Eclipsed

Well, this is a test-run-prologue-ish… story. note, most fragments are intentional. Rawr.

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This evening was a special evening. An event was about to happen that had not happened in years; in fact, it had not happened in decades. For some, it would it would their first and only time seeing a solar eclipse. Others would see it a few other times in their life. But such a special event meant that the citizens of Harmony were allowed to gather in the street. Some stores closed as the store keepers joined the crowds, others choosing to stay inside and watch their stores out of fear of vandalism.

As far as solar eclipses went, it was not out of the ordinary. The homes in the city of Harmony had been emptied, the citizens filing toward the center of the impressive metropolis to catch a glimpse of the eclipsed sun. Some citizens even moved their way to the rooftops, for the clearest of views. The eclipse itself lasted only a few minutes, before the sun continued its decent and the moon continued to ascend. Soon, the normal stars would fill the sky as they did every night. Revealing the same constellations, the same patterns for sailors and travelers to follow and astronomers to chart.

However, there had been one person who was not witness to the eclipse. They would not watch the ring of blinding light flare around the moon in one rare moment, and fade as the eclipse ended. Instead, the sight of the eclipse had almost been eclipsed itself, by one of the numerous skyscrapers synonymous with Harmony. The tall building cast its long, dark shadow over an isolated tree sanctuary. Each tree was blossoming with its own unique flower in the early spring weather, filling the air with a heavy aroma, and leaving the ground nearly covered in a range of petals. The single person isolated within the trees was a woman, her dirt smeared face flushed and lined with pain. Her breathing was heavy, labored as she sat up against a tree. Both of her hands were clutching her large stomach.

Being in such an isolated place as the tree sanctuary, the woman was not surprised that no one heard her scream as another contraction struck her. Her tattered, dirty clothes meant that she was one of the numerous of the homeless in Harmony, left the wander in the alleys and filth that the rest of the city dwellers didn’t want. No one would come to help her. In fact, she had come to this place because it was so clean, and void of others who could harass her, or cause her harm when she was defenseless.

Another contraction. Another scream. They were happening much more rapidly. Tears began to spill out of the corners of her eyes from the pain, the fear. “I need help!” It was barely a whisper, a last request on the breath of the wind.

“Look, there!” A breathless voice, “I told you I heard a scream.”

“Black’s balls!” swore the second, slightly older sounding voice. “She’s having a baby!”

There was a pause. “Should we help? She looks like a Scurry. We’re not supposed to help Scurries…”

The woman heard them exchange a few more words in softer, yet harsh voices. She obviously wasn’t supposed to hear them. She had long since closed her eyes in the pain, and dared not open them. They had called her a Scurry, which was what she was indeed. She had no intention of looking at Grazers and letting them see her pain through her eyes. A Scurry was trash. The equivalent of a rat, running from danger, looking for food, any kind of shelter. The Scurries were the poor who existed in the alleys and broken buildings of Harmony. They were not permitted to dirty the clean streets of the main city, brush the clean, content Grazers who lived there. So why would a Grazer even waste their breath, their concern, on her? She was nothing of worth to them. Less than the scum beneath their shoes.

“Go find someone with healing skills,” the older voice said, not giving the other any room to argue with him, by his tone. The woman could hear the other start to move, hesitate, and then leave all together before another contraction over took her cognitive thoughts. “Don’t worry. Scurry or not, we’ll get you help.”