Sorana

I was standing on a self-made stage, which was made out of few starting-to-rot wooden boxes. Like every Saturday, I was observed by circa one-hundred pairs of eyes. There was no time to waste – the police could show up any moment now, that depended only on how we managed to pick a venue.

"Friends!" I started. "You all know that we are different from them. Does it make us any less worthy? Are we the ones to blame they didn't inherit the gene of the universe? No! We are hated because we are divergent. They hate us because through their eyes we are freaks. I say, we are misunderstood and rejected. They create myths about us and they base them on their fears. And they fear the diversity. They are afraid to be variant from the others, afraid to look different, to work at different job, to live differently. They are afraid of themselves and we are not!"

My words were leaded by a wave of cheers. Each time it was more difficult to make something up but they needed it. The hope of us being accepted by society was about to die away. I knew for sure these meetings won't change anything, they only raised the morale, but they, no, we needed it. As far as I remember, our whole life we were hiding, spending nights in abandoned storages or attics and during the days, as soon as we would enter the streets, we were shouted at and outcasted.

Few of us were luckier – they didn't have the mark – three black lines under their left eye, therefore they were almost "normal". I think that was settled by the fact that the majority of them, unlike the others, had a gift, which the "normals" couldn't live without – water. They would gather a little bit of food for us because all the others were freaking out the grocery-stores' workers and the salesmen at a marketplace.

I saw a green uniform just around the corner. It's time to end this. Every single time they would find us faster and faster. I raised a hand – that was our sign to show that we are being listened to.

"Our hour is yet to come and when it does, we will show them we are not just a bunch of weirdos."

I nodded and Luce called the food team to herself. She was my good friend and, because she didn't have the mark, was controlling the food team. Of course, first of all they somehow needed to earn money and that was why every Saturday after the meeting, as it is now, she would give them out job offers, which someone offered to pay for. The crowd knew that the meeting was over and they also knew that we are being eavesdropped on, so everyone, who was not in Luce's group, didn't took long to walk out separately.

Usually, if I managed to finish before the police showed up, they would chant "Sorana! Sorana!". That was what they called me. "Sorana" meant light in the ancient language. I'm not sure if they gave that name to me because I, using these short meetings, filled their hearts with light, or because I literally illuminated their "homes" every night.

I was surprised that the policeman let everybody through. More often than not at least one or another of the meeting attendants were being arrested and would spend the night at a police custody because of illegal rallying. I wouldn't say those were rallies – we simply didn't have place for our meetings, but in the custody it wasn't that bad, after all, if we compare it to the places we would usually sleep.

I started leaving the dead end. It wasn't the best venue for our meeting, from the point of possibly-needed quick escape but it was securing our privacy and it was easier to monitor when the police would come. I walked while ready to defend myself at any moment but there was no need. I nodded as if I was saying "Hello" to the "guardian" as I passed him by but his face remained as still as a steal. I was always doing that just I didn't know if to show him that I wasn't afraid of him, or still hoping that he would answer – this way I would be considered being a human.