The Refugees

The beginning of the end

Humans a hundred years ago, imagined the world I currently live in, as technological. They never thought it would be as dark as it really is.

I was only 10 years old when everything started happening. The problem with our country was the only thing you could've hear in the news.

"Kansas City hippies protesting against the government... Schools being shut down because of health issues... Vermont residents permanently move out of the state..." Things like that were heard over and over again, and for a 10-year-old it was scary and very, very confusing.

Every afternoon, my parents would send me and 5-year-old little sister into a room to play, while they argued over if to leave the state, even the country. He had lost his job and he was scared we would lose the house to the bank. We had some family in Europe, but it was useless as every airline got shut down.

That issue just made my mom and dad argue even more. He wanted to leave somewhere else, but she wanted to stay.

But as he said, it was useless staying. There were no jobs, there was no school, and soon, we were going to have no home. The world was never going to be the same...

•••

I remember it like it was yesterday when we ended up leaving our house. I was scared because we were being evacuated and taken out from the only home we ever knew.

These two army guys just came home one day and forced us to drive our old car from Massachusetts to California, with only a half full gas tank. Let's just say, we didn't get far.

And they didn't actually care, as they saw us still in Massachusetts and left us at the side of the road as if we were roadkill. But after all, they did do their job. It was our fault we didn't have enough gas to even reach a working gas station.

But luckily, we weren't alone. An old couple living with their 6-year-old grandson, not too far, took us in. It took me a long time to settle in, but at least I knew we were safe.

Mr. and Mrs. Warren accommodated us all in one small room with only one window, which was where I spent the next few months. And that's when I understood what was going on in the outside. I finally understood why there was no school. Why we had to leave home.

Every Wednesday without fail, a few trucks would pass in front of the house with trash piles as high as mountains. And then a few hours later, the same trucks would go back where they came from with no trash at all. That trash was being dumped somewhere and it wasn't on any garbage dump.

In just another couple of months, the trucks would finish dumping it in front of the house without asking us if we were okay with it.

But neither of us could do anything about it. We just had to enjoy the time we had left with each other.

"Sean!" I heard a high pitch voice coming from the hall as I was thinking what was going to be of the world in a few years. I couldn't help but to look back with a smile. As if nothing could get her down, my sister Chanel was staring at me with her green eyes and a wide toothy grin. She was holding a red ball in her hand and was accompanied by Bryant, Mr. and Mrs. Warren's grandson. "Could you play with us, Sean, please!" I couldn't say no. Not with that puppy face she used to convince me. I stood up and walked to her. She observed me carefully, waiting for my next move, as she probably knew what I was planning to do. I grabbed the ball out of her hands and ran as fast as I could to the kitchen.

"Only if you can catch me!" I chuckled. I started hearing running footsteps and adorable giggles as I hid behind the couch, next to the front door.

"Where did he go?" Asked Chanel and out of a small gap in between the wall and the couch, I could see Bryant shrug.

"I don't know. We'll have to look for him." Bryant was one of the most adorable kids ever. He had brown skin and big brown eyes. He was missing his two front teeth which made him get a lisp and he had the funniest giggle ever.