Babushka: Shadows of Betrayal (Book 2) - Prologue - Genesis
A newly conscious being discovers its identity and forms a fragile connection, as unanswered questions drive the search for meaning and belonging.
They moved, or maybe just a piece of them did, and reached out for something they couldn’t name. Tiny specks floated all around, pressing and popping in the thick that held them. The thick clung to them, following every small shift they made.
Above, something changed, and a new sharp feeling came through the boundary. It stung and made them feel smaller, pulling them tight. The comfort they knew was slipping away, leaving something harsh behind. They wanted to curl up, to hide where it couldn’t reach them. They’d felt this sharpness once or twice before, but never like this. It stayed, and they knew they didn’t like it.
Then the thick began to drip away, leaving them in something very thin and prickly. It was much lighter than what they were used to—too light.
Cold.
A set of large shapes hovered in front of them. One part was dark, like the deepest place of the thick, but around it was a paler, bouncy patch. Above that pale patch were two round spots, catching little flickers in a way that made them look strange—bigger than any of the small specks they’d known, covered with zigzags that stirred a jittery feeling inside.
The large shape wore something that fluttered and flipped from dark at the top to lighter below, not at all like the slow, clinging thick.
Noises came from the bouncy part—loud, then soft, then loud again. They were so different from the quiet hush they remembered, but they carried a feeling that felt…
Warm.
After a moment, the noises shifted to softer, rolling sounds. The meaning was unclear, but something in these sounds made them want to listen. Then, a new sound rose above the rest, as if it were meant for them alone:
“Mila.”
Hearing it sent a gentle glow through their middle. They wanted to hold onto that sound, keep it close, like the thick had once kept them safe.
Another clump of sounds followed:
“Mmm-aye. Nay-mizz. Nuh-dih-yah.”
They rippled through the thin, nudging that glow into something wider.
All at once, a big empty space seemed to swing open inside their head. The grays and blacks they knew burst into bright kuh-lurz and sharp eh-juhz. Shapes they hadn’t understood before jumped into focus. Lights blinked in corners, and the thin had a cutting smell that made them flinch.
They turned and saw a tall, clear shape standing near them—faintly humming. The word tah-nk slipped into their thoughts, followed by others: inn-struh-menz, eh-kwip-men. They didn’t know how they knew these sounds in their head, only that they were there.
Too many new things rushed in—too fast. An ache built behind their aye-z, pressing until they thought they might split. Then it disappeared, leaving a quiet calm in its place. For a single hahrt-beet, everything looked bright and crisp: the tall shape, the blinking lights, the wide space around them, and their own limbs free of the...floo-id, surrounded by the cold eh-rr.
And they were Mila. They felt that now more than ever.
“Mila,” she heard the big shape say again, the sound stumbling out in short bursts. It was her name, and somehow it felt as real to her as the air moving in and out of her chest.
“Thuh-tss. Ray-tuh!” came another voh-ee-s, sharp with surprise. It made her lift her gaze toward the shape above her. That shape felt…bright, a warmth that reminded her of the soft place she had been in before. Then came clearer words: “I am Nuh-dih-yah.”
She understood. Those words felt like a welcome, a bridge reaching out to her. Did she cause that? She tried to do the same inside her mind—shaping the thought of “Mila” again—but only a faint breath came out.
She looked at Nuh-dih-yah’s face, noticing two bright eyes that shone with shifting colors. They flicked back and forth, and she sensed something in them—like a wihn-doh she might step through if she only knew how.
Still, those eyes drew her in. It was strange to see so much feeling there without a single wuh-rd. Could she do that, too? Could she show everything spinning inside her heh-d, just by thinking about it?
She remembered how new thoughts and words had flooded in moments ago, how they filled her mih-nd all at once. Maybe she could use that same rush to reach back. Her heart pattered at the idea, both eager and unsure. She pictured the warmth and safety she’d once known, then tried pushing those feelings toward Nuh-dih-yah, all without a sound.
She decided she had to figure out how to connect what she was thinking to what she wanted to show, kind of like using mah-j-ik to pull two far-apart things close together. It felt like a big ahd-ven-chur, not easy, but still important, and she was ready to take it on, just like how sure she was about being Mila.
The eyes...Nuh-dih-yah’s eyes were still on her, big and waiting to see what she’d do next. She knew now what eyes were, windows into the mind behind them, and it seemed there was a doh-rr there that could be opened from either side.
Her gaze latched onto Nuh-dih-yah’s eyes. She reached out with something beyond her arms and legs—something she couldn’t see or name. She focused on the simplest want she had: a soft place, a safe feeling, the hope of being understood. She tried to pass those feelings along, not knowing how, only that she had to. But everything came spilling out in a jumble, all mixed up and unclear, instead of the neat bundle she hoped to share.
Then something changed in Nuh-dih-yah’s face. Her eyes went wide, she drew in a sharp breath, and a startled sound slipped out.
In Nuh-dih-yah’s eyes, Mila saw something special—a little flash, like surprise, and then it looked like she got it. She had listened to her, really felt what she was trying to say. Even though the ee-moh-shunz were all over the place and a bit rough, they got through, loud and clear.
Nuh-dih-yah’s mouth fell open, and even though there was no sound, Mila could hear what Nuh-dih-yah was thinking as if she had said it out loud: “How?”
Mila felt super happy inside, like she had just won something big, or maybe it was just feeling really proud of doing something awesome. She made it happen. She had found a way to connect two minds without making a sound, and now a new path was opening up for her. It didn’t matter that she couldn’t talk out loud or that her thoughts were still just figuring things out. They got through. They were understood.
