Followers of the Light

Chapter 0 - Flashback

 "Don't take too long to decide, Tomato!" says the old-looking young man named Grote.

I don't know why we are still stuck together. I don't even know where he got that cigarette in his mouth. Maybe that is why we made this far somehow.

"C'mon, Grote, we're here looking over the Palace - full of Tumbleweads! Can you just call by my name for, like, once?"

"I don't fucking know your full name. Redhea-what?"

"Mary! Redhea Mary!"

He bursts into laughter. "The hell? That's like two first names..." he chuckles.

I turn away as he continues laughing.

How would I know? I was born here with that name tagged on me. Not by my parents; I believe it was given by the doctor. Oh well, I was the unwanted child anyway, served only as a punching bag after they fight - and as another punching bag for bullies in school. My life for the past 24 years has been hell on earth in this Prosperistus, the City of Gold, the City that Never Rests – whatever they called it before it becomes the ruin that I'm standing in today. Still, I felt blessed when I met my good friend Roscenta Generau back when I was abandoned by my parents. She found me under the apple tree in our school. Pale and skinny, she said. From that day, Ros' parents funded my education for as long as five years until I was dropped out from school due to bad grades and pressure of bullying. I refused the offer to continue my study, that was when I kicked the door to the real world.

Prosperistus, an island-nation metropolis, bustling with high-rise buildings, bright lights, and its wealthy citizen – surrounded by those from the opposite end of wealth gap. High above them, there's a corrupt government, a position where everyone wants in, a spot where they can play Prosperistians like puppets. And then there's me: a teenager nobody, with nothing else but a will to live. Ironically, I always had a dream to be a model, but as a worthless twig, I knew how to lock that dream tightly inside a box and instead worked in a fast-food restaurant. At least I was a realist, unlike the rest of poor Prosperistians. Things did not go as smooth as I thought it would. I was really nervous and so, neither of cook assistant or front counter position I was assigned to went well. From undercooked, overcooked, to wrong orders, you name it. In another word, I screwed up too much. Complaints spiked; I got kicked. Then I became a tick; jumping here and there, feeding off different jobs for short amount of time, until my good friend, Roscenta, called me. She said she postponed her college and wanted to hire me to work in her boutique that had been going for a while. That got me a single, deep pound knocking out from the inside of my chest. And I chuckled. "Yeah, gladly! It's not like I have a job, Ros!"

Good thing once again shone in my life and once again it came from Roscenta. We are different though, she likes feminine clothes, while I prefer something simpler and practical. Still, she let me be. "As long as you're neat and don't smell like fish," she said. One day, she finally moved out to a small apartment that we shared together. A humble living, you could say, and that was going really well. I did not know 'til when this gonna last. But it was a beginning of a new, better life, and I only wanted to cherish every passing second of my life, for like, once. For that, I shall never forget my dear friend that I owed her my life to.

Or... maybe I should call her: sister.