Close Obsession

Chapter 3-2

Her eyes widened. “You have foods from Krina here?”

“Well, they’re not imported from Krina—they’re grown right here, in Lenkarda and our other Centers—but we did bring the seeds from our planet.”

“I’d love to try them,” Mia said earnestly. She was an adventurous eater and loved to taste new things. Thanks to her Polish heritage, Mia had grown up eating foods that were not normally part of the standard American diet, and she now had an open mind when it came to enjoying different cuisines.

Korum grinned, looking pleased by her enthusiasm. Taking a few things out of the refrigerator, he quickly chopped up some strange-looking plants and roots and put everything in a pot to cook.

“How do you usually cook here?” she asked him, watching his actions with fascination. “I can’t imagine you use all these appliances normally...”

“You’re right, we don’t. In fact, we usually don’t cook,” Korum said, taking out some red leafy plants that vaguely resembled lettuce. “Remember when I told you that our homes are intelligent?”

Mia nodded.

“Well, one of their functions is to always keep us supplied with food and to prepare it in whichever way we like it.”

Mia gasped, unable to contain her excitement. “Seriously? Your house makes food for you whenever you want?”

He smiled, amused at her reaction. “I can see how that would be appealing to you.” Mia’s cooking abilities were nonexistent—a fact that her mom frequently lamented—but she loved to eat.

“Appealing? It’s amazing!” Why would anyone bother cooking when they could just have their house make food for them?

“It’s all right,” he said with a slight shrug. “It’s convenient and it definitely saves a lot of time, but sometimes I get the urge to make something on my own, to see if I can improve on the recipes the house has in its database.”

“Is that how you learned to cook so well? By tinkering with those recipes?”

Korum nodded, his hands now massaging the red leafy vegetables in a way that made an orange substance emerge from the leaves. “More or less. Cooking is a fairly recent hobby of mine—I’ve only gotten into it since coming to Earth. And it’s really only in the last few months that I’ve learned to use the human appliances instead of just programming the house to tweak the recipes it uses.”

Mia stared at her lover in disbelief. He had an intelligent house that could make whatever food he wanted, and he was wasting time learning how to use the oven? Chopping vegetables using knives instead of utilizing their fancy technology? That was something she would never understand, Mia thought to herself. Not that she minded, of course; it was only because he had this strange hobby that she’d enjoyed so many delicious dishes back in New York.

He finished squeezing the orange liquid out of the red leaves, washed his hands, and took out a long yellow plant that looked a little like a zucchini with a shiny skin. Quickly cutting it up, he added it to the bowl where the red leaves were now swimming in the orange liquid, and then sprinkled some greenish powder over the entire dish. Placing the bowl in the middle of the table, he put a few spoonfuls of the bright-colored salad on Mia’s plate and a larger helping on his. The utensils that he used were unusual, resembling some type of tongs with one flat side and one curved side.

“Try it,” he invited, watching her expectantly.

A smaller version of the same utensils were lying next to Mia’s bowl. Mimicking his earlier actions, Mia grabbed some of the leaves with her tongs and took a bite. The flavor exploded on her tongue, a perfect combination of sweetness, saltiness, and a tangy bite of spiciness underneath. “Oh my God, this is so good. What is it?” she managed to say once she’d swallowed. Her mouth was almost tingling from the overabundance of sensations.

He smiled. “It’s a traditional dish from Rolert—the region of Krina where my family is from. It’s very easy to make, as you saw, but the trick is to squeeze the shari well—that’s the red plant—so it releases all the flavors and nutrients.”

Mia listened to his explanation while gobbling down the rest of her portion. As soon as she finished, she immediately reached for a second helping. He grinned and polished off the salad on his own plate.

“That was amazing. Thank you,” Mia said when the salad was completely gone.

“I’m glad you liked it,” Korum said, carrying away the dishes. Instead of putting them in the dishwasher, he simply held them near a wall. An opening appeared, and he placed them there. And just like that, the dirty dishes were gone.

