Assisted Living by E. M. Foner

Author:E. M. Foner [Foner, E. M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Foner Books
Published: 2019-10-01T04:00:00+00:00

Don’t be a stranger, because I look funny.

You look weird to me, but let’s make friends.

I’ll give you a tissue, if your nose is runny.

I’m as scared as you, so let’s make friends.

Julie ran out of breath at the end and broke into a coughing fit.

“Oh, dear,” Rinka said. “Perhaps we should start with breathing techniques. Do you often find yourself short of breath when you’re talking?”

“I never really noticed, but I don’t usually talk all that much.”

“Here, let’s start with an exercise I do with the children. First, let’s stand up, shoulders relaxed, but no slouching,” the Drazen said, positioning herself next to Julie. “Look, we’re almost exactly the same height.”

“Unless you count your tentacle.”

“Oh, it goes up by itself sometimes when I’m having fun. Now, I’m going to put my hand on your abdomen and I want you to push it out when you inhale.”

“I don’t think my lungs go down that far.”

“That’s because you Humans rarely use your full lung capacity. Breathe in through your nose and exhale through your nose and your mouth. Try not to raise your shoulders when you inhale. The idea is to evacuate more space in your body so the air will get pulled all the way down there.”

“Am I moving your hand?”

“Yes, but try to do it with your breathing, not by pushing out your abdominal muscles.”

Julie spent almost two minutes breathing in and out next to the Drazen before she realized that the alien rarely seemed to take a breath unless she was demonstrating. “How come you’re not breathing with me?”

“Our metabolisms are more efficient than yours so we don’t need to breathe as often unless we’re expelling air by talking or singing. We actually have the best lung function of any of the oxygen-breathing species on the tunnel network. Our scientists claim it’s a direct result of our singing tradition.”

“How do you like teaching on Flower?” Julie asked, hoping to keep the Drazen girl talking in her musical voice.

“It’s a bit lonely, actually. The only other Drazen women on board are all married with children, and the Humans who I teach have lives of their own. When I lived on Union Station and went to the Open University, I never understood how students from your species could walk around talking to the Stryx librarian about anything and everything. But since I’ve been here, I probably talk with Flower more than anybody else.”

“You should come out with me sometime, I mean, if Drazens do things like that. I don’t really know any girls my age either.”

“I’d love to, and thank you for saying that, but I was probably your age before my parents let me out of the apartment on my own. We mature much slower than you do.”

“Really? How long do you live?”

“I’m embarrassed to tell you,” Rinka said and changed the subject. “Have you ever heard of solfège syllables?”

“Are they a Drazen thing?”

“They’re Human, though I’m not sure which of your many warring cultures they came from. I

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