Deprived

Chapter 9

Sitting on the bed with nothing left to do but wait, Maize locked eyes on ten lights mounted, flush, against the ceiling until her eyes watered and burned. When she looked away, a ghost light-orb bounced around in her vision where ever she looked. A little game she and Ollie played when they were younger—whoever could look at the lit lightbulb the longest, was the winner. Ollie often quit right before she did. Only one time she lost, and it was because her eyes had been burning from crying for her father, who had abandoned them.

Maize wondered what Ollie might be doing at the moment but had no idea what day or time it was, so she couldn't even make a guess. She could have been in the capital for days, weeks, or months. She felt so out of it, as if in a totally different dimension.

The door on her left swished open, and the darkness stayed firm on the other side.

Maize eased off the bed, planted her feet on the cold floor then tiptoed towards the doorway. In the hallway, a glass room, lit brightly, was a few feet away. All around this lit room was deep darkness,

"Don't be afraid, Chosen, you are home now. Just follow my voice."

The lady's voice, coming from nowhere, almost made her crap herself.

She stood there, afraid to move. The darkness was intense, there wasn't a visible floor, and she was afraid her next step would drop her to her death.

The last time she felt this much fear was the time she fell down the old water well in the village. She had only gotten a few cuts and bruises, but fear of the dark remained with her from that day.

With weak knees, she took her first step, felt for something solid then planted her feet on the ground. With much trepidation, she walked towards the glass room.

"You're doing great, Chosen Maize, just a little bit more. Yes! That's it. Now, enter the mirrored room."

She entered the brightly lit room.

"Walk towards the closet on your right and open it."

Maize complied.

Inside the closet hung light gray pants and a shirt. They hung perfectly on stretched hooks wrapped in cloth. They were smooth and free of dirt or grime.

Maize gently slid the gray shirt off one hook and slid the gray pants off the other. The uniform draped over one arm. She looked around the glass room to find a private place to change clothes. Just then, a thick fog hissed over the glass walls, turning them solid white.

Not knowing if someone standing outside the room could still see her on the inside, she quickly removed the dress off her body and threw it into the closet. Every pore on her naked body stood swollen and hard. She slipped into the black underwear laid out flat at the bottom of the closet and struggled to put her arms through the breast-holders since it was a different design to what she was used to.

It was then she realized that the pain and bruises from her altercation with the village guard had disappeared.

All dressed in a gray shirt and gray pants. She slipped her feet into flat gray shoes that fit her perfectly too. She immediately missed the relaxed feel of the insides of her boots and wondered what they had done with them and her school uniform. They could burn all her old clothes in a furnace for all she cared.

Looking herself over in the mirror, she could hardly recognize herself. Her new uniform, though it lacked color, was clean and brand new. So now, she was afraid her callous hands would snag the cloth. She looked at the insides of her hands, and to her surprise, all the callouses had disappeared. Her hands were as soft as a female Preppie's hands or even smoother.