SpiRited

Prologue: Avenge

Prologue: Avenge

“It's a beautiful morning, hey?” Mira says, staring at me. The sun has only just risen; It now beams through the small, old houses. The outstanding rust glows an even brighter crimson on the tin roofs and gasses from the sewer travel to the sky. Mira and I sit on the ledge of our tiny residence, dangling our legs. Here starts another day in the Beron Slums.

“Yeah, I guess...” I mumble while crossing my arms. She smiles at me, being careful not to show her teeth. They are crooked- she hates them.

“You shouldn't be up here at this time of the day. It's dangerous”, I sigh in concern.

“Nah, it's fine. You worry too much!” She laughs while rising to her feet. Her ripped, maroon skirt flows in the wind. Her hair is a dirty brown covering her tiny, dark eyes. I look down and see she isn't wearing any shoes. I shake my head at her.

“Oh, calm down. At least I am an individual, unlike you”, she mocks sarcastically. I use my left hand to touch the top of my scalp, feeling the bristles of my shaved head on my fingertips. I look down, too afraid to admit she's right.

“You better get to cram school, it's almost 6:30”, she explains, her tone now serious.

“I guess...” I mumble again, still avoiding eye contact. But I see her moving towards me. She crouches down enough to see my face and smiles.

“You have to stop mumbling in monotone, Akido. It makes you seem antisocial”, Mira says comfortingly. I give a fake smile as she wraps her tender arms around my back, pulling me own and hugging me tight. I can hear her sighing deeply. A few seconds later, she pulls away and runs off to the side of the roof, jumping swiftly onto the next house. At that moment, Granny Heima bursts out of her shack. Of course she wasn't related to us, that's just what we call the elderly here.

“Mira! Get off the roofs or I’ll call the watchers on you!” She yells, shaking her wooden spoon at her. I can't help but laugh at her angry expression as I too jump from the tin straight onto the concrete path.

Oh, Mira. You crazy girl.

I shove my hands in the pockets of my white pants and start walking. I try to keep my head down, but I can't help glancing at the people around me. All men with shaved heads, all women with very short, cut hair. They all are wearing long, plain shirts and white, plain pants. Enclosed shoes too, of course. Though they are more similar to socks. And of course we all have bar-codes on our foreheads. I force my head down, placing my palm over my head. My number; 78823415. That's my name to the government.

Mira isn't really my sister; She's my cousin. Her parents died at when she was young in a protest and she came to us. We weren't going to turn her down, right? But the Andeni only let us keep one child here. It's been a struggle, hiding her from everyone. The only people that wouldn't report her are the elderly. Still, she has freedom. Not being bounded by rules, policies, structure. Heck, I haven't seen my hair since I was born. And yet her smile is all I need to convince me that she is the only one really living. But she doesn’t have health; We can't afford medicine for her and me. We also can't risk anyone seeing her. So, when it comes down to it... would I rather be happy and unhealthy... or unhappy and healthy?

“Ow!” I groan in pain as I crash into one of the building’s pillars.

“Ha, book-boy got his head down again, hey?” A dodgy kid yells at me. I take my hands out of my pockets and cross them, ignoring him. I turn slowly and see the train station. Quicker than I can realise, the bus hauls to a stop right in front of me. I place my money in the cartridge and jump on. I walk to the back and take a seat I know no one will sit next to. Trying to not cause attention to myself, I mindlessly stare at my handmade watch. At precisely 6:45, the respective song of the Andeni sings on the large-panel screen outside my window.