While it may seem strange for a group of seventeen-year-olds wanting to sit around and listen to an old woman tell stories, something in the way she spoke about them made me want to believe in her outlandish tales.
I sped through the kitchen on the way to my bathroom. Mom didn’t even bat an eyelash at the layers of dirt caking my skin and clothes. Long ago, Mom gave up on trying to convince me to pursue more girly endeavors. Deep down, I think my accomplishments in the art of swordsmanship actually made her proud.
“Dinner’s almost ready,” she said.
With a lift of my hand, I replied, “I’ll just be five minutes.” I threw my shirt onto the floor even before the door fully shut behind me.
With practiced ease, I used my toes to nudge off the heels of my close-fitting shoes. Seconds later, my belt, sword, and pants joined my top in a dusty heap as I stepped into the booth of the ultrasonic shower.
Six minutes later, I sat across from my mom and beside my dad at our little kitchen table. Mom set the bowl down for Dad to serve up the gruel.
I barely refrained from curling up my nose. Another nutritionally dense yet disgustingly textured meal. Ugh!
I craved fresh fruit salad, but since rationing began, we saved it for special occasions or because of a rare abundant harvest. Those times seemed to be getting further apart these days.
Dad said, “It looks like I’m going to have a late night with the inventory from Viceroy Blair’s ship.”
Mom’s spoon stabbed into her bowl. “He should’ve waited until morning to dock.”
Mom hated having disruptions in her evening plans. With the way her fingers clutched her spoon, I could tell something more significant bothered her, another painful memory probably brought on by the storm.
“I’m sure he had his reasons, Charlotte,” Dad said, seemingly unperturbed. He heaped the gruel onto his spoon and hastily ate.
“I can’t wait to find out what he brought back this time. Do you think we’ll have the barter booths open tomorrow?” I hoped to lighten the tension spreading through the room.
After my first bite, I copied Dad. Taking larger spoonfuls would end the torturous meal.
We couldn’t fault Mom for the less-than-stellar food; the blame landed squarely on the poor quality of the latest batch of government-issued rations.
“No doubt.”
Dad knew how much I loved seeing the otherworldly artifacts brought in from Viceroy Blair’s space-faring travels. I could well imagine the wealth of the universe if what he brought home were merely their castoffs and surplus.
One day, I hoped to witness some of those things myself, but only if I scored high enough on my Federation Exit Exams, or FEE for short.
Consideration for the space program, especially with only the one ship, went to the highest-scoring students. The idea of being relegated to some research lab for ten hours a day made me want to head straight to my room to study.
Yet, one more reason for me to win the Tatsu tournament so I could get first dibs on the job assignments.
Only two months remained until life as I knew it would forever change. Just one Tatsu tournament and the FEE stood between my childhood and adulthood.
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Once the school year ended, I’d be relegated to the workforce, issued my new housing, and then I’d have to give up my dreams of being the best swordswoman Heliok has ever known. I’d begin the future which my sister didn’t find, the one she always wanted for me.
Ugh, I couldn’t think like this. At the same time as Dad, I shoved the last bite of gruel into my mouth. In unison, we pushed back our plastic chairs and grabbed our bowls from the table. Mom scowled up at us with her half-eaten food.
“I’m heading over to Alyssa’s house for storytime.” I put my bowl in the sanitizer bin. I should have opted to stay home to comfort my mom through the storm, but I just couldn’t handle her melancholy mood one minute longer.
“Don’t you think you’re a bit old for that, Katherine?” Mom said from across the kitchen, where she remained at the table to finish eating.
“Leave the girl alone. In another couple of months, she won’t have time for it.” Dad leaned over to kiss my forehead and hide his grin from Mom. “Have fun.”
“Thanks, Dad.” I turned to leave with Dad falling into step beside me. We’d grown so much closer in this past year; it physically hurt my heart to think about leaving my parents after graduation.
“Hugh, you make sure to check the airlock before you step foot onto that ship, do you hear?”
“I always do.” He blew a kiss back to Mom just before he shut the front door behind us.
“Will you bring home a copy of the inventory?” I crossed my fingers in anticipation.
“If I can.”
His grin told me he already planned on it.
----------------------------------------
Staring up at the storm almost directly overhead considerably slowed my pace. Bright red lightning strikes hit one after another against the metal rods protruding from our dome, illuminating the black night sky.
If only the storm could have remained free from the pull of our collection rods. I loved the wild gyrations of the red streaks, which fell too far away to be drawn to the tall metal. Brekke and I used to place bets on how far they would travel, giggling and shouting over who guessed better.
The fierce and deadly winds outside our dome stirred a primal instinct inside me to fly freely through the skies as they did. Did my sister send this storm? After all, an identical storm prevented the search parties from going out to rescue Brekke before her evac suit ran out of air.
I paused several seconds to soak in the beauty of the storm before I let myself in the front door of Alyssa and Drew’s house. The dull roar of the other kids’ voices let me know I’d arrived late.
The participants in our longstanding evening tradition grew substantially in the last five years or so with the addition of the younger siblings.
Luckily, I didn’t need to worry about where I’d sit; Alyssa always saved me a spot right beside Grandma Talya. Yes, we all called her Grandma Talya.
In actuality, Alyssa and Drew alone could validly claim to call her grandmother, but she became a surrogate grandmother to all of us who visited for storytime.
Grandma Talya’s storytime represented the most enchanting moments of my life. After Brekke’s death, I knew she’d live on in stories. We gathered around the evening’s electric fireplace and listened to the unfolding tales of the mythical dragons.
Not only did the dragons fly freely through the skies and live in harmony with the people, but legend also said they were responsible for keeping the land viable. The theme of hope always remained; just the details changed from one telling to another.
Here, we could all dream of better times. Our dull daily lives held no meaning here. At tonight’s gathering, the teenagers’ faces held rapt attention as they listened to the story, beginning in the same manner as all of the previous tales.
“Long ago, when the dragons lived here on Heliok, the people lived in harmony with the gentle giants. Other rumors persisted about the dragons having the ability to talk with the people, although I don’t know how much credence I’d put into that detail. Anyway, I digress; the people lived alongside the creatures.
“The dragons claimed many different classes. The majority of them belonged to the working class. These dragons kept the plants growing, the water pure, and the air breathable.
“You could tell the dragons apart because of their particular colorations. The ones who took care of the plants matched their role with green bodies and brown underbellies.
“Likewise, the water dragons sported solid blue bodies, which some said came from the water itself. Lastly, the air dragons with their light blue bodies and white underbellies kept the air pure.”
“What were the other dragon classes, Grandma?” Drew asked.
Never having heard this particular version of the dragon tales, I eagerly leaned forward.
As if she considered how much she should divulge to our impressionable minds, Talya smiled at her grandson. Coming to a decision, she nodded curtly and began speaking again, “There were two more classes: the royals and the warriors.”