Unmedicated By Eddie D. Moore

The colony ship left Sol, and their home sun became a dwindling speck of light among the other stars. They believed themselves prepared and ready for the challenges of taming a new world. A large portion of the knowledge of mankind occupied the computer’s memory banks, and their cargo holds stored thousands of seeds to produce food and medicines that would undoubtedly be needed. The twenty-year journey provided ample time for education and training. It wasn’t until the year after they landed that they realized how unprepared they were.

One act of suicidal sabotage the day after landing destroyed decades of planning and preparation. No one ever discovered why Tristan, a second level maintenance technician, decided to kill himself. Many believed that he was depressed and that he regretted leaving Earth. This might explain why he decided to set fire to the ship that brought him to Pesotum. The resulting fire cost the colony eight colonists, the majority of their stored seeds, all the data held in the computers, and their ability to contact Earth.

The data loss set the colony back technologically decades and even if they managed to repair the communication system, it would not have been a source of immediate help since it would take decades for Earth to send any assistance. The colonists were left with no other choice but to find a way to survive without the knowledge they had counted on stored in the ships computers. They found plenty of indigenous fruits, vegetables, and wild life to supplement their diet, although, much of it was an acquired taste. The colony would survive, but they soon discovered that replacing their lost equipment and technology would take generations.

Tyler and Iola met on the colony ship when they were both fifteen. The crew of the CS Virgil gathered in the cafeteria to celebrate crossing the heliopause and officially leaving the solar system. Tyler saw Iola for the first time while she was sitting with her parents. She took his breath away, and he couldn’t take his eyes off her. One moment he was laughing with a couple friends, and the next he was left standing alone while they jostled through the crowd searching for better seats. A large screen showed the ship’s distance from Earth, and the countdown above it quickly neared zero as they approached the edge of the solar system. Everyone watched the clock and in unison shouted the final seconds of the countdown. Every eye in the room was on the screen but Tyler’s. He only had eyes for Iola’s smile while she shouted the countdown with her family.

It took a full two weeks for Tyler to work up the courage just to talk to Iola, and he worried that he might actually swallow his tongue before managing to spit out the words and ask her to one of the scheduled movie nights. After that first awkward night, they became inseparable. Captain Starling married them six years later, at Tyler’s request, in the very spot he first saw Iola. The next few years were picture perfect and pure joy for the new couple. Their first child was two years old before Iola showed the first symptoms of bipolar disorder.

Her condition was diagnosed early, and the medications easily corrected the balance of neurotransmitters in Iola’s brain. Their life continued normally until they suffered the loss of the ship.  Without the ability to produce psychotropic medications, the colonist had to develop new ways of dealing with mental disorders. Teaching coping skills and educating those in the colony was their only recourse, short of creating an insane asylum reminiscent of the early eighteen hundreds. They learned to avoid triggers, to listen – but verify information, and they developed an understanding for the limitations of others’.

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At the age of 63, Tyler walked with a pronounced limp, and he watched the people of Pesotum hustle about their daily routines as he hobbled along the street. The colony had not only survived, it had slowly grown over the years. The gaps in technology left an odd mix of modern and ancient engineering wherever you looked.

Tyler waited at an intersection for a cart to pass that was being pulled by a team of equans, Pesotum’s native version of a horse. The driver was talking to someone with his hand held communicator, and he rode through the intersection without even glancing at Tyler.

The ground under Tyler’s feet was packed as hard as concrete by the daily traffic in and out of the small city. He wistfully thought about a time that the rains had left the roads impassable. He stopped in front of a large wood building with a small sign above the door that read, Rosalia’s Assisted Living. He sighed before pulling open the door and going inside.

As he approached the large doors to the west wing, the nurse on duty, Tammy, greeted him. “Good evening, Mr. Dewitt.” She glanced about to ensure that their conversation was private and lowered her voice. “I wanted to warn you, before you went in, that your wife is in rare form today.”

Tyler leaned on the nurse’s counter to take some weight off his leg. He was somewhat amused by the nurse’s concern. He, after all, had dealt with his wife’s moods for over twenty-five years, and he replied with just a touch of mockery, “Really?”

Not catching the sarcasm, the nurse lowered her voice even farther before continuing. “Yes. She has had nothing nice to say to anyone all day and she cursed out Jamie for touching her knickknacks when she dusted today.”

