Siblings' Decade

A Shortstory

Sera widened her eyes in fear at the sight of her parents being captured by the invaders. Her parents were arrested and taken away at gunpoint. She shook while holding her little brother. Sera's tiny hand tries to open the door of the wooden closet that has managed to save them from the invaders. Then her sobs turned into a tearing roar that broke the evening. Her little brother who was only three years old was confused and soon he cried too. They kept hugging each other until morning.

"I had to go to our neighbors first, tell them that Mom and Dad were arrested by the invaders. Alex, I hope you wait for me silently at home." Alex, the younger brother, nodded while sinking his face on the sofa cushion. Sera hurried away, the thirteen-years-old girl walked through the residence with misgivings while looking around her. It's quiet, yet gripping. People can't be seen at all. Sera continued in her footsteps, turning into a yard closest to her home.

Just wanting to knock on the door, Sera was surprised to see the door wide open with many blood splashes on the floor. The house was very quiet, like no life. Sera tried to call the occupants of the house several times, but nothing's there. She rushed to another neighbor's house and it remained the same, with no one. Sera kept trying until the next two houses. The circumstances are all the same. Where did they all go? Were they arrested like her parents last evening?

Sera took all the food available at her neighbors' homes. Life as a colonized person has successfully trained her instincts. She re-entered their homes one by one and carried more and more parcels. She immediately ran to her house and closed the doors and windows tightly.

"Everything is not there. So far there are only the two of us, Alex." Sera complains to Alex. Alex just fell silent, looking at Sera with his round and bright eyes.

Months passed until the year changed. Sera and Alex survive on food from their neighbors' homes. Sera was still able to return to her neighbors' house at that time and destroy all the belongings in her neighbors' house. When the four houses were cleared, she ventured to walk further and managed to get food from her other neighbor's house. Fortunately, so far, their residence has been supplied with electricity and irrigation, so they can still survive quite well.

On the other hand, Sera begins to worry about their unclear situation. They need to find a new place, not live in a dead city like this. A week later, they carried their backpacks, walking away from the residence on a sunny day. During the trip, they saw a lot of very quiet surroundings. It seems that this city has been abandoned for a long time. Sera and Alex enter a convenience store with thick dust and spend the night there. By taking a lot of food of course.

Srekk srekk

Alex blinked. What is that sound? He immediately got up and looked at the source of the sound. An almost middle-aged man in layered clothes can be seen dragging his sack around the convenience store, while loading the goods in the display case. The man reflexively turned his head as Alex kept watching him. The four-year-old boy was flabbergasted, only to see others again after a long time. He was stunned not to react.

"Hi, son. Are you stealing too?" greeted the man kindly. Alex remained silent.

"Are you alone? Where is your post tent?"

"No. He's with me. He is my brother."

The man looked back, finding Sera standing behind him.

"Oh! Apparently, siblings. Very good."

Sera immediately pulled Alex's hand and hurried to go outside the convenience store. Without forget to carry their backpacks and carry parcels from the convenience store.

"It seems that you are nomadic, are you willing to live in our post tent?" the man offered.

"No, thank you for offering," Sera replied straightforwardly. The first rule is not to easily trust strangers. That was the message their parents used to be.