Chapter 10. Angry Tiny
The next morning, Tiny sat in her apartment thinking. She barely slept the entire night and felt exhausted. The news of her mother's death disturbed her more than she could have imagined. Even going out in the pub didn't change anything. Especially since there was no alcohol available.
Her mother seems to have been away from her for a long time. So much time had passed that little would have affected whether or not she was still alive. but it is not the truth. Her mother did die. Now Tiny is alone. There was her aunt, of course, but her mother was her immediate next of kin, and now she's dead.
However, this is not entirely correct. This awareness was stubbornly hidden in the depths of her thoughts, emerging more and more strongly. Tiny was inclined to comply with this realization. She wanted to continue hating his father, but her heart was no longer so firm. His presence last night, his obvious concern and his own sadness were real and she felt it. It seems her own grief has made her more sensitive to these things. Now, she felt uneasy inside. She needs to decide where she stands with him and whether she can accept him as her father. But she didn't know how.
She scratched her long hair in frustration. It's all too complicated and confusing. Maybe she shouldn't have boarded the ship so she wouldn't be in this situation. But these are useless thoughts. Fate has brought her here and this is irreversible. And who knows if things might have been worse if she hadn't been on the Republic.
She felt she had doubted herself long enough. It’s time to take control again and look to the future. She just had to decide how she wanted to do it. She only had a rough idea. First, she had to talk to Dr. Celia. A bond develops between her and Celia. If there was one person on this ship she could trust, it was Celia. She actually didn't know anyone else.
After half an hour of ultrasonic shower, she changed her clothes and combed her long black hair. She didn't think ahead about what to discuss with her doctor. This is obvious. As for how she'd start the topic, she'd figure it out naturally. She's not one to prepare words or conceive dialogue in advance. From her point of view, there was little point in doing so, since the conversation would often turn out completely differently than imagined.
Tiny walked to the mirror, took a serious look at herself, adjusted the collar of her shirt, and then set off to her destination. Although the ship is 305 meters long from bow to stern and has 23 decks, the corridors inside the ship are relatively short. The ship's elevator system not only operates vertically from top to bottom, but also moves laterally across the ship. Therefore, if you want to walk from one end of the deck to the other, taking the elevator is faster than walking.
The guest quarters where she currently lives is not far from the nearest elevator. And opposite the entrance to the medical station, there is also an entrance to the elevator. This way, medical care can be obtained more quickly in an emergency without having to walk long distances first. So, a few minutes later, she had arrived at the medical station.
Celia sat in her office, frowning at the screen. She is preparing a list of medical supplies for the scientists' medical station at the planet base. She has received corresponding requests and is checking to see what is available without unduly reducing the inventory on board.
"Hello, doctor." Tiny greeted politely and walked into the room.
The doctor looked at her as if she needed a moment to remember where she was because she had been so focused on her work. A smile appeared on her face when she recognized Tiny. "Hello, Tiny, nice to meet you. Please have a seat."
Tiny nodded and stepped closer gratefully. She pulled up a chair and sat at the table, face to face with Celia. "I heard you investigated my mother," she said.
A shadow of sadness came over Celia's face. "Yes, that's right. My sincere condolences."
"It's okay." Tini waved her hand. She doesn't like sympathy for her. In her opinion, it was redundant and useless. "Can you tell me that again? Captain Noah already told me, but that was only second-hand news."
Celia nodded. She figured if Tiny wanted to hear it again, there was nothing wrong with it. So she went on to tell the story of the missing ship and how the wreckage or anything like it had never been found. In the end, she said the spacecraft was classified as an accident victim and everyone on board was pronounced dead because it was believed that no one would survive the situation.
Tiny was silent briefly after Celia finished, and the doctor gave her time to digest what she had heard. Dealing with the death of a parent is not easy, especially when the cause of death was not natural. As a doctor, Celia knows this very well. Because she is not always able to save all patients. As a result, she often had to inform relatives of the death of their loved ones. This is an unpleasant aspect of her job.
"Did you know that Noah had a relationship with my mother?" Tiny then asked.
Celia looked at her confused. Of course, Noah had a relationship with Tiny's mother. Otherwise, how could Tiny exist? Then she realized what Tiny really wanted to know. Tini wanted to know if Celia knew about their relationship and if she noticed something at the time. "I'm sorry," the doctor said, "I know very little about this relationship. Their relationship happened a long time ago. I didn't know the captain at that time."