Tyler offered her a faint smile, “Don’t worry yourself too much, Tammy. If Jamie had not touched the knickknacks she would have been cursed out for not dusting properly. It has been twenty-five years since we lost the ability to make the medication she needs, and no one knows her better than I do. Don’t forget, she has only been here for a few months. It will take her time to adjust. I know how to handle her moods, but thanks for the warning. She is after all bat-shit crazy.” Even after the emotional roller coaster of the past two decades, it stung Tyler’s heart to call Iola crazy, and he regretted his words as soon as they fell out of his mouth. Without further conversation, he pushed open a door and slipped into the west wing.

Iola smiled when Tyler walked through the door, raised her cheek to accept a kiss, and then began complaining before he could sit down. “The people here are all mean to me when you are gone.”

Tyler raised an eyebrow with feigned surprise, “Well, tell me about it, and I will have a few choice words with them before I leave.”

Iola’s eyes sparkled when she saw that Tyler was willing to listen to her, but Tyler knew he really had no choice. Iola always spoke what was on her mind even if those thoughts were often harsh and misguided. “You should see the looks they give me when I ask for any help – like I inconvenienced them. They go through all my things – like I’m not even here. I’m so tired of being disrespected. If I didn’t watch them, they would have stolen half my bric-a-brac by now. In fact, that bluebird you gave me has been missing for weeks.”

Iola waved her hand toward the shelves holding dozens of hand carvings that Tyler had made her over the years. She rarely parted with one, but on a really good day she might offer one to their granddaughter, Kelly. Their daughter, Janice, usually declined the offer on Kelly’s behalf.

Tyler knew correcting Iola would be in vain, but he tried anyway. “Dear, you gave the bluebird to Kelly.” He knew immediately by the way she drew in her arms that she was not going to admit her error.

“I did not. If you see her with my bluebird, you tell the little thief to bring it back. She is turning out to be just like her father. He was always lazy and wanted everything handed to him. You remember how he constantly shoved the poor kid off on me or our daughter while he ran all over town doing god knows what, and then he put the poor kid to work as soon as she could walk.”

Tyler thought back to when Janice and her husband, Nick, had temporally come to live with them. Nick never seemed to do anything right in Iola’s eyes. If he worked long hours, Iola felt like he neglected their daughter and expected too much of her. If he brought Janice to work with him and left Kelly with her, Iola would claim that he thought of her as nothing but a babysitter. Once Kelly was old enough to help or at least keep herself busy, Nick, Janice and Kelly worked together as a family to get away from Iola’s near daily rants of disrespect. Tyler had never found a way to change Iola’s perception of Nick, though he had tried many times over the years..

An orderly gave a light knock at the door, stepped inside and placed their dinner on the table. Iola grumbled that he was late, swore that they often did not give her lunch, and claimed that they would probably not feed her dinner if Tyler didn’t visit in the evenings. Tyler winked at the orderly and lightly chided him about his wife’s dietary needs.

Tyler had found that at times he could lighten Iola’s mood with good news or a fond memory. The only other thing that helped was sleep. After resting, she would often wake up a little more sociable. He had news this evening that he hoped would do the trick.

When they finished eating, Tyler gathered the plates and trays, making room on the table hoping for a card game, and he gave Iola a big smile and hoped that it would be contagious. “I found out this morning that Janice is pregnant again. It will not be long before we are grandparents again!”

Tyler placed a hand on top of Iola’s praying for a positive response.

A long moment passed, while Iola considered the news. “This one will probably be a boy,” Tyler’s hopes grew that her mood may be swayed, “and a lying jerk like his father.”

His heart fell at her reply and he released his breath slowly. He had really expected the news would be enough to change her frame of mind. He pulled a small bottle from his jacket pocket, showed it to Iola, and poured some of the contents into her glass. “You look tired tonight. Maybe we should both make an early night of it. Oh, that peargo tree we planted is loaded with fruit this year.”

Iola emptied the glass and smiled, “I still think that peargo is the best native fruit we have found. Bring me a couple of them tomorrow.” Iola covered her mouth and yawned. “You’re right; I’m rather tired. I’ve had enough drama for the day.”

Tyler gave Iola a kiss and smiled thinking about that beautiful girl he fell in love with almost fifty years ago. Maybe his next attempt at producing a mood stabilizer will work. “I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon. Good night dear. I love you.”

“Good night. I love you, too.”

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Eddie D. Moore travels extensively for work, and he spends much of that time listening to audio books. The rest of the time is spent dreaming of stories to write and he spends the weekends writing them. His stories have been published by Jouth Webzine, The Flash Fiction Press, Every Day Fiction, Theme of Absence, Devolution Z, and Fantasia Divinity Magazine. Find more on his blog: https://eddiedmoore.wordpress.com/.