The lab was a strange but interesting place to Riley. She saw several of the oddly colored flowers that she had seen in the garden here. Each blossom looked so delicate and beautiful in the bright light. So, they had been experiments. That explained why they had survived all the freezes. They were as tough as they were beautiful.
“Sally and I have been doing some work in the garden. We like to water the flowers. I think gardening is Sally’s favorite way to pass the time,” Riley said.
“Thanks for helping. But I use a special kind of water that’s been infused with minerals to help the plants grow faster. So, next time she wants to help, let me know,” said Jorden.
“Okay, I will.” Sally’s eyes glittered with delight as she looked around the small room. After wandering around, she sat down in a corner by a small, colorful tree. The tree had bright orange bark and leaves that were a deep crimson shade. “There was a big garden at the house she used to live in. I only saw it a few times, but I know she spent a lot of time there,” said Riley.
“It’s good to know that she likes gardening. I myself think it’s very relaxing,” said Mr. Jorden. Riley frowned. That wasn’t the word she would use to describe it. She didn’t find gardening fun or relaxing. But she still loved to do it. Why?
“Gardening is great. But it’s also hard. I don’t think I’m very good at it,” Riley admitted.
“Gardening will always be hard. You can’t control the outcome. Weather and temperature will always play a role in gardening and it’s a role you can’t control. I like to think of gardening as helping life do its thing. I’m not the one who makes the plants grow, but I help,” said Jorden. That was a nice way to think about it. Maybe that was what she liked about gardening. She got to watch something grow and change over time. That also explained why she got so upset when her flowers died. It was because it felt like she was losing a friend. The flowers didn’t just look nice. They had unique personalities to them. At least that was how it felt to Riley.
“You told me that Sally’s old caretaker was using her for a research project, right?” Jorden asked suddenly.
“I don’t know for sure. She only talked to me a handful of times and I never talked back. But that’s what it sounded like. She was very interested in the differences between Formas and humans. I’m not sure what she needed us for. I wish Sally could tell me. I have so many questions that she’ll never be able to answer.” Riley needed to work on her Spanish.
“Hm, well we might learn more and we might not. What matters is that you’re both free and safe,” said Jorden. That was true. Riley looked up at Jorden. He also seemed interested in the things that made humans and Forma different from each other. But he didn’t seem cruel. Riley hoped he wasn’t. But you could never tell with Formas. Riley hadn’t expected Sally’s old caretaker to be cruel. Evil, yes, but not cruel. She had been wrong. Anger filled Riley’s heart. Sally had only wanted to help her. She had been punished because of Riley.
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“What exactly do you write about, Mr. Jorden? Also, what made you want to help the humans in the first place? Most Forma just see us as animals.”
“That’s because most Forma are born into a web of lies. They don’t question the world around them and only a handful actually see humans. There are many things that led me to question the things I had been told,” Jorden said.
“Like what?” Riley pressed on.
“It was mostly the stories I had been told. The more history I read, the more I noticed patterns in what people wrote. I noticed how many unpleasant questions would be avoided or ignored,” he said. Sally had been mesmerized by the red tree, but she suddenly seemed to notice the change in Jorden’s voice. She sat up and looked at him.
“We came to Earth, and we saved the humans. That was what all the books said. There was no mention of what came before. I wanted to know about my past. I wanted to know the real history of the Forma. I did learn eventually. What I learned changed the way I saw both humans and Forma.” Riley leaned in closer. Her heart was racing. She had never cared to learn anything about the Forma. They were evil and she wanted them all to die. That was it. But now she did wonder. What were they exactly? They looked just like humans, but Riley knew they weren’t.
“We were shapeless creatures, waiting to be molded. We had more knowledge than we could ever need. But we had no identity and no sense of self. We just wandered the universe. We had no purpose. I learned this after getting my hands on some of the first known Forma writings. I found documents that most people have forgotten about. I even found some journal entries from Formas who had just arrived at Earth.” Jorden smiled. “Fun fact, Formas had never thought to document anything before coming to Earth.”
“Hm.” That kind of made sense to Riley.
“Anyway. They spoke of a great emptiness. Humans filled that void we had. Formas fell in love with their way of living and being. But admiration is a step away from envy. What you envy you seek to dominate.” This all sounded strange to little Riley. Formas envying humans? Impossible. Formas had everything. It was humans who should envy Formas. "We saved your people when their planet was dying. We saved the humans from becoming nothing. But they saved us from the nothing that we were.”
“So, what do you think about humans and Forma now?” Riley asked.
“I think we need each other.” That wasn’t the answer Riley was expecting. She wasn’t sure she liked it either. “But we can’t control each other. We need to learn to assist each other without dominating.” Riley didn’t know what to say. She turned to look at Sally, who had been distracted by another plant. But the Formas had done so much damage to the humans. They needed to pay. They had power and control over everything. Formas were evil. Well, except for Lisa. Lisa. The thought of her made Riley’s heart sink. Where was Lisa now? Was she still close? A sigh escaped Riley. Sally ran over to comfort her sister.
“Are you okay?” Jorden asked.
“Yeah, just hungry. We’re going to go have lunch now.”
“Alright.” Riley led Sally upstairs. Lisa would return before too much longer. Then they would all be together again. That was where they belonged.