Ria
I was laying comfortably on the small cot that the orfanage called a bed, reading one of the few books that remained in the orfanage when something screamed behind me. I shivered but ignored the wailing as I kept looking at my book, not daring to turn my head and see the resentful spirit that no doubt was behind the unnerving noises.
" Ria, dinner's ready. Come eat!" Illiana's voice made it through the walls and reached me as clearly as if I was standing right beside her.
I jumped up in shock and immediately remembered. Today was meat day. It was the one time of the week when I could finally get some meat. Sometimes the color was so suspicious that it made me doubt if it was even meat, but most times it tasted good and meat was meat, so I let it go.
It was enough that the teacher was able to procure meat at this time. After the great war a thousand years ago only a few patches of land remained habitable and the amount of animals and plants that lived there had decreased, making meat a very scarce and valuable resource.
Hunters risked their lives getting the meat. They had to fight against other hunters and the prey themselves, who had evolved to defend themselves from the increased number of predators. That meant that even a strand of meat was precious.
No one knew how the orfanage got the meat, but I wasn't going to ask.
Ignoring the spirit behind me I ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time, and reached the dinning hall in record time.
" There you are! We've been waiting for you" Illiana, our teacher and the only person who had ever cared for me smiled as she placed the plates on the table, her smile bright.
" I'm sorry" I smiled back as I ran to my seat, besides Lii, a scrawny little girl that had been brought to us not even a month ago, and Ers, a mischievous little boy that was always up to some kind of trouble.
" Here you go" Illiana begun placing meat in all of our plates. My mouth watered from the smell of cooked meat coming from the dishes in front of all the kids.
As usual I was the last one. Being the eldest had it's disadvantages. I had to always be the one to take care of the little ones, but at least I had a place to sleep and food on my plate. Lots of orfanages would kick out an adult, but Illiana had never even suggested it. She just asked me to take good care of the little ones, which in a good day wasn't that hard. On the bad days though, when I could hear the spirits wailing and screaming at me, their bloody bodies right in front of me, those days it wasn't so easy taking care of anyone.
" Here you go. Enjoy" The moment the meat was on my plate I gave Illiana one big smile and then I begun eating, completely devouring the meat with my hands.
It tasted good. I loved meat days. Whenever I ate it made me feel better and the spirits go away, or it mostly did.
I ignored the screaming woman in the middle of the table, her ghostly white dress moving with an unseen gust of wind.
" Ria, could you take Lii and go buy some groceries when you're done?"
Illiana's white hair shone like diamonds when the sunlight hit her, making her seem like an angel. Her kind blue eyes and smile lines told the story of her life, a life filled with love for others.
" Sure, Illiana "
Illiana's smile faded as she looked at me.
" Mom"
Illiana's smile came back.
She had been like a mother to me for my whole life, but it was still a little bit weird calling her mother when none of the other children ever did. If it were up to me I would just call her Illiana, that was her name after all, but the smile she gave me whenever I called her mother was worth my discomfort and more.
" So how's your day?" Illiana turned to look at one of the smaller children and they begun chatting away.
I smiled at the warm scene, feeling the warmth blooming in my chest.
After finishing the vegetables on my plate, I hated them, but I was the eldest, so I had to set an example, I got up.
" Let's go" I tapped on Lii's shoulder.
" Let's" Her sweet voice placed a smile on my face as she got up, mocking the other kids who had to clean the plates. It was one of the perks of going shopping, we could skip the cleaning, which was great.
Illiana never gave any young children any tasks, and the tasks that the other children got were always managable.
At the beginning I also had to clean and cook, but after burning half the kitchen and setting a fire I wasn't allowed anywhere near the kitchen anymore.
My cleaning skills weren't the best either, so I was stuck with taking care of the children and shopping, which was a pretty good deal in my opinion, at least the childcare part was.
" Let's gooooo!" Lii was jumping up and down as she squeeked, excited.
Most children never left the orfanage, the world outside was too dangerous. The beasts could pop out of nowhere and attack you and even of they didn't the outside still wasn't a safe place, but that wasn't something that couldn't be said to a seven year old, so I just smiled, understanding her excitement.
" Okay, okay, but put on your coat first"
Lii pouted, looking at me with puppy eyes.
" Either you put on the coat or you stay inside"
Man, I had never seen Lii running so fast before. She ran up to the door and put a coat on real fast, not even bottoning it up before proudly spinning and showing me she was ready.
" I'm all done" Her smile was bright as she looked at me.
I chuckled and put on my clothes, ignoring the ghostly hand that reached out to me from my right. Not today, not ever. I knew better than to akwnoledge it. The one time I had made that mistake I had almost lost my life. Never again.
