I'll Never Be The Same

Chapter 4

My eyes flutter open, and the musky smell of the morning fills my nostrils. I turn around in the canvas bed, which belongs to my brother, and find him sleeping next to me. Nightmares are horrible. But it doesn’t make it any better that I have assassin training today…

Urgh… I don’t to go, but I kind of have to. The mayor has my word, and I must keep that promise.

I slip out of the cold thin sheets, and walk over to my dressing table. I take out a tattered t-shirt and a pair of ripped jeans. I slide them on my body, and then walk over to the cracked mirror. My reflection in torn in the mirror, shards of glass are missing, leaving my reflection with missing pieces. My long black hair cascade down my shoulders, big brown eyes stare back at me, a hint of anger, sadness and devotion, moving around in pools in the large brown orbs. Chocolate brown skin from my ancestors, passed through the blood of my family. I’m quite short, only 1.65 metres. I get my height from my mum. Mum…

Tears form behind my eyes, and I blink tightly, to get rid of them. Mum and dad… Droplets of water slide down my dirty cheeks. My dad still hasn’t come back. I remember that day like it was yesterday…

“JUST RUN! I WILL SEE YOU AGAIN! I LOVE YOU!”

I slap my cheeks, a habit of mine, and regain my focus.

I am an assassin now. I may never see my parents again. Deal with it.

I pull my hair into a ponytail, and tug on the ends of my shirt. I walk to the kitchen and scavenge the cupboards, looking for any kind of food. My tummy grumbles loudly, telling me I need food desperately. Things will change. I will earn money. I will buy food. I won’t be suffering every day, for the rest of my life. I will have meaning to still be on this planet…

I look under the broken kitchen sink, and pull out a glass jar with a crack running through the side. It jingles quietly when I move it. A small amount of money falls out of the jar when I tip it upside down. The coins pour into my hand. $6.30, that will do. I put half of the money in the jar and put that underneath the sink again.

I leave the house, heading to the market to see what I can buy with the minimal $3.00 I have.

~

Very few people hobble around the town square. Lopsided limbs, sagged faces, and dirt filled nails. Old and young men and woman scramble to their jobs. Most of the people in Soyer work in mines, our Sector’s specialty, but sometimes the get the option to resign and start their own business. If no one is wealthy enough to own their own business, peace keepers do it themselves, and take all the money, that we all need desperately…

I walk to the local general store, and swing the doors open. The smell of rotten fruit and vegetables float through the store. A commoner owns this store, not a peacekeeper, so they can’t afford well grown, fresh fruit and vegetables. But they are top quality for us, and we are very lucky if we get our hands on any of the old food.

At the counter is an elderly lady. Her eyes have sunken back into her face, and thin eyebrows sit above her eye sockets. A long scar runs down the right side of the cheek. It’s gone pink and brown over the years, but her skin constantly reminds her on the accident.

“How may I help you?” a small frail voice comes from behind the counter. I look up at her, and she doesn’t look happy at all.

“What can I get with $3.00?” I question, and she nods slightly.

“Well what kind of food are you after, young lady?” I she asks, looking around her store, and gesturing to the rotting food.

“A mix a fruit or something, surprise me.” I say, and put the money on the counter.

The lady takes the coins and puts the money in the cash register. She grabs a paper bag from under the counter and hurries around the room, picking up small amounts of different foods. After a few minutes, she hands the bag to me.

I thank her and walk out of the store. Peering into the paper bag, I find; a bruised green apple, a handful of unripe strawberries, and half a carrot. I smile gratefully and pull out the apple. I rub it on the ends of my shirt, another old habit, and take a bite. The juiciness of the apple flows over my tongue, making my taste buds flutter. It’s been so long since I have had some decent food, and this is just delicious. I eat the rest of my food while walking over to the training centre, where my journey as an assassin will begin…