The Sovereign Individuals

Chapter 1: Fragile Foundations

A huge seagull banged on a steel-framed window as if wanting to break into the peculiar building in the middle of the sea.

Martina screamed.

"Pinche pájaro! Es la tercera vez que me despiertas asÍ!"

The seagull, unfazed, remained perched on the railings outside her window. She wanted to kill it.

"You are my mortal enemy, stupid bird."

She grabbed her gold pocket watch. 9:18 am.

"Shit."

She took out a long, beige linen dress and put it on. No makeup. No shower. No bra. She put on her favorite running shoes, grabbed her phone, went out of the room and saw her family already having breakfast.

"I know, I know, it's 9:23 am, but I will not pay the bet. I refuse. I will go on a hunger strike if you dare to enforce it."

Her dad, Teodoro, laughed and accidentally spilled his coffee.

Fernando was nonchalant: "Dear sister. You were the one who came up with the bet. You said that if you were not up and ready by 9:00 am for a week, you would pay me 5% of your monthly salary. You are the one who wanted my antique Patek Philippe, and I would gladly have given it to you. Alas I'm sorry, but it's all in the blockchain now. Part of your salary is in escrow, to be deposited to me, your handsome older brother, next week."

"Whatever. Steal my hard-earned money, why don't you."

She actually wanted the watch so badly. She had been collecting old watches since her dad had given her a military watch from the First World War as a birthday present when she was thirteen. She had twelve rare watches now.

"Come Marti, have breakfast," her dad said. "We need to go over the details for my trip tomorrow morning."

"Fine," Martina said while giving Fernando a nasty look. He smiled an innocent smile.

Martina sat opposite her dad and had some papaya. "Is there cottage cheese?— "Marta! Martitaaaa!" She stood up and looked for the housekeeper in the kitchen. She wasn't there. "Where is she?"

"She had to go visit her family, her mom broke her hip last night" said Rodrigo.

"That's terrible! How long is the trip back to her town. 12 hours?"

"More like a day. She had to take the ferry this morning. And her family lives four hours inland."
Martina imagined poor Marta going through that trip. Marta had not only been a housekeeper but her nanny since she was a baby. She was the closest thing to a motherly figure she had.

"I hope her mom is doing alright. If she's anything like Marta she'll be walking in a few days for sure."

"Marti, let's talk about tomorrow" Teodoro said.

They talked about the plan to visit the Mainland. Her father had a one-week trip every quarter to have some important meetings and oversee the operations of his business. He had been doing this since his family had moved to the Float, 18 years ago. This coming trip was special though, as Fernando would accompany his dad for the first time. And in six months she would go too. It was Fernando's first trip out of the Float and she could tell he was nervous.

Fer and her hadn't left the Float archipelago since they arrived when they were children. She had been five. Fernando seven. It was too dangerous to visit the Mainland. Now, people moved with ease between the Mainland and the Floats via helicopters and private jets.