Red Saga Chapter 1

 

“Free!!! I. AM. FREE!!! Woooo!!!!! No more institution rules!!! No more labeling my clothes!!! I am on my own!!!”

That thought both made the young woman happy and sad.

Mallie had lost her parents when she was young, but not too young to have forgotten them. She got her bright red hair from her dad. He had been a singer with a famous boy band. Then, the band was not as famous, but they still toured the country every year. He had a lovely voice that got him anything and anyone, but he said he was the luckiest when Mallie’s mom accepted his proposal and they got married in their early twenties. Mom had been a hard-core groupie, but when she got pregnant with Mallie, she stayed back home to get the best pregnancy care.

They had the baby and Mallie grew up to be a happy girl. Mom always thought the girl was a favorite of the Goddess and told her so. Mallie believed her until the day they died. Dad had invited Mom and Mallie to join him for one leg of a tour that had lasted too long. He missed his girls! The band was playing in Adventureland, not far from where they lived. Mallie was in her final exams at elementary school, so she asked to stay home. Mom was not very keen on this, but they had a good neighbor and she volunteered to care for the girl while they were away.

There was an accident in the road and Mr. and Mrs. Red were killed along with some other people from the band. Mallie was an orphan at 12. She was taken by the foster system and she thought that the Goddess did not seem to care about her then. However, there were small blessings: one, she really did not have a bad time as a foster child. She was strong-willed, charming, and armed with an affectionate upbringing in her formative years, so she did well most of the time. The second good thing was that the county had placed her in Adventureland, and while this may have been insensitive, it allowed her to visit her parents’ graves regularly.

Now, at 18, the system told her she was ‘of age’ and she should be on her own within six months. They gave her instructions to get a job. The social worker on her case helped her identify jobs that would be acceptable. She found a job at the local newspaper as an assistant of the assistant mail delivery guy, and started making a tiny salary. Once she had a means to support herself, the same case worker placed her in an ‘in between’ house with five more girls who were also leaving foster care. She only had one roommate, so it was better than the last house she had been in. Someone told her that ‘in between’ meant that the house was owned by the state and only foster care individuals who were coming of age like them could stay there. The arrangement was meant to give them the last possible protection before throwing them out to the real world while at the same time protecting younger charges who needed more fostering.

They paid a symbolic amount for rent so that they could start saving. If she kept her job and followed the rules, she could stay there not only during the six-month adjustment period, as the authorities called it, but also until she turned 19. But when the first month wasn’t over, her case worker called her to her office. The state had managed the few possessions her parents had left. They really did not own property, but her dad had a few guitars that sold well in an auction, and there were some other objects that were assessed and cashed in. That money had been put in the bank in an account under her name, but managed by a fiduciary. The account was now given back to her, so she could do whatever she wanted with it, and she was responsible for whatever happened to the money in the future.

Mallie considered her options. She investigated the cost of renting a place for herself, and the quality of the accommodations she could afford was not very high. The places that were in better locations and conditions were more expensive, so she would have to share an apartment or house in that range of rent. She also checked real estate and, as it happened, Adventureland was quite the ghost town and land value was low those days. She decided to stay in the state-owned housing and search for a small cottage or something that she could buy with the inheritance. She knew anyone her age and, in her situation, would love to travel the world before settling, but it was important for her to own something there.

After looking for a couple of months and saving every cent she could, she found a reasonably large plot on a hill. The view was amazing, and there were no neighbors on the same street. A tiny house with one room and a bathroom was the only construction. It had been the foundation of a larger project that was left undone because of the low demand. There was no landscaping done and the façade was not finished, but the house was sturdy and solid. It was perfect for her!

Mallie negotiated the price and got her tiny house. She bought just the furniture to be able to move in. There would be time to expand and spend later on.

Things were going well. Her job was ok. It was a means to an end for her. She had plenty of free time to plan her future. However, some things come to you, whether you plan them or not. She met a guy at the cemetery of all places. She had been visiting her parents and felt very lonely and started crying. This man came near her and offered her a tissue. They started talking when she calmed down a little. His name was Hans and he had been visiting his wife. She had passed in childbirth a few years back. They talked and Mallie felt comfortable with Hans. They started a friendship that day.

Hans was almost twice her age, but ever since Mallie’s hormones had kicked in, she found grown men more attractive than boys. He never mentioned his job and she truly didn’t care. What she wanted from him was attention, and he gave her plenty of that. Pretty soon, things escalated to the next level, and Mallie was never more grateful to own her tiny house than then. Hans could spend the night when she wanted. She had a lot of fun and great sex with him.

She got along very well with Hans. So much so, that she wanted a child with him. He was thrilled and started thinking of a grand wedding ceremony. But Mallie did not want to get married. At least not yet. She wanted to do stuff, go places and explore more before she committed to one person. She was clear about this. Hans agreed to having a child out of wedlock because he believed she would change her mind when she had the baby.

During her pregnancy Mallie spent long hours doing research for her boss, and she learned about an archeology project in Shang Simla. It fascinated her to read about the excavations and the findings, and the worth of some of those findings. She also read about some expeditioners who hired for profit. They got a salary for doing the required work, and then they could do freelance exploring. It was agreed that anything they found under these circumstances was the property of the authority, but they got a large percentage of the rewards. It seemed to her that it was a good way to make big Simoleons fast, considering the sums the articles listed for the artifacts found. She looked up the data about the excavation and who to contact, when the time was right. She discussed this with Hans, who, again, thought it was a whim, and it would surely pass, so he promised he would care for the baby while Mallie went excavating ruins in Shang Simla.

Mallie had a smooth pregnancy and gave birth to a baby boy just three months after her nineteenth birthday. She named him Mark Red, omitting his dad’s last name of Cross, but Hans playfully called him ‘Red Cross Mark’. “It sounds just fabulous!” He said.

Once Mark was born, Mallie reminded Hans of his promise. She had a lawyer draw an agreement where it was stipulated that when Mark was six months old, she would go on the expedition to Shang Simla or any other destination for a period of time no longer than six months. Mark would stay at home in her house in Adventureland under the care of Hans Cross. She was not abandoning her child and she wanted a legal document that said so. After learning in foster care of so many cases of legal battles with parents who did abandon their babies and then claimed them back making them suffer more than they knew, Mallie wanted to have something to fight back if it was needed. Hans was more concerned about the excavation site touring when she presented him the paper to be signed. He tried to dissuade her, but she kept reminding him of his promise. What made him give in was that she said she could always find another care taker for Mark, and that since his name was not on the birth certificate, he might not be able to visit her son while she was away. She was clever, a tad devious, and she always wanted to have her way.

Those first months of Mark’s life were a whirlwind. Mallie was focused on getting to know her little boy as best as possible before she left, and getting back in shape to meet the requirement of the company hiring expeditioners. When she did, she got through all rounds until she was hired. The only thing left to do was get an assignment to a specific site. She had always been lucky and she was confident that her assignment would be just perfect for her plans.

Just when Mark turned six months and a half, Mallie finally got assigned to Base Camp 321. She packed her bag, kissed Mark good bye, and left.