Within the Walls

Cold air bit at my face, harsh and unforgiving. Night wove a curtain out of its own depression and frustration and decided to block out the sun earlier than I would've liked. At least that was how I thought of it. Colors licked at my skin, mostly red from the wind's beating. I felt my boots, a childish display with ladybugs dotting the red background, become weighed down by the snow. It was rare in my town to be having snow, so very few of the residents on my block were ready for any amount of snow, which was to say was not that much compared to the states up north.

  I didn't enjoy the unusually cold weather, nor the slosh of the melted snow on the front yard lawn. The houses on Monroe Street were lined like little cubes of blocks that little children played with at schools. They were all very dull, really, nothing significantly setting them apart from one another except for the occasional flag bearing the sign of their heritage, which territory they came from in the Republic's multiple marked territories. There were seven territories in all. All named by their founders. Most streets in that territory held the name of the territory's founder, relatives, or children. Monroe Street was an exception, being the name of our territory's founder's closest friend, if you could call him that.

  Our territory's founder, Gianpiero Snyder, had been a man that was hardly worthy of the title he had worn. In the many pictures of him, Snyder never smiled, didn't have a hint of the cordial manner of a politician. He also did not have the air of a very powerful man either. In fact, I would have rather named him to be a bored butcher. He was rather plump like one and rumors said that he had premium meat from the best Snyder Territory had to offer every single day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Some even mentioned that he disgraced Snyder Territory's butchers by buying meats from other territories. All in all the folks in Snyder Territory didn't give him half the respect that he should've received.

  Finally House 418 came into view. A part of me relaxed but the other part hung onto something close to fear.