Prologue:
I am going to tell you a story.
It is not a fairytale, so don't be fooled into thinking that it is one. There isn't any "Once upon a time" or "happily ever after", no matter how much I may wish that there were. However, don't close this book in the hopes of avoiding despair, for this isn't a tragedy either. Let's face it; nobody lives happily ever after, even if they have found that they are relatively happy, post- experience. There will always be conflict, because that is just how the world works.
I have told you what this story isn't about, so now I will tell you what it is about:
This is a story about change, and how my friends and I dealt with it while it was happening. It is about heartbreak, miracles and hope. But most of all, it is a story about freedom.
Do with this information what you will.
Chapter 1- Stupefied by Stones
Snap!
"Arg! What did my elastics ever do to you," Ailith exclaimed with hushed exasperation from behind me. I felt the rough tug of the brush as she struggled to position my hair back into place. "Now I have to start over again! Give me another elastic would ya." Not bothering to wait for my response, she reached around and plucked an elastic from my hand and returned to her braiding.
I sat obediently and waited while she wrestled with my hair. Not a minute passed before another snap sounded, followed by Ailith's frustrated howl. I heard her hissing death threats toward my defiant hair.
"Your elastics are too flimsy," I stated in a hurry, trying to prevent another repeated round of "Braid n' Swear".
"No, you just have too much hair."
"Which is why you should have gotten thicker elastics." I said, suppressing a smile. Ailith was amazing with sneaking around, but she wasn't bothered with quality. My smile faded quickly though, as I remembered how close it came last night. I turned on my butt so that I was facing her and was surprised to see a vulnerable expression on her slim face. I was instantly contrite.
Ailith sighed. " I'm sorry okay? It was just so dark and you know what the Uppers do when they catch someone stealing. I had to get out of there as soon as possible." By Uppers, she meant the Upper-class townspeople that lived at the top of the Mesa; a steep hill that flattens out on top. It's surrounded by a trench that the poorer citizens, such as Ailith's family, and mine, were forced to live in after a large number of immigrants took refuge here. No one knows why they came, but they were in such a bad condition when they arrived, that we just assumed that they were runaways.
So now we live in a trench. Since it's always muddy, floods when it rains and a large number of the residents are caked in dirt, we officially christened it the Sinkhole.
"No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have criticized. Don't worry about it, 'kay?" I hurriedly changed the subject, hoping it would cheer her up. "Hey, just out of curiosity, what else did you manage to grab?"
It worked. A sly smile stretched across her face and she wagged her eyebrows. "I got us some breakfast!"
My mood brightened also. Those three words alone seemed to be enough to erase all the fatigue from my limbs. I propped myself up by pressing my hand against the cold wood floor. I straightened my back and stretched the muscles in my neck. When we had a fruitful night, and came home with a full bag, we would usually hide out for a while to avoid suspicion, and since Ailith's house was an automatic forgo, she was staying at mine. Unfortunately, both of us had stayed up all night, leaving both our bodies hurting and our nerves split.
At the promise of breakfast, we helped each other up and took a minute to shake out our heavy limbs. My back ached steadily, but I ignored it. Ailith and I bounded to the kitchen, which was a simple and extremely small room with a counter in the centre, a wash bin on the left and some cupboards lining the far wall.
My house itself was more the size of a small sized shed. It was only one floor and all the rooms were cramped together in a 30' X 30' space. The kitchen and living area took up most of the house. The walls were plain because we couldn't afford any kind of lavish decorations.
"So, what've we got," I asked, excitement and curiosity getting the better of me. Breakfast was a truly rare occasion.
"Well," drawled Ailith mischievously, trying to create some suspense. As if there wasn't enough already. She continued on in the slowest possible manner. "I, being of sharp reflexes and of even sharper mind, have stolen, solely out of the generosity of my heart and the stickiness of my fingers, a gorgeous breakfast, consisting of only the finest spoils in all of the shining town of Sinkhole - "
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're a genius; we should all drop to our knees in worship… blah, blah, blah. Seriously, Ailith! I'm dying here! Just get on with it!"
