The trio had just gotten off the speed rail and the twins were gawking at the sight, they had never been to the slums before.

And Elias knew that most of the people were shocked the first time even if they came from the cultivation zones. Even though the cultivation zones were only a tad better then the slums, they did not have any homeless people.

Most of the homes in the slums were owned by the factories, so in order to have a home, you had to work in one of them. They docked a bit of your pay for an apartment so they could have lower rent, but if you didn't have a job in the factories, you most likely did not have a home.

As they walked down the streets to his home he felt shame, for the twins this was a new sensation but this was his reality. All the problems in the slum were his problems, even if he could not change anything there was still a feeling of belonging here.

The twin looked at him uncertainly and Elias ignored them the best he could, he did not want to explain the differences of the slums and the cultivation zones right now. He knew how the cultivation zones worked, his mother had told him about it as she came from them. His parents had tried to get a life there when they found each other, but Elias father did not know anything about the fields or growing anything on them. His mothers family had thrown them out and they went back to the slums and got jobs.

Now his father was a foreman at a factory that made the displays for the discoms and his mother was a cleaner in the same factory. But as his mother was a genius in making money she had started a small side business as a sandwich vendor at the small rest area in the factory. So when the workers had a few pennies over they would spend them on his mother's famous vegetable sandwich.

As Elias came to a stop both of the twins looked at him with bright smiles and then looked at the building.

“Is this where you live?” Freja asked.

As Elias gave her a nod he feared that they would look shocked that this old building was his home, even feel pity for the poor slum rat that he was. But they just looked, excited and curious.

“So are we gonna stand out here or go in?” Ella asked after a little while.

“I don't have that much to pack, so you can wait outside if you like?” Elias asked a bit hesitantly.

“Elias, get over your self and we are following you in” Freja declared and put a hand on his shoulder.

“We don't care that you come from the slums or don't have that much money!” Ella exclaimed and gave him a soothing smile.

Elias blushed and showed them the way in, and what steps to avoid in the stairway. He didn't want them to hurt themselves in the slums and figured they didn't want to take this trip with leg casts on. As he opened the door to the apartment he could here a light cough and in an instant, he knew that his mother was home today.

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The apartment was dark and still except his mother's coughs, they had to save money on electricity and the pollution made the windows have a dark tint to them. His motherer fell ill sometimes from the pollution, a trait someone has when they are not raised in the slums and gets immunity to the pollution.

“I'm home” He shouted and took the twins deeper into the apartment.

The twins did not follow him and as he turned around to see why he saw that they were fiddling with their shoes.

“No point in taking them off, the floor is dirtier than your shoes.” He told them and they just looked at him with amusement and followed him.

At the kitchen table with a cup of tea, his mother sat and she looked at them when they entered. She looked tired and her eyes were red from the reaction of the pollution sickness but she still greeted them with a smile.

Her eyes flickered to his bracelet when she saw the two girls and he could see a flash of disappointment on her face, but she quickly hid it again. The twins pushed past Elias and went into the room to greet his mother, where did they get their excitement from?

“Elias, who are these lovely young ladies?” His mother asked and smiled at both girls who were brimming.

“The pink one is Ella and the blue one is Freja” Elias answered with a smile as his mother looked more at ease and had a smile on her lips.

The twins and his mother started to speak about everything between the earth and the heaven so Elias backed out and went to his room to pack up his things. When he had said that he didn't have that much to pack, it was no understatement. Within a couple of minutes, he had packed all his clothes into a backpack and were done. As he once again was out in the dark corridor he heard that the girls were explaining something to his mother and she chuckled.

It felt good to hear his mother laugh again, it was something she almost never did anymore, not after his sister died. But he knew that the twins had some sort of energy that made you feel more, lively and happy.

He hesitated a bit before entering the kitchen again. As his mother was having a moment now with the twins he didn't want to ruin it with his presence. Elias hated that he felt like his whole existence hurt his mother right now, he loved her and did not want to see her sad anymore.

As he entered the kitchen with his bag on his back they looked up at him and then continued with their conversation. Good, he had not ruined it for them!

“Are you staying for dinner?” His mother asked when they were done with catching up on the latest news from the cultivation zones.

“No, we are going to catch the last rail to the cultivation zone to get the twins stuff” Elias answered and everybody could hear the load growl that came from the depths of his stomach.

“Well, it sounds like you need something to eat. I’ll make some sandwiches for you to eat on your way then” His mother decided and the twins got excited again, they seem to love food he noted.

The door flung opened and Elias father came in trailing mud from the outside. He saw Elias stand in the doorway to the kitchen and he froze when he heard the laughter from the kitchen. Elias smiled at him and showed his white bracelet and his father just gave him a tired look. But there was a flash of a smile when he heard that Elias mother was laughing in the kitchen and he snook up to the doorway and peered in.

“Girls, this is my dear old husband” Elias mother introduced his father.

They curtsied to him and then continued to help his mother make sandwiches. And his father motioned Elias to follow him back into the corridor.

“So, where are you off too then?” he asked.

“Tonight we will stay at Ella and Freja's house and tomorrow we are catching the first rail to Denmark”

“Ah, the yearly harvest festival?” He asked and smiled at Elias.

Before he could answer Ella and Freja came out and gave Elias a wrapped sandwich, and his mother trailed after them and with a look at the clock reminded them that they needed to hurry if they wanted to catch the last rail.

So they said their goodbyes and Elias felt a bit sad when he looked back at his parents as they closed the door. Would he ever be able to meet his parents again?