Things We Lost

Things We Got

Nathaniel:

We don't see things as they are. We see things through who we are.

I live on a planet called Malison, where living comfortably is easy and living happily is risky. Anything is possible here, yet nobody can ever accomplish anything.

As the bells rang across the country, the city celebrated. Parades marched down the street and fireworks lit up the sky. This was a very special day for the seventh member of the Zodiac family, who were basically royalty across the stars. That lucky little fourteen year old boy, running down the streets, was me.

Today was my birthday!

I had finally come of age to receive my part of the twelve pieces of the family mirror.

My name is Nathaniel Zodiac.

Today is the biggest day of my life.

I ran up and down the streets, gaping at the party that my father had thrown in my honor. I wiped my sweaty brown hair from my face as I continued to play. This was the only thing my father had ever done purely for me, it would probably be the last as well.

My big brother Azun chased after me, trying to keep me safe from the traffic on the roads. He was the only brother who actually cared for me.

"Thaniel!" Azun called after me. He was the only one who called me that. "Slow down!"

Azun was the third eldest of the children in our family. He wore a black suit with a silver tie. He had jet black hair that hung in his pale face a bit, and silver eyes. His eyes were his unique feature, something that each child got when they were born. I hadn't discovered my unique feature yet, but I hoped to find out soon. I really want to have white hair or rainbow eyes.

"Wouldn't want to lose him, that would such a disaster." My brother Luke sarcastically snaps at Azun as he runs after me.

"Oh Azun!" I squealed with joy. "Is this not the greatest day ever!"

I jumped onto the giant silver fountain that sprayed water out of a dragon's mouth. I walked along the smooth edges. This fountain was located in the centermost and busiest part of town, where there are shops along every corner, people yelling everywhere to buy their stuff. It's a crazy mess.

"I know Thaniel." Azun panted, not having as much energy as I had. "I still remember my big day and so will you, forever and ever."

"Although you day wasn't a fourth the size of mine!" Luke snapped again, we both ignored him like we always do.

I laughed, snorting like the child I was. What was there not to love in this city? Built from the ashes of our ancestors, here on Malison, everything is perfect.

Each building had a different design, there were skyscrapers to churches to coliseums. Some buildings were made of metal, others were created from wood and sticks. I gazed at houses made from clay and bricks as people yelled from the windows above down to the shoppers below.

The trumpets blew and the bells sounded, signaling the coronation. We were a few miles from the grand hall, located between us and our mansion of a house.

"Hurry Azun!" I grabbed his hands and dragged him down the road. "We are going to be late!"

Azun was not the type to stress in a situation like this. Quite unlike me, who would rather not go at all if I'm going to be late.