Letting the Cat Out of the Bag

A gentle shake brought Kopper out of sleep. Her eyes snapped open and she realized that she had been resting her head on the respected guard’s shoulder. He didn’t say a word, but he didn’t seem upset that she had been sleeping nor that she had been doing so while resting her head on him She collected her reading pad from the pocket in the wall in front of her even though she didn’t remember putting it there. The guard had stood up and was walking toward the exit while one of the blue guards indicated that she should follow. Her face felt grimy even though she was sure it looked clean, so the smile she offered the guard was weak. The guard looked as alert and fresh as when she first saw him and didn’t seem to notice her attempt at smiling. So she trudged on in the direction that her embroidery clad, silent leader had gone.

Just outside the transport doors, the hood looked back at her and then it swiftly took off again. He led her to and then through and area that was marked restricted. Along one of the walls was a door labeled as a bathroom and Kopper suddenly was aware of how much she had to go pee. Fortunately the respected guard seemed to have anticipated this because he had stopped on the other side of the door and made it clear she was to go in. Kopper rushed in, peed, and then did her best to feel better by washing up at the sink. She emerged in slightly better spirits, but she still have a fairly dim view on her prospects of ever being treated as an actual, present person again.

Again, they traveled for a while on foot before emerging outside. The blue guards were traded for black ones again and then a car pulled up. This was the first car that Kopper had seen since she had gotten back to earth. She thought everyone had converted to traveling by bus by the lack of cars, but maybe that had just been that region. Her leader got in the car and then she was herded in by the black guards. One of them joined them in the back seat while the other rode next to the driver. There was plenty of room, but Kopper felt oppressed by having a guard on either side of her and missed her window. It seemed this city was much like the last one and they were taken swiftly to an entrance gate where the driver got out of the car. He filled out some paperwork while a guard, like the ones already in the car, went around and scanned everyone’s wrist. Apparently they all passed the screening because the gate opened and the driver got back in and drove them to a large gray stone building.

Kopper was ushered inside the door, up two flights up steps, down a short hallway and into a rectangular room. The floor was stone, but carpets were in convenient places in the room. There was one in front of the neatly made bed, one under the chair in front of the desk and one in front of the window. There was a lamp on the desk and on the table beside the bed. Another door stood partly open opposite where they had entered and a peek told her it was a bathroom. The room was also decorated with two elaborate wall hangings, Kopper thought perhaps these were what were called tapestries. They were made from bright colors with one showing a scene of a shepherd and his sheep and the other was what Kopper guessed to be some artists vision of the parting of the Jordan River for the Israelites.

The guards had all stood outside while she entered the room so she presumed this was to be her room; she had feared a cell. She walked over to the window and saw that it looked out over a large, green park that was dotted with trees and flower beds. She heard someone enter the room behind her and then jumped a bit when she heard the door close. Unsure of what she would find, she turned to meet what she supposed could be her doom.

Instead, she found that she was facing the respected guard who was loosening his cloak. He dropped the cloak onto the bed and then walked over to the chair and turned it around so he could face Kopper when he sat down.
“If you wish to stand, you may. If you wish to sit down I’ll ask for another chair to be brought here,” he said in a light tone. Kopper just shook her head no and continued to stand.

“I am sorry I did not talk earlier, I couldn’t risk that you would recognize me eventually. You didn’t recognize me on my first visit to your room did you?”

“I, uh, thought you were familiar but I wasn’t sure why,” Kopper responded and then without thinking asked, “Why would it be problematic if I did recognize you?”

“Ah, well since you don’t know much about what is going on in the world right now I expect the long explanation would mean little to you so I’ll stick to the short one. I couldn’t be your confessor if I knew you and I feel I will be the best confessor you could get. Don’t look too troubled, I’ll try to explain as much as I can to you. Although, for now I will have to explain only a few minutes worth. Dinner will soon be served and we will both be expected at the lower table in the dining room. You have become a popular topic of conversation here and as your confessor I am expected to accompany you to all functions until the end of the trial.”

