Gen Four- Chapter Twenty One

I was out of my realm of expertise here. My skills in the creative arts were passable at best. I more preferred and was better at things like math and science. The logical stuff. Coral wished to come to the art museum though, so here we were. Appreciating something that looked interesting or beautiful was the hard part, but Coral tried to be more analytical, which had me shrugging my shoulders.

     "The vibrant lights definitely make the statues take on a weird appearance. When the beams rotate to being off, the stone is shaped to look smoother and more natural. The presence of the lights then changes them to be more...artificial, I guess? Almost like they're projections." I tried.

    "Oh, maybe you're onto something. It could be a statement to how you can't take in the world at face value. That things aren't simply skin-deep. The colored lights show the superficial, highlight the easy to see. It's when that mindset fades away that you can see the details, see the statues for what they really are."

     "Um, sure. Yeah, that sounds like good reasoning to me."

Coral nodded firmly but moved closer, studying the piece hard.

     "Or maybe..."

I smiled and took a step back, letting her ponder all she wished.

Gen Four- Chapter Eighteen

The rain meant to come tomorrow was to be the first wet day in a week and a half. The unending sun hardened the ground rigidly solid. However, my feet shuffled as if caught in the thickest of sludge with my muscles hardening like I'd run all day. I just wanted to return to the warehouse for rest, but I took the longer paths most likely to curb my paranoia. Most of them looped back around or provided me extra sight of the area I'd just come from. My widened eyes searched and locked on to every small rustle of movement. If someone followed, how could I miss them after such diligent alertness?

Relief slowly battled the fear as my feet crept me closer and closer home. I'd walked far enough away to throw off my real destination. I'd done the circling to ensure no one did indeed follow. All that was left to do was return to safety where I'm sure Larkspur would continue to prod of why I acted weird and Pieter would let me snuggle him until I was calm. I hated how cold this swampy area was though. It didn't feel freezing, but it must have been given the goosebumps rippling up and down my arms. I rubbed them down, and they came right back. I rubbed faster, and they exploded harder in retaliation.

Gen Four- Chapter Thirteen

I frowned at Pieter. What was this he was getting me to do?

     "I really don't think I can do this. It feels wrong..." I mumbled.

     "Remember what I said on your first day? They'll have a chance to catch us. That's something we make sure they have. I mean, I'm pretty good so they likely won't notice, but still. The point stands. Besides, we're hardly draining their banks accounts. If they're fine handing over a few bucks, what harm does it truly do to not spend it how we say we are? They're helping us survive either way. Honestly, they're giving us something infinitely more precious than what they think. Better karma will come their way, and we'll be closer to paying rent."

     "I...guess. I still don't like it..."

     "C'mon, Meg, it'll be fine. Remember, all you have to do is look unwell. I'll take care of the talking part."

     "O-Okay," I agreed hesitantly, to which Pieter laughed.

     "Honestly, you don't have to act sick that much. Your moping face is pitiful enough."

He poked my cheek. I swatted his hand away.

     "Let's just do this before they walk away."

Gen Four- Chapter Eleven

The edges of my eyes pulled tight and scratchy. Fulfilling that urge to scratch, or even simply rubbing the skin, made the ache worse. I told myself it was because of the crying. Seriously, my running was getting scarily impressive. I'd bolted nearly the whole way to my hut, only slowing in the last third of the stretch. The exhaustion naturally hit me when I arrived where I spent at least an hour letting my tears flow without resistance. For one brief moment, the thought of turning myself in flittered about alluringly. If all I was going to experience was these miseries no matter how hard I tried, how much worse could letting the government control my fate truly be?

Then, as I remarked on how coldly most of the members of the 'family' treated me, Tulip's words stuck on me the most. I was not weak-willed, useless, or pampered. I'd been getting the hang of this kind of life. Why give up and prove her right? All I'd have to do was be a bit more creative in overcoming certain obstacles. Lying, possibly bribing, shouldn't be too hard to get someone old enough to buy me medicine. There were plenty of other homeless people in the city too. Having been avoiding them, perhaps taking the risk to befriend some allies wasn't actually that risky after all. I laid there on the bench at the tiny pond's tiny dock forcing myself to ignore the fact that the redness of my eyes was my sickness and letting the warmth of the sun be my blanket this morning as I contemplated if I'd seen any of those people enough to trust approaching them.

Gen Four- Chapter Ten

From the dark and weightless void where I floated, a soft and gentle presence began to press upon my back. It cradled my shoulders and neck, and when I twitched and shifted it moved with me to make sure I wasn't left without support. What a wonderful thing it was. I couldn't ask for a more perfect existence. Then a burning dryness caught my throat and had me coughing loudly to make me remember what existence actually was. The fluffiness of the mattress remained, but the aches and pains of my body also manifested to bring to light once more the situation I was in. Paranoia jumped in easily too as soon as the sounds of someone shuffling about reached my ears. My eyes flashed open instinctively where upon spotting a man standing right by my side staring I hurriedly closed them.

     "If you're awake, be awake. There's no need to act," the man instructed.

Hesitantly, my lashes fluttered open once more. I'd woken on my side buried underneath the sheets and bed cover, and I was grateful they covered most of my face. The man looking down on me didn't give off a dangerous aura. Still, who knew what I'd ended up in after I passed out.

     "This is a safe place, in case you're wondering. My name's Leo."

     "Because you're orange like a lion?" I wondered before I could stop myself.

     "Yes."

     "That's unique. I like it."

     "I'm told your name is Cinnamon?"

     "...Yes," I warily confirmed the lie. "How do you know my name?"

     "We'll get to that in a bit. It was my turn to watch and wait for you to wake, but Coral knows what medicine you need now better than I do. Hold on."

Reconsidered

There was a constant hum of activity coming from the nursery. Thankfully, Isebrilia had taken to Abrien quickly and had warmed up to her brother sharing her space. She didn't cry when either were in the room anymore, which was a blessing. It was crazy enough in there without her adding to the stress. Nana and I were constantly running in and out trying to take care of the three toddlers while also keeping the house in order. It was a good day indeed when I only had to focus on teaching Cugu as Isebrilia had completed that phase. She was content to sit next to Abrien as they played with the xylophone and peg box.