Just then I heard a floorboard squeak and looked to the hall on my right. Dune must be just getting up, I thought. Sure enough, his small form emerged from the hall and, once he caught sight of me, beamed his trademarked tooth-gaping smile.
"Hey Kiara," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
"Good morning, Dune. You're just in time! Ailith is just about to reveal the breakfast that she claims will be the best thing that we will ever taste." I looked over at Ailith with a sarcastic smile.
She stuck her tongue out at me.
Abandoning all hope of getting my hair braided, I ended up just pulling the long, dark tresses back into a loose ponytail. The reason for the loose ponytail was mainly due to the fact that the elastic wouldn't go around my hair the third time. For breakfast, we had eggs and bread, something that, despite Ailith's opinions to the contrary, wasn't the most tasteful since the eggs were rubbery, and the bread was stale. We wouldn't dare complain though, because we had it better than most. We had a knack for trading. This skill had saved our lives more than once, and when it failed to do so, we also had a super weapon: Ailith's knack for stealing. As much as I hated it, it wasn't like there was a choice.
Ailith was indifferent about it. She had no sympathy for the Uppers. She took whatever she could and rubbed it in their faces, something that always bothered me about her. I remembered when I first met her.
A small sized girl with curly blond hair, a face with slim features and big brown eyes. She was running towards me, her arms wrapped around a carton of milk. I watched as two men ran after her, followed by who I guessed was the girl's mother. All four of them wore the same desperate expression, though the mother was more angry than anything.
I had always been somewhat of a martyr, and that day had been no different. I kindly paid for the milk, and sat there while Ailith's mother apologized to the shopkeeper and droned on about what an unruly daughter she had. That moment, I had looked over and saw Ailith watching her mother with sad, liquid brown eyes. Ever since then, Ailith has purposely made a point of stealing, and went out of her way to make sure her mother knew about it. I had never figured out why she would want to prove her mother right.
I also let her stay at my house whenever she wanted to on the count of her rough relationship with her family.
After consuming all the breakfast that I could manage without insulting Ailith, I dragged myself to the bathroom. It was a small room, (surprise!) and lacked the space necessary to do anything else other than stand in one spot and stare at a dusty mirror. It was mounted so close that I had to go cross-eyed to see my reflection.
The girl in the mirror looked young for her age, far too young to wear the serious expression that she did. Her face was round, and her skin was cast in a silvery pale, save the pink hue of her cheeks and lips. Her dark hair was back in a messy ponytail, with the exception of a few stray strands of hair that sprawled around her face. She would have looked completely unremarkable if it hadn't been for her sharp green eyes, which implied a strange nobility hiding beneath.
If only I could find that and bring it out. Then people would listen to what I have to say…
I shook myself internally at the sheer idiocy of that thought and continued on with my morning routine, doing my best to avoid the accusing eyes of the girl in the mirror.
The vendors were just opening their shops when we arrived at the Mesa. It had taken a good half hour to climb the steep path that wound around the hillside, mostly because we were preoccupied with rubbing the sleep from our eyelids. Ailith and I had decided that it was high time to take Dune on an outing. He hadn't left the house for almost two weeks, a fault on my part since I had forgotten it was summer vacation and that he didn't have to go to school. I haven't gone to school since my parents…left, neither has my older brother, Brendan, who now practically lives at his job.
The sun rose while we were climbing and now painted the sky a beautiful gold, illuminating the town and dancing off the store's rooftops. It submerged the whole Mesa in a wash of brilliant light.
Ailith and I had wore our most fancy gowns. It wasn't that we wanted to blend in - most of the Uppers had colourful, layered gowns in rich materials - we just wanted to look a little less filthy then we usually did. My attire consisted of a plain brown slip that I wore on top of a dull, green long-sleeved shirt. I didn't bother switching my worn leather boots since they were invisible under the dress's length anyways.
I had a hunch that Ailith stole hers from a middle class household; it was more elaborate than mine. A pale yellow in colour, her garment had sleeves and an embroidered belt.
Dune wore a tan tunic and green leggings.
I really hope that it won't be as hot as yesterday, I mused. We'll all be sweating under this stuff. How do the Uppers stand it?
"Were do we want to go first," I consulted Dune.
