5 Minute Reads | Anthology

The Rise of Her

By edoggypaws

0509138 is the number that was assigned to him, but people didn't really call each other by their whole number. The name was usually the first two numbers of the sequence, so this boy is referred to as "05," often pronounced as "Oh five". 

After school, 05 and his friends would hang out at the scrap yard. This was pretty much their regular hangout, and they did things average thirteen-year-old boys did. They sat around, talked, threw rocks at far away targets, and sometimes ran and jumped around. 

05 grew up with these boys, as they were assigned to housing units in close proximity to each other. Rarely did someone move units. But despite his history, he never really felt like he could connect with them. They loved to talk about trivial things, like how their day went or sports. 

05 did participate in these discussions occasionally, but he was tired of them. He often wondered if there was more to the world, to life, than just these shallow conversations. 

"Hey," he said, interrupting the silence. The only sounds were an occasional creak of metal beneath their feet as they clambered over large masses. These objects were like colorful curved boxes on wheels, something his Head of Household called "cars". "Don't you think there's more to life that we don't see?" 

A redhead with freckles rolled his eyes and lazily looked at 05,"This again, 05?" 

"Cool it, eighty-eight," said his other friend, shooting him a warning glance. 

Eighty-eight just shrugged and said nothing more. 

And so 05 would try to explain what he was thinking, but his companions' responses were usually "Uh, sure." They never really had much thought to contribute to his ideas. 

05 lived in a standard unit, but then again so did everyone else. It was basically a storage unit, fitted with some air vents and electricity, although that did not do much to filter the polluted air. The air once was clean enough to see to the end of the road, or so it was rumored. 

There was a lot of rumors and tidbits that 05 collected and thought about often. 05 was curious in nature, but curiosity and thinking beyond the confines of school or work was frowned upon. But this never really stopped 05 from finding wondering and finding pieces of the past. 

For example, on a walk he was on one afternoon he discovered a rectangular object comprised of many papers, tightly bound together. The cover, though torn and faded, was colorful and had a title, "Lord of the Flies" and someone's name. Words covered each page, separated in sections called "chapters". He took it back to his unit and, when everyone else was asleep, he'd stay up and read the words. 

This, he realized, was a story. He wasn't sure if it was a story of fact or fiction. Either way, it was a whole different world from what he knew. 05 read it over and over, to the point in which he practically memorised the story. 

The story was about some boys stranded on an island. There were concepts that he didn't know, such as "grass" or "trees." He'd sometimes ask the Head of the Household what those were, but never got an answer. The response would always be scolding him for asking such questions. He eventually didn't ask anymore, and just had to rely on the context to figure it out. 

It was now late morning on the weekend. He was alone at the beach, or whatever was left of it. Nobody really visited the beach anymore, the appeal of it was lost as the amount of pollutants increased over the years. 

Waves crashed on the shore, the murky water accessorized by foam. Although the salty air didn't mask the smell of pollution and gas completely, it did give a sense of getting away from it all. He could pretend for a second that he wasn't living in a crime-ridden, junk-filled wasteland. 

It was also a place where he could think. He questioned the mysteries of the world, and why so many things were different now. How it seemed like the past was buried under half-truths and dust. 

It bothered him that nothing was explained in full, and that everyone seemed to be content with simply going through the motions. There were concepts that didn't make sense, that left him with more questions than answers. He was aware that he was only a teen, but it seemed that even the Head of the Household didn't know or experience much. 

Hands in his pockets, he kicked a scrap piece of metal aside. He then kicked a rock that rolled away, out of his line of sight. When he looked up, he could see a figure in the distance. There was a sort of fog that is rolling off of the ocean at this point in the day, and he couldn't make out what the figure was. 

He slowly walked forward, and that's when he hears it. Coughing. It sounded like a terrible cough, one that is gasping and hacking. Despite how dreadful it sounded, he crept forward anyway. Once he was able to see the source of the horrendous noise, he jumped back in astonishment. 

There stood an entity that somewhat resembled himself. But it was like none he'd seen before. Not the Head of the Household, his companions, or even the Seekers.

The figure was dressed in a garment that was much longer than his own tunic, as it reached the ground. It was waterlogged, seemingly from the ocean, he figured. The black hair was long instead of short, but it complemented the shape of the face in a way he couldn't explain. The human-looking thing seemed to be the owner of the coughing. 

05 watched in silence, afraid to approach the lifeform. He felt like he should talk to it, but at the same time was at a loss for words. Would it understand what he spoke? Could it respond? He did not know what he was himself getting into. This human-like thing could be dangerous, like the Seekers. 

As he was wondering these things, a high but melodic sound produced words that he was familiar with. 

"I can see you, you know," it spoke. He stood there, stunned, mostly by the sound. It was slightly raspy, like he'd expect someone to sound after almost drowning, but it also sounded like the old music box that he found the other moon. 

05 eventually found his own voice. "Who—What are you?" he asked, wondering if that was the right thing to say. 

The unknown entity laughed, a musical, fluttering laugh that sounded bright. However, it soon turned into another coughing fit. 

"I am a human, like you," it began, once it recovered, "but with a slight variation." 

"And what might that variation be?" he asked, inching forward, almost against his better judgement. 

"I am female." 

"Huh?" 05 not-so-gracefully answered back.

The human laughed again. "Ah, yes, you must be confused. Instead of an X and a Y chromosome, I have two X chromosomes. Before your time, my variation was necessary in the creation of humans." 

He could only stare blankly back at this fee-something. 

Laughter was brought to his ears again. 

"Let's just say, instead of the pronouns, 'he' or 'him', use 'she' or 'her'. Or you can use my name, Ella." 

"You're not identified by a number?" 05 asked.

"No, I have letters, a name. And soon, you will too," she replied, a smile playing on her lips. 

"What do you mean?" he asked, heart pounding. 

"It will all come to light soon, Man, for it is time for the rise of women, once again." 

-End-