Duplus

Chapter 43

–––Amaani's POV–––

On a normal day, the Ushain sky was somewhat muddy and dark. As if it was about to rain any second. It hardly did though with only a few trick-lets now and then. The streets were usually busy with people minding their own business and not really interacting with each other to the extent that it seemed like even smiling at a stranger was frowned upon in their culture.

At least, that's what Lexie told me as we hopped around the markets, finding interesting things to look at. But, that day was quite different. People looked jolly and excited, with women buying beauty supplies at almost every vendor's shop. Even the sky was smiling, illuminated with rays of sunshine flocked with big, fluffy cotton clouds at every meter.

"They don't look as unfriendly as you're describing them to be," I commented, looking at Lexie. I adjusted my brown face mask and pulled back my hijab to push back the rebellious strands of hair forcing to pop out. I figured I wanted to change my look for a day which was why I wore a mask instead of a gloomy black veil and a white shirt over a long maroon skirt, paired with a knee-length brown jacket.

"That's because they have a festival today. Tonight at Boon Rocks, they're going to gather and celebrate their independence day." Lexie pointed at a nearby stall, laden with black and red flags, accessories, makeup, and printed shirts. "See now why they're selling everything in black and red? Those are their flag colors. It's supposed to be symbolic of their country and culture." She explained, her eyes twinkling with interest.

I nodded, mouth forming an 'o'. "Oh," I turned to her. "But, how do you know all this? You've been here only for a few months."

At that, she grinned a little. "Not to brag, but I'm the brightest girl these Templers have in their history classes. They've force-fed us their culture, traditions, customs, and whatnot. I didn't even know that these words existed until a few months ago!" She sighed in wonder at herself, realizing the absurdity of it.

"Back at Megmel, we only knew that we existed and that Father was the one who made and fed us."

I perked up at that. "Father... you guys keep mentioning him. What's the deal with this dude, anyway?" I asked quite casually to which she looked back at me with shocked eyes. "It feels blasphemous to even talk about him like that but, I have to keep reminding myself that I'm not in his control anymore." She took a deep breath as if brushing the bad thoughts off and then continued, "Father was the only parent we knew. He made us in a lab just like your friend, Usama guessed. We were brainwashed to believe that to pay his debt for taking care of us, we had to obey him at all costs. That's why all of us trained and worked so hard to earn his pleasure and raise our rankings."

I nodded understandingly as she went on, "These few months have taught me that Father wasn't who we thought he was. He only needed us to act as puppets for him to experiment on. We're just worthless toys he would get rid of if his plans don't succeed. Amaani, I can't tell you what I felt when we discovered those chopped-off limbs and parts at the factory. At first, I convinced myself that there was another explanation to this but later on, I was forced to admit that the truth really was that bitter."

I hung my head low. Mostly because I couldn't face Lexie's pained expression. But also because I feared that somewhere in that pain of hers, I was a reason.

Slowly, my brain forced my eyes to look at her. "My traumatic experiences may not be as severe as yours, Lexie but I want to let you know that I can understand. Betrayal hurts the most because there's not only physical pain but also the emotional hurt of your expectations being tattered."