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Color My World Short Story #3- Part One


I don't know how she always knew. Ethereal could say about four words. It was difficult to gather at this stage exactly how many she understood, and she naturally had no idea how to read a clock. That latter bit didn't matter so much as there was no clock in the room to begin with. Thus, it was difficult enough for me to keep track of time and when I was meant to leave. How she somehow understood when I was about to take off each and every single day boggled me. Was there a certain expression that came over my face? Did the inflection in my voice change? Perhaps Ethereal had the ability to read minds? With me being as exhausted as I was in that moment, they all felt like plausible answers to my confusion.

And what a problem I had on my hands. My dear little sister wore that immense pout on her face, and it let me know what was coming the second I spoke or tried to put her down.


It was a daily occurrence. A near daily occurrence, to be perfectly accurate. The leaders of the project that had given me a sister and made my blood boil each time I saw them because of what they were doing to her had been adamant in their words about keeping her emotionally distant from everyone, but their actions were another thing entirely. It was easy to say not to pick up the baby when it screamed or cried. When you had to listen to that baby scream and cry for hours on end, everyone ignored the agenda to comfort the child so they could comfort themselves. Besides, most of my co-workers were decent people. Some were complete assholes, but most couldn't push aside their concern for other people that contributed to Ethereal being way more coddled than she was supposed to be.

In any case, I was the one who listened to the screaming and crying for most of the week because I was the one who had the reason, naturally secret, that had me volunteering to stick around. I typically worked six days a week, and those days consisted of me being at work for far longer than the time spent at my apartment.

     "Ethereal, nap time." I spoke to her, hoping to avoid the danger of that pout.

Of course it didn't work. Ethereal was that strongly adamant about not taking a nap, or she knew I was using it as an excuse to separate her from me so I could leave. I figured it was the latter. She wailed with those strong lungs of hers, and I wished I had a pair of ear plugs.


With a heaving sigh, I got her to quiet by pulling her in close. I would gladly spend every moment with her if I could. I would cuddle her, play with her, and love her as I should if I had the choice. I didn't want to leave, but not leaving wasn't an option. I risked a lot even hugging her. It appeared as if I was in an enclosed room, but the walls on the other side of the half wall that kept Ethereal in her sad excuse of a world were a trick. My lovely employer had taken one way mirrors a step further by figuring out how to make one way walls. Others could look in through the windows from the opposite side, and I had no clue if anyone was there because all I saw was solid paint.

However, I risked the hug. I always did. Poor Ethereal needed them and more. She needed so much more. It was no wonder she spent the majority of her time pleading for comfort the best way she knew how. She'd never seen the outside world. She'd never felt the sun. Her 'room' had her crib, a high chair, a toy box with a few items in it, and a rocking horse. That was it, and the rocking horse had been a hard victory for me. The idiots in charge who thought they knew best hadn't wanted anything soft or plush with any sort of face, like a stuffed animal, given to her for that same reason of them not wanting her to make emotional connections. It took many meetings for me to convince them using both confirmed science and lies of my own that completely isolating her would give her both behavioral and mental detriments that could negatively affect the children she would bear that they would hope to sell. Given how uncertain the health of the first round of the children born for the project had come out and how much was riding on Ethereal's stability, the toy had finally been allowed.


The hug went on and on. Ethereal's crying lessened to a sniffle, and her iron grip in my coat wasn't quite so intense. I dared to keep her to me a moment more. Still, I couldn't help but throw a nervous glance towards those hidden windows. The person coming to take the next shift didn't concern me all that much. It was simply my overall paranoia getting to me. I hated that I'd been so stupid to get myself caught up in this kind of job. It was true I wouldn't change my choice now that I had family to protect for the first time ever, even if I consistently failed to do that properly, but I should have been able to see how too good to be true the offer had been.

     "Ethereal, you want to get a peek over the wall?" I asked brightly.

My sister glanced up at me curiously with no sign of tears. I doubted she understood what I meant, but that was all well and good. I meant to trick her with my tone of voice that lied that we would be playing more. She squealed in excitement when I started to take her over the half wall with me. Annoyingly, there was no gate or anything. That was purposeful in order to keep Ethereal successfully contained. I'd let her look over a few times, but never before had I risked it to let her physically pass that boundary.

She didn't get far. With one leg over the wall and the other inside Ethereal's 'room', I quickly bent over to gently lower her to the floor before hurrying myself fully to the other side. Ethereal stared up with wide eyes expectantly waiting for me to pick her back up and continue taking her out. However, mere seconds was all it took for her to realize the deception. The crying resumed with renewed vigor. My lungs took a deep breath, I steeled my emotions and expression, and I walked out the sliding door without a single glance back.