Kopper opened her mouth to say something about this information, but she couldn’t decide what and so the man was not interrupting when he continued in a few seconds.

“Let’s see. I suppose the first order of business is to have you remember who I am. Admittedly I am a tiny bit disappointed that you did not already recognize me, but I guess that is to be expected. I didn’t recognize you either, I had to read your file to find out your identity. While you waited to depart from the holding cell I was reading the file and reports on you. I almost jumped up and ran back to the cell when I read your name. Fortunately, my brain stopped me from doing so since that would have exposed the fact that I knew you from the past. Yes, Kopper Light Elgin, I know who you are from more than just what others have written about you. I imagine your friend, uh Florid? Flounder?”

“Florin?” Kopper offered.

“Ah yes Florin, told you that you may not want to use your last name. You see it is a bit infamous, although your parents are still held as reasonably respectable people. The whole thing is quite coincidental, but I’ll get to that later. For now, I recommend you submit an official request to be called only Kopper Light.”

She stared blankly at him. There was a long silence that Kopper wished to keep, she didn’t know if she wanted to hear what this man had to say, so she turned back to the window.

“This is probably quite difficult for you Kopper, I can’ t imagine what you are having to go through. We’ll deal with the name thing tomorrow. Back to the matter at hand. Please look at me.” He waited for her to turn around then he offered her the chair and he stood up. In a playful gesture he turned around as if he was modeling his uniform for her. From that movement Kopper thought she saw something, but couldn’t quite place it.

“I see you recognize something of me, but are unsure where to place it. It is good enough that you only vaguely remember me. My current name is Father Matthew Steadfast, hence the embroidery and other symbols of my office, but you know me as Loyal Fairchild. Now you are wondering if they won’t look up your records and see that we went to the same school. The answer is that most of the school records from that time have been destroyed so they won’t even bother looking. I think we are safe from being discovered.”

Kopper was shocked. She remembered L now, she had never known that he knew she even existed. How odd. As for the title, what did “Father” mean? Well at least she had someone smart on her side, whatever her side was. Unless this was all a ruse to get her to trust him and then...well what would they want from her? She didn’t know anything. But maybe they didn’t know that. Kopper just about jumped across the room when Father Matthew crossed the room and then she did jump out of her chair when he knelt in front of her.

“I have long wondered what happened to you, Kopper. I worried for you when you disappeared and then I worried for you during the wars. When I read the papers that said you had returned to earth in a sun catcher escape pod I nearly cried. Had I known you were up there, oh I don’t know what I would have done, but I would have done something. Whatever you need, I’ll be happy to get. If I can serve you in any way, let me know. For now, I ask you follow my advice and I will get you through this trial. Right now, we have to go to diner. There will be some clothes for you in the closet, put on something that you like, but no trousers. Come out when you are ready, but try not to take longer than five minutes, we are late already.”

He got up after this, gave her an awkward hug, rehung his cloak around his shoulders and went out the door. Kopper nearly fell over before finding herself sitting on the bed. A short knock and the door opened again without waiting for her to respond. The now slightly familiar hand reached in the crack and tossed a small box onto the carpet near the window and then the door closed again. The box was one of the things that Florin had packed for her. It was some pills that would help her regain her energy and there was a months supply inside. After that, Florin said she had to do the best she could, which should be pretty close to normal, since Florin had no more pills to pack. So Kopper went over, opened the box and swallowed one pill. She set the box on the desk and then went over to the closet. How much time had passed? Unsure she selected a dress at random, pulled off her tube of a dress and then stepped into the stiff dress from the closet. It had a high neck and made moving a bit difficult, but the stiffness gave her some support even though it followed her body’s contours a bit more closely than she would have wished. The laces in the back were troublesome so she only got them done about two thirds of the way up her back. She ground her teeth and decided that it didn’t matter what her dignity said, she had none left. So she opened the door and found Father Matthew, it helped her to just think of him as Father Matthew for now, and asked him to finish the lacing. He was happy to do so and finished it up with swift dexterity and then he offered her his arm as they walked down to the dining hall.

