Beyond Sector 7

            Every night before I slept my mother would tell me stories of a great land, beyond Sector 7, filled with magical people. She’d describe hills sprinkled with small houses that were almost completely integrated in the curves of the hillsides. She spoke of vast prairies, deserts, flatlands, and plateaus. My favorite story spoke of the mountains that went on as far as the eye could see, broken only by the clouds up above. Surrounding the mountains were lush forests and a hearty valley with soil as black as a moonless night; that were filled plants never seen in my stony city. But it was the people of this place that captured my dreams long after the stories ended. They had smooth skin that was dark and almost a copper color, like my mother, with beautiful faces and strength radiating from their frames. But the thing that caught my imagination was their abilities. She called them Jintou and often hinted that we, as descendents of their magical blood, could harness their power; though she never confirmed it. The hints were enough information to let my imagination run wild and it made my dreams that much more vivid.

            Now years later with my father gone to the sea, my mother lost in the Great Fire of Oscuro I’ve been left alone in the ruins of a once beautiful city. No one knows who or what started the fires but most of our sector was built of wood and was quickly engulfed in flames. I returned from the edge of town to find my home ablaze, with my sick mother still inside. I’d miss her stories now more than ever.

            The sun hung low over the sector bouncing off of the broken shards of glass that littered the streets. The charred wood left a smell of dense smoke as a reminder of the flames that rushed through the entire city. It’s been two days and the fire's origins have yet to be discovered as pieces of families searched, many in vain, for their lost family members. I stood among them in an exhausted daze covered in the soot from the falling ashes. The cries of children rang out all over though they sounded like faint whispers to me. There was so much destruction and devastation. I had so many questions that whizzed through my head. How would we ever recover? Without my mother I was all alone. What am I supposed to do now? Where would I go?

            The next few days blurred as thick gray clouds blocked the sun making night and day hard to distinguish. The wounded lay on the streets and the entire city seemed to wander aimlessly. I had slept only a few hours since the fire so when I wandered past a familiar face I was almost certain it was a dream. If he hadn't called out to me I would have walked right past him.

            " Piali?" the worry in his voice made me look at him with my head cocked to the side.

            " Oh P! Are you injured? I saw the house, I... I... thought you were dead." I looked into the eyes of one of my closest childhood friends, Remil, his green eyes wide with relief. His clothes were tattered and soot covered like the rest of us, and even though his lean body showed no sign of injury his expression said otherwise.

            " Rem..." I began coarsely, realizing that these were the first words I'd spoken in days.

            "Rem she's gone." I felt a distantly familiar warm tinge on my face, I frowned in disbelief as my vision blurred. The tears flooded my vision of Remil and eventually cascaded down my face.

            "Piali," he wrapped his long arms around my shoulders pulling me into a gentle hug. I felt the strength leave my body and I collapsed into his arms realizing for the first time that my mother was actually gone. I wasn't there when she needed me even though she was always there for me. I cried until every ounce of my strength was drained from me. No one noticed my outburst and if they did they didn't pay much attention, most of them feeling the same sadness inside. Remil lead me to a collapsed roof that curved in a perfect position for us to sit or lie down. He cradled my now shaking body and rocked gently back and forth. The simple motion was soothing and soon calmed me enough to slip into a deep sleep for the first time in days. I woke up in the fetal position with my arms cradling my legs. Remil was sleeping behind me with his arms wrapped around my waist. I didn’t move; I didn’t want to disturb him. If he was as tired as I had been, he would need all the sleep he could get. I sat as still as possible listening to his breathing, wondering if his dreams were filled with the same anguished feelings that haunted my own. Every now and then he’d tighten his grip around my waist and mumble something. A smile danced at the edges of my mouth as I remembered that he was a sleep talker. I’m not sure how long I stayed awake counting the breaths that he took in my mind before I fell asleep again. But the next time I was woken by the high-pitched shrieking of an animal I’d never heard in the city before; an animal that would haunt my dreams from that day on.