Mara stood at the edge of her deck that looked out over the lake like the bow of a ship. The strange little girl was gone—for now. It was the most interaction she’d had with another human being in ages—literally ages—and she was tired.
“Any idea how she was able to find us, SID?” Mara asked.
<I’ve traced several energy signatures of unknown origin that appeared at the same time the cloaking device failed. The troubling thing is these signatures only seem to have appeared when the girl was present.>
“Anna couldn’t be the cause. Could she?” Mara asked.
<No. I did a complete scan. She’s nothing more than a healthy young girl with a life expectancy of 91.6 years. But the statistical odds that our cloaking device only malfunctioned in her presence are less than 0.000001.>
“Well, I guess we’ll find out more about her tomorrow.” Mara leaned against the railing and let her head drop.
<Are you sure about this, Mara?>
“You think I’m making a mistake?”
<Do you remember what we’re hiding from?>
“I know, SID. But this time feels different. I don’t know what it is,” Mara said.
<You sound tired.>
“I am. Maybe I’m tired of running. What’s the greater risk? Bringing her into my life or not. Trying to solve this on my own or not,” Mara said. “For now, let’s just see.”