Unintentional

Questions.

Everybody always talked about how life was to be so perfect, and wonderful. All you ever had to do was follow the rules. They were simple ones. Nothing they thought you were in capable of doing. Everyone else seemed to follow them so easily. And for the most part I did too.
My only problem was that I asked questions. The Wiseones said it had to do with being a child, and that I would grow up and be silent when the time was right. I guess the time was never right.
They gave up on me after awhile. Said I was just different. And though it may affect me later in life, they said that I should just live a normal life. And I did. But one day everything became so clear to me, that I realized I wasn't normal, and that I never would be. I didn't know whether this thought was wrong or not, but I knew one thing. The rule about keeping emotions dead always triggered something in my head. I asked questions but no one seemed to answer them. One day my mother finally gave in to my questions and told me that many years ago people used those emotions to express what their heart said. I Didn't understand how a heart could talk, but now I do. I am not sorry that I know this.
Because you can't keep something like that from person.
And I didn't learn that till it was almost too late.

"Aria! Good morning! I expected to catch you here on a Saturday morning! Ready to go?"
"Hello Casper. Look up at the sun! It looks so wonderful today! How do you think the sun shines down on us every morning and gives us light so that we can see?" I asked quietly as Casper set down his bike beside the thick Apple tree I was standing beneath.
He took a deep breath as his strong arms gripped the lowest branch on the tree and swung themselves slowly back and forth, daring to hypnotize anyone who walked by.
"Maybe the sun is fond of us and comes every morning to see us? Enough questions for now Aria, we have to get to Saturday activities."
I laughed as Casper and I rode on our bikes down to Upia community 7 activities.
Today, I had basket weaving and Casper had games.
It seemed as if he always got the best activities and I was stuck with the leftovers. I never complained though. It wasn't in my nature, and anyways, it gave me the excuse to ask more questions when I wasn't running around.
My partner Alacia was there too. Her fine beauty stood out compared to all the rest. We weren't supposed to discuss looks but how could you not agree that other than the long, narrow crease down her forehead, with her golden waves and hazel eyes, she was a work of art.
When we were little, Casper and I played a game where we ranked the girls and boys in our schoolyard on their beauty. I ranked the girls and as silly as Casper thought it was, he ranked the boys.
He never really understood my desire to learn and discover, but I was lucky to have him play along. He always seemed to agree with whatever I said.
Alacia looked over at me, the crease in her forehead disappearing for a slight moment as she smiled in my direction.
Then, in just a second, it had returned, darkening her face as it was before.
"Come sit Aria! I have some supplies here for you!" Alacia said in her sweet, small voice. I followed my shadow down to the metal stool that sat beside the small figure, and let myself fall on top of it.
I made ten baskets that morning, and along with that, asked Alacia millions of questions about basket weaving, only receiving answers for a few of them.
Casper arrived shortly after with sweat dripping down his neck and sliding to his chest. It was a rule that we must shower after all game activities, but that day the water taps stopped working so he was excused from rinsing.
It was the strangest thing.
Something about his dark brown hair curled up at the ends, along with his piercing brown eyes brought me alive.
That's when my heart began to speak.
My cheeks turned red and I stepped back with Casper giving me a look of concern.
I shook it off with a smile.
"Let's get back to our quarters! It's almost time for noon meal!" I said as I tucked my red hair behind my pale ears.
As we headed back to our houses to change before meal time, I couldn't help myself but to stare at Casper.
He was beautiful.
Wait no.
In Upia, the definition of beautiful was to think of someone with physical respect, and that was not the case at this moment.
I felt...emotion?
I never figured out how I connected that word with my reality but I did.
I felt an emotion towards Casper. I couldn't figure out the right word, but I still new.
If the Wiseone's found out about my new encounter, I would be removed from all contact with Casper, and I wouldn't let that happen, so for the rest of that day, I punished myself for thinking this way.
I couldn't let anything like this get involved in my life, but at the same time, I wanted it so bad.
I could barely scrape the word off my tongue, but when I did,
I knew that my life was going to change.