Three White Crows (Divergent Fanfiction)

Prologue

Stars.

The flickering lights in the darkness of the sky take me deeper and deeper into infinite depths of my imagination. There, all that I can see is a land, a place of no limits nor of any boundaries. An endless space, endless in breadth and length. Where I am now, I see no disturbing walls, no buildings, no tracks, no trains. Huge edifices, cracked pavements, and broken street lamps, they are all gone. Neither can I see any people, there is only me and no one else. Well, except for the multitude of birds, crickets and a caterpillar that walks peacefully over the leaf above my head. I've been lying like that, all relaxed and eased in mind, for quite a long time now. Nobody and nothing bothers me, so I don't even notice a bird landing on my shoulder. It's a nice feeling to forget about the rest of the world, about problems, about all the disturbing matters waiting for me around the corner.

Such a nice feeling though never lasts forever. I know, I know that after opening my eyes, I will find myself again on the tree which, although I like it very much, is on the ground that I hate. A limited earth, a steel earth, cold and insensitive as its system. The earth full of factions. My parents would remind me that foundation of factions is the best thing that could happen to us, as they make us better people. They keep us alive, they are an integral part of our nature, they define us. And yet, they couldn't think of more nonsense. I haven't always been a rebel, and actually, even now I find it hard to admit that I might be one.

As the absolute silence reigns within the orchard, I can hear a quiet concert of crickets playing somewhere below, under the tree. Some branches stick in my back, but I don't mind it. Nothing bothers me tonight. Through the eyes of my imagination, I can see the tree I'm lying upon is rising into the air, tearing its roots out, and flying – with me – so far away, beyond the fence, out of the city. Then there is only fog, as pale as cloudy and dense. I'm trying to break through, but it surrounds me from every corner and does not yield to my struggles. Instead, it hugs me, which appears to be a nice and friendly sensation. The bird residing on my arm has apparently remained unchanged for several minutes, as I feel it finally starting to move. It goes down my hand, finally settling into my open hand. I can't see him, my eyes are still closed. But I can feel it. I feel it leaving an... unpleasant surprise. But well, it's not just my orchard after all. I respect his needs, and if that is the case, I cannot allow such a trivial thing to disturb my peace.
My eyes are closed. And I don't feel like opening them.

I lift the corners of my mouth when I feel something sharp entering my fingers. I can't help but open my eyes. First I see pink mixed with shades of orange and navy blue. The sky, once illuminated by millions of flickering points, is now even more beautiful. The stars slowly fade away, giving way to a brighter coating of warm colors that gradually fade to blue. I hear the first birds singing, including one that is clearer and much, much closer. I lift my head slightly, looking for the source of the sound, and then I see it – it is white, large and dignified, as for a crow. I can recognize them, we once had classes about them. Besides, here, in Amity, the knowledge of the present animal species can be compared to skills of writing or reading. I look at him gently and slowly begin to feel a strange sympathy for that white feathered bird.
At least he is free.

This very thought destroys everything, all of my consciousness returns. I'm not free, I shouldn't be here. I carefully move my hand so I can lean against the branch and stand up. I don't want to scare him, the mere contact with someone as alive and free gives me a substitute for what he has. It's strange how the sky can change in such a short moment. Now fully blue and starless, it seems to herald another hopeless day. I look at them for a moment, thinking of the night I spent on the tree. It was the first time I had broken the rules and ran away from home this late. I extend my hand slowly towards the already rising sun, and the crow, as if reading my mind, crawls a few times just to gracefully fly away. I sigh softly, looking at the increasingly smaller speck in the already cloudless sky. It's beautiful to be able to be a living witness to someone else's happiness; unlimited freedom. Witness to values that fly away with the receding, beautiful, free creature.

Once I'm on firm ground, I dust my pants thoroughly. Parents can't find out that I was here. Then I rush through the orchard, still thinking about the white crow with whom I spent only a few minutes. Even so, I remember it very well. Long wings reaching down to the ground, colored pure white. The only "crow-ish" features of it, were its black, bead eyes, which passed upon me such an important lesson. Everyone has the right to freedom, no matter who they are, or from what faction they come from. Nor does it matter whether they are human – or such a bird, the white crow. Now, that's the only thing I'm missing.

Wandering between the trees' shadows, contemplating them, I don't even notice a dark shape lurking behind one.
'Please, please, who do we have got here'
A voice from behind the tree hardly gives me a heart attack. The voice of Ethan, my brother. I turn immediately towards him and raise my eyebrows instinctively. Maybe if I act just as casually and normally as always, he won't figure out anything.
'Umm, I took a morning stroll to the orchard. I was thinking of picking... umm some fruit, you know, never enough of apples, right?
Ethan only frowns, then nods. With one movement of his hand, he commands me to follow him, and again, he disappears behind the trees. Without thinking too much, I follow in his footsteps.

He leads me down the alley, weaving through the trees. The smell of rotten apples is everywhere, but I'm used to it. We walk steadily, nobody says anything, only listening to the beautiful, vital silence. Somewhere downstairs I can hear a crow's croaking, but looking up, I see nothing but a thicket of leaves and tree limbs. When we finally leave this zone, an amazing sight appears in front of our eyes. The orchard is behind us, and there are fields in front of us. Fertile fields, arable fields, golden and green fields. Although I have been here many times already, I still cannot get used to such a beautiful landscape. Only if I could, I would just stand and watch the wheat ears twitching slightly as the gentle breeze never cease to blow. Just like birds, beautiful and serious, they tread, fly up and disappear among the grasses.
'You were gone when I came to your room,' Ethan breaks me out of my reverie, 'In the morning it was even more beautiful, I wanted to take you here.
Was he hanging around in this area all this time as well? Why didn't he notice me? No... He must have seen me, no other way – that's because it's Ethan, eyes of an eagle, nose of a dog, and ears of a bat. But why is he hiding it? I wonder, but unable to think of anything, I give up. After returning to reality, I find it pretty hard to do that.
'You know that I used to be like you?' he speaks again, and I frown. I turn my head and look at him questioningly. 'I was drawn to the city once too. I didn't like this place once either.'
'I like orchard, I like this place. It's just...' I sigh, unable to find the words to describe it. 'I just don't like this... everything.'
I shake my head. I will not confide in him with my inner thoughts, I do not trust him that much.
'What's everything? After all, you just said you liked it here.'

I don't speak anymore, leaving his question unanswered. I look again at the distant steppe, beyond the green and golden fields. I think Ethan looks far away too, for I can't feel his eyes on me anymore. He raises his hand, and as he places it on my shoulder, he speaks as if he knew everything that was going on in my head.
'It will pass. I'm sure you'll understand someday. Just as I have'.
Then, there is a moment of silence, which is not enough for me to find the right answer. Not saying a word, he takes his hand off me, turns back and walks away, thus leaving me alone.

I raise my head instinctively just to notice a bird, flying freely overhead, which appeared to have been there throughout all this time.
Well, maybe not entirely alone.