The Exchange,

Chapter 4
The exchange part 4

Chapter Description: Sandra goes shopping

Sandra absently played with her fingers feeling a little bored as the elevator transported them away from the self contained forest. As she dangled their in the baby safety harness she felt a sense of loss leaving the dog bird thing behind. She was curious to know what it was, but would have to wait until they got back to their quarters to ask Anya. Anya had certainly left in a hurry, Sandra sucked on her pacifier thoughtfully as the lift came to a halt and Anya stepped out onto the shopping plaza.

It was a very clean looking plaza with trees in large pot plants dotted around the area. All the buildings looked like white washed stone, but the shops had bright window displays. She could smell food wafting from a few of the buildings and the sound of amicable chatter and bartering filled the area, It felt light and airy despite the fact that the plaza was thronged with people. Sandra looked up towards the ceiling and was surprised to see sky. Blue with the occasional wispy cloud floating past. It couldn’t be real, they were on a ship, or so she had been told. The fake sky though was very realistic...very realistic indeed.

There was a large plaque in front of them which looked like a map of the area, but there was so much information on the board, pictures and symbols scrolled digitally across it, and it kept changing like someone was flicking over the TV channel every 30 seconds It was hard for Sandra to comprehend what it was she was actually looking at. It resembled modern art more than a public information board. Not being able to read or communicate was seriously getting Sandra down. She sighed a little and Anya must have felt the child’s movement because she ruffled Sandra’s hair.

"Sandy this is where everyone comes to get things that they need or want. I want to take you some place I know my little baby will enjoy"

Sandra still cringed when she was referred to as a baby, She was 28 not a two year old, or however old she was now. She’d find a way to get back to being her normal self...some how.

Anya was walking happily down the centre of the plaza. A few people stopped to wave or shout a hello from a shop doorway as she passed them, everyone seemed to friendly. Sandra smiled, she could sense that this community was a strong one.

They passed what looked like a green grocers and a large busty woman popped her head round the shop doorway.

"Anya! Hey come over her will ya, I wanna take a look at your new bundle of joy!"

Anya changed direction and moved inside the shop. Sandra goggled at all the different things on the shelves and racks dotted around the room. Exotic fruits and vegetables the likes of which she had never seen. One shelf seemed to sport what looked like pineapples except that they were completely red in colour and the leaves every so often shook with a slight jingling noise, almost like wind chimes. Amazing. Sandras mouth had fallen open in awe and her dummy fell to the ground. Anya stooped and picked it up. She was brought out of her revere when the large woman cackled heartily. Sandra hadn’t been paying the slightest bit of attention to the conversation she had been so caught up in the produce on the shelves. Alarmed suddenly at being poked in the tummy by the fat ladys index finger.

"She’s much smaller than I expected, still suppose that means she probably doesn’t eat that much right?"

Again another cackle spewed from the woman. Sandra looked up at the lady, her hair was grey and pulled back into a bun although scraggly bits of hair had now escaped, coupled with the large Owl like glasses perched on the end of the womans nose, she looked like a crazy lady. She was bordering on obese and wore a loose fitting silver and brown dress that came all the way to the floor hiding the majority of her bulk.

Anya was speaking now,

".....Actually now that you mention it Moira , it is probably time for her to feed, Would it be okay if I used your room out back, I need some place quiet."

Moira nodded enthusiastically,

"knock yourself out darling, wouldn’t want the little pipsqueak bawling all my customers away because she’s hungry now would I. Here you can have this too."

Moira grabbed a vegetable, or was it a fruit? from one of the shelves and passed it to Anya. It resembled a cucumber in shape but had the furry brown covering of a kiwi fruit. Anya grinned.

"Hey thanks, what do I owe you for it?"

"Don’t be silly, its free, after all you BOTH need to keep your strength up right? Think of it as my contribution to the greater good."

With that Moira shooed Anya out towards the back of the shop.

Anya threw the fruit up into the air and caught it as she walked the short corridor to the room she was searching for. Pushing open the door and closing it gently behind her she turned and walked further into the room, It had a desk with a large black chair positioned behind it. In one corner it had a brown soft sofa with a reading table and lamp next to a large bookcase stuffed haphazardly full of what looked like books. Anya headed for the sofa placing the fruit on the table and pulling Sandra out of the harness as she did so. She settled down on the sofa and gently nestled Sandra in her lap. Sandra looked up at her carer as Anya undid the top button of the blouse she wore. It was pretty warm in here, Sandra guessed Anya must be too warm, but Anya continued to unbutton her blouse until her plain white bra was exposed. A maternity bra. Sandras eyes widened in horror.

"No. i’m sorry but if you’re planning on doing what I think you’re doing you can count me right out"

Sandra shook her head violently from side to side. She wasn’t sucking on any nipples. Anya looked down at her baby as she unfastened the catch on her maternity bra.

"Now come on sweetie, I know you must be hungry. you have to eat or you’ll get ill, you want to be big enough to walk don’t you? It’s not like you haven’t tasted it before, you drank it quick enough earlier."

