U-ESTO

"It's the third time this week". said Lorna as she closed the refrigerator and returned to the dishes she was washing. aunt Sabrina griped her alms trying to hold in the tears in her eyes. she worked three shifts plus a side a job but the bills just kept pileing up. now the government has increased the tax. I hated the government. all I wanted was to save enough money to get my sister and I out of this s**t hole. but with the tax amount increasing by day we will soon have to subtitue to one meal daily. I decided to take a side job to support aunt Sabrina. her health was getting worse and we couldn't afford her drugs and the rent. the last thing we wanted was to loose the house. we couldn't afford becoming homeless or loosing aunt Sabrina. she had always been there since they took dad away from us. sometimes I wondered if I would ever see him again. it's been 14 yrs since I last saw him. and Lorna..., she didn't even get a chance to meet her own Father. I was so lost in thought that I didn't notice aunt Sabrina talking to me. she touched me on my shoulder and looked at me worriedly. her eyes were still red from crying. but she still smiled at Lorna. "are you okay my dear" she asked with a weak voice. I just nodded with a faint smile and stood up. she watched as I went into my room. she just stood there staring at nothing. she could no longer restrain her tears. she knew I was not okay. she knew things were falling apart but she didn't know how to fix it. the government has made district 3 unbearable for everyone in it. especially with the gender separation. aunty Sabrina was 42. she never had a child of her own or perhaps she was never given a chance to. after that day dad was taken I never saw any male again. it was now like male and female were different species. **************************************** I woke up and looked outside the window, it was very windy outside. I closed my eyes in disappoint. this time around I actually thought it was raining. there hadn't been any rain for over 3 yrs now. I looked at the time, 4:57. it was Saturday and I didn't work on Saturdays. I looked at Lorna who was sleeping peacefully beside me. "mom and dad never wanted this kind of life for us" I thought. I missed the days dad would trick me into going fishing with him. and mom would laugh at all my imaginary stories of the lake. all I wanted was for Lorna to be happy. I buried my face into my arms as I cried. life was becoming unbearable and it was only going to get worse. the aroma of scrambled eggs and tea filled the air in the room. at first I thought that it was just my mind playing tricks on me but then I heard aunt Sabrina. "wake up sleepy heads, breakfast is ready" she said with a smile that stretched all across her face. aunt Sabrina was smiling, not those fake ones that covered the grieve in her heart but a really sincere one. I got up and followed her downstairs to find a delicious plate of scrambled eggs and bacon with a piece of grilled chicken and a jug of orange juice. I was surprised and confused. this meal cost a fortune. three times of aunt's monthly earnings could not afford a meal like this. of course Lorna had longed for a meal like this. she leaked her fingers as she devoured the chicken like her life depended on it. I sat down slowly still trying to understand whatever that was happening. the meal was mouth watering but "how did it come by" I thought. I wanted to confront aunt Sabrina but decided to wait till Lorna leave the house. I could barely make it past the juice and bacon, then gave up. I couldn't wait till Lorna left the house I needed answers. so I stood up from the table and gave aunt Sabrina a sign. she quickly got up and followed me into the kitchen. "aunt what's all this?" I asked with a concern face. surprisingly she smiled and kissed my cheeks. " oh my dear Clarice I was waiting all morning for that question, well it's about you so u most know" she said with a smile . " what do you mean aunt?" I asked confused. "you see the government is doing this little sports thing, eh...., more like a race and is paying a lot to any family who their child or children is a participant. and you know how bad things are getting around here so I signed you up for it" she said as she took a sit. I didn't know if I was supposed to be happy or sad. this was the first time I saw aunt truly happy and Lorna...., she finally ate something good in a long time. aunt was right our family really needed money and working tirelessly daily wasn't helping anymore. but she signed me up for something I don't even know about. i looked at aunt and asked "how do I know this people are sincere aunt? our whole life what they have done is to make life unbearable for us. and now they are paying families to recruit their children? aunt I don......" Lorna was standing by the door. she looked at me then aunt. she thanked aunt for the meal and volunteery washed the dishes without being asked to. I couldn't help but laugh as she kept leaking the plates all over again. I looked at aunty and sighed. I had to participate in whatever this people were doing to be able to take care of my sister. the agreement stated that as long as I was still in the game, my family will get paid weekly and we will get a 45% decrease in all things including tax. this was a big step and I promised to do anything to keep a smile on my sister's face. **************************************** I found my self in a long queue. watching as the government workers examined everyone. I wasn't fully sure about the whole thing but the thought of ditching everything and going back to meet aunt with a disappointed face was sophisticating. as it slowly got to my turn I felt my heart beating rapidly. i closed my eyes and tried to calm down but it only got worse. I felt like my heart was going to jump out of my body. " why was I so unsettled about this whole thing" I asked myself. as it got to my turn I griped my gown tightly and looked at my fit. "name?" asked a man in his late 40's. he had a huge hand that could break the table with one bang. even the pencil looked like it gave up life a long time ago. his back was hounched and his face weak but yet bright. he had a sharp gaze that could send a new born baby back into his mother's womb. his voice was firm yet broken. he had a way of looking at people as if he had a beef with them in the past. "name?" he asked again, now his gaze was fixed on me. I looked up and swallowed hard then I muttered. " Clarice vonhemel" he stared at me for a while and wrote it down. I quickly turned and walked to the next section. the next section was a building. inside was decorated nicely. it hard different hospital facilities. stay updated episode 2 dropping soon. stay tuned to read. leaving district 3 (2)