Eternal Flame

Chapter 9

Jackson

Five minutes go by, then ten, then twenty. With each ticking hour, the wind grows more and more restless, the original breeze of cool air now chilly enough for me to wish I had more layers of clothes.

The line was getting shorter, and I notice Kyle standing on the other side of the stage, already done his speech. I hadn't heard much over the loud waves of my own thoughts, but I remember vaguely that his invention involved architecture.

The crowd was slowly thinning out as well as more and more people left, either from the cold weather, or because their child or sibling were done with their duty. The winner should be announced by tomorrow morning on T.V, or for those who lacked the appliances in their own homes, it would be posted outside of the Dome.

My own turn was coming up next, and with each passing second, my nerves fluttered inside my stomach. I ran over my speech at least thirty times by now, but it still seemed incomplete somehow. The pressure and fear were all pressing down on me, and I could almost feel Rose's excitement burning through the crowd.

Our family have enough money. Mom took over my father's job as a store owner of our local grocery store, and so we had always lived comfortably in a remotely large house.

As to why I'm here, that is for Rose's sake. Since she is deaf, winning this competition might win her a trip to the capital's hospital, where she would have an operation which will make her have the hearing and speaking ability once again.

"Jackson Boyd," the announcer speaks into his microphone.

At the sudden sound of my name, I jolt upright, my thoughts knotted together inside my head more than anytime since the morning. I take a deep breath for the hundredth time this day, hoping the ties and knots inside me will disappear soon. I walk up the steps and onto the stage, then towards the microphone. The wood under my feet creek with old age, and the burning smell of cologne sting my nose as I get closer to the bald man.

The man steps down, leaving me the only person standing. I turn my head towards the rest of the audience, who are clapping patiently as always. I try to pick out Rose or my mother from the crowd, but they must have been at the very back, since my eyes could not find neither of them.

Stopping at the foot of the podium speaker, I begin my speech.

"After the war, this nation was left with nothing, and yet, it had managed to pick up the pieces and start over, turning over a new leaf, starting fresh, creating a new generation, with new hope," false hope. A gulp of air enters and leaves my body.

I pause. A gasp leaves my mouth before I can stop it as I see my father standing at the very front of the audience, staring at me with black, hollow eyes. No, I shake my head. My father's eyes are green. His eyes are sea green.

I try to take a deep breath, but my body refuses to take in the air that has been offered to me so generously in the past. I glance at the man with the hollow eyes again, only this time they have turned into a warm shade of green, welcoming and... almost comforting.

His white cotton shirt is stained with specks of blood, his usual auburn hair is matted and a shade darker. He wears a pair of jeans that are faded from years spent in the washing machine, and the Lugz work boots he always wears looks like they've traveled everywhere.

A shiver travels down my spine as we lock eyes, and all the waves of memories are suddenly crashing like tides inside my brain. Nausea squeezes my insides. He looks so real, as if I can reach out and...

At the back of my eyes, I can feel the waves going over high tide, threatening to spill out of my eyes. I blink, once, twice, drowning in my own sea of darkness that has overcome me. I grasp at something familiar, and use push it in front of the sea of sadness.