If she kept her eyes closed, despite the burning pain, and shut off her ghastly surroundings, Tinga could still see Case.
She would be standing alone, all alone, in a world of fog. The sky above was dark, but not ominous, just as if it was a pleasant night for capturing fireflies in their street. Fog, though, was extremely thick and had settled down all around her, blocking her vision for miles. She wore her red leather jacket and blue jeans with her hair twisted down the back covering her scarf, just as she had been the night that she had walked out of her family's life. It didn't matter that she had come back to save them from the evil king, for by that time, their family was no more. Yet, she would always remember.
Case would emerge from the fog, running towards her with cheeks rosy from the chilling wind and hands covered in fuzzy green wool mittens that prickled Tinga's face as she crouched down and drew him close to her. His hair, nearly as black as hers, smelled sweetly of Johnson's baby shampoo-familiar and warm.
Then, he would pull away from his mother and look past her, as if unable to see her. "Mommy?" he'd call. "Mommy?"
She would kiss his ruddy forehead with tender lips and delicately brush his hair out of the way. "I'm right here, baby. Right here," she'd whisper with a voice sweet and gentle.
Slowly, Case would come to recognize her and would smile tentatively, unsure if Mommy was really going to stay this time. "Tell me a story," he'd plead, attempting to savor the moment in which they were together. Burying his chubby face inside of her warm leather, he'd cling to her, never wanting to leave her.
Tinga would smile slightly and comb his hair through her fingers. Just as she was about to speak, a man came out of the fog, abruptly stopping the story.
Unable to see her, Charlie would pick Case up from her protective arms, oblivious to his wife being there right beside him. Whispering to Case that everything would be okay, Charlie would pull his son closer to him as he rose to his feet. Yet, as he spoke, his voice was choked with the threat of sobs and tears covered his sorrowful eyes, no matter how hard he tried to be strong.
Tinga would reach out for him, trying to talk to him and plead that she was there right beside him. Charlie could not see her. She'd beg and cry, but Charlie had already withdrawn himself from her existence. Sometimes, he would look right at her, as if he really did see her, and she would touch the gentle slope in his rough cheek where he had not had time to shave, but always, he would never notice.
Eventually, he and Case would turn away, leaving Tinga alone, once again.
And slowly, the dream would end as it always did. Her jacket would fade away, along with the rest of her clothes, letting her hair unspiral behind her into waves. She would be left in black strips of fabric that were barely enough to maintain her motherly modesty. Then, the fog would lift, and Tinga would be left in a green liquid, eternally trapped.
When she opened her swollen eyes, she would see that her dream had merged into reality-but without Case or Charlie.
Only a single man sat a whir of computers in front of her, continually monitoring her life processes. He looked up, checking on her, and he briefly met Tinga's stinging eyes.
With a strangled sob, Tinga tried to turn away from him. From the memories. But, she found herself unable to do so and would fight in a pathetic attempt to free herself from the watery prison.
To alert the man at the control panel of the disturbance inside of the tank, tiny machines began to beep. Upon seeing Tinga's distress, he put sedatives into the liquid that drained into her and poisoned both her body and spirit.
Fighting the onset of sleepiness, Tinga raised a hand to her puffy face and brushed away a tear.
She could not continue to fight like this, trying to live her life with hope and bravery. It would kill her eventually and that, of all things, could not happen. Thinking of Case's sweet face, and Charlie's pained, but determined eyes, Tinga knew that she could no longer fight for them; she had to fight for herself. If she at least lived and stopped struggling, then perhaps she could reach them once again.
Then, taking a deep breath before she fell asleep, she let her mind escape, knowing that she would never hear the name Tinga or Mommy or even Penny again. From that time on, she would be known only as X5-656 and everything she had ever had would be gone. Everything including her family, love, and her freedom as a person. And so, tears streaming from her eyes, she gave herself up and let herself become one of them.
