Her kind was long gone. Her family was dead. The Government was out to get her. She was in mortal danger.
Delphi did not know that.
Delphi has lived on the streets of Ogygia Island for as long as she can remember. Struggling to get by, Delphi misses...
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The sun rises slowly, here on Ogygia Island. At first, it's an inkling of light, barely visible, glowing at the horizon. And then, bit by bit, it slowly creeps up, throwing the sky into a kaleidoscope of colours and finally settles for a glowing orange which warms my face and makes the back of my eyelids bright. Perhaps I have seen the sun rise more than a thousand times in my life time, but I don't think I'll ever get tired of it.
But the blissful moment is short-lived, and comes to an abrupt halt as the screeching, deafening sound of the siren pierces the air. I scramble down from the roof, throwing my worn blanket off me. When the siren is heard, the day begins. And when the day begins, I must become invisible.
The iron rungs of the ladder are rusty and creaky but they are strong enough to hold my weight as I drop down to the alley below. People have already started trickling into the street perpendicular to my dank, make-shift home. The rats are sent squeaking and squealing into their holes as I stroll out to join the stream of sleepy-eyed, slow commuters. I pull the hood of my jacket over my head, lest someone recognizes me.
Of course, not many people know me - they consider themselves much superior to the homeless stranded on the streets and alleys of their opulent Island - but if anyone caught me camping out on a property such as Lei's café, I'd probably be tried for trespassing and executed publicly. The Laws are harsh, in all Sanctuaries. They are meant to ensure the safety of the citizens, but Julius says that it is to ensure that the Government is always powerful. I don't know which version to believe.
I turn right, once I reach the pavement, and almost run into Lei, who is crouching to undo the locks on her shop. I stumble to a halt right before I trip and fall over her body, and she grins up at me, gold lips glinting and sparkling. Lei has the most eccentric and extravagant personality of anyone I have ever known – but she's also the kindest citizen in Ogygia.
"Look where you're going, Wanderer," she says teasingly and I smile at her. Wanderer, she calls me. Because that is what I am – a wanderer, roaming the pristine streets of Ogygia to survive. To exist. There is nothing tying me down to this Island – except Lei Wang.
Six years, she has let me live in the small room on top of her family's two-floor café, at great risk of losing her own life. Six years of kindness I have yet to pay for.
She jumps up, and pats my cheek – the highest point she can reach. She's a decade older than me, but she barely comes to my shoulder. I feel something hot pressing the flimsy material of the jacket and look down to find a packet of what seems to be freshly baked bread thrust against my abdomen. The heavenly smell of baked goods envelopes me, and I feel my stomach rumble.
Lei laughs merrily and says, "Take it, Dellie. I baked it just for you." I wrap my hands around the fresh loaf, guilt sloshing sickeningly in my stomach as I do so. She is too kind to me.
"I wish there was something I could do in return, Lei. I owe you my life and my health. How can I ever repay that?"
"Aww, now don't go all mushy and emotional on me. I'm too old for that," she jokes and I scoff. With flashy, electric blue highlights in her straight raven hair and slanted blue eyes, she is one of the prettiest women on the Island. I wonder how she's still single.