" Are you ready?"
Lii nodded with all her strength and opened the door, well more like forced it open, running outside with a scream.
Looking at her I couldn't imagine myself ever being that little. I couldn't imagine having that much energy, not even when I was little. I was always bewildered by how much energy kids had, it was like a never ending well.
" Don't run so fast" I run after her, screaming for her to stop.
Lii didn't listen to me and just run faster, her white hair shining under the soft winter light.
" Come on, we're going to be late" Lii kept running as she spoke. I didn't know how she did it, kids were made of another material entirely.
I sighed from where I was following Lii, but ran faster. She wasn't wrong. The nearest town was almost an hour away and dusk wasn't far away. We had to hurry unless we wanted to be outside in the night. If that was a bad idea in summer, in winter, when the temperatures could drop so much that not even a fire could keep you warm, that was the worst of the ideas.
I ran as fast as I could and soon caught up to Lii. No matter how much energy they had seven year olds still didn't have the legs to outrun adults.
" I caught you"
My smug smirk must've pissed Lii off because she crouched down and threw some of the remaining snow from last week's blizzard straight into my face.
Cold crept all over my face and I shivered. Man, was it cold. Despite my thick wool pants and shirt, paired with a thick coat, I still felt the cold. Now with the snow all over my face it was even worse.
I wiped my face quickly, shivering as I looked at Lii, who was looking up at me with a smirk on her face.
" Ah, what did you just do?" I pretended to be offended, taking my hand to my chest.
Lii giggled and ran away.
Kids, they were so easy to read, and so much fun when they weren't throwing tantrums.
" Arf"
The sound of a bark made me twist my head downwards, where Lilu was wagging his tail, happy to see me.
" Do you want to run too?"
" Arf" Lilu barked and sat down, looking at me with his big, red eyes. He was adorable.
" Go catch her"
I smiled when Lilu looked at me one last time and then took off, running as fast as he could with his eight legs, catching Lii in a second and tackling her to the ground with his massive body.
" Looks like you got caught"
I smirked at Lii from above.
She looked at me with bothered eyes, but she was smiling from the ground, where Lilu was licking her all over.
" Come on, we really have to hurry"
" Oh" Lii pouted for a second, but got right back up, running away again. " Let's go"
" Hahah. She has so much energy"
I looked down at Lilu for support, but he was already gone, running after Lii.
Really, I didn't have the energy for this right now. Nonetheless I run, a smile on my lips as I caught up to them.
" What are we going to buy?"
Lii's curious face looked at me.
" Some vegetables and clothes"
" Vegetables?" Lii made a face I couldn't describe as anything other than pure disgust. " They're yucky"
" Come on, they're not that bad" They were that bad, but as the eldest I had to behave. If Lii told the rest that I was also against vegetables then it was all going to become hell.
" If you say so" Lii shrugged, but she didn't look convinced. I wasn't either.
" I'll buy you some apples"
Lii's face brightened and she looked up at me with utter respect.
" Really? Apples?"
I nodded. I had enough spare cash to buy an apple or two. Besides Illiana always told me I could do whatever I wanted with the spare money, so yes. I could but an apple.
" Yeeeah!" Lii smiled and begun running again.
Really, I wasn't made to keep up with kids.
" Come on, let's go" I petted Lilu, who tilted his head and run again.
Running as we were it didn't take us long to reach the town.
As soon as we saw the path no longer covered in snow I called Lii back.
" From now on you stay close to me"
Lii made a face but nodded.
" Hand"
" Okaaay"
Lii gave me her hand and I took it, grabbing it as strongly as I could.
" Arf!"
" Lilu, go back"
" Arf?"
Lilu's tilted face was so cute that I just wanted to hug him and stay with him, but I couldn't.
We would never hurt Lilu, but the same couldn't be said about all the other people on the town.
I didn't want Lilu to die.
" Go back!" I used my most convincing tone and pointed back at the orfanage.
" Hhhm?" Lilu dropped to the ground, his eyes begging me to stay.
" Liluuuu"
" Arf"
Lilu protested one last time and finally ran away.
" Can't he stay?"
" No, but we'll see him back at the orfanage"
Lii looked at where Lilu had gone to and then to the town, barely visible among all the snow and small peaks that sorrounded the whole area.
" Remember what I told you"
I held her hand as I pulled down my hood.
" I remember. I'm seven!" Lii spoke so proudly that it made me smile. Seven, as if that was old enough. Seven was just a child.
" I know, but you really have to behave"
Lii nodded, holding my hand.