If she thought about it carefully, she couldn't have known him at that time. At that time, she was only 12 years old and still in school.
"Did he never mention her?" Tiny continued to ask, her expression becoming more gloomy. Apparently she suspected her father was hiding something.
"Didn't mention it to me," Celia replied. "But I don't know your father well enough to talk to him about his personal life. You might have to ask Mrs. Daisy about that. She's the captain's closest assistant on the ship."
Tiny nodded briefly, already knowing who she wanted to talk to next. But she's not done talking here yet. "Noah is definitely relieved that my mother passed away," she asserted, making her point clear. "This way, my mother no longer poses a threat and it is impossible to find him again."
Celia looked askance at her. Tiny's somber expression surprised her. "It has been twenty years and the captain has not seen her." She emphasized. "Nonetheless, he seemed hurt by the news. I have a feeling that your presence aroused his hope of seeing your mother again." She paused and looked at Tiny sternly. "And you don't seem that sad about your mother's death."
"So what," she replied coldly. "That won't bring her back."
"Yes, you're right. But there's no shame in feeling sad."
"I haven't seen my mother in years, and we're not that close," Tiny's voice sounded sharper than she expected. Then Tiny suddenly stood up. "Thank you, doctor." Before Celia could say anything, Tiny turned and left the room.
"There's nothing to thank," Celia said softly, even though Tiny had left the room. She looked at the young woman with worry on her face.
Tiny stormed through the cabin hallway. She couldn't say exactly what had suddenly set her off, but she could barely contain her rage. She now had such conflicting feelings that it was slowly driving her crazy. And anger became her outlet, as she always had. She must find answers and find out the truth about herself and her family's relationships, only then can she feel at peace again. Maybe talking to Daisy would make the situation clearer, but until then, she had to calm down, otherwise the conversation with Daisy would be just as short-lived. So she decided to go to the observation deck first. You can see the beautiful starry sky from there, and the deck should be relatively quiet at this time.
The observation deck is a dimly lit room that allows people to gaze out at the universe through large panoramic windows. The stars shone brightly in front of that huge window. Because there is no distortion from the planet's atmosphere, they really look like crystal gems scattered on black velvet. There is something peaceful about watching them shine. There was no rush, no anger. Only the constant light of eons allows changes to occur on timescales barely perceptible to humans.
Tiny looked away from the window, sat back on the chair, and watched uneasily. She felt like she was spiraling into emotional turmoil. She had to resolve this as quickly as possible and get off this damn ship as quickly as possible. Otherwise, she worries it will affect her mental health.
When Tiny felt herself calming down a bit, she stood up. During her time here, no one came in, so she remained alone. She looked at her watch and was surprised to see that she had been here for almost an hour. She didn't even feel that so much time had passed. But obviously, she does need this time to calm down.
Now, she decided to head to the computer room. If Daisy really is the captain's closest confidant, then she must be able to get some information from her. Although she realizes that Daisy can be biased and partial. Still, Tiny was sure that with skillful communication, she could get the truth out of her.
She entered the machine room through the main entrance. Immediately I encountered a problem. Ten engineers currently work here, four of them women. Tiny has no idea who Daisy is or what she looks like. Well, then she could only ask. So, she walked firmly towards the nearest person, a man, who was staring at a screen intently and inputting some commands.
"I'm sorry," she greeted him directly. "I'm looking for Alva Daisy."
The man was slightly startled, then cursed in a low voice and looked at Tiny with dark eyes. She immediately realized she had made a mistake. She distracted the man, and now something went wrong. But before she can speak, another woman (Daisy) with glowing red hair approaches her.
"Miss Tini?" she greeted Tini.
"Yes." The young Indian girl nodded.
"What are you doing here?" She sounded more curious than reproachful.
"I'm looking for Daisy," Tiny explained, now unsure if this was a good idea.
"That's me," Tiny said. "Please wait a moment." Then she turned to the man. "Are you okay?"
He looked at the data on the screen and breathed a sigh of relief. "It wasn't that bad, at first I thought it would be worse," he explained. "I can handle it."
Daisy nodded. "Very good." Then she looked at Tiny again. "are you looking for me?"
"I need to talk to you," Tiny said. There was something urgent about the way she spoke.
