Shadow

Chapter One - Broken Harmony

Kiro tucked into his morning toast and jam with great enthusiasm, taking huge bites a time. His mother was working away at the sink, scrubbing the grease out of one of the pans from yesterday's tea. The telly was blaring away in the background. 'More soldiers killed in Coutier', the neighbouring country. They were on the verge of a war. Luckily, the people in the small rural villages in his country, Imicius, hadn't been badly affected other than some families had had to send loved ones off to war.

Kiro's father was a scientist. He worked in the city. Kiro didn't quite know what his father studied in because he didn't talk about it much. Kiro shoved the last piece of the crust into his mouth, wiped the crumbs away from his mouth, dropped the plate into the steaming, bubbly sink, causing his mother to sigh at the extra work, and went up the stairs.

After walking down the corridor and opening the door on the end before shutting it quickly behind him, he slid open his curtains, letting light seep into the room, revealing a cerulean painted space with a grey carpet and a decently sized single bed pushed up against the wall.

Outside, through the window, revealed a magnificent view of the mountainous village which had been built to fit around the nature instead of destroying it. In the summer sun the stream in the distance was shining. His neighbours house was full of vibrant flowers like geraniums and hyacinths.

He turned to his wardrobe and extracted some clothes from the hangers. After changing he glanced at the mirror, fixing his messy Jett black hair which never seemed to go the way he wanted. He had chosen a navy blue hoodie and some black joggers. His eyes were an electric blue and his jaw was sharp and ridged. His skin was an almost ghostly pale. He was fairly tall for his age and decently smart. He put his phone in his pocket and head out onto the street, shouting goodbye to his mother as he shut the door.

It was the summer holidays, to his great relief. If only they would last forever. He had arranged a rondevouz with his two best friends for the day. After a decent walk through the village, passing the bakers and the library with the particularly moody old librarian  with the small pointy glasses which sat on the very tip of her nose so she could look down on people, he reached the cafe.

They were both waiting for him, stood by one of the bollards designed to stop cars from going on the pavement. There was a boy and a girl. The boy, upon seeing Kiro, straightened his back and waved with a smile. Alex. His hair was short but spikey and coloured like tree bark, his eyes were a grim hazel. He was slightly shorter than Kiro but still really skinny. He was the joker of the bunch. The girl was called Lotis. Her hair was straight, dark and shiny and went to about waist length. Her fair skin was dotted with the odd freckle. Her eyes were a rare emerald colour and she was a similar size to Alex if not a bit smaller.

"What kept you?" she asked. Her voice was low for a girl.

"I got up a little late sorry,"

Alex butted in. "It's unforgivable. The death penalty is not sever enough for this crime. What should we do," he was grinning from ear to ear. The gentle breeze was starting to increase.

"Stop it Alex," Lotis groaned. But she too was grinning slightly. "Anyway let's go in," they headed for the door to the cafe, which was a mahogany wood with spiralling glass inside. Upon entering they were hit with the distinct smell of coffee. The interior was dim and bland. The owners clearly wanted a relaxed environment. There was a man slouched in one of the sinky armchairs on a single table against the wall in the back furiously typing into his computer. The three picked a table and went to sit down.

After ordering the three started talking. Nothing too interesting. Mostly complaints about annoying school teachers and that sort of thing. "So where are we going today?" Asked Kiro inquisitively.