He glanced down the long streetof storefronts, looking lost. "Uh, how about over there," he asked in an unsure voice, pointing to the left of the road. Ailith and I had to squint into the sun to see were he was pointing. As soon as I saw the shop - it's face adorned with shining crystals, gems and a sign declaring it "Earth Treasures" - I gasped.
"Don't even think about it Ailith, it's in pure daylight and the owner has a - "
Ailith grinned, "Too late!" Then, before I could say anything more, she ruffled Dunes hair and crooned, "He's learning from the best this one is! Come on Dune, you can be apprentice robber."
She took Dune's arm and raced to the vault of riches.
With a groan, I followed after her.
When we reached the doorway, the door swung opened and out bristled a swollen upper-class man. He blocked our entrance and said in a loud, peed-off voice, "What are you peasants going in there for?" His breath reeked of garlic. "If I can't afford nothing in that shop, then I highly doubt that any of yous can, unless you don't come in here in the hopes to buy, if you know what I mean." His pinholes for eyes blazed down on us as he chortled mockingly. His watermelon of a belly shook unpleasantly. Suddenly a male voice roared from the shop.
"Reynard, this is the last straw! You have no right to come in here and demand half price for such valuable items, and you have no right to harass my customers! Come back when you've gained a shred of respect!" There was the sound of a sword being pulled from its sheath.
Reynard practically ran us over to get away.
"Okay, then," whistled Ailith, rocking back on her toes. I glared at her and cautioned her that I knew the shopkeeper and that, yes, he did indeed have a sword.
"I promise to be good," she pleaded. Her eyes were so earnest that I decided to let her by, but I remembered how eager she was only a few seconds ago and forced my suspicious gaze to follow her movements. I let Dune go next and then submerged myself into a world of sparkling gems.
As we weaved up and down the aisles, I couldn't get myself to understand how there can be so much beauty that exists below all the layers of dirt. I had never seen such a collection of rocks, nor did I ever before have reason to believe that rocks could be so pretty. The shop walls were neutral beige, and there wasn't much there in the form of interior decorating, but that didn't prevent the store from shining with its rows and rows of fossils, crystals, and stones. I was star struck. I could tell from Ailith and Dune's twin expressions of awe that they were just as impressed.
"See anything you like," inquired the balding man with sparkling blue eyes from behind the counter. I smiled at him in greeting.
"Yes, but unfortunately nothing that we can afford," I said ruefully. My eyes flickered to Ailith on there own accord. She wasn't paying attention to the conversation, but instead her eyes shone from the reflection of the palm-sized blue crystal she was stroking.
The shopkeeper, his name was Alistair, noticed her preoccupation as well. He chuckled and waved away my concern. "As long as she puts it back when you leave. I'm happy that you three appreciate my business, not everyone is pleased about it right now. Says it's a 'waste of a perfectly good building'."
Dune appeared from behind a shelf, holding a piece of silver ore. "Look Kiara! Isn't it pretty," he whispered, holding it out to me. And it was! It was almost a perfect oval, lustrous and smooth. It caught the sunlight and threw reflections on the ceiling rafters. I smiled down at him, immensely glad that he was having fun.
"How much is this one," he asked Alistair, holding the silver up to the counter. Alistair carefully extracted the ore from Dune's figures and rolled it around in his hands. He turned his back to us and placed it on a scale, which was located on another counter behind him.
"This one's worth at least 20 coins," he said, eying the silver with a loving expression. I held my tongue, remembering the whole scene with Reynard, but my mind was screaming.
Twenty coins! I know we don't know much about currency, but still, that's more money than I've ever seen in my life!
Alistair continued on in a smooth voice, "But, taking into consideration that almost everyone that's ever walked in here is under the impression that I charge too much, I will part with it for 10 coins." I sighed in relief, not for myself, but for the sake of the future of Alistair's business. It was obvious that he loved what he did, and it would be heartbreaking if he never made a sale.
Dune's reaction, however, was different. His eyes turned down and he appeared horribly distraught. "Sorry, Alistair," he murmured. "But we can't afford that either." The shopkeeper's eyes softened in response and he bent down over the counter so that he was closer to Dune.
