Sparks

Chapter Four - The Way Things Are

When my eyes open, the room is dark. I check my datapad, which blinds me again, and the time is 07:43. Time to get up. The once-bright fire that I used last night is now reduced to a pile of ashes in the corner of the room. My fingers wander over to the radio and I turn it on, and a familiar upbeat song plays through the small room. Quenk jazz is my favorite.

Humming, I pull the blanket off of me and swing my legs out in front of me. Grabbing my bag, I pull out my sweater, which is a light shade of pink, and pull it on, over my undershirt. Most of everything I own, which isn't a lot, is usually with me. My base isn't my home. Home is where your family is, and I don't have any family left.

I need to go. I pull on and tie my brown boots. Most animals around here are nocturnal, so in the morning they're tired. As a result, they won't be able to get away from me. Kinda a sick way to think, but I, unfortunately, don't have much of a choice. This is the only talent I can use to make money.

Well, that's not necessarily true, but this is definitely a safer talent to use to earn a living.

I stand up and walk over to a large mirror piece that I found recently. I start to comb through my hair with my fingers and start knitting my long hair into a braid. If I had to cut it, I would. Beauty isn't a major concern of mine, but some of the other girls my age have beauty as their top priority. I don't see them too often. They go to the local academy to learn a basic education. After about six complete years of that, they can be transferred to go to a military or government academy. Jaina also goes there, so she's gone for most of the day. Because of that, we usually hang out when she's home and when she's off school at the end of the week.

But, when I do see those girls, they always stare at me instead of their nails and start whispering. I'm don't know what they're whispering about and I don't care. It feels negative. Fortunately, today Jaina's home, so I'll see her after I hunt. I finish and tie the end of my braid, but look at my face for a moment. My round face sticks out, with those cheeks that don't seem to shrink at all, like I'm still a baby. Then I look at my eyes. My mom always said that they reminded her of the trees since they are so green. But now, they seem dull. Tired even.

Feeling my braid on my shoulder, I stand up. Walking over to my weapons, I pull the strap of my quiver of arrows over my head and hanging on my shoulder. My brown bow reflects the light when I grab it and sling it on the same shoulder. Poaching is considered illegal on Raydonia, but the other talent I have is also considered illegal. So I don't care. I hunted most of the day yesterday and the only thing I could find was one stinking goat. I have to find bigger game today. Walking to the door, I then head outside.

~<-*->~

It doesn't take me long to get to the forest. Since I live on the edge of the city, I can get out of town without having to pass through the southern gates. There are four main entrances and exits in the Raydonian Capital City, one for each cardinal direction. I agree with Jaina. Stuff has gotten bad here, especially in the past six months. Now, curfew is 2000 hours sharp, ID cards, and the only information of other planets is propaganda-filled Holonet News. I'll tune into it every once in awhile, and "enjoy" Alton Kastle endlessly praising the Empire.

Raydonia has always been held tighter by the Empire, but not this tight. I don't why this is happening, but the Empire doesn't want us to know. That only makes my desire to know stronger.

I pass through the dark and damp alleyway, scaring away rats (ew). I can hear their little feet splashing through the puddles and the pit-pat of their steps on the concrete. It's still dark outside, although I can see rays of yellow in the green sky. I've been to a few other planets in my life, and seeing different sky colors, like blue, is strange and foreign to me.

I stop in front of a big trash dumpster. While it likely hasn't been used for years (I hope), it still retains that terrible smell. Luckily, it doesn't make me stink after being near it, which is great. I set my hands on the rusty surface of the lid and hoist myself onto it. It starts creaking when I stand up. "Please stay, please stay, I don't want to fall..." I whisper to the dumpster lid. It won't break, it's metal, but hey, you never know...

I reach up to the top of the fence, pull myself up, swing my legs around, jump down, and land on my feet in less than 15 seconds. Record time. It takes Jaina at least a minute, and she climbs down the fence. She always tells me that I'm inhuman when she finally touches the ground. It's not weird to me because I've always been able to do stuff like that. I'm flexible.

The grass is shiny with dew under my boots, and the trees are all around me, reaching into the sky. If I had to choose a home, this would be it. My safe place. No Empire, just me, the animals, nature, and sometimes Jaina when she's not busy. She loves it down here, with the flowers. Some of the beautiful glowing plants are still here, but the trees are gone around here. The Empire used them for fuel in this area, but other parts of the planet still have some forest. The only trees that are left here are oak, pine, and weeping willows, where I got my name from. My mother always loved those trees...

I head in the general direction of the river, straight ahead. The animals love it there, with the fresh water and plants. The river runs through a good part of Raydonia, through several cities. So in other words, perfect hunting grounds. I walk slowly and quietly, to not frighten away any possible game. I lift my bow from around my shoulder with my left hand and reach behind me with my other hand to grab a sharp-tipped arrow. I place the arrow on the bowstring and hold it there, ready to fire. I'm almost to the river, just a few more minutes...

Someone's behind me.

Then I hear something behind me. The sound of a twig snapping about a meter away. I stop. Only a heavy animal could snap a stick, and no other footsteps have fallen. That must mean it's getting ready to pounce, so it's either a wolf or a panther. Both are not nice, and I have scars to prove it. All my muscles are tense. Best case scenario, it's an animal. Worse case scenario, it's an Imperial who knows I'm poaching illegally...and in both cases, I have to move fast if I want to keep breathing in places other than prison.

Too late.

Something pounces on my back, knocking me to the ground as I let out a shriek.

I'm too young to die!

Then I hear the sound of familiar laughter from the person on my back. My fear vanishes with equal parts relief and annoyance. I flip onto my back and shout, "Jaina!"