Nerin
Nerin first remembered the streets. There could have been, probably was, something before that. But did it matter? The only thing that really mattered was survival. And that meant concentrating on what he had, not what he once may have had.
And there was little enough that the four year old did have. He had his brains, which were definitely advanced for a kid his age. He had his looks. The messy sandy-red hair and light blue eyes had won over many an adult, and that resulted in food. But the best thing he had was Lask.
Lask was his little brother, a year younger then him. They were so much alike, it was almost scary. The brains- Lask was as almost as smart as he was. The looks- almost identical. Even their personalities were similar. Both were calm, thoughtful, and liked to look over a situation before jumping in. 'Brave' wasn't on the list, but in any other place it would have been. It just didn't cross Nerin's mind that things he didn't blink at would terrify other kids his age. The things he did, they were to stay alive. When death was on the line, how hard was it to be brave?
Yes, the streets were tough. Just living was a constant occupation, something that took all the boys' efforts. But they did have each other. To Nerin, that was really all that was needed. He had someone to look after. The bright little-kid smile Lask would give him gave Nerin hope for the future. Lask gave his life meaning. After all, as he often told Lask, 'That's what big brothers are for- to protect little brothers'.
Nerin's world collapsed fairly easily. It started simply- a cough. With the dangers and troubles around him and Lask, a cough didn't really worry Nerin. They had both caught little colds before, and it was winter. But soon Lask was coughing. They both continued coughing. Soon, a fever set in. Nerin began to realize something was wrong, but the two brothers didn't have any money. To see a doctor, they needed money.
So they continued trying to live. But they didn't improve at all. Nerin could see Lask get tired quickly, and the kid was always freezing. Finally, one morning Lask couldn't stand up. Nerin himself felt almost as bad, but managed to get him to a hospital. They had no money, but Lask needed help.
Nerin would always be surprised how easy it was to get Lask admitted to the hospital. But they wouldn't let him see him. Instead, they put him into a bed, made him go to sleep. At first he considered looking for his brother, but exhaustion quickly overwhelmed him, and he fell fast asleep.
When Nerin woke up, there were a nurse and a doctor in the room. They rushed around, checking this, picking up that, writing things down. Nerin lay still, just watching, for several minutes. Finally, the nurse noticed him, and tapped the doctor's shoulder. Giving the nurse a nod, the doctor came and sat on the edge of the bed. Distractedly, Nerin noticed how much room there was at the end of the bed- for all his responsibilities, he was so small. "What's your name?" was the doctor's first question. "Nerin," he replied. Keeping it simple. "You have a last name?" Nerin just shook his head. Who needed a last name on the streets? Hopefully, the doctor would just go away, and he would get to go find Lask and get out of here. But the doctor wasn't finished. "What about your parents?" The little boy shrugged. How should he know? They're the ones who left! "And the little boy that was with you?" Finally! They were getting to Lask. "My little brother, Lask." Nerin's answer was his longest yet, and he expected a response just as long. But the doctor just glanced at the nurse. "Now, Nerin…." A pause. "Lask….well….he didn't do very well." Eyes boring through the man's skull, Nerin let his face command him to continue. "I'm sorry, but your brother is dead."
After that, Nerin couldn't remember much. What was there to life? His brother, the reason for living, was dead. All that work, and Lask still died. And it was entirely Nerin's fault, at least in his eyes. The people that came to see him, they all said he could not have prevented it. But Nerin thought he could see it in their eyes. Even those smooth- talking men and women blamed him. Everything around him was crashing down around him. Like taking out the cornerstone of a building, and then realizing you didn't leave first. And the worst part was, Nerin completely recovered. The disease had killed Lask, yet Nerin survived untouched. Well, physically untouched. Mentally, he was devastated.
And people kept coming to talk to him. More and more people came in uniforms. Uniforms that were special. Fleet uniforms. If Nerin hadn't been in such a bad state of mind, he probably would have realized that they thought he was one of those children. One of the ones that got sent up into space. The children that went to Battle School. But he didn't realize it until they asked him.
"Nerin?" The man at the door had been there before. He always had on his uniform- like it made him feel special. Nerin just nodded to show that he heard. After recognizing that he had seen this man before, he had gone back to reading the book he had been given. "Nerin, I'm here on behalf of the Fleet." At this, Nerin looked up. Plenty of people had come by to talk to him, but none of them had flat out said they were from the Fleet. Sure it had been obvious, but never stated. "Would you be willing to go to Battle School? We feel that you would do well there, and you would be well taken care of……" As the man continued his rehearsed speech, Nerin was given time to think. Did he want to go to Battle School? Did he want to train for war? Did he want to spend his entire life a soldier? "No," he said out loud, and resumed reading. The man looked directly at him, and Nerin could feel his gaze, though he was looking at the page. "There is one more thing I should tell you before you make up your mind. If you come with me, all your hospital bills will be paid off. And as I understand it, you owe a bit of money." Slowly, Nerin stood up and nodded. "Fine then."
It seemed no time before Nerin and numerous other kids were strapped into their seats, ready to go into outer space. The other passengers talked, trying to ease their own tension as well as get to know people. But Nerin, he sat. There was no need for him to talk. He had plenty enough to think about.
First on his mind: Lask. They had had a funeral for him. Only a few days before Nerin left. He was surprised. In his mind, rich people never did anything for poor people, and he and Lask were definitely poor. He guessed now he was working for rich people. But in that coffin was all of Nerin's brother. They didn't have any possessions, Nerin didn't have anything to remember him by. Even if he did, he doubted they would have let him take it. What did he have of Lask, his little brother, his inspiration for all of his life he could remember? Nothing.
Just then, inevitably, the boy next to him turned, curiosity finally getting the better of him. "Hey, I'm Ben. What's your name?"
Only one word came out of Nerin's mouth. "Lask." It was natural, considering that his mind was focused on him. But Nerin saw this as some kind of sign. Maybe he did have something remaining of his brother after all. With a little nod of his head, his mind was made up.
"Nice to meet you Lask," Ben said, and shook his hand. The boy who from that point refused to answer to anything other then Lask just smiled, the first smile on his face for a long time.