Seeing the surprised look on Mia’s face, Korum explained, “I don’t like to clean up, so I am using some of our technology to take care of that part.”

“So the dishwasher is strictly decorative?”

“More or less. You can use it if you like, but you saw what I just did, right?”

Mia nodded.

“You can do the same thing if you’re here on your own. Or just leave the dishes on the table, and the house will take care of them after a few minutes.” Walking back to the table, he sat down across from her and smiled. “The main dish will be ready in a couple of minutes.”

“I can’t wait to try it,” Mia told him, smiling back in anticipation.

So far, being in Lenkarda was proving to be a fantastic experience in every way, and she felt an intense wave of happiness washing over her as she stared at Korum’s beautiful face. It was hard to believe that only this morning she thought he would be deported to Krina, and now she was sitting in his house in Costa Rica, conversing with him in Krinar language, and enjoying the food he’d prepared for her again.

As her mind drifted to the earlier events, her smile slowly faded. She could’ve lost him today, she realized again. If Korum was right about the Keiths’ intentions, then he could’ve been killed if the Resistance had succeeded. A sickening cold spread through her veins at the thought.

It hadn’t happened, she told herself, trying to focus on the present, but her mind kept wandering. Even though the rebels had failed, the fact was that she’d participated in the attack on the K colonies. And now they wanted her to testify, she remembered with a chill going down her spine, to go in front of their Council and the United Nations and talk about her involvement. Korum seemed to think that he had the power to protect her from the Council, but she didn’t understand how something like that worked.

“What’s the matter?” Korum asked, apparently puzzled by the suddenly serious expression on her face.

Mia took a deep breath. “Can we talk about what happened this morning?” she asked cautiously. “And about what happens now?”

His expression cooled slightly, the smile leaving his face. “Why?” he asked. “It’s over. I want us to move past it, Mia.”

She stared at him. “But—”

“But what?” he asked softly, his eyes narrowing. “Do you really want to talk again about how you betrayed me? How you nearly sent me to my death? I’m willing to let it go because I know you were scared and confused... but it’s really not in your best interests to keep bringing this up, my sweet.”

Mia inhaled sharply, trying to hold on to her temper. “I only did what I thought was best,” she said evenly. “And you knew everything all along—and you used me. And now it seems like your Council wants to use me too, so excuse me if I’m not quite ready to ‘move past it’.”

“The Council doesn’t have any say where you’re concerned, Mia,” Korum said, looking at her with an inscrutable amber gaze. “They can’t tell you what to do.”

“And why is that?” Mia asked, her heart beginning to beat faster. “Because I’m your charl?”

“Exactly.”

She stared at him in frustration. “And what does that mean? That I’m your charl?”

He regarded her levelly. “It means that you belong to me and they don’t have any jurisdiction over you.”

Before Mia could say anything else, he got up and walked over to the pot on the stove. Lifting the lid, he stirred the contents slightly, and an unusual but pleasant aroma filled the kitchen. “It’s almost ready,” he said, coming back to the table.

The two-second pause helped Mia gather her composure. “Korum,” she said softly, “I need to understand. You, me—I feel like I’m part of some game where I don’t know the rules. What exactly is a charl in your society?”

He sighed. “I told you, it’s our term for the humans that we’re in a relationship with.”

“So why doesn’t your Council have jurisdiction over charl? It’s like your government, right?”

“Yes, exactly,” Korum said, answering the second part of her question. “The Council is our governing body.”

“And you’re part of it?” Mia remembered John telling her something along those lines once.

“When I choose to be. I’m not a big fan of politics, but it’s unavoidable sometimes.”

“How can you choose something like that?” Mia asked, staring at him in astonishment. “Are you an elected official or does it work differently on Krina?”

“It’s very different for us.” Korum got up and walked over to the stove again. “We don’t have democracy the way you do. Who gets to be on the Council is determined based on our overall standing in society.”

Mia’s eyebrows rose. “What do you mean? Like you’re born into the upper class or something?”

He shook his head. “No, not born. Our standing is earned over time. It’s based largely on our achievements and how much we contribute to society. Our government is almost like an oligarchy of sorts—but based on meritocracy.”

