I can't sleep at all.
Even when I close my eyes, images of the Glass Shard haunt me.
The day went reasonably well, Annie and I took the laundry down to the shore and did our best to blend in the stains with the rest of the muddy water. Annie chatted excitedly the whole time in a hushed voice about our adventure and narrow escape. To her, this was the most exciting event of her life so far and I was glad that she had something to be so thrilled about. It had been a while since I had seen her so animated. But I couldn't stop thinking about the letter.
Lying in bed now staring up at the dust motes play in the beams of light that cut through the darkness of the shack, I sigh.
200 Credits per day. In a week that is 1,400 Credits and after two weeks, 2,800. That would be enough to get Adam admitted to the hospital in Darlington. In my whole life, I have never seen so much money.
I once saw a piece of fruit for sale at the market for 150 Credits. From a distance, it was a bright red, shining apple. But once I was close enough to see it, it was clear that it was rotten. It was misshapen, with bruises down one side, but what gave away its rotting interior was its skin. Barely visible wrinkles covered its surface, betraying the topography of decay that lay within.
Fruit is rare in Harlem, but even a fresh apple would struggle to sell for 150 Credits.
No one has that kind of money around here.
I feel Annie move in her sleep and turn subconsciously to face me. Her features are petite. Her little nose slightly lifted at the top, like a well-formed ocean wave lapping at the shore. Her eyelashes are long and thick, tangled with dust and dirt from a life filled with adventure. The only big thing about her is her eyes, which are closed now as she breathes deeply. They are such a rich colour of green, striking in comparison to our ever brown and grey surroundings. Her eyes bring joy into a place of despair. Her hair is matted against her skin making her cheeks completely disappear into her face. The strands of hair have a slight curl to them. I wonder if her hair would be curly if it were ever properly cleaned.
Her eyes jump open, colourless in the dull light of the moon.
"Ebby, can't you sleep?" she asks with a yawn, her voice barely audible above the dull hum of electricity moving through the powerlines ahead.
I shake my head in silence.
"It's about the job, isn't it?"
Smart cookie.
"Me too, " she states.
She has grown up so much. As a six-year-old, she has seen more than any six-year-old should and her emotional intelligence outweighs any of us.
"You've been thinking about the job?" I ask inquisitively.
"Mmmhmm," she nods.
"You know that it is only open to 18-year olds and above," I say jokingly.
"Pfffft," she exclaims, "not like that."
She seems to inherently understand my internal struggle of leaving our family to fend for themselves versus the quality of life we could achieve if I did apply for the job.
She lifts her face up so that her eyes are only inches from mine.
"Do you know how many brownies we could buy with 200 Credits?" She asks.
I feel the pressure of laughter bubbling up in my lower stomach. I do my best to hold it in but within seconds silent waves of laughter consume my body. My body convulses with every short breath, shaking Annie so that she moves with me.
YOU ARE READING
A Shard of Glass
FantasyIf you were lucky, you were born in Darlington. When the great city walls finally gave way to the rising water, the people moved up. Their houses, now partially submerged became islands of salvation from which a new society was born. If you were n...
