I was standing in the uncomfortable silence with my mother for a few seconds. I was contemplating to bring up the whole pot thing, but Rudy was skipping around the kitchen.
I saw an opportunity. There was a whisk I needed above her head. I reached for it, my fingertips curling around the edge of the counter. I take the time to ask her, my eyes staring into her temples. “Are you upset about the pot?”
She sighs as if something inside her is breaking, and her head microscopically nods that if I weren’t staring at her for so long, I wouldn’t have noticed.
“It was our ancestors mixing bowl.” She replied, as she continued to cut the vegetables and placed them into the pot with the simmering hot water on the stove.
I take the time to ask this now. Maybe I can get some information out of her. “What is the key to?”
My mother turns to me, her lips frowning as if someone was pushing them downward. “You need to help me set the table,” she said, and she turned swiftly around to retrieve the glassware we needed for lunch.
I used to wonder why my mother never disciplined me when she caught me reading. Now I wonder if this has something to do with a book.
“Elena, please take your seat at the table with us.” My father instructs, his black stubble on his chin becoming more and more visible each day. He’ll have to shave soon. Growing a beard is against customs and a symbol of indifference.
I nod my head and join my parents at the table. We usually have a custom of thanking for our family. When I asked my mother who we were thanking, she said God.
That’s when I learned the book I had stolen from the trunk was the Bible.
My mother told me the stories of the people who used to sing and praise someone of a holy manner. She told me how they banned reading the Bible because people were afraid of what some big man in the sky could do.
“I’m not afraid.” My mother told me when my father was leaving the room. “I’m not afraid of what he’ll do to them. They’re all sinners, Elena. I know where I’m going.”
“I want to go with you.” I said, and she broke into a big smile. She placed her hands on the sides of my head and smiled.
“That’s my girl,” she whispered, and she held me tightly. It seemed my mother knew where she was going from the start.
I wish I could say the same. I need to learn more.
It’s a good thing I’m a ruler breaker.
My mother used to always say there was peace during the afternoon, but my humble house is so hectic and chaotic. Luckily, it gives me an excuse to wander around the Community Rings.
We are allowed to intermingle with each other; there is no rule against that. But there is a rule about curfew. Luckily for me, the Community Rings all meet in a town square, less than two blocks from my house.
There’s a small extra social community, but we don’t even consider them a ring – and by ‘we’ I mean ninety five percent of the people living in the three Community Rings, filled with people like me, decedents of our ancestors, people in the second circle like where my best friend, Piper, lives, or people in the third circle who are known as commoners, people who moved here to assume safety after the war was over.
“Personally, I think everyone should be equal, and us, separating the fourth ring and not even considering them a part of the community, sickens me. Just because they’ve done some things doesn’t make them inhumane.”
I spoke to my best friend Piper about this. Her shoulder length ginger hair and her cream colored skin without a zit in sight. Pretty.
My best friend shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know what to believe, El,” El was her nickname for me since childhood, “because not all of them are insurgents.”
I raise an eyebrow at the newfound vocab. She must be studying really hard. “What’s an insurgent?”
A small smile comes across her lips as if she found out something that could change the world. “I finally know something you don’t.” She replied, chuckling.
I rolled my eyes. “Sorry, but I don’t read.”
She slapped my arm as if she found it offensive. I forgot she wasn’t as daring as I was when it came to the rules. Piper was always a rule follower.
“I mean I study hard!” She almost snapped at me, and I didn’t expect her to notice or apologize for that matter. “Are you trying to accuse me of a capital offense here?” She tugged me to the side of the long narrow cemented walkway to allow others to pass.
I muttered an apology, which she accepted, but I thought that maybe she was just glad no one thought that she was breaking a law. As much as I care for Piper, I could never tell her I had broken a capital offense, just like she would never tell me if she secretly had been breaking a rule for the last five years.
“I’ll see you soon,” she said to me, lightly touching my shoulder before she went off her own way. I continued to walk around the third community ring. Many people of all sorts, young and old were there, all around laughing and having a good time. Sometimes I wished we weren’t treated the way we were.
But that’s when I saw him standing there on the other side, his arms folded against his chest. He was tall, and couldn’t have been more than a hundred and fifty pounds. He had short black hair and beautiful brown eyes. He was handsome, with light skin and dimples easily spotted against his lips when he shook his head with a smile.
And then he noticed me.
I hadn't realized I was staring at me, but when I did, I turned away as quickly as I could. I could feel the blush rising in my cheeks as I continued on my way, hoping he hadn't seen me staring. I was wrong.
"You know, staring is rude." He said, a smirk on his face as he walked beside me.
"I-I apologize." I replied.
"Do you always stutter?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No." I retorted, rolling my eyes in response.
He held his hands up in mock surrender, "I did not mean to offend you. I apologize."
I nodded, "I accept your apology." Although I wonder why we accept apologies from strangers; what if they don’t mean it? I shake the thought quickly from my head.
He smiled, "Good. I wouldn't want to upset someone like you." His white pearly teeth shine out in the dim light.
I raised an eyebrow, "Someone like me?" My nature has always been curious and suspicious. If this is some type of flirt, I may not know how to handle it.
My mother said compliments were rare, and should only be used on special occasions, like a holiday or a birthday when one compliments another’s attire
"Someone as beautiful as you, of course – I mean, I hope that didn’t I didn’t come off too strong there." He replied, flashing his teeth again.
I felt the crimson heat rising to my cheeks and a warmth feeling spread throughout my stomach. “Thank you.”
He nodded, "I'm..." But the sound of the bell, signaling our curfew struck me from my moment with the kind handsome stranger.
I sighed, "I'm sorry, I have to go. I should have been home by now."
Without another word or glance his way, I backed up until he waved at me and I turned the corner.
I took off, making my way toward home as fast as I could, whizzing and passing by others.
When I opened the door, I thought no one was in the main family room. I was only a few minutes late, and my lungs could barely re-inflate again. And then, I froze cold in my tracks.
His voice I heard was sharp and flat, almost as if I should’ve expected it. “What are you doing home past curfew?”