Still Burning

Chapter 1

I dreamed of Mum's cheerful voice booming in our house again, last night. This sweet dream was, of course, ruined by the alarm clock. Groaning as I reach out for the alarm, which was ringing for the last few seconds, trying my best not to slam my hand to stop the loud noises created. It's metal top felt frigid on my warm hands, I immediately drew them back into the old duvet, opening one eye only to see darkness. My left hand wandered deeper into the duvet to find Maple and her sleeping figure.

The warmth in the corner of the bed told me that she was still there, sleeping like no tomorrow. I wouldn't blame her. Today was a holiday, but no one couldn't sleep in. No, scratch that - Nobody in the colonies could. Holidays were just for the wealthy and elite Regals. Them and their unnecessary traditions. 'We work, we need a break' or some other excuse like that. Colonials worked hard, too, but they didn't get any breaks because they are poor, born with the wrong genes.

My vision was still blurry, so I had to squint to read the clock: quarter to four in the morning. The room was still enfaced with darkness, and when I dragged myself out of the duvet and headed to open the bedroom window, my feet stepped on a devastatingly cold floor. It took most of my self-control to not escape back into the warm and cosy duvet in one swift motion. Getting up and out of the bed in a place like this was a challenge itself. I'm counting my days here since I arrived, but there is another week or two left before I leave this colony. I felt the chill air hit my face as I opened the window near the bed, and almost immediately, making me shiver.

The view outside was still dark with the stars illuminating the early morning sky. Foggy green hills surrounded with a dense forest as far my eye could see, I admired the blissful surrounding. And even though I didn't like the cold at this colony, early morning has always been the time for me. Most people were up and it was the best time to move. No one really suspected you. And if they did I just said I'm on a morning shift. Not that they question you any further.

I stepped into the bathroom to get ready for the day. Well, I wouldn't call it a bathroom, but it was the best deal I could get. It was claustrophobically small and equipped with broken tiles, dusty shower and bath which hadn't been used in ages, so it now had spider webs and fungus all over it. I doubt it even works, people here were lucky to find time to shower once a day, let alone fill a bath. Looking in the cracked mirror I saw my refection – raven hair and unusual olive skin for someone who lived at such a cold place. Most people in this colony had pale skin and light hair, showing that it was a well-bred colony.

And even though some said I looked pretty with my different look, it's not a difficult task when everyone around you is covered in soot and dust, with their deformed faces because of the radiation-related work. And though I felt grateful that I wasn't affected by these diseases, I didn't really like my appearance because I looked out of the place here. It increased my risk of being recognised. Back home, I used to fit in, I looked just like my mother, except my eyes. They were hazel, like my father's. He stuck out there, my home colony was almost as well-bred as the one I'm staying in right now so my parents had to conceal their love, which had eventually led to me. My father was arrested for a few months since he committed this crime.

My father was also the one who named me Carina. I loved him more than anything else. He is missing now, I never got to say goodbye. This thought haunts me till this day. I went crazy because there is a high possibility that he is now dead, screaming at everyone and everything, telling myself that he is still somewhere alive, crying myself to sleep. It took me years to recover. My mother tried to keep us together, but in the end, she too broke. I remember, she always used to say 'Bad times always pass in a blur' and 'stay strong', she wasn't wrong, but those memories never fade. They stay to remind.