Fallen Petals

Thirteen O'clock

Gliph POV  

                I watched as a young boy with scars all over his cheeks and arms walk up to me. He had nothing to do with anything, yet here he is, suffering. I bent don to his level, handing him a box filled with fresh food. "Thank you!" He beamed. The boy looked up to me with a what would be a huge toothy grin except for the part that a few of his teeth were missing. I could see the joy sparking in his eyes, he looked around 7. I stood up, looking over a line of heads some the age of humble teenagers, others as small as toddlers. None of them deserve to be here, to suffer this much pain for something they know so little about. Guilt and reality hit me hard in the gut as I realise that some of them were probably here because of me.

                I turn back face Noah; my colleague. He hands me another box of food from the crate next to him smiling sympathetically at whoever was next in line. We were at a broken down prison, everyone here was supposed to get transferred to a troop camp but the bombs from the war had destroyed it. A rescue mission gone wrong. Not being able to enter, they left the prisoners to rot. Who knows how long they've been down here. Most of these prisoners were from polarea, the stjernesvane clan. 'Pax';the organisation Noah and I work for, had only discovered the mess a couple of weeks ago and had found signals of people living inside. Pax, is an STEM and world peace organisation. We us dour tech and engineering to solve huge problems around the world such as the rising sea levels in Karnelia. 

             A while later it was down to the last 4 people. A girl about the age of eleven walked up to me, I handed her the box of food. She took the box and immediately stepped back. The girl looked me up and down. Was she judging me? Confused I tried to start a conversation, to earn her trust. "Hey there, what's your name?" I asked in a calming tone, I smiled waiting for her reply. "Is my name really relevant to your job?" Was all I got, "You'll give us food now but a week later you'll b kidnapping us." She huffed as she started to walk away. I could see the shock in Noah's  face mimicking mine, "Oof, trust issues?" He whispered leaning in. "Probably cause she knows I'm from Polarea. With the war going on and all that, she has the right." I murmured back, waving the question back. Suddenly the young boy from earlier came running to us. "Don't listen to Milla! She's always a grouchy-pants." He came to a stop next to who I assumed was Milla. "Camillo! Don't you understand, now he knows my name. Ugh! Now he knows my name too thanks to you!" We watched as the two children went back and forth, arguing. They were talking about who they can and can't trust. Abruptly, their debate came to an end. They both stood still standing next to each other, Milla leaned in to say something. "But what if he's from the søsæl clan!" She whispered not-so-quietly.

              They were right, I was from the søsæl clan, I was feared just because of where U came from. It's become a fact now, a rule among the stjernesvane people. 'Never trust a søsæl.' And I don't blame them, this war started because of us. Sometimes it made me feel sad, the thought not having the ability to be trusted. Sometimes it drives me crazy, the fact that the chief of our clan doesn't have the mind to associate, to acknowledge. To understand. My Father doesn't have the mind. Other times it makes me wonder if it's just sown into our blood and bodies. The need for vengeance, the instinct to fight and conflict. It makes me wonder if, even if the war didn't happen, would people still mistrust us? Would people still fear us? It goes to show how blood-threatening a simple vicissitude can grow. 

            As I spiralled through my thoughts, I heard someone calling my name. It felt deistant,it sounded familiar. The heavy sensation of my limbs and body came into feeling as I hear Noah calling my name trying to shake me out of my thoughts. "Gliph. Gliph! Are you okay? You spaced out for quite a while." Shaking my head, getting ready to hand out another box I see a pile of boxes in front of me accompanied by children happily playing and eating in the distance. Max started laughing. "If I put you through trance every time we have a job like this, then I wouldn't even have to work! I'd just sit in the corner drinking my coconut juice!" He mocked me as we packed up, getting ready to transport the boxes back to Pax headquarters to use. "Haha. Very funn." I said sarcastically, eyerolling halfheartedly. Picking up the boxes, I stood up and turned behind me, taking one last look at what was once a prison compound.