What She Thought She Knew

Prologue

     Light. The sunshine was so bright. It pierced through the air and burned my eyes, it warmed my skin and made me feel alive.

     The underground. That's what Akane was used to. Darkness sprinkled with artificial light. That's the world she had known since birth. But now, coming to the surface for the first time, she could see the light that the world had to offer.

     It wasn't only the light that seemed to spark Akane's interest. Each and every one of her senses were being flooded with new, unknown powers. She could hear how words seemed to get lost in the air rather than echoing endlessly across the walls. The warm summer breeze that tickled her skin was different from the musty, humid, suffocating feeling of the tunnels. And the scents. She inhaled and was struck by something new each time. So many wonderful fragrances tore through her being, the sweet smell of cherry blossoms and grass. Cement, dry and dirt encased, it intrigued her. Coffee, she could smell it around every corner. The bitterness of the beans threatened to stay in her nostrils but was overpowered by the salty, mouth-watering scent of a variety of flesh.

     Humans milled about on the surface, paying no mind to their surroundings or the impending danger that lurked around every corner. They seemed too absorbed in their own little world to see what gift they were blessed with around them. Many stared down at devices they held in their hands, ones in which Akane had never seen before. She was tempted to take the object from a nearby human, but after her eyes lit up at the sight, the all too familiar voice of her mother piped up. "There, you've had a nice long look at it. It's going to take some time, but maybe one day we can move up here for good." The redheaded woman placed a hand softly on Akane's shoulder as she guided her back inside of the tunnel. While one hand showed her the way to go, the other rested on the ever growing lump in her stomach.

     We... We're going to live up here?
The young girl was pulled into her frantic thoughts. I'll get to see the sky every day... Not only that, I'll have a baby brother to share it with!
     She was practically jumping out of her skin with joy as they fought their way through many twists and turns before the air around them grew thicker. Mother and daughter walked side by side through the building, the ground underneath them began to descend. The older female kept one hand close to the youth, the other covered the quickly growing lump of life in her stomach. They made their way slowly back to the place Akane had always called home.

Home... Not as beautiful as the trees.