They reached the hall where around a dozen long tables were with about a dozen people around each of them. Father Matthew seemed to know where they were to sit so Kopper just trailed along beside him trying to ignore the looks and whispers directed toward her. At the table she found herself seated to the right of Father Matthew who was at the head of the table and to the left of another guard. This guard had colored stitching in his cloak as well but there was less of it and she saw his chest contained a smaller badge of office. Kopper permitted herself a few moments to wonder that wearing cloaks all the time seemed to be normal and also a bit of pride in showing up with someone who apparently had some rank as the rest of the table and several other tables seemed to have lessly colored guards at them.

The conversations at other tables started once again since Kopper had sat down and the gentleman to her right tried to start a conversation with Kopper. Father Matthew rescued her with and apology that Kopper was still quite worn out from her journeys and that wouldn’t the Father (apparently this other man was also a Father) wait until another evening to ask his questions to Kopper. Tonight he would be happy to tell anyone what they wished to know about Kopper in her stead. He said this all with quite the silver tongue and the man was pacified to only a little resentment for the rest of the meal. Kopper was quite hungry, but she remembered Florin’s advice to pace herself so she took small bites and chewed carefully. At least the food was good. There was a variety of vegetables and a bit of fruit, she avoided the potatoes, ate a little bit of the slice of meat that had appeared on her plate, and ate several pieces of bread. Some sort of conversation seemed to be going on between Father Matthew and the rest of the table, but Kopper didn’t have the desire to listen so by the end of the meal she was unsure what others had been told about her. Snatches of phrases like “quite well,” “eager to be in service,” and “no harm done” were all she could remember, but they didn’t seem to connect into sentences or coherent ideas.

After sipping her way through three quarters of the hot spiced cider she had been given she put the cup down away from her and looked at Father Matthew. She wanted to say something about how she would like to go back to her room now, but didn’t know how to phrase it without sounding pitiful and weak. Father Matthew seemed to intercept her frustration because he rose and said, “I apologize again for myself and my contrite daughter,” Kopper assumed that was her and wondered what kind of title that was, “but we have had a long journey and so we will be retiring now. People nodded and murmured things of understanding. Kopper got to her feet and then, as it seemed to be expected, took Father Matthew’s arm as they retreated back upstairs.

“There is a brief and very biased history, about events while you were gone, on your reading tablet if you feel like reading. My quarters are next door if you need anything. A guard will be posted outside your door so you’ll have to ask him to get me. My position requires that I have at least a couple of attendants most of the time, but I will try to meet with you alone most of the time. Do not worry, my child, the Lord will take care of you. We will begin your confession after breakfast tomorrow morning. Your breakfast will be delivered at seven.”

Father Matthew’s last few sentences were said more loudly than the first part which was barely a whisper while they were walking up the stairs. She supposed that this was for the benefit of the guard at her door, which she could now see and the attendants, a whole gaggle of them, waiting at Father Matthew’s door. He ushered her into her room and then left her with, “God’s blessings on your rest tonight, child.”

She managed to squirm out of the dress and found a flannel nightgown in the chest at the end of the bed. After sliding into the covers she picked up the tablet to read, but found she couldn’t concentrate. She got up again, found a robe in the closet, walked to the door and opened it. The guard turned around, not quickly nor in a menacing manner, more like a polite, but old butler. She asked him to arrange for a wake up knock at 5:30 am. His eyebrow went up a bit, but he agreed. She then returned through the door and closed it softly behind her. The rug near the window had a nice fuzziness and so she turned off the lights and stood in front of the window looking at the stars while curling and uncurling her bare toes in the carpet. After what she guessed to be an hour she felt her way to the bed and crawled inside. After some worried thoughts about her future she fell asleep.