Sandra felt sick. She thought she had been drinking baby bottle formula earlier, it was now apparent it had been expressed breast milk. Anya lifted Sandra to her breast, the nipple a few centimetres from Sandras mouth. Sandra shook her head again determined that she wasn’t going to do this, but Sandras internal baby urges overpowered her again and she quickly and successfully latched on and began to suckle.

"That’s a relief, you looked like you were going to be a stubborn little baby for a second there." Anya cooed as Sandra nursed. "It’s really important you get nutrients from me, you may have noticed you’re a little bit tired and probably light headed and that’s because our air has a higher concentration of nitrogen than you’re used to. Taking milk from me will help you adapt to that, it’ll strengthen the bond between us too, so hopefully later outings like this one i’ll be able to hook into your thoughts and be able to tell what you need. I’ll be glad when I can do that. I’m sorry, you must feel so trapped right now."

Sandra listened to this as she gulped down the creamy fluid, she hadn’t realised how hungry she had been and despite the fact she was mortified by her situation, the closeness to Anya, the way Anya smelt had Sandra in a contented daze. She felt protected and safe. Sandra felt....loved. She stopped suckling. Loved. Yes! That’s exactly how she felt and she tingled with pleasure from the realisation of it. When was the last time she had felt like this? Sandra racked her brain, and failed to come up with a comparison.

She latched back on and fed until she was full, her big blue eyes gazing up into Anyas deep brown loving ones. Her eyelids became heavy as Anya extracted her nipple and attached the hook back on the maternity bra. Dabbing a bit of drooled milk from Sandra’s slightly open mouth Anya smiled as she popped the dummy back in. When she spoke it was in a hushed whisper as she could tell Sandra was now fast approaching sleep.

"Whose a good tiredly little girl, all filled up for mummy, "

It had been a slip of the tongue and Anya felt strange for even calling herself mummy. Sandra in her dozing state mumbled some incoherent baby babble, but Anya was sure she’d heard Sandra say "Mama" in amongst the baby babble.

Tears stung Anya’s eyes and she blinked them back. Sandra was just a tiny image of perfection, just like her previous child had been. Lynn had been adorable and about Sandras age when the disease had claimed her. The disease wreaked havoc on the young and the old alike, the population was dwindling as more and more young children were claimed by the disease, fewer citizens reached adulthood. The problem was getting beyond all hope. But in that first year with Lynn, Anya had been adamant that Lynn would be different, Lynn would escape the disease. Lynn would be hers forever. Sadly Lynn wasn’t special, Lynn wasn’t spared and from the day of her daughters death Anya vowed to do everything in her power to help fix the problem. Who’d have guessed six years later she’d be the one raising potentially her race’s last hope. She looked down at the sleeping Sandra, gently she stroked some of Sandras mousey blond hair out of her eyes, and whispered.

"you really have no idea just how incredibly important you are."

***********

An hour passed in that room. That room where only She and Sandra existed. Anya felt incredibly content and at peace within herself as she watched her child sleep. At some point during the hour Sandra had messed herself but Anya had changed her nappy and Sandra had not even woke up during the change. She’d brought a second outfit in the changing bag with her so had taken the opportunity to put her baby in the new outfit. A light yellow denim pair of overalls they had a green monster with a big grin on the front pocket and the words ’Little monster’ written in red. Underneath the overalls was a white onesie. The outfit came with a matching sun hat that was yellow and had "rawr" embroidered onto it. Anya grinned broadly. She could dress Sandra in a sack and she’d still look adorable.

Sandras eyes fluttered sleepily open and she looked up at her mummy, confused she mentally corrected her thoughts. Carer. Not Mummy. She looked back up at Anya. Mummy. Sandra felt odd yet the connection felt right. Carer felt like someone impersonal doing a job, who would clock off at night and go home. Anya was so much more to her than that. Sandra, loved her. that conclusion hit her like a tonne of bricks. She rubbed at her eyes and her movement alerted Anya to the fact that she was awake.

"Hi there Sandy, did you sleep good?"

Anya cooed happily at her little one. Sandra just nodded, hesitantly and feeling foolish she opened her mouth

"Ma...Ma?"

for a second Anya looked shocked, then her shock expression melted into one of pure unconditional love. She lifted Sandra from her sleeping position so that her head was now resting on Anyas shoulder, Anyas long wavy brown hair flowed around Sandra and she giggled as it tickled her face.

"oh Sandy. Yes. I can be your mummy if you would like. I would like that very much. You’re such a lovely little girl, I’ll take care of you forever"

Sandra felt elated. The words had just felt right, and she felt her heart just overflowing with happiness and love, then all of a sudden those feelings became distorted and twisted she suddenly felt strange, the feeling was almost like being drunk, she felt disconnected with her body and light headed. But she had been able to communicate! At last, she smiled and the last thing she remembered was Anya suddenly looking very worried. She could hear Anya calling her, as if she was very far away. "Sandddddyyyy?" Then, Sandra passed out.