Built on smoke and mirrors

Chapter 3

"You can have this. I won't eat it before it goes bad," Mr. Green said as I dropped the bread off at his house.

I took the jar of plums from him and smiled at him. Fruit was hard to grow in Hell and preserved fruit was hard to get. "Are you sure you don't want them?"

"Positive. Thought the two of you would enjoy it more than I would."

"Thank you," I said as I put the plums in my bag.

Most people stayed around Mr. Green. He was an old man and lived in a house close to ours for as long as I could remember, but I knew the rumors that the town said about him. They said he was a Motherwealth reject and ran away to Hell. Everyone thought he was bad news since if the Motherwealth didn't want him, Hell shouldn't want him either.

But I thought that was stupid. Mr. Green was kind and honest. Probably kinder than anyone else in Hell. He had shown me nothing but support over the years. Besides Kol and Kazimir, Mr. Green would be my favorite.

He nodded as he tore off a piece of bread and popped it into his bearded mouth. "Thanks for the bread. You know your bread is my favorite."

He said that to be nice, but I took it. I knew my bread wasn't fantastic, but I was getting better at making it. In so many ways, Mr. Green was like a grandfather I never had.

"Anyhow, you should be getting home. It looks like a snowstorm is coming," he said, causing me to look behind me to see snow starting to fall in big fluffy flakes.

"I heard tonight will be cold too. Do you have enough wood for the evening? I could chop some," I offered.

He smiled. "I'm alright for tonight. But thank you."

I nodded. Then with one last thank you, I walked home with a smile. I didn't care if the snow was pelting me in the face, I was happy that I did everything on my to-do list. Now the only thing I had left was to eat dinner with Kol then study.

I wasn't sure what I would study tonight but there was a stack of old textbooks Dad gave me long ago that I could look through. There was something in there that I could learn about.

The snow started to come down harder, blinding my vision, but I knew I was close to home now. Through the snow, I could make out the shape of our house.

Finishing off the day, I sprinted to the door with my arm up to shield my eyes. I had been outside most of the day and I was ready to be warm inside.

My hand wrapped around the door handle, and I pushed myself in, shutting the door and cold air behind me.

In the small kitchen, Kol was already making dinner, filling the house with a savory fish smell. With the wood fireplace going, it made any snow sticking to me, melt almost instantly.

"It smells good," I said to Kol as I took off my boots and coat.

He nodded as he continued to cook in silence.

I didn't remember the last time he had a weekday off like this. He deserved it though. He often worked too hard for them.

"So, no work for you tonight?" I asked as he stirred the pot on the stove.

He shook his head as he refused to look at me. "I think I'll have tomorrow off too," he started carefully. There was a pull to his voice that made my stomach feel queasy.

As the silence wrapped around us, I read into this statement. He didn't have to spell anything out to me. I knew where this was going. He got laid off.

He turned to look at me with a frown as he saw my face. "Telvi, don't worry, I'll find another job."

In Hell, there was very little. My brother was a fisherman, he knew fish like the back of his hand. If he wasn't going to do that, what would he do? He would have to get training for something completely new and Renae told me troubling times were coming soon. How would we be able to afford anything?

My mind spun with worry, causing me to clasp into the nearest chair.

I would have to get a job, but I had very little training in anything. Who would hire a 16-year-old school dropout with very little training? A lump came to my throat as fear held me captive. Bills would soon mount up. We didn't have time to sit around, we needed to start thinking about our next plan of action.

"Telvi, I will get something," Kol said as he grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

I bit back worried tears as I met his soft brown eyes. "I know you will, Kol. But how long will we have to wait? There is no way I can afford the taxes on this place making butter alone," I whispered.

"I'm going to go into town tomorrow and see if there is anything. I'll also talk to Kazimir, maybe he could get me a job at the Amber mine."

The Amber mine was a terrible idea. The pay was maybe enough to cover the taxes, but they overworked their people and the working environment was dangerous. Everyone knew that Amber work was the best way to die young.

The Motherwealth needed Amber to fund their high tec projects. Only a few places in the Commonwealth produced it which meant those that worked in the Amber mines were overworked and underappreciated. We were just little pawns in their game. They didn't care how many of us died, just as long as we got the things they wanted.

I think that was how the Motherwealth saw most of them commonwealth territories. We were just here to support whatever goal it had.

The Amber mines. We couldn't let it get to that. Kol never saw Kazimir ever since he started working there. And if Kol got a job there, I would never see him either.

I knew Kol and he was an outside kind of soul. His personality would die deep in the mines. I would also lose my brother. Who knew when the next clasped cave would bury the workers? I couldn't have that. "No, we will find something else."

"I don't know what else there is, Telvi," Kol said, raising his voice at me.

I shrunk back as I wiped a tear from my face.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to... I just... I don't know what to do."

The thing was, we both knew what there was, but we didn't want to do it. I didn't want him in the Amber mines, and I didn't want to get a job in the town. But there were bills to pay and maybe we didn't have a choice.

I took a deep breath and let it out. For now, I didn't want to talk about the subject any longer. Kol wanted to make a meal and let us do that. Tomorrow would be a new day and that was when we would problem-solve.

"So what are you making tonight?" I asked as my gaze switched to the stove.

"Lake perch with some pickled tomatoes and potatoes."

I smiled as I got up from the chair. I would not let this mess up our night. Tonight would be calm and peaceful. It is always peaceful before the storm. "Sounds good. Where can I help?"