Shadows of love

Changes

"His body lay motionless beneath me, and his blood... God, so much blood. His hair, now caked in dark red, was disheveled and stuck to his face, which had once been so full of life, he was now pale, almost gray. The wounds covering him were deep, clean cuts that tore through his once shiny new battle suit, letting blood flow out in slow agony. Every breath that no longer came seemed to sting the my chest."

They entered suddenly, interrupting the lesson with the sharp click of heels bouncing off the classroom walls. There were five of them, all impeccably dressed, with dark ties and suits that seemed tailor-made. They looked like businessmen, but there was a coldness in their eyes that I had never seen before.

The teacher stopped, her eyes widening. We students exchanged confused looks, not understanding what was happening. One of the men, probably the leader, approached the desk with unnatural calm and said a few words, but they were enough to make my blood run cold.

"From today on, studying is prohibited. Everyone out, immediately."

The silence became heavy. No one moved, as if each of our brains were trying to process that absurdity. Studying prohibited? But it was a joke, right?

When I saw the teacher lower her gaze and take a step back, I realized that she wasn't. Some boys rose from their chairs, slowly, incredulous, but the man repeats us:

"Now."

I stood up too, my legs shaking slightly. We grabbed our backpacks, exchanging silent glances, and headed for the door. I felt like I was in a nightmare. I, who had always loved studying, who looked forward to every lesson, who dreamed of a better future... everything was crumbling before my eyes.

Outside the classroom, the hallway was filled with other students like us, lost and disoriented. We walked in silence, no one had the courage to speak. My heart felt heavy, a lump in my throat that I couldn't clear. What did all this mean? Why had the president now also banned us from studying? I have always been against the president and the

We returned home, one after the other, like a line of obedient soldiers. I was angry, disappointed, but most of all, I was afraid. There was only one thought going through my head: what will happen now?

At home everything is perfect, everything the same as always, mum in the kitchen, dad setting the table and our dog lying on her stomach on the sofa while she enjoys her nap.

I go in and say hello as always but I quickly realize that I said hello with a different tone of voice than usual, very different, sad, low.

My mother notices it immediately, puts the pot she was holding in her hands on the table and says "Elara, is everything okay?

"No! Nothing is right! Absolutely nothing!" I compose myself and respond with a simple "No." Both mum and dad look at me, they scrutinize me in search of answers "No, nothing is going well, today 5 of Draven's men entered class 5 and kicked us out of school, as if nothing had happened, they chased us away telling us that from that moment on no one would be able to study anymore. I hate Draven, I hate the way he governs, I hate..." "Elara! Elara... we all need to calm down now okay? talk like this about the president" he approaches me "Elara, your father and I are also against what the president is doing but we can't go around saying certain things to people" I look at her with wide eyes "So what do you propose to do is it?! continue to pretend that everything is perfect, that everything is fine?! You complain so much about this regime within these four walls but then you never do anything!" "Elara!" this time it's my father "I forbid you from responding this way to your mother just as I forbid you from insulting the president outside this house!"I didn't expect it to get this far, I feel the first tear rolling down my cheek, I don't want to be with them, with people who only know how to complain, I can't, I turn and take a few steps towards the door, I slowly turn the handle until it makes no sense the clack of the padlock being unlocked, I slowly open the door and then, without looking back I whisper "I hate you" I go out quickly, I slam the door behind me and I feel the second, third, fourth tears falling, so many are falling that I lost count.

I don't know how long I've been running, but it must have been a while because I feel the air inside my lungs burning and the ants under my feet, I slow down to a stop. I look around and listen carefully, I start to hear a buzz similar to that of mosquitoes, I must be close to the fence, it is a two meter high barbed wire construction that is electrified twenty-four hours a day. I have already gone to the fence, several times, to be alone, to escape from everything, but I had never passed through here before; I decide to walk straight, sooner or later I will reach the Fence. It takes me a little while to find it, after all it's still a two meter fence; I try to identify where I am precisely, I understand that I am further south than where I usually go. I start walking north again until I find it, the only part of the fence that is not electrified.I bend down, making sure no one is there, I lift a corner of the fence, hurting my hand, then I crawl under it trying not to scratch myself too much when I hear a "HEY WHO'S THERE?" I try to hurry but in the process I hurt my calf, I don't have time to stop and think about the pain, I keep crawling until I'm outside the fence, meanwhile the guard has almost reached me, he keeps yelling at me so I start running, as far as my calf allows me, and I hope he didn't recognize me.

I run with my head down, I know this place pretty well, and then I have too many thoughts racing through my head right now to pay attention to where I'm going. "Maybe I shouldn't have done it, I shouldn't have run away, now I don't have a home anymore, and then they saw me coming out of the Fence, surely Draven will have had his guards stationed around it, and if I go back inside..." I bump into something , my breathing stops from the blow, I fall to the ground, or rather, we fall, I roll on my side until I hit my back against a tree "Ahhh" I automatically moan, then I hear moans coming from my left.

A boy, a blond boy, with messy hair and blue eyes is lying next to me, he has a scar on his left eyebrow, he is a little taller than me and is clearly trained, you can see it from his muscles "Everything okay? " he smiles "Are you always this fast?" I smile too "No, usually I'm more careful" our gaze meets and I have the strange sensation of having known him for a lifetime "My name is Elara, and are you?" he holds out his hand to me "Kael" I shake his hand and then get up, my head is spinning a little but I try not to notice it "Why are you here Elara?" here you see I have just been kicked out of the house and Draven with his guards are looking for me "No big deal, I often come here to... clear my mind. And you? What are you doing here Kael?" he smiles again "I live there" I'm surprised what dose it mean he lives there? Is he kidding me? "Are you kidding me? There are no houses outside the Fence" he looks at me and with a raised eyebrow asks "How old are you Elara?" I'm sixteen and I'm running from the government "18, I'm 18" he looks at me as if he understood that I'm lying to him "18 is... are you sure?" I'm sorry for you Kael but I'm a very good liar I also raise an eyebrow and reply "Are you seriously asking me if I'm sure of my age? What do you think I'm three?" I see Kael's lips quirk upwards very slightly "No but you're not even 18" I cross my arms "And how many do you think I would have, let's hear it?" he doesn't know me, he can't know "Looking at your face... and your physique... I'd say you're around 16 years old" my heart skips a beat but I don't show it"What do you mean by PHYSIQUE, sorry? Are you by any chance telling me that I'm too flat to be 18? I might be offended, especially since I have a third" for a few seconds her expression changes, I'm wearing an oversized tank top so it would be difficult for anyone could figure out what size I am, and apparently he would never have got it right "Let's listen to Kael, how old are you? I wouldn't give you more than 17 even if they paid me" he smiles slightly "You're wrong, I have 19" he's lying, it's obvious "Yes of course" "Elara, how will you get back inside the fence now? I passed near the border a few minutes before we collided, it was full of armed guards..." I look down, they are there for you Elara, they're waiting for you "Don't tell me they saw you go under the fence, please tell me no" I look up again "They're there for me, to kill me" I stare at him, he has an expression that reveals a slight amazement "I doubt you can come back, ok follow me Elara" "Please don't call me that, I hate that name" he looks at me "And what should I call you if not by your name?" "Call me... call me... Freya, she is a Norse goddess symbol of..." "No, no I prefer Elara so come on Elara, follow me" I look at him with a mixture of anger and amusement "Ok Karsten" he looks at me disgusted " But where do you get these names from, they're really creepy" I start laughing, I can't help myself, he smiles too "Shall we go El?" El, I like it "Ok K" I smile, he smiles and we start running again.