Welcome to Gaia! ::

The morning began as any normal day off for Fiona.

Sleep in a few hours and do some spot cleaning around the house since neither she nor her sister were prone to making big messes. Once those were done she’d take a quick shower and get ready to go do a few errands before lunch; grocery shopping mostly but she also wanted to make a quick stop at the game store to see if there were any new expansions to Dominion, Settlers, or perhaps Pandemic that she didn’t have.

It was as she was leaving the local Starbucks with one of their Summer Breeze Lemonade Refreshers in hand that she felt her phone buzz in her back pocket.

Normally she’d look at it later, assuming it was her sister just wanting to chat on her lunch break or something, but she still had one hand free and Breana might want her to grab something before she got home. So, she swiped her thumb in a unique pattern across the nine dots to unlock her phone and clicked on the (1) next to the mailbox item.

“Oh,” she commented aloud when she saw it was a new conversation from a name she remembered but belonging to someone she hadn’t spoken to in several months.

Fiona took a moment to read through the text and found humor in the fact everything was typed in capitalized letters. “I suppose she’s not aware that could be perceived as yelling.” No matter, she knew that Sylive was not angry, just perhaps a bit excitable by her new skill.







There were two out that she thought Sylvie might like, three if she was ok reading subtitles. IF, the movie about Imaginary Friends with Ryan Reynolds, The Garfield Movie may also be a good pick, otherwise The Secret World of Arrietty by Studio Ghibli looked like it might have some beautiful animation.

Fiona chuckled as she read Sylvie’s reply.

True, some people preferred silence while they ate, and then converse after they’d finished their food. Fortunately, she was not one of them.



The benefits of having her own car meant she was more mobile than having to rely on public transportation since she felt certain Sylvie did not have a driver's license quite yet. Perhaps in the future it might be a goal of hers but should probably come after she’s navigated her way through other forms of technology first.

A small chuckle escaped her when Fiona opened the image. “Better than nothing,” she commented while opening her Google Maps app and entering the cross streets and city to figure out how long it’d take her to get there.







She looked at the string of texts which caused her to frown deeply. “My sister’s rubbing off on me.” Fiona pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed deeply. This one sentence per message was exactly what Breana often did which often annoyed her from all the consecutive notification dings, more irritating when she was at work and couldn’t respond immediately.

With her refresher in hand, she quickly made her way over to her car and once her phone was connected to Bluetooth she followed the navigation to where hopefully Sylvie was waiting.

After putting the car in park, Fiona opened the window. “The door’s unlocked. You can come on in.”

Her vehicle was a silver Toyota Camry with a grey fabric interior. Sure, there were a few stains on the floor from normal footwear, but otherwise, it was kept clean. It was not new, 2017 with a few light scratches on the paint and a dent on the back bumper from before she bought it. However, it has served her well, getting her to and from work with the only trouble being the gas price.

Once Sylvie was inside, Fiona offered her a kind smile. “So, what would you like to eat? Or… is there something you don’t particularly like so we can avoid those restaurants?”

Fiona pondered thoughtfully as she sifted through dinner ideas. “Hmm, I’m not too picky either,” she confessed, confident that she could always find something appealing on any menu. “However, I have been craving Greek for a while now.” A salad or gyro, maybe even a piece of baklava. “I think I know where to take you,” she added.

Once Kemi was inside, the door was shut, and her seatbelt was on, Fiona turned her blinker on and made a U-turn.

“It sounds like this Arthur has been doing a diligent job teaching you,” She chimed. Still room for learning more, like how to use Google Maps or a few other useful apps, Kemi was definitely learning. “The only mauvian I’ve met is Liryn, which, if you have a chance to meet him, he is really kind and helpful.” He’d been the one to upgrade both her and her sister’s senshi phones as well as made sure everything was up to date on them.



“I’ve been doing well though,” mostly anyway. “The place I work is getting busy. As the heat rises, more people visit the ice rink to get out of the sun and cool off.” It was also a requested destination for birthday parties which was always fun to help with.

“What about you, what else have you been up to these last few months?”

Fiona raised her hand to politely cover her widening smile.

“Technically my car wasn’t what spoke.” She pointed to her own phone that was on the center console. “My phone, and probably yours too,” depending on what type she had. Basic flip phone, no. But if she had a smart phone most definitely. “They have an artificial intelligence, AI, software in them. Google, Alexa or Siri are three of the main ones you might hear someone use.”

At the light ahead, Fiona made a left as instructed.

“Certain forms of technology have ways to connect, or speak, to one another through WiFi or Bluetooth. Right now, my car and phone are connected so the Google Maps AI voice comes through my car speakers so I don’t need to look down while I’m driving to see where we need to go.” Hard to really explain when she couldn’t show her how the two connected while driving but maybe later she could do a demonstration.

“It’s honestly a lot to learn, which will take time, so I’m sure that Arthur didn’t forget to mention it. The lesson probably hasn’t come up yet.” Honestly, she couldn’t imagine the difficulty Sylvie must be having trying to acclimate to Earth. She was aware of certain cultural difficulties immigrants faced when crossing the border or those who came with a student visa. But to be transported across the vast expanse of space, she wasn’t sure how Sylvie was able to remain so optimistic.

“I think that’s a good long-term goal to have,” her enthusiasm to learn was admirable but Sylvie’s eagerness to get behind the wheel felt a bit rushed. “Most people learn to ride a bike long before learning how to drive. As you continue to get out, explore, and learn from Arthur, I think you’ll become more comfortable and confident in day-to-day activities.”

“Unfortunately I’m only qualified to teach someone how to ice skate, but there are classes you can take that teach the rules of the road and allow you to practice in one of their vehicles.” Fiona gently declined the request. Unless it was an emergency, or her parents visiting, she did not allow anyone, including her twin, drive her car. Fortunately, Breana had her own which made this a non-issue. But she could not afford to repair it if it got damaged let alone replace it if something more dire were to happen.

No, this was sadly one thing she’d be unable to help Sylvie with.

“I remember when I was in high school, there was an automotive class. They taught students how to do vehicle maintenance and other similar skills. To this day I wish I would have taken it.” It was too easy to be taken advantage of at a repair shop or dealership when you walk in the door knowing nothing about how a car works or how to fix it.

As they approached the light, Fiona made a right as her app instructed.



“I think you’ll like the food here,” she commented as they rolled through one of the 4-way stops and proceeded to the following light before she started thinking about finding some parallel parking on the street.