"Adi," he begs. "Please help me."
I choke on tears, panicking. "I can't! I don’t know how!"
"You're my last hope." His voice is desperate, barely more than a whisper.
"No! Please, stay with me,” I hold onto his hand tightly. “I’m right here, stay here.”
His lips are tinged blue, his hand is cold and he gasps for air.
“I’m so sorry Kryan,” His hand slips from my grasp. I see his bright blue eyes staring into mine for the last time before he disappears into the mist.
I sit bolt upright, covered in a cold sweat. Kryan’s last breaths echo in my head and my heart pounds furiously. I draw my knees to my chest and try to erase the dream from my memory. But it’s not just a dream.
"Oh Adi!" My mother chirps from the other room. "Your breakfast is ready!"
Her chipper happiness just makes me feel worse. She keeps calling until I pull myself off my cot and get prepare for the day. I drag myself down the hallway to the Living Room once I’ve dressed.
"We have fresh rolls today!" My mother smiles brightly. Even though we live in poverty she manages to make it seem as if we live an amazing life.
I whisk a roll off the plate on the table and put on my shabby coat, heading toward the door.
"Off to Realms so soon?" My mother asks. Realms is the children’s' schooling technique; every child born in Anthea has one of five gifts- healing, knowledge, athleticism, courage, or persuasion. Whatever gift you're born with affects your personality— healing children are generally kind and loving (guess what gift my mother had); knowledge children are brutally honest, but have good morals; athleticism children are friendly enough, but lose interest in you if you're not able to kick a ball around a field; courage children are loyal to their friends and end up doing a lot of stupid, daring things; and persuasion children lie about almost everything and are used to getting their way. Of course these are just stereotypes, but often enough you’ll find they’re correct.
"I have an early class on how Anthea was formed," I lie. I've passed myself off as a knowledge child for the past ten years.
"That sounds fascinating!" My mother chatters as I roll my eyes. "Everything about how The Ruler created our beautiful system of life!"
"Yeah, right." I shake my head. "He didn't create life."
"He formed the society that sustains our daily lives!" She praises him.
"And what a great job he did..." I mutter darkly.
"Oh Adi..." She trails off, looking at me wistfully. "Why can't you just be happy?"
"Mother, I'm leaving."
"It would sure make your face a bit more...pleasing." In Anthea your appearance reflects your soul, attitude and personality. My face is often described as grotesque.
"I really don't care," I remind her, slamming the door behind me. Walking in the frigid morning air, I wrap my coat around me a little tighter and shove my hands in my pockets. "Ignorance is bliss." I say under my breath.
I walk along a cobblestone path, past the big silver gates, emblazoned with the Realms across the top. I haven't attended Realms since Kryan died. I turn into the woods after a minute, and keep walking straight until I see the rock. I heave the boulder to the side to reveal a pit in the dirt, roughly the size of a sewer hole. I jump down inside and land lightly on my feet in an underground burrow, pushing the stone back into place.
