Chapter 2
Searching the expanse
Everywhere he looked there was snow. The floor was an endless plain of whiteness, and right in front of him was a lake of some kind. Stained a navy blue color, the placid lake seemed to beckon to him. Yan put one finger in, and found it to be warm. It was so tempting to jump into that water, seeing as to how cold the outside world was.
But he didn't know. What could be in that water? Why was the water such a dark blue? Why was the water so warm? How could the water remain so warm when its surrounded by such a frigid cold? All of these questions didn't have answers, but it didn't matter in the end. After pondering it for a while, he jumped straight in.
It all changed. The water instantly became boiling hot, and slowly the color changed from blue to a dark purple. He'd done it now. He corrupted the water with, his very presence? It didn't make sense. Nothing made sense. In fact, what was he even doing there?
"Where am I?"
He woke up back in the alley where he was earlier, except now it was the middle of the night. Looking into the dark night sky, Yan desperately searched for a star, a symbol of guidance, but to no avail. He felt lost.
"It couldn't have happened, it was just a dream!" The huge gash on his arm proved otherwise though. There he lay, looking straight up into the sky. The moon was the only thing providing light to the broken city, and for that reason he was thankful for it.
He looked around himself; his eyes wide open in the fear and confusion of the moment. "I should probably find a way back home now…"
He arrived back at his apartment and jumped into bed, filled with relief to reach his sweet home. He had some wrapping bandages in the closet, which he took out and used as needed. And instantly, he fell into a deep sleep. Finally he could relax after all the terrors of the day. It would be better if he could just forget about it and move on. Tomorrow was a new day after all.
"Wake up sleepyhead, wake up!"
Sasha's voice progressively got louder and louder as she yelled at him.
"A few more minutes please," Yan sleepily murmured.
Sasha looked at him amused. "You know what; I'm getting fed up with waking you up for work every day."
"Ok ok, just give me a second." And with that a new day began. Sasha always knew how to wake Yan up when he was being lazy (which was pretty often).
Yan began to change behind the bathroom door. "What's the uniform for today?"
" 'Oh, just whatever you want, like always,' she said with a wink. "
"Right," Yan sarcastically spoke under his breath. The wink made it all the more awkward, but that's just how Sasha's sense of humor worked; making Yan feel awkward was always fun to do.
She wore small white sneakers, with green socks that rose close to her knees. Her turquoise and white tie dye hoodie matched her shoes, and her reddish brown hair flowed down her shoulders like a waterfall.
They both left to work which was "treasure hunting" as they preferred to call it.
Together, they walked from the apartment complex to the city's main trash collection district. The pungent piles of moldy fruits and vegetables pinched Yan's sense of smell, but he just had to deal with it. The piles of random half eaten edibles and overused items reached up like mountains in the middle of the city, and both Yan and Sasha trekked these mountains in search of "recyclable" gear.
"Hey Sasha, I found some kind of automatic fan… and look at this, someone threw away a toy remote control car. This stuff's worth a fortune! Why would they throw it away?"
The nobles were wasteful; they threw things away without giving them a second thought. Of course they had the money to pay for the things though, so it didn't matter to them.
Sasha casually responded, "Well it helps us put food in our stomachs, so I'm not complaining"
They continued until the sun reached the horizon and the golden rays of the sun diminished into a fuller orange. The pair had finished collecting goods for the day, and it was time for "Part II" of work.
Sasha ran on ahead to Yan's apartment as Yan lazily followed back. By the time Yan had reached the apartment complex, Sasha was running down the dilapidated steps and back toward the market district.
For a moment running backward, Sasha exclaimed "Hurry up slowpoke! Time is money!"
Yan simply sighed, and walked up to his room to get cleaned up before joining Sasha at the market district. They didn't want to scare customers away with the smell of trash (even though most people in this poor district of the city were at least a bit used to the smell).
By the time he got to the market district, Sasha had already set up shop and was selling all the "treasure" from the day.
"Come check out our remote regulated vehicle simulator, or would you like to spice up your dining with some hand-welded, iron coated, pots and pans…only 15 gil each!"
She kept saying it over and over again, almost like a military march. The products were different every time, but the way she said it was the same every time.
Soon enough, it was getting dark.
In the end, they only made 12 gil from all the hard work of the day; that kind of money was barely enough to pay for 3 apples. The thoughts from the previous day still spun around and around in Yan's head. He couldn't get the image of the wolf out of his head. It was corrupting his mind. There was always a place he could count on to make him feel better though.
"C'mon, I wanna show you something Sasha."
He grabbed her by the hand, told her to close her eyes, and walked her calmly through all the complicated alleyways the city had to offer. She questioned Yan numerous times if she could open her eyes yet, which was understandable considering how long it took to get to that place.
"This is the place I like to call my paradise"
Sasha opened her eyes expecting something phenomenal. Maybe it was a broken slab of rock shaped like a person, or a huge green tree (a rarity in that concrete jungle), or even a beautiful fountain with an angel blowing water from its lips.
It was a small decrepit building in the heart of the city, tiny alleys and small houses surrounding it from every side. The paint on the walls was all gone, and holes littered the building like it was a block of cheese a huge mouse had found days ago.
Sasha eyed Yan discerningly, wondering what Yan was up to. There had to be some kind of catch.
"Follow me," Yan excitedly said as he walked up the creaky steps on the side of the building. Once at floor two, he led her onto an open balcony. "Come on, sit down with me."
As he said that, Yan lay down on the floor, and looked straight up into the night sky. The heavens were full of stars that night.
"Sasha, do you think that there's anything more to life than this?
She seemed confused. "What do you mean, Yan?"
Yan just blurted it out; "I've just got this feeling that I need to go somewhere, somewhere new. I don't know where…but-"
A concerned look crossed Sasha's face as soon as she heard that coming from Yan's mouth. "Yan, are you ok? …
Right after she said that though, she paused for a few seconds and thought about what he had just said. Her look immediately changed from that of a concerned mother to a wondering philosopher. She looked up into the night sky, staring into the sparkling stars that filled the black sea.
Yan reassured her, "Well I guess we'll find out what's in store for us soon enough."
They looked into the night sky, waiting for their dreams to take over.
"I wonder what paradise is like, the one the nobles are always talking about. It sounds like such a perfect place…"