I really didn't like this outings with the children, but I could see how it was beneficial to them. They couldn't stay inside all the time. At some point they had to learn about the outside world, whether to live alone or to know the world when they got adopted.
" Now, close your eyes" I held her hand tightly as we walked closer to the town, following the only clear path.
I grabbed my old bag tighter. The money inside was meant to go for food and clothes. If I lost it or they stole it from me then the orfanage wouldn't be able to feed the children for a while. I refused to let that happen.
" Are we there yet?" Lii kept complaining, trying to sneak a peek every now and then. Every time she did I chastised her and told her to close them back.
" Just a little bit more"
Lii sighed so loudly that I thought something was wrong with her, but no, it was just a tantrum from a seven year old.
After walking for a few more minutes the town gate finally came to view. The old wood that had been used to create the barrier all over the town stood strong, showing their strength. I always feared that a single spark could bring it all down. Fortunately we were deep in the northen territory, where the temperature never rose too much. In the South this would be impossible, but in the north? That wood barrier was as good as a stone one, not as impenetrable, but easier to maintain and repair.
The town seemed peaceful from the outside, but the moment you got closer to it you could tell that wasn't the truth.
Hanging from the gate three corpses were rotting, having been there so long that most of their flesh was gone. All that remained were the bones, a few bits of flesh stubbornly stuck to the bones and their organs. Half of them were spilling out, their guts visible in their stomach cavity.
Their eyes were glossy looking at nothing as they stared into the horizon, threatening anyone that dared to come close to the town.
I looked at them and pulled my hoody closer.
" Eyes closed?" I grabbed harder, looking at Lii for any signs that she was watching, but her eyes were truly closed.
" Eyes closed"
" Good. We're almost there"
I withheld the urge to run away and pushed forward, not looking at the spirits in the eyes.
Unlike near the orfanage, where I hardly ever saw any spirits, and if I did they were all mostly complete, the sorroundings and the town itself was another story completely.
Near the gate over a thousand spirits stood, wailing and screaming while they attacked each other and tried to kill us.
I stayed strong, not akwnoledging their existence as they passed right through me. Every time they did that my whole body shivered and fear rippled through my body. I wanted to run out of here, but I needed to get the food and clothes.
I ignored the broken spirits, half of them who were missing limbs or even half their body, and continued walked.
I held onto Lii and finally crossed the gate. Inside was as bad as outside. The spirits were everywhere, wailing and attacking anything that moved, thought no one seemed to notice. The people over there went about their daily lives as normal, as if there weren't vengeful spirits all over them trying to kill them.
They were so lucky they couldn't see them. I would trade almost anything in the world to be able not to see them anymore, but it didn't seem as if that was happening any time soon.
" You can open your eyes now"
Lii slowly opened her eyes and stared at the town in awe.
" It's great!" She began running and skipping, smiling in excitement.
I wished I could see this place like she saw it, but all I could see where the side eyes from everyone that was keeping checks on me.
I looked around, checking no one was looking under my hood and then looked up.
Hell no. I ran as fast as I could and caught up to Lii just when she was about to pass the gate, curious about how it looked from outside. She didn't realize there was a reason why I had told her to keep her eyes closed. I didn't want her to see the death that sorrounded us. Death was a constant in this world, but she didn't have to know just yet.
" Why did you stop me?"
" We have things to get" I grabbed her hand back and held on tight, making sure my hood was well placed over my face, hiding my features.
" Okay, but could you let me go? I'm not a child"
I looked at Lii and snorted. Not a child? Right.
There was no way in hell I was letting go of her again. She had just proved she wasn't trustworthy, she was going to run the moment I let her go, I could read it in her eyes.
" Let's go buy the vegetables" Lii's face fell. " And the apple" She smiled at me again as I begun steering her towards the merchant area.
I didn't look back as the spirits of the corpses on the gate followed me, as they always did. I didn't know why they liked me and always followed me around. I hadn't showed them I could see them and had done nothing special, but still, they always followed, their expressionless faces looking at me without ever looking away.
I shivered when I felt their gazes penetrating into my skin. I had to get out of here. As soon as we bought what we needed we would get the hell out of here.
Why couldn't they deliver our things right on our door? At least that way I wouldn't have to come here. I took another step as I shook my head. There was no way we could have that, we weren't rich.
" Are you okay? Not that I'm worried about you. I'm just worried about getting my apple" Lii's worried eyes looked at me and my heart melted a little. She cared about me but wanted to hide it to seem mature. She was so cute.
" I'm fine, let's go buy some stuff"
" Buy!" Lii smiled again and tried running away. I pulled on her hand and raised my eyebrows. " Sorry"
I sighed. This was going to be a long shopping day.