Sin of Greed

Glimmering Gold

Indah sat near the edge of the bridge. She felt her hair ripple in the cool, refreshing breeze as she gazed out into the orange sea. The folks around here called this place 'The Sea of Citrus' because the water there would turn as orange as the sunset in the sky at dusk.

The girl drew her gaze away from the view while tightly gripping onto her duffel bag and looked to the ground. In two weeks, I'm gonna have to pay rent... I've tried to get a job, but they all rejected me. I wish I had more confidence, and then maybe I could actually have some money to live in an apartment. Indah played with the straps of her bag while pondering deeply about the situation she was in. She could start to feel something warm and wet form in her eyes.

Suddenly, she saw a poster attached on a wall. Indah had nothing else to do at the moment, so she decided to distract herself from her sulking by reading the piece of flimsy paper.

FLICKER
If you wish to participate, come to Beacon Town Avenue.
Winner gets 10,000 dollars!

Below the text, it displayed a picture of the building. Indah's eyes widened. That building was near downtown. Winning this game would mean she could escape her predicament, and all she had to do was go to the building. Barely containing her excitement, Indah tugged at her shirt to reduce all the pent up energy.

Tommorow, she would go to the building first thing in the morning. That night, she had wonderful dreams of winning the tournament. But before that, she wondered what type of contest it would be since it never stated what it was. Could it be a cooking contest? Perhaps it was a sort of reality show. Whatever it was, she would find out the next day.

    Indah groaned as she awoken from her slumber. The rays of orange and pink illuminated her white bed sheets at dawn. She quickly threw on a shirt, a pair of simple jeans, and her favorite pair of black sneakers, which was starting to be worn out. She had set her alarm early, so she could be there the earliest. Getting on the good side of the host could increase her chance of being the winner, first impressions were important. She slammed open her door, which startled her neighbors. She ran down the several flights of stairs to make it to the bottom floor.

Once she was there, she made a beeline to the bus stop. The bus would arrive in seven minutes, and she entered the vehicle when it stopped to pick up people. Indah put five dollars into the grasp of the old man who drove the car and awaited her destination in the very back seat.

"Who's going off at this stop?" The man announced, before breaking into a cough.

The girl with carmel hair hopped off the bus and watched as it drives away. A minute passes, and she saunters cheerfully to the place by skipping over the cracks on the beige, cement sidewalk. Indah stares at the tower before her. It was the size of her apartment building. The color was a stunning, polished white, and it shone brilliantly because of the rising sun. Indah thought she had never seen something prettier. A woman by the doorway greeted her with a smile the moment she saw her.

"Oh, are you here to participate in the game Flicker, sweetie?" She asked her.

Indah nodded her head, and she opened the gate for her. Indah stepped into the building, and she was astonished when she saw the interior. The furniture was modern, the house was well decorated, and the wallpaper were gorgeous Scandinavian colors that complimented the things inside. There wasn't any stairs, but a elevator that replaced them instead.

"You're late." A girl her age wearing a yellow button up spat. "You were supposed to be here a hour earlier."

"Oh come on! Don't be so rough on her. Why don't you join us?" Someone with a black long sleeved shirt gestured her to join the rest of them. Indah was unsure of how to react. It had been a long time since someone willingly invited her to chat, and that happened when she was at the orphanage. She was five years old by then. The girl walked at a slow pace toward the crowd of people. She had the feeling their eyes were pressured on to her. Feeling nervous, Indah fidgeted with her belt.