Episode 5
440 Words
Memories are funny things. Sometimes the most trivial things are the sharpest in your mind’s eye. For me, I could recall so vividly the appallingly brilliant colors from that day but not much else. The day everything changed for my brother and I. The day we lost our parents and were forced to begin carving out our own destinies in this unforgiving society.
I could still see in strikingly clear detail the calming pattern of our floral wallpaper. My mother loved being outside and I had a vague memory of her laughingly telling my father that she would succeed in bringing the outdoors inside one of these days. I even remember focusing on the grain pattern of the floorboards interrupted in patches with the lovely strawberry blonde color of my mother’s hair- usually so smooth and perfectly styled- tinged an oddly brighter shade from her blood. I remember how vibrantly yellow and orange the afternoon sunlight was as it streamed through our little living room. Was it really that orange or was that just the color of my father’s tattered shirt? Even as a child, I was in awe of how perfectly the beam spotlighted the scene.
At the time, I don’t think I was quite old enough to really understand what I was seeing. I just knew it must be terrible because my parents were lying so still and Elwin’s hand immediately clamped over my eyes- jostling me- once he fully registered what had happened. Though we were twins, he was always much better under duress than I was even then…
Another person ran into my should and jostled me back into the present. I shook my head lightly and began making my way toward the palace as my brother instructed.
After our parents died, we learned much later that, since we were relatively poor, not much had been done to catch our parent’s killers. Most people thought it was a random act of violence on the fringe of our society’s settlement outside the city walls.
As a result of that day, Elwin was thrust into the ranks of our warriors to make his way in the world, and I was allowed to live with him if I helped the other women maintain their weapons and supplies. Since he worked his way up through the ranks, we had access to all sorts of places around the city that most people would not ever have a reason to explore. I used this secret knowledge now to enter through a little-known side door of the palace.
- Writer