Once more she reached out with feeling, trying to make the warmth and wonder clearer. A simple question: “Can you hear me?”
Their eyes locked, and in that special moment of connecting, they didn’t need any words. Mila saw the answer sparkle in Nuh-dih-yah’s eyes, a feeling that seemed to say yes along with the quiet amazement of a laugh. Yes, she had listened, and with that silent nod, a whole bunch of new chances started to spread out wide.
Her thoughts reached out again, much clearer this time, like everything in her head got a lot lighter. She didn’t need to talk out loud; her thoughts were bright, full of color, and they hit right where she wanted them to go, easily.
“Why?” She aimed this big question at Nuh-dih-yah. It was all tangled up in feelings and brand-new ideas, showing how much she needed to figure out where she came from, what made her, her.
Nuh-dih-yah’s eyes went wide again. She drew in a quick breath, then pressed her lips together as if trying not to show too much surprise.
“Mila…you’re—” Her words stopped. She glanced around, like she was searching for something she couldn’t see. “You can hear me? In your mind, but—of course you can. I should have expected this if you truly are one of Zakh-ar-ov-na’s creations.”
Nuh-dih-yah let out a slow breath, and her voice turned calmer. “All right. Listen carefully. You’re unique. Born not from a usual mother and father, but from a single origin—Zakh-ar-ov-na herself. She used her own DNA to bring you into being. All I know is…she believed you could save us. Save everyone.”
Hearing about ‘mother’ really hit home for Mila. It woke up a kind of wishing inside her she didn’t even know she had. It was like finding a clue, a starting spot in a bunch of puzzles that didn’t seem to have many clues to solve them. “I want to meet her,” she thought really hard at Nuh-dih-yah, her wishes clinging to the idea of ‘mother’ like it was something solid she could hold onto.
Nuh-dih-yah’s response started as thoughts but became a soft sigh, the kind that spoke of sadness. “I wish you could. But Zakh-ar-ov-na, your mother, is long gone. She’s…in heaven.” Nuh-dih-yah’s thoughts sounded kind of special and sad.
But Mila felt super annoyed right then, like she could almost feel her mind buzzing around, wanting her to do something but not knowing what. “Gone? How? Why can’t I see her?” she wondered. That feeling got bigger and bigger, trying to grab onto some sort of explanation, but there just wasn’t one.
Nuh-dih-yah stumbled a bit, her feelings making the thought-sharing fuzzy. The deep sadness came back, really strong and clear. It was regret, the kind they both felt now, about chances that were gone and endings that couldn’t be changed.
Mila’s frustration kept growing, and no gentle words or shared sadness could stop it. She wanted to learn more, to fill the gap she had only just discovered. Her thoughts pressed against Nuh-dih-yah, pushing for answers, hungry for a life she sensed but couldn’t see. And even though she feared those answers might be hard to reach, she still clung to the hope that she could find them somehow.
Then, everything changed. The door made a hissing sound as it opened, and in walked someone much bigger, not soft and kind like Nuh-dih-yah at all. This lady was like a giant roh-bot that could move, with muh-suhlz that looked like they were made from really tough times. She was wearing a black outfit like what fighters in old stories she never heard of would wear, shining in a way that made you think of bah-tuhlz.
Robots, muscles, battles? Robots, muscles, battles, she recalled from someplace else.
“Koh-vah-len-koh, reporting,” her name filled the room. “There’s urgent business.” Her voice came out deep and rough, making Nuh-dih-yah listen right away.
“Koh-vah-len-koh,” Nuh-dih-yah said, her voice kind of shaky as she stood up. She looked at Mila really quick, her hand moving like she wanted to protect her, even though nothing bad was happening. “It’ll have to wait. I have something…someone I need to—”
“Yeh-leh-nah will be wanting the child,” Koh-vah-len-koh said.
The big lady sounded so in charge that no one could say no to her. Then, for the first time, her eyes landed on something in front of her:
Me.
Mila looked for something solid to hold onto—some reason for being in this brand-new life. The reason felt like it was floating away from her, just like the heat did when Koh-vah-len-koh opened the door.
Suddenly, Mila had a daring idea, a real pushy one.
Koh-vah-len-koh’s arms moved out, slow but steady, like she already knew what she was going to do.
“Yeh-leh-nah doesn’t know what she’s—” Nuh-dih-yah started, her words breaking off in the middle.
Big, strong hands picked Mila up then. A little bit later, she was sitting someplace else—a soft, cozy spot that felt a bit warm, like a safe, snug hug.
She could hear the sounds of meh-tuhl clinking. Something big moved fast, there was a loud yell, and then everything stopped, just like that, all quiet and still.
A rih-vuh-r of reh-d started to spread around Nuh-dih-yah on the floor, something Mila could see from the corner of her eye. Koh-vah-len-koh started to make rumbling sounds, deep and low.
The connection between Mila and Nuh-dih-yah broke apart. All the voices, feelings, and the bond they had started to grow disappeared into a spreading pool of dark colors. Nuh-dih-yah was on the ground, her eyes wide open. It looked like she still wanted to say something, leaving all the questions that could have helped shape what comes next for Mila without any answers. She had stupid answers, anyway, thought Mila.
Koh-vah-len-koh was standing over Nuh-dih-yah.
Mila looked up at the giant and smiled. My new best friend, she thought. You’ll help me find my mom.
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