Luckily, my timing was perfect. The door slid closed behind me seconds before one of the co-workers I could tolerate the most entered the viewing lobby room.

     "Afternoon, Fresco." I greeted.
     "Afternoon, Eden," the laid-back man greeted in return with a smile, "How have things been with her today?"
     "The usual. I've run the required tests and given her the calculated stimulation sufficient for this block."
     "The little thing's crying again, I can hear."
     "Yes. It's best to wait out here and let her tire herself out through such means. It should be about time for her next feeding and changing when she's done, and her nap should of course follow. Do not engage her more than necessary. She's grown to expect too much, hence the constant demanding for more."
     "Right, right." Fresco nodded.

His general jolly demeanor faded with every sentence we exchanged. From what I could gather, he did not think me uncaring. I was merely doing a good job at portraying myself and my wishes in line with our employer's desired results and expectations. Fresco had plenty of seniority to conduct himself in a more relaxed manner. I had no such luxury.


Fresco took a glance behind to get a glimpse of Ethereal before strengthening his smile once more.

     "I heard they're building a new place in which to keep her." he revealed.
     "Oh?"

I made my tone mildly curious, but I was way more than mildly curious. Extremely curious was more like it, and also incredibly worried. The last thing I needed was a new room that made it even more difficult to hug my baby sister.

     "I technically shouldn't have heard, but you know how chatty Sprout is. They'll be telling everyone at tomorrow's morning meeting. I think your statements about how dangerous too little stimulation is has gotten the higher ups thinking about how to better go about this project. They're also thinking about how to contain her as she grows. That low wall isn't going to work for much longer. I can't describe much as I don't know much, but Ethereal will have a bit more freedom to move about as well as have a way to be exposed to the outside."
     "That is good. Even those involved in this project not trained medically like us should know it is not healthy to keep her contained to this extent. We have cures for all ailments, but it is better to prevent the disease than treat the disease."
     "Exactly, which is why I'm glad for this decision"

I nodded, but said nothing further on that topic. I instead sighed inwardly as my time with Ethereal was done, but my shift wasn't over.

     "Speaking of disease, you'll have to excuse me. I believe it is time for me to check on Nine. If nothing got delayed, his test results should be in." I said.
     "You go on ahead. I hope it's good news what we've gotten." Fresco replied.


Again, I said nothing. Merely gave Fresco a departing wave and one last nod before leaving the room. Ethereal's crying faded completely as I shut the heavy door behind me. That made me grateful in a way. The best way for me to keep my composure when away from her was to forget that she existed. The dull gray, slightly blue-ish colors of the hallway didn't help all that greatly in distracting my thoughts, so I focused on Fresco's words instead. I hoped the test results were good too.


Unfortunately, I knew that they wouldn't be. Life wasn't that kind. I'd learned that well.

Eleven children had been born for the project so far. One last one was on its way, and according to the ultrasounds it would be a girl. She would be dubbed Twelve. Ethereal was Four. That had been what I'd been forced to call her until it had been decided she would be staying. Only at that point had she been given the honor of a name. The other infants, most of whom were with their adoptive families, had names now of course, but when they'd been here numbers is all they were referred by. It was another way to keep ourselves distant.

     "Hey, Snow."


That hadn't stopped me from naming Nine. I naturally only spoke it when it was just the two of us, but I rarely had to be worried about being caught caring for him like I did with Ethereal. Almost everyone ignored him. They took care of him enough to keep him alive, but he had been marked the biggest failure to be born of the children. Basically blind, basically deaf, a myriad of health problems, and several mental illnesses to top it off, even lowering the price of his 'adoption' to nearly nothing hadn't allowed T.R.E.E. to find him a willing set of parents.

     "It's alright, buddy," I cooed as I picked him up the second he began to cry when he realized someone was nearby, "It's me. The one who actually treats you like a person."

Snow had been fed and changed recently according to his care chart of the wall, but nothing noted how much he'd actually been looked after. He'd been moved from the nursery weeks ago to this small room that had once been a closet. His cot was placed in the middle of the room as if he'd been pushed in there just to be gotten out of the way.


I kept him as close as I could as I double checked that he didn't need another changing or feeding. No one would care if I spoiled him with attention because as far as pretty much everyone else was concerned Snow wouldn't be around long enough for it to matter. That's why I tried to lie to myself when I made my way over to the binder placed on the counter. No one had even bothered enough to put it away properly despite it being filled with confidential information.

     "These should be your results. You've been such a trooper. I'm sure they're going to reflect that." I spoke with a heightened artificial optimism that made me cringe.