Of course Daisy knew about Tiny and the problems she had with her father. The captain had spoken to her. Therefore, Tiny looking for her now made her a little curious. She asked her to go to a small corner near the main entrance that served as a small office for her. While it's not a closed area, it's at least somewhat secluded. Then she looked expectantly at the young woman.
"I thought you could tell me something about Noah," Tiny began.
"Yes, I can," Daisy said surprised. Tiny had given her no indication before that she wanted to know her father better. "What do you want to know?"
Daisy frowned and thought for a while. "Yes, he told me," she said slowly. "I almost forgot, because it was a long time ago, and he was with your mother before he met me. But after you showed up, I remembered it again. However, the fact is that he did not leave you Mother, but the opposite.”
"That's not true," Tiny said angrily. But she quickly regained control of her emotions, hoping to stay calm.
Daisy pressed patiently, "That's what he told me. I have no reason to doubt it. I've known him long enough to know that he told the truth. Do you want to hear it now?"
Tiny gritted her teeth and nodded briefly.
Daisy then tells what she knows about Noah and Olive. They had a brief relationship, and Noah seemed very happy at the time. He feels unprecedented pressure to choose between Olive and his career. And when Olive suddenly disappears, he's faced with a dilemma of choice. Olive just left. He tried to find her and left many messages, but she never responded. Eventually he gave up, thinking she might already have someone else, so he set out on a new mission dejected.
Throughout the narration, Tiny maintained a cold expression, with only a hint of uneasiness in her eyes. She seemed unconvinced by the stories, but troubled by something uncertain inside, which Daisy noticed.
"When he learned of Olive's death yesterday, he was hit harder than he let on. And this was after he hadn't seen her for twenty years. This is what is called love, ” Daisy ended her narrative.
Tiny hesitated. She didn't want to hear this. What she wanted to hear was that he never wanted children. He never wanted her, so he disappeared. But who can guarantee that Daisy is telling the truth? Did Noah really tell her this? However, these narratives also seem to make sense. It is not completely fabricated and unconnected. And it fits what Celia said. But maybe everyone on this ship is complicit. Maybe it was a deception, a conspiracy against her. "Then why would my aunt tell me anything different?" she said angrily.
"You'll have to ask your aunt about that," Daisy defended herself. She neither knew Tiny's aunt nor understood the story she was telling. "But among sisters, there can also be jealousy and jealousy of one's partner. Was your mother close to your aunt?"
Tiny found it impossible to confirm this. At least she didn't remember seeing her mother and aunt together for any length of time. Although she had never realized this before, now that she thought about it, maybe her mother and aunt were deliberately avoiding each other.
Anger surged through her again, like poison. She felt used, cheated and betrayed. And she doesn't even know who's really behind it. But apparently, she was severely deceived by someone. Maybe even everyone. Her entire family history suddenly seemed to her like a swamp of lies and intrigue. Is anything really real? Who else told the truth to her?
Suddenly, "Are you sure that's what happened at that time?" She asked the chief engineer viciously.
"No, of course not." Daisy remained calm. "As I said, I didn't know Noah at that time. I only knew all this from his account."
"So everything could be a lie." For Tiny, this was already a definite fact.
"I can only reiterate again that I have no reason to doubt Noah's honesty. He has proven this to me over the past twenty years." Daisy explained patiently.
Tiny suddenly stood up. "I've heard enough of you defending his lies so adamantly," she said, quickly leaving the mechanical room. She could no longer maintain her previous calmness. Now she didn't care. She couldn't stand to hear any more about how amazing her father was. From everything she heard, her aunt had to be lying. However, she used to take care of Tiny while no one else was around. How could she be a liar?
She walked quickly back to her apartment, her steps rapid and rapid. She never wanted to see anyone again, these hypocritical people. She entered her residence angrily. If the door's mechanism hadn't opened and closed automatically, she would have slammed the door as hard as she could. But even so, this terrible spacecraft did not give her such a chance. She was so angry that she wanted to break everything. Unfortunately, however, she couldn't find anything suitable to destroy in the guest room. This made her even angrier. She gasped hard, then struck the wall hard with her flat palm. For a moment, pain shot through her body, making her anger subside a little. She looked at her palms, slowly turning red. She asked herself why she had to have such parents. Why couldn't she have parents who were married normally, lived in a normal house, and lived a completely normal life? Why did she have to suffer such a fate?
