Mia walked to the door and rang the doorbell. All around them, people were slowly coming out of their houses, driven by curiosity about their neighbors’ extraterrestrial connection. Korum could hear their whispers, giggles, and gasps of excitement and fear. An older couple a few houses away were on the phone with their children, complaining that the ‘K evil’ had come to Ormond Beach. They likely thought he couldn’t hear them, not realizing how acute Krinar senses were.

None of this bother

ed Korum. In the past, he’d tried to be considerate, to make sure that his presence in the small town didn’t draw too much attention to his charl’s family. Now, however, it didn’t matter. If the Elders agreed to their request, Mia’s relatives would never be able to return to their regular lives.

Marisa opened the door to let them in. “Hi guys,” she exclaimed brightly. “Come on in! We’re almost ready.”

“Awesome!” Mia had a huge grin on her face as they entered the house. “Are you excited? I know I am –”

“Oh my God, am I excited? Are you kidding me? I haven’t slept for two nights . . .”

Korum smiled and followed the two sisters as they continued chattering all the way to the kitchen. Mia’s parents and Connor were already gathered there, eating their breakfast.

“Korum!” Ella exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. “Will you join us? I made some potato pancakes with fresh berry jam.”

“Sure,” Korum said, sitting down at the table. “I’d love some pancakes.” Mia and he ate about an hour ago, but he was curious to try the dish Mia had said was her mother’s specialty.

In that moment, Mia came up behind his chair and kissed his cheek, her hair tickling the back of his neck. “Already hungry?” she teased, her hands gently kneading his shoulders. Her easy display of affection made him want to hug her. He hadn’t known how much he needed that from her until she started touching him like that in the past few weeks. Before, he had almost always been the one to initiate physical contact, both of the sexual and more casual variety.

Of course, whenever she was this close to him, he got hard, but the discomfort was a small price to pay. Korum shifted in his seat, raising his knee slightly in case any of his human companions happened to glance under the table.

“Mia, honey, how about you?” her mother asked. “Do you want some pancakes too?”

“I’d love some, mom, thanks.” Mia let go of Korum’s shoulders and sat down in the chair next to him. Korum reached over and took her hand, craving more of her touch.

“Ooh, so lovey-dovey,” Connor said, chewing on a pancake. “Look at those two, Marisa.”

“Shut up, Connor,” his wife said, walking over to put the water to boil. “It’s not like they’re an old married couple like us.” But there was a big smile on her face as she said it, and Korum knew she was joking. From what he had seen, Marisa and her husband were very affectionate with each other.

Korum didn’t mind Connor’s teasing; he loved Mia and had no intention of hiding his feelings from her family. Let them see how much he cared for her. After all, they were trusting him enough to leave their entire lives behind.

He hoped the Elders wouldn’t deny them the nanocytes. He hated the thought of disappointing Mia’s family – and Mia herself. Somehow, almost imperceptibly, Korum had grown to care about these people. In the past two weeks, he’d had a lot of interactions with each of Mia’s relatives, answering their questions about Krina and what to expect during the trip – and he’d found that he genuinely liked them. He saw shades of Mia in both her parents and her sister, and frequently found Connor’s company amusing. If someone had told Korum a few months ago that he would feel this way about a bunch of humans, he would’ve laughed in their face. But ever since he met Mia, his predictable life had gone down the drain.

Ella Stalis brought out the pancakes and served everyone. Tasting his portion, Korum immediately complimented her cooking, loving the combination of sweet jam with the savory potato. She glowed, obviously pleased. In that moment, Korum could see the beauty she must’ve been in her youth – and would likely be again after the procedure.

Finally, all the food had been eaten and dishes put away. Korum helped clean up, loading everything into the dishwasher. Human appliances had always interested him for some reason; they were so primitive and graceless, yet they managed to do their job for the most part.

At that moment, the tiny dog ran out of one of the rooms, barking and jumping at Korum again. Before he had a chance to do anything, Marisa grabbed it off the floor. “Mocha!” she chastised the animal. Turning to Korum, she gave him an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that. We kept her in the bedroom so she’s not in the way while we’re packing, but she got out somehow –”

“That’s okay; I don’t mind,” Korum assured her. Then a sudden thought occurred to him. “What are you going to do with the dog when you leave?”

Marisa stared at him. “She’s coming with us, of course.”

Korum blinked slowly. “I see.”

“That’s not a problem, is it?” Marisa asked anxiously. “I know my parents would die without her –”

“No, it’s not a problem,” Korum said. Unexpected, but not a problem. He should’ve known they would want to bring the furry creature; humans often had unnatural attachments to their pets. He would have to make some last-minute adjustments to the ship’s layout to accommodate the dog’s presence, but it wouldn’t be anything major.

Twenty minutes later, everybody was ready to go. Korum brought five large suitcases outside and loaded them onto the aircraft, ignoring the curious stares from the neighbors.

“Be careful, they’re heavy,” Dan Stalis admonished him, and Korum suppressed a smile. Mia’s father clearly didn’t understand the full extent of the differences between Krinar and human bodies. The suitcases were no heavier to him than Ella’s little purse was to her. Still, his concern was rather touching.

When they were all inside the aircraft, Mia made sure they were comfortably seated on floats. Her mother held the dog on her lap, clutching it with a desperation that betrayed her nervousness.

“Goodbye, Ormond Beach. Goodbye, Earth,” Mia’s sister whispered as the aircraft took off, carrying them upward, beyond Earth’s atmosphere, where the big ship awaited them for their interplanetary journey.

Chapter 23