My hand shook as I opened up to the first page, and my eyes darted back and forth like a rocket as I took the information in. I got halfway down the page before my pace slowed. My stomach churned, and I wanted to read no further. There was no hope in this situation. The test results were exactly what I expected them to be, and Snow's fate was practically sealed.

     "Looks like you won't be making it," I whispered, my words cracking somewhat, "There's too much wrong. They could keep you going for a bit if they cared, but I'm afraid they don't."


Snow, obviously, wasn't affected by the news. He was content in my arms. He even smiled- a rare thing for him. I looked down at him, stared at that smile, and clenched my eyes shut tightly to fight back the warmth of threatening tears. Crying was a death sentence in this place. It felt like it anyway. I had watery eyes once due to allergies, and I'd still been given a lecture on what letting my emotions dictate my state could mean. I could be tossed off the project, and if things got suspicious enough I could be fired. I didn't want to be off the project as I had Ethereal to take care of, but being fired terrified me a thousand times more. Not only would I be separated from my sister, but there had been enough hints that if you got on the boss's bad side strongly enough that your life could be separated from your body.

     "It'll be alright," I comforted the infant as much as I comforted myself, "It's probably for the best. They've made you have such a miserable life to begin with. You shouldn't suffer worse just for the mere sake of being alive. You deserve more than that. They'll make sure you'll fall asleep nice and easy too. You'll have so much more fun up there than you will down here. I promise. I bet you have a bunch of family up there that will love you a hundred times more than I already do as well. Grandparents or great-grandparents maybe. Perhaps some family pets."

I paused.

     "I wonder if it would have been better if Ethereal had been born like you too." I mused softly.

Instantly, I shook my head. How stupid was I? What a horrible thing it was to wish such a pained existence on another defenseless child. Ethereal was healthy and relatively happy, and as long as I didn't screw up there was a chance I could make things truly right.


I spent as much time as I could with Snow until I grew positively exhausted. How long had I been working now? It had been at least twelve hours the last time I looked, and I had spent about another hour and half with Snow. There was naturally a minimum number of hours I was required to work, but T.R.E.E. didn't give a damn about the maximum. I could seriously work all day for the entire week straight, and they would think that was great. They had no problem handing me my massive paychecks either. A small fortune was steadily building up in my savings, but I barely touched it. I didn't really have anyone to hang out with, and when I did go home I did little other than sleep. My schedule was all over the place. For example, I had gotten in at 2 in the morning this day.

No one was in the men's break and locker room, and I could have honestly fallen asleep on the couch. It wouldn't have been the first time it happened. The other employees were guilty of it as well considering they could work whatever hours they wanted too.


However, I'd barely gotten a moment to breathe and relax before I caught my phone buzzing from inside my locker. There was really only one person it could be, so I picked up the call without even looking at the screen.

     "Hey, Blaze."
     "Awesome, I was able to get you right away," he responded excitedly, "I thought for sure you'd still be on the clock."
     "No, I came in early today. I actually just punched out and was about to head home."
     "Even better. This make it all perfect then. I could really use your help this weekend. I promise I won't even try to cook this time. We can order all the pizza or takeout you want."
     "Blaze, I...I don't know if I'll be able to come. There are several big changes happening at work over the next few days, and I'd really like to be around to make sure everything goes smoothly." I began to decline.


There was silence, not unexpected, on Blaze's part, and I began to pace about the room as I knew the kind of conversation that would soon follow. Blaze being so chipper like how he'd greeted me was a rare thing these days.

     "You're working the weekend again? Eden, when was the last time you took a day off?" he wondered, his tone instantly serious.
     "Wednesday."
     "Liar. I can hear it in your voice."
     "I'm not lying...entirely. I did take Wednesday off," I explained timidly, "...Last Wednesday."
     "You've worked nine days straight?" Blaze questioned incredulously and with a whole heap of disapproval, "What the hell is wrong with you?"
     "It's crazy important what I'm doing right now, especially what'll be happening tomorrow and the day afterwards. Possibly Monday too. I'll miss too much if I don't come in."
     "Well, what exactly is so important?"
     "You know I can't tell you that. It's confidential."
     "Eden, seriously..." Blaze sighed, "It's always confidential. It's always super important. Sing me a different tune. Take a fucking break. Come visit me and the kid. The others can handle things without you. Aren't you the one telling me you're still incredibly low on the pecking order? Do they really need you that much?"


Clenching my teeth, my feet took me about the room again. I didn't care in the slightest if my co-workers needed me. Ethereal needed me. Snow needed me, and I was certain action taken in regards to him would be made soon. The higher ups were now aware there was no reason to try with him. They faster they stopped having to waste resources on him, the happier they would be.

