I startled awake when the train made a subtle stop. The doors opened and someone stepped inside. He was my age.
I blinked sleep from my eyes. "Hello?" I said curiously.
"I'm Miller," he said and sat down next to me. The seats were next to each other.
"I'm Anastasia. Are you the other one who is coming that they keep talking about?" I asked, nervous.
"Well, I must be, because there aren't any other people coming," he replied and smiled. I fidgeted nervously before relaxing again.
"It will be quite a while before we make it to where ever we're going, don't you think?" I said. He looked at me curiously.
"Only a few more hours," he replied. I nodded my head. A few hours. I relaxed and rested my head on the window, which had no color. Just darkness.
I felt my eyelids feel heavy as I fell back asleep.
My eyes flicker back open as the train stops. It was clear we had made it. I got up and stretched. I had to feel at least a little excited.
They let us out. My heels didn't hurt. I had taken off my shoes on the ride, for comfort. It had been nice, not wearing shoes. Though I don't know why.
I had my shoes back on when we stopped. It was morning, the sun just rising. The sky was orange and red and just a hint of violet.
"I will show you to your new home," said the guard. I looked at the town, and at the center was a massive structure, mostly made up of shiny windows, though they looked more like mirrors from the light. It was tall and slightly twisted. It hit the sun just right.
I felt out of place. Me and my glasses and pink dress. Miller looked at me curiously before following a different guard, away from my direction.
As I followed the guard, I realized how nice the homes were. They all had three stories and large doors.
They were all painted differently, which was a bit strange because where I was from, they wouldn't let us do anything to our homes.
"Do you get to paint the house?" I asked the guard. He laughed slightly.
"Yes, Anastasia. You will live here for the rest of your life. You will live in the house that I give you for the rest of your life. It is yours," he replied. I couldn't help but smile. Then I frowned.
"Will I see my friends from home again?" I felt nervous. I really did hope I could see them again.
"Yes, you will see them again. You will see them on visiting day, when you go back to your home town. You will see all of them," he replied.
"Will my brother come here, too?" I felt like asking questions.
"It really depends, Anastasia. Now come on, don't wait for someone else because there won't be another one to help you to your new house," he said and smiled. I followed him without a word.
He stopped in front of a house. It was the same design as the others, though the paint was plain grays and whites. He offered me a key, and so I took it and opened the door.
All the floors were wood and the counters were marble. As I passed the doors, they were all a little different. One was a wooden door with a tiny, dried out flower stuck on the front.
They all had a strange quality. Like a doorknob shaped like a heart or a number painted on.
I just picked the biggest of the rooms and found my suitcase, my name tag still in perfect condition. I didn't pack much because there wasn't much to pack.
So I unpacked what I did have. Which was some clothes and objects my parents had given me once.
When I opened the closet, I found a note. Please go to the tower in the center of town, it said simply. I grabbed the note and looked at the back where it said 1:00, which was in a few hours. I had to relax. Prepare myself.
I also saw behind the note some clothes. I decided to change my clothes. I went to the kitchen and found the place where the food was delivered. There was a platter, like the platters we got at Willow-brook.
I grabbed the platter and saw my lunch. I quickly ate it, checked the time, and started to walk. I made sure to grab my key and locked the door behind me.
I followed the winding paths to the center of town. The building was glorious. As I entered, I was nearly blinded by how bright it was.
DONG! Echoed the sound of a clock, though where it was was uncertain. It rang once, telling me that it was 1:00.
"You're Anastasia, right?" asked a man who came from one of the several halls.
"Yes, that's me. What am I doing here exactly?" I asked. He looked at me curiously, before turning around. I followed him.
"Anastasia, you are here for a certain amount of secrets and you are one of the only people from where you are from to come here, so congratulations," he said while we walked. He stopped in front of some double-doors. He pushed them open to find people. Lots of people in some sort of meeting.
"Good luck, Anastasia," he said and left. Miller was there and gestured for me to sit next to him. I, of course, did what he said and took the seat next to him.
"Welcome, all of you, to this glorious day. We are here to welcome two new town members," said a man and smiled a big, welcoming smile. People started to applaud and Miller gestured for me to stand, so I stood. I did shake with excitement, but I still stood.
I wore a red dress. It was more fancy than I would usually wear, but for my first day in this town, it felt necessary. Miller looked at me curiously. My dress looked nice on me and no one could deny it. Sorry, but it did.
"Hello, Miller, Anastasia. Welcome to Swallow-town, for those few selected. I am your mayor and the people in the room with you are my assistants," continued the man. I truly did feel glad I had worn this dress because people were examining me for the first time, seeing if I was ready for them. For what was going to happen.
"Are we supposed to do something?" I whispered to Miller, who shrugged. The mayor gestured for us to come over, to the front of the room, with him.
And if I was being honest, I would be doubtful I actually wanted to go up there. It was intimidating and people would no doubt stare at me.
But I did it anyway. I did as he told me to do. He was my new mayor, after all. His eyes glared at me with a burning fury. I didn't know where that fury came from, but it was fury so powerful, I could almost feel fire coming in my general direction.
"I'm Miller," Miller offered his hand to the mayor, who hit it away. Miller instantly tucked his hand back by his side. The mayor let out a slight growl sound and glared at him.
"We do hope your life here is satisfactory," the mayor mumbled and stormed away. One of the assistants tried to grab his wrist and the others gasped. But he just left like he was full of fury coming out of nowhere.
"What was that about?" I asked. It wasn't that great of a beginning of our experience with the new mayor, but we would be fine.
"The mayor doesn't like people," said a woman. I raised my eyebrows at her, but she simply shrugged and sat back down.
"How'd he get elected, then?" I asked. The woman shrugged again before looking down at something in her hands. I looked at everyone else, but they all shrugged. Some looked at me nervously.
"What is this, anyway?" Miller asked. He looked at all of them curiously.
"It is a celebration, because it is rare that we have new people. Some years we don't get any. But this year we have two. Can you believe it, Josaline?" said a woman excitedly, more speaking to someone else than Miller.
"No, I can't, Mira!" replied another woman (Josaline?). They both looked at each other excitedly.
"And look at them, Mira! They are perfect for our small town!" said another woman.
"Oh, shush, Aubrey. You'll scare them off!" Mira said back stubbornly. I couldn't believe these conversations. They were ridiculous. First of all, I didn't really have a decision in where I got to live. Second of all, did they think we were shy? If they "scared us off," where would we go anyway? Third of all, they don't get new people that often? Like, some years they don't get any? That did seem quite awful. Like no new people. No thank you.
"Yes, Aubrey, you'll scare them off," Josaline said. I let out a slight giggle and they looked at me curiously for a moment before continuing their mini-argument. I started to laugh a little harder. I covered my mouth to stifle my laughter, but it was difficult. I simply couldn't believe how silly this argument was.
"Aubrey, Mira, Josaline. I ask you to leave for a moment. I will have a word with you in a moment," said a woman. They stopped talking and walked away, their head down. "I am the leader in charge here. My name is Ether and I offer you these," she said and handed both of us a card.
"You may go," said a woman and we left.
Aubrey, Mira and Josaline were waiting outside, their heads down. I look at my card. It tells me that tomorrow I am to come here and be told where to go.
Again the time was on the back, but this time it was 12:00.
"Well that's not much help," I said. Miller nodded his head in agreement. I absolutely had to ask the person at the front if we could have people come over to our house.
So I asked.
"You can, though it's uncommon," he replied and I left. Going back wasn't that long of a walk, and Miller walked with me even though he lived somewhere else. As I got back in my house, I felt fine. Though nervous.
And so, very alone.