This was fascinating and somewhat intimidating. Korum must’ve contributed to the K society quite a bit, to have as much influence as he did.

“So how many of you are on the Council?” Mia asked, watching him ladle the stew-like dish into bowls for both of them. It didn’t look as exotic as the shari salad, although she could see something purple among the reddish-brown vegetables.

“Currently, there are fifteen Council members. The number fluctuates over time—it’s been as high as twenty-three and as low as seven. About a third of us are here on Earth, and the others are still on Krina.”

Bringing the bowls back to the table, he sat down and moved one bowl toward her. “Go ahead,” he said, “I’m curious if you’ll like this also.”

Temporarily shelving her questions, Mia tried a spoonful of the stew. To her surprise, it tasted rich and savory, as though it contained some kind of meat products. “This is all plant-based?” she asked, and Korum nodded, observing her reaction with a smile. His expression was warm again.

Mia tried another bite. The texture was soft and a little mushy, almost as if she were eating potatoes, but the flavor was completely different. It reminded her a bit of Japanese food with its subtle seaweed-like undertones, just much more nuanced. After the second bite, Mia suddenly felt ravenous, her tastebuds craving more of the rich flavor, and she quickly downed the rest of the food on her plate. “This is really good,” she mumbled between the bites, and Korum nodded, finishing his own portion.

After they were finished, he repeated the process with the dishes, bringing them toward the wall and letting the house take care of cleaning them. Mia observed him carefully, taking note of his exact actions. It didn’t seem difficult, the technology even more intuitive than some of the newer iPads, and she hoped she remembered how to do it if she ever needed to clean the dishes herself.

“Thank you—that was delicious,” she said when Korum was done.

“You’re welcome,” he replied casually, sitting back down at the table. The look on his face was amused and slightly mocking, as if he suspected exactly what she was going to say next.

Mia’s temper began to simmer again, and she decided not to disappoint him. “So why are charl not within the Council’s jurisdiction?” she asked stubbornly.

“Because that’s the way it’s always been, Mia,” he replied softly. “Because humans are only accepted in Krinar society on those terms—as belonging to one of us. The only exception are those like Dana, who choose to leave their former life behind in order to become pleasure givers on Krina. So you see, my sweet, the Council cannot go to you directly. They have to go through me because, under Krinar law, you’re mine.”

Mia sucked in her breath, feeling like there was insufficient air in the room. “So I was right,” she said quietly. “The Resistance didn’t lie to me—you did.”

He leaned toward her, his eyes turning a deeper shade of gold. “They did lie to you. A charl is not a pleasure slave, or whatever it was they told you. It’s very rare for us to have a charl, and when we do—these are genuine and caring relationships.”

“How can a genuine and caring relationship exist when the two people are not considered equals in your society?” she asked bitterly.

He laughed, looking genuinely amused. “Those types of relationships exist all the time, Mia. Just look at your human society. Are you going to tell me that you don’t care for your children, your teenagers, or even your pets? Not to mention that your so-called developed nations have only recently accepted the idea of women’s rights, while many regions of Earth still don’t—”

“Is that what I am to you? A pet?” Her stomach churned as she waited for his answer.

He shook his head, looking at her intently. “No, Mia, you’re not a pet. You’re a twenty-one-year-old human girl who still has quite a bit of growing up to do. I wish I could leave you alone, so you could meet someone like that pretty boy from the club—”

He was talking about Peter, Mia realized, surprised.

“—but I can’t.”

Getting up, he walked around the table and sat down on a chair next to her. Raising his hand, he gently stroked her cheek while Mia stared at him, unable to look away from the golden heat in his eyes. “You’ve gotten under my skin,” he said softly, “and now I want you, in ways that I never thought were possible. I know you still have a lot to learn about me, about your new home here, and I will do my best to make things easier for you, to help you with your adjustment. But you need to stop worrying so much and fighting me at every turn. It can be very good between us, Mia... especially if you give it a chance.”