Night

Hope

 A bright red glow was all she could see from as soon as she woke up to the moment she fell asleep. There were always the nights when, out of the darkness of her dreams, Elara saw the constant, painful light shining in her eyes, haunting her. The firey red was now burning her lungs and every bone in her body, but she couldn't stop now. Being exhausted was nothing compared to the disappointment if she couldn't make it in time to avoid another day with the light laughing at her.

Running was in her blood; she'd been running for as long as she could remember. From responsibilities, from confrontation, from people...but the game was fixed and everything would catch up to her. If, for once, she could win, she swore to the universe that she would never ask for anything again.

Then she turned the corner and felt her heart jump, but didn't dare lose her focus. The safety light on top of the door to the launch bay was green. As she made a final sprint to the door at the end of the hallway with renewed energy, she let herself think back to all of the times she'd dreamt of this moment. Since the first day she was taken from her home, she had wanted to go back. Even though there was little to none of it left in her memory, she knew that among all of the cold, grey facilities, power plants, and weapon factories, home was the only place she'd ever felt safe. She didn't belong on this space station and she was determined to rectify that mistake.

The green light grew brighter and brighter as Elara neared her prize. All of her failed attempts, every year of misery began to fade away. She felt—perhaps for the very first time—hope.

Elara tensed as a weight struck her side. For a brief moment, she thought she might be able to recover without losing time, but then she lost her balance and slipped on the metal floor. The ache in her muscles was now joined by the pain of impact. Without as much as a passing glance towards the person demanding an apology for the collision, Elara scrambled to her feet and continued to race down the hall. She soon saw, however, that the green which lit up the desaturated hallway was now replaced by a glow that was all too familiar.

Elara slowed down, her body accepting what her mind couldn't. She stood in the river of people and watched as her hope faded in the form of a closed door with a red light above it. After making sure that the image was seared into her mind once more, she turned and joined the slow-moving current that she had always fought so hard against.