What an astonishingly poor RealLife early morning. I woke up around 0200, confused; didn’t even know where I was. Fortunately recognized my wife and started asking: where are we? what’s the time? are our daughters here? Needless to say, she thought I was having a stroke, flicked the light on, and did a FAST check, which was negative. I was able to barely go back to sleep, but woke up when people were talking and playing music on our front street. Again, wife sits up; “there’s no one out there.” A somewhat rough few hours later, I texted DayJob I was in no condition to be dispensing meds and that I’d come in tomorrow. Personally? I think I did have a small brain bleed. Oh, well: getting old.

More importantly, Nike flirts a little with Akaiame, as he knows she likes him. The idea of the priests is re-introduced, followed by a non-specific warning about the Wall around this place. Two days later, she has an encounter with a Little Broken, who says something which causes her to have a breakdown.

Enjoy my content? Buy me a beer!

The eastern sky was red; it was time to go.  It was then that Nike chose to drop into the chair next to Snaran, across from Akaiame.

“You’ve learned a lot today?” He took a drink from the blonde girl’s glass of juice.

“Hey!”

He ignored her.

“Yeah.” She drank some of her own.  “Don’t like all these rules…”

“Wait until the priests summon you,” he laughed.

“What?”

“Sooner or later, every Broken gets an interview.”

“Why?”

“Not sure, really,” Nike said, leaning back.  The chairs for their kind had very low backs.  “Sometimes I wonder if they do it out of boredom.”

The red in the east was now purple.  Snaran yawned; Nike stood.

“Shortest way back is due east, but I imagine you’d rather not swim the river in the clothes you’d just bought.” He shifted his arm left.  “So, northeast, to the bridge.”

The girls stood.  Snaran yawned again.

“Nike?” Akaiame asked.

“Mmm?”

“Those boys in town… is there any crime here?”

He paused.  Was that a ‘yes?’

“Not,” he began, “like what you’re thinking.  Some petty theft amongst the humans; and they and we both lose our tempers from time to time.  But otherwise, no.”

“Okay.  Thanks.”

She and her friend had just made it down the steps to the grass that surrounded the café.

“Akaiame?” Nike called.

“Yes?”

“Never go near the Wall.”

“Oh.  Okay.” 

They walked northeast.

***

The next morning, taking a pear from a basket where they ate, she walked west, thinking about work.  I’m not very big… and I don’t have the muscle mass the boys have… she continued without stopping through the working Shop area, returning the waves but deeming a smile too much.  Going into the town, she saw a few Broken she didn’t know – girls from The Farm – and nothing like a ‘Help Wanted’ sign.  Setting her face to the north, she passed the clothing shop and stopped at another plaza.  On the far side, opposite her, was a massive double-gate, set into the Wall.  A way out.

‘Borrowing’ another fruit the next day, Nike’s friend, Nozh, stopped her on the way out and gave her a piece of parchment.  More of the gold lettering she couldn’t read.

“What’s this?”

“You’re summoned by the priests; they sorta run this place,” he’d replied.

“Yeah, Nike mentioned them.” Akaiame glanced at the page and back.  “What if I don’t go?”

“I… don’t know.” He looked aghast.  “No one’s never not.”

Fine.

She’d crossed the bridge and plodded southwest.  She saw Nike’s café off to the right.  She arrived at the crossroads and looked up at the Hill of Winds:  about ten rusty wind turbines turned slowly in the easterly breeze.  Akaiame took the road that led to the tall hills to the northeast.

She froze.

Someone was crying.  It was up on the hill, so the wind was against her, but that was crying.

She left the path and began up the Hill of Winds.  The crying grew louder near the top… there!  Sitting just away from a turbine was a girl of no more than ten.  Her shabby light gray dress and worn sandals jarring compared to her perfect charcoal wings and her shimmering, silver hair.

Akaiame knelt next to her.

“You okay, little girl?”

She looked up and Akaiame gasped:  her irises were silver!

“He… he’s gone!” The little one cried.

“Who’s gone,” she asked, lost.

“My brother!” At that word Akaiame doubled-over from the pain in her gut.  “He left me!”

Another stab.

“L… left you?” she managed, both sick and angry.  Why?  “Where?”

The little girl stood and pointed towards the dark wood to the southwest.  Without a word, she started crying again as she took off running.

“Brother…!” She yelled.

Akaiame made to stand to chase after her, but at that shout collapsed face-first into the tall grass.

Must… get… up…! Must find Brother…!

Gagging, she stood and began to move after the flash of silver and gray at the base of the other side of the Hill.  A rock caught Akaiame’s foot and she tumbled the rest of the way down, shouting in pain every time she rolled over her wings.

“That… sucked…” Akaiame pushed herself up just to see the little one vanish into the woods.

“Wait…!” she croaked, running after her.

The woods were dark, but not impenetrable.  Akaiame couldn’t see the girl but could follow her crying.  It seemed to be just a little lighter ahead…

Akaiame ran out of the wood.  Into moonlight.  She froze.  It smelled like rain.

I hate this place!  Where did she go…?

There was a flash of moonlight on the ground moving towards some stone ruins just ahead.  The Wall loomed, black and ominous, just beyond.

“Wait!” Akaiame yelled, starting after her.  Tell me about your brother, she wanted to cry.

The silver one threaded through the ruins towards a dais up three steps and maybe two yards across.

“Please, let me – ”

There was a crack of lightning, but was it from the sky or the Wall?  Akaiame stumbled again, blinking her eyes…

The girl was gone.

No… that lightning…no…!

Akaiame staggered forward reaching the dais where she’d last seen –

There was a dirty gray dress, two worn sandals…

And one halo.

Akaiame slumped to her knees.  It began to rain.

“Brother…” she muttered.  “I miss you more than my life.”