Charlie stepped out of the charging chambers, distressed. It was almost opening time, and they, with all their efforts combined (though Jalquones refused to participate), they still couldn’t find Mialee. The only place left to look was the Decadent Facilities, and Charlie wasn't sure she was ready to go down there.
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The daycare was to open in a few minutes, and it seemed that Mialee was permanently gone. “But she can’t be.” Charlie told herself, “She has to be somewhere on the grounds…” Were the words she thoughtMartin had helped her look, but it was all the same futile, they could find nothing, and opening time was getting nearer and nearer.
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Charlie slowly walked up to the gate, exhausted. What was she to do? Nothing, there was nothing she could do. She opened the gates, closing the doors behind her, and found the others already on their podium. There was already a large crowd waiting for the daycare’s opening and very much impatient, so Charlie rushed over to her stand to begin her daily introduction.
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“Hello Everybody!” She said, joy false at every turn. “I’m Charlie, these are my friends, and my husband Martin,” She gestured toward each respectively, “And Mialee is… currently absent, so to speak.” The crowd was confused by this statement, and concern was spurring. “Ah, don’t worry, she’ll be back soon! That is, if we find her…” She muttered the last part to herself, before continuing on. “Anyways, I hereby welcome you, on this second day of summer, to The Village of Shapists!”
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The gates behind her opened, but Charlie stood there, lingering, watching people enter the village. Once there were only a few lingering beyond the gate, she entered, the gates still open behind her, to begin her day at this daycare.
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The diamond fountain, the central star of the park, stood gleaming at the centre, as teens stood around it, gossiping, and parents walking past it, leaving.
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She reminisced of the days the daycare had the Summer Stay program, where parents could leave their kids and pick them up and return whenever they wished for the duration of Summer. But the execs, even though they were handed the same money every year, decided they couldn’t afford it and closed it down.
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And it wasn't just that that they couldn't afford.
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“Hey Charlie…?” It was her husband, Martin, speaking to her. “H-have you seen any sign of Mialee?” Charlie looked at her husband, and it appeared he was taking this worse than expected. Though Charlie was by no means pleased by Mialee’s disappearance, she had hope she’d be found. Martin, however, was losing hope, and as his hope went down, so did his rationality, to the point he left a brownestone full of toddlers unattended.
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“No, but she should be right round the corner, we’ll find her!” Martin looked jittery and sad, but nodded. “Okay…” Charlie went to take Martin’s post with the toddlers so he could get a hold of himself and did so for the rest of the day, appreciating the solitude.
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She remembered the founding of the park- or daycare, whatever mess the executives had turned it into. She had powered on that day, her first thought being “Where am I?” And a voice responded, two at that. There was an eight pointed star standing ahead of her to her left, and a rosebud, ahead of her to her right. The brothers introduced themselves, smiling at her.
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“I’m Bryceon.” Said the eight pointed star.
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“And I’m Roskito.” Said the rosebud.
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And as memorable as that first memory was, it was the last time she had met with her creators in person, every other interaction was through some interface or a message sent between the two, of which hadn't happened since the second reset.
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Before Charlie knew it, closing time was occurring. Martin had arrived without her knowledge, and had been taking care of the babies on the upper floor, their parents of which had come to pick them up. She sighed, picking up the last baby remaining, the same child for the past few months. She walked toward the gates, and found its mother waiting, smiling thankfully.
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She handed the child to its mother, this time around, no words being exchanged. The mother left, waving as the door closed, Charlie waving back, staring longingly for a moment or two. She frowned, turning around, and stood there for a moment, watching the daycare’s centrepiece retract into the ground once again. The fountain left a few fading glimmers behind, shining in the setting sun.
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She walked toward the toddler brownstone, opened the door, and found Martin on the phone, a direct line to the executives. “Martin?” She said, and received a distressed glance from her husband. “But we need her back now!” He said, talking into the phone. Silence, as his frown deepened. “But- but-” Silence once again. And then a beep; the executives had hung up.
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Martin looked at Charlie, sullen. They stared at each other for a moment, and deciding they had no words to exchange, they took each other's hands, and walked back to their charging spots.
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Everyone else was already charging, just them left. With a look of hopeful desperation, they struck their poses, falling into the closest thing they had to sleep.
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