-CHAPTER 2-

Someone knocked on the door of our home. I sighed, and got up from playing cards with myself to check who it was. Standing at the door was a boy my age. He had red hair, which he kept equal length on all sides. His green eyes sparkled with desire.

“What’s up Keshet?’ I greeted.

“Hi Lavi, I was wondering if you wanted to walk to the outskirts with me and Naomi. I ran into her by the fountain, and she couldn’t walk 3 steps without saying how great it would be if you were there.”

I glanced at the playing cards laying on the table, then looked back to Keshet. I thought about it, and going outside would beat playing cards 10-1, considering I lack the ability to think even a single move ahead.

My face went a little red, but I agreed to go.

I left the door ajar, and rushed back to my room to prepare. I quickly put on a nicer shirt, pair of pants, and socks.

I tried to leave after this, but Mother stopped me. She insisted that I brush my teeth first. Reluctantly, I obliged.

While brushing my teeth, I checked my appearance.

I had a direct face, with a strong jaw even at 12. My spikey blond hair increased my height by a little, and my ears were relatively tucked away. I was tall for my age, but still paled in comparison to adults. My hands and feet were quite long, and slender in comparison. Generally, I was what one would call skinny.

My purple eyes followed me in the mirror, as I looked over myself. Once I deemed I was ready, I gave myself a thumbs up.

I reached for my purple coat. I always wore it out of the house, ever since I was 7 or 8. At that age, my Father gifted it to me. I remember him saying,

“One day you will not be a slave to the worthless, but a king of the great and the brightest. That is why I give you this cloak, so that you remember this dream of mine.” The cloak has never outgrown me, because my Mother is an excellent tailor. Every time I outgrow it, even a little, she gets straight to the hard work of extending it for me. There’s never any issue with the quality after an extension, and sometimes it looks even better.

I wear the cloak like a charm, and I can’t imagine not wearing it everywhere.

“Be careful now!” Mother said, waving as I walked away from the front door.

Naomi was a short girl, with short brown hair. She wore glasses emphasizing her hazel eyes.

“L- Lavi! It’s been a while…”

“Yo,” I said, casually two-finger saluting.

Naomi and Keshet are more reserved, so it’s kind of rare that they would be the ones inviting me to hang out, but that’s fine with me. If anything, I want them to gain more confidence. It gets exhausting to be the only outgoing one sometimes. Especially when these have been my only friends, pretty much since birth.

“I didn’t tell my Mom I was going to the outskirts, what about you guys?” I asked.

“I didn’t. My parents would have shot that idea down faster than a soldier can shoot his weapon!” Keshet chuckled to himself. He didn’t know about the man that was taken yesterday, and I didn’t plan to bring it to his attention.

“I told my Mom,” Naomi said, “She just asked me if I was going with a boy, and when I said yes, she just said, ‘He’ll protect you,’” Keshet and I laughed.

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“Wow Naomi, you’re lucky to have parents that relaxed!” I replied.

“Not at all!” Naomi answered, “They expect me to do everything! ‘If you want food and a roof over your head, that’s your problem, not ours.’ It’s cruel!”

Although she seemed serious at first, she eventually started laughing about her trifles with Keshet and I.

We approached the entrance to the outskirts. The outskirts completely surround Red City. They’re a forested area, with, “Dangerous creatures,” inside. Although, me and Keshet have been in there plenty of times before, and we’ve seen nothing more than a fly. Unfortunately, the guards do restrict travel here, so we have to sneak around when we get near the edge.

It was a challenge to convince Keshet to go to the outskirts for the first time. He’s quite the pessimist, so he was (and still is) very quick to abort the mission if there is a guard nearby.

On the other hand, Naomi’s first time in the outskirts she went along without a fuss. She tried to act tough, but her shivering in fear told a different story.

The three of us ventured into the forest. The trails were clear, so we cast away the idea that we could get lost.

You wanna guess what happened?

I led us a bit deeper than I should have, and the gravel trails turned to dirt, and the dirt turned to naught.

“Where are we?” Keshet asked.

“Uh-oh.” I said aloud, my hollow voice echoing in the dark forest.

“Let’s stay calm, we’ll find a way out of this,” Naomi said, reassuringly.

We sat at that spot for about 30 minutes, and no one muttered a word. If we stayed there, I thought, then maybe we would remember the way back?

We never did remember the way back, and the forest only got darker and darker.

Eventually, I stood up.

“Damn it!” I shouted, kicking a tree.

Pine cones began to fall throughout the area. The pinecones looked beautiful to some degree. Kind of like a pivotal screenshot in my life. Unfortunately, it wasn’t just beautiful to us.

A short, but large creature was woken up by this, and came to check it out.

It approached closer and closer.

“I think I’ve read about those in an old book.” Keshet said, “And they’re definitely not harmless. It’s called a boar.”

“Shoot, it’s getting closer!” I exclaimed.

The boar looked down, slammed its hoof on the ground, and began charging at us.

Without thinking, I ran in front of Naomi, and put my arms out.

“Run!” I bellowed at the top of my lungs.

B A N G

The boar was shot down, and bloodied.

We looked to where the shot was fired from, and it was a soldier. He looked young, not a day over 16, and he was in more shock than us. However, he snapped out of it quickly when he met my gaze.

“GO!” He yelled. “That’s not enough to keep it down! The exit is that way!”

I took Naomi’s hand while Keshet followed behind, and we ran in the direction he had pointed.

A perfect passage opened up for us. I saw light. It beamed in our eyes like the morning sunrise. Even though it was only 5:00 in the afternoon.

It was a beautiful image. Keshet, Naomi, and I, all simply absorbed the beauty of the picture before us.

“One day,” I began, “One day we will not be shackled by this town, one day we will see this same sight but even more beautiful, because we will see it in freedom. There will be no Laosarch, and no soldiers, but only people. All of us will be equally deserving of freedom in the eyes of us all. That is my dream.”

“Let’s make it happen,” Keshet said, surprising me.

“That’s right,” Naomi also affirmed, “I’ll be waiting patiently to see this sight once again.”

I put my arms around their shoulders, and made a promise that day.

I believe in my dream, just as my Father did in his.