"Here boy," he announced, fitting a small sack into Dune's hand. "This is stardust, it will bring you luck." Then he straightened and turned to Ailith and I, fixing us with a stern expression. "Now," he rumbled in a firmer tone. "You girls make sure that he doesn't make a habit out of guilty unsuspecting shopkeepers like that. Else every store on the Mesa will be run out of their stock." I thought I saw him wink.
"Thank you sir," expressed Ailith, surprising me. She gave him a small smile, and not one of those fake smiles she used to use on other shopkeepers. This was a real, genuine smile, one that made me proud and so happy that she was my best friend.
"Oh, and one more thing," he interjected. "You should take him to the Memorial down in the centre of the square. There's a piece of ore there that the villagers call 'the Hope of the Mesa', almost exactly like the silver that the boy picked up, but bigger." He grinned and illustrated the size with his hands. "'Bout as big as your head and perfectly smooth. Some loons think that it was crafted by angels," he guffawed and with a final wave goodbye he retreated back behind his counter, officially dismissing us.
When we had all pilled out of the shop, we asked a passing Upper for directions to the Memorial, and he kindly pointed us in the right direction. He even wished us a good morning.
"See," I whispered to Ailith. "They aren't all that bad."
"He was an exception," she stated curtly.
"I'm sure you can find a whole lot more exceptions if you just give them a chance."
"Why should I," she exploded suddenly. "They never gave us a chance, now did they?" Ailith's voice shook with emotion. I tried to pat her on the back in comfort, but she shook it off. " How can they expect us not to steal, or not to die of starvation, or to not be filthy beggars, if they never gave us a chance to prove ourselves otherwise?"
That sentence effectively killed all conversation instantly.
I lowered my eyes in shame and trudged through the street. Poor Dune didn't understand our silence and made a few unsuccessful attempts to get us to talk again. Eventually, he gave up on getting answers out of us and continued to blurt out sentences that only seemed to make sense to him.
"Did you ever wonder how the Mesa ended up being flat on top, huh? I think it was because before we came and started living here, it was a huge mountain! And then one day a giant meteor ran right through it, cutting off the top of it and leaving it flat. Do you think that could have happened?
Hey, I heard you talking to the shopkeeper about the Memorial. That place is really cool! I went there on a field trip one day and it was so big and ancient and powerful! Did you know that Selena is a guard there? Yeah, she looks after the artefacts there, and she knows so much about everything! Maybe she will be working today and she can tell us a story. She tells really good stories! One day, she told me about how she got here, and that she had to survive a long journey through the mountains and almost died of starvation! She said she left her home because there was a war! And that she had to leave her family behind, and she almost died of heartbreak. Hey, how many times do you think that Selena has almost died?"
The morning air had turned from cool and crisp to hot and humid in the short time that it took to reach the Memorial. I was glad that we didn't have to climb anything to get there, but our heavy clothes were enough to make us sweat. It had taken many twists and turns through various side streets to navigate our way to the centre of the Mesa, and luckily we were submerged in shade for the most part. But as we stepped out into the curved terrace that encircled the Memorial, the sun hit us with its full force.
The Memorial actually looked like the ruins of an old building. It appeared to once be a large round room, it's crumbling, moss covered stone walls protruded out of the ground and then stopped at irregular heights around the circle. Set up around the inside of the corroding walls were intriguing fragments of the past. Statues of powerful looking people, a rusty suit of armour, dirt covered documents, beautiful paintings and strange tools. In the centre of the relic, mounted on a slim, marble pedestal – which was engraved with beautiful, swirling patterns set into it's smooth face - was what we had came here for; The Hope of the Mesa.
If I was awestruck by the rocks in the store, I was completely blown away by this one. Alistair had not lied; it was huge! The Hope was also unbelievably polished. The sun's presence on this day seemed only for the purpose of reflecting off this stone. The glare made the ore extremely hard to look at, but yet, I couldn't look away. It was a perfect oval, so smooth that for a second I believed that it was crafted by a divine power. In fact, it's contours were so fluid and unbroken that it shone with a liquid grace next to impossible to imagine that it was solely created by nature.
The three of us stood there ogling like idiots.