     "I'm sorry, I wish I could tell you more and make you see why I have to be here, but I can't. The workload doesn't bother me, and it's for my own benefit that I want to stay."
     "Yeah, that big fat paycheck must be nice." Blaze's tone quickly turned scathing.
     "It's not about the money."
     "Of course it's not," he mocked, "I'm sure it also has nothing to do with whatever amazing life you're building for yourself over there. You must be having the most fun, especially since you're so quick to forget the rest of us. I know you've already completely brushed off everyone from high school. Now your best friend has died, and you can't even be bothered to help look after his son."
     "Blaze, you're turning into a total asshole again. I come down every chance I get to help you with Am, but there are simply going to be some weeks where I just can't make it. I'm sick and tired of you ragging on me whenever I don't drop everything I'm doing the second you tell me to."


Blaze scoffed bitterly.

     "You know you only got to where you are now because of Coal, right?" he spat, "You were a pathetic nobody loser when he decided to be your friend, and that's what you'd be today if he hadn't. He gave you a home when you had nowhere else to go. He was the only reason you were able to succeed."
     "Yeah, Coal, helped me out. I'm not going to deny that. He was the family I never had, and I wish I could say the same for you. If you're trying to convince me to feel sorry for you, it's not working. All you're doing is showing your true colors. I haven't forgotten for a second that you were one of the bullies who made fun of me and picked on me behind my back. It's so sad that you can only manage to be a decent person when you have your brother there to bail you out of every mess you make and apologize for you."
     "Exactly what I thought, you've turned into an arrogant piece of shit. Work yourself to death. I don't care. I don't need you. Am doesn't need you. We're each other's family, and you were an idiot for ever thinking you were a part of it."

Opening my mouth to fight back was pointless. The call was hurriedly ended, and the room drowned in silence. I wanted to hate Blaze so much. It took next to nothing for him to turn on me now. His every whim had to be catered to for him to be the slightest hint of the person I'd known growing up. However, he was hurting a great deal. He had lost practically everything. His parents, his twin brother, Desire...and now he was the guardian for his infant nephew when he had no real clue how to do that.

I sighed heavily and went to my locker to get my things.

     "I'm still going home to get some sleep first," I reasoned to myself softly in irritation before exhaling loudly one last time, "But...sorry, Ethereal. Sorry, Snow..." 
6 comments on "Color My World Short Story #3- Part One"
  1. Dang, everytime you write something about T.R.E.E, my opinion about them changes. I thought of T.R.E.E originally as a corrupt company, then in season two I thought of it as a company that puts productivity as its top priority. Now, I think that it is a sort of anti-villanous company.
    Poor Snow, and poor Blaze. You know what, poor everyone. ;,(
    I really enjoy these short stories, Kelsey. I find that they really expand the universe the characters live in and show us parts of their character we do not see in the story.
    All in all, kudos and I look forward to the next story.
    P.S are you doing NaNoWriMo this month? Just curious.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh wow that was so amazing! Eden told Ethereal what it was like for him to work in the company, but it's completely different to experience it from his pov. Poor Eden and Ethereal and Blaze. I can't help but feel sorry for them even when I know all of this will work out (well not for Snow I assume. Poor baby).

    Yeah I wondered about NaNoWriMo too. If you do it it would be great if you post a few paragraphs from the story, I loved reading them in last year's November!

    ReplyDelete
  3. @Ruth Lana- Well, pretty much all of your opinions there aren't wrong. Like how it was described at the end of Gen 2, The Company has done both really wonderful and really horrible things. They corrupt as much as they save, so they really are hard to judge.

    I'm glad you're enjoying the short stories. They're highly refreshing for me, and I love getting all these extra ideas out of my head.

    I am doing NaNo this month (^^) I've also been behind all month, but I'm hoping to catch up soon (^^;)


    @שיר- Eden has so many interesting moments in his life to examine, and this period had always been one I've wanted to explore more. Even now, there's so much that no one knows about what he experienced working for The Company- Snow being one of those things.

    I am doing NaNo, and I'm still working on the same story. The second draft though! :D I finished the Prologue re-write this morning. I'm going to give it a quick look over for any minor grammar mistakes before posting it here so people can compare it to the old one.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Well, almost finished, haha. I made it through about 3/4 of the story before I lost a good chunk of direction because, after taking so many years to write it, a large portion of the story was inconsistent and full of things I no longer wanted in there. Instead of trying to piece together a loose conclusion for that mess, it made more sense to spend my time think of how I actually wanted it all to come together.

    ReplyDelete

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