The Letter: Part 1

The water reflected in the sun, similar to that of liquid mercury. No matter how beautiful it appeared, the water was a black death to all who drank it. In my mind I imagined drinking it, escaping to a world not controlled by the Central, a world without thievery, hunger, and disgusting greed. The hope that I have is nothing, because there is no place so heavenly. I continue to stare into the dark water.

I very much regret what I have done. I have caved for the option easier at the time, taking the bait. I had traded the pleasure of now for the tragedy of what will be. I had taken the pity grain. I was exhausted after a week of fierce hunting, only to return with a few rabbits that I was forced to trade in for purified water. I had nothing to give my family; I was so desperate. I remember how my feet could barely hold me up as I waited in line, the grim faces of the other patrons only making me more ashamed to consider the idea. As I signed my name, my address, and my age, I was handed the grain. I regret it so much.

For weeks I raked my mind, nervous of when the letter would come. When are they going to take me from my family? After nearly six months, I had been given the false hope that I would be forgotten, that somewhere someone had erased my name. I should have known better.

I stared across the lake into the Wilds. I ached to be there. I wanted so badly to be free of worry, free of the Central, and free like the wind in the trees or the clouds in the sky. My heart urged me to go, but I shook the thought, turning from my would be watery grave and back to the shack I called home.

There is much you should know about me. I am Cirrus, from State 4 of Tempo and I have lived in the rotton town of Ellis all my life. My mother and brother are the same; we know nothing but coal and darkness. Ellis is the mining city of State 4, where most coal digging is done, because of this half the year is spent in the swells of ash clouds, giving us only hours of light. Our official name is City of Ellis but no one calls us that, only City of Darkness. The name stuck after a really bad year for Ellis. That summer one of the biggest mines had blown up and clouds of ash rained down for days. Sixty-four men lost their lives and bodies still remain missing; buried in the rocks of the coal mines. The thought made my gut turn.

"Cirrus," my mother called from the door entrance. I looked up to see her in a light flowery dress. How long had it been since she wore something so cheerful? My eyes slipped to her hands which held a letter. "it's for you." Her tone was somber, as though the life had been pulled from it. Her eyes were dull and I could only remember the way she looked when we got the news father had died. I watched her place the letter on the table as I studied her some more. The cheerfulness of her dress had lost it's touch and now seemed terribly unfitting.

Taking the letter I watched her mouth move to say something but her breath was the only thing to escape her. I glanced at the envelope and swallowed hard. My face must have dropped because my mother reached over and held my head in her hands. "Why don't you got outside and get some fresh air? It may help you." I nodded, understanding that she may need to be alone. Her voice had quivered as her hands slid down to her side. She turned her face to the floor and I knew I should leave her be. The letter seemed heavier than ever.

I opened the large, heavy sliding door and stepped out onto the cold pavement. The sun looked close to setting but I didn't mind the chill. The sunset would give me peace as I read something I knew wasn't good. The regret of signing up for the pity grain was baring down on my shoulders. I could have caught that grain's weight in meat if I had not been so hungry. I caved and took the road I thought easiest at the time, but now I'm suffering for it. I couldn't think right, so I unfolded a pool chair and laid down. The sun, even if it wasn't high, was still a nice warmth compared the chilly wind that began blowing. The sooty clouds that came from the mines rose over the mighty oaks and looked like a massive thunderstorm. Only people from State 4 would understand it wasn't a storm coming; it was a permanent cloud of exhaust mixed with the toxic ashy-discard from the fires burning deep in the coal mines. The other states nicknamed us the Stormy State, but we hardly ever have rain. Just thunder and heat lightening.

I gripped the letter tighter in my hands as I imagined what it would read.

"Dear Cirrus Foster, you have been given a life-time supply of bows, arrows, a hunting license, and enough rice to last your family a 100 years."

The thought, though not a laughing matter, gave me more courage to open the envelope. Maybe it wasn't what I expected; maybe I just owed someone else money. It's getting harder to lie to myself, seeing as I already read the address it came from.

"To Cirrus R. Cinncio
Groven Craw Hill
City of Ellis, State 4 3842723

Greetings: Cirrus R. Cinncio

You are hereby inducted into the Armed Forces of Tempo Central, you are to report to: ADALINE GUARD STATION OF CITY OF ELLIS , PROPERSI STREET & MAIN STREET , CITY OF ELLIS , STATE 4
on: August 26, 2432 at: 7:00 A.M


Tempo Central, Tempo
94724, First Street, Bane Island
Cassine Jander"

Oh well, the worst has happened. No one will be here to support my failing family when I'm off on a foreign planet battling aliens no one has seen. What will Claudas do without his big brother? What will mother do without her big man? The worst thought crossed my mind. What would they do if I died? I know the Central doesn't send mourning family checks any more and if they did they wouldn't be enough for my family to scrape by for even a year.

The trees across the lake remind me of smoke. Not because there is ever a fire burning in that part of the forest, but because of how much soot has settled in there. I hope one day the coal mines will let out such a strong gust of wind and ash it will swallow up all of Tempo and there will never be another hungry day where children die of starvation. Most of all I want the draft, the letter, and even the discovery of Camille to of all just been a dream.

I decided against staying out any longer. The sun was setting, the night was coming in with a chill of frost,and the mosquitoes were terrible. I looked to the sky and found a small sliver of the moon showing. I watch as an eagle flies in front of it, then the great bird disappears among the treetops. Eagles are rare here, especially since the geese and game birds left. I was lucky to see it before I would be shipped off to a world unexperienced by man. I wondered what I would find there; in Camille. Would it be how they said? Would it be green with fruits and plants and beautiful crystal lakes? I hope so. I don't think I could deal with another disappointment in my life right now.

As I feel the need to change the subject of my thoughts to something less depressing and emotional I will tell you a little about Tempo, Camille, and more importantly my home; State 4. Tempo is a country that was once known as both Canada and the USSA. The ocean has since swallowed up the majority of the eastern coasts of the two countries. Inside Tempo there are 5 states, each with it's own characteristics. State one is also known as Tempo Central. Tempo Central is where the capitol is; where everything Tempo needs is. The other states are just their farming fields.They, being in this case the government controlling Tempo from their tiny offices in the Central, use up our precious land; removing what they need to survive and throwing in pollution and poverty. Another thing you should know about State one is that it is more like a big city. It is covered with expensive, tall buildings and offices of government officials and big company CEOs.

Each state has it's own agriculture and whatever it's economy is based off of. State 2 is mainly farming and ranching. It has fields and open pastures and large animals like horses, bison, cows, and many other farming animals. State 3 is the water state. It's on the coast and they are known for their fish and boat-making skills.

State 4 is us; the coal state. We are one of the biggest states, full of empty mines and dust clouds. We're dry and dirty, most everyone here is starving, and you either work in the mines or you hunt illegally.Many husbands or boys like myself go out hunting in the Wilds. The Wilds are a forbidden zone, filled with good meat if you can find it and when you can't you have to brave the wild dogs, the agressive hogs, and the mountain lions; not to mention the silence. The silence is what gets most hunters. When you get lost in hundreds of acres there is no one to come find you. About a year ago I did see another hunter in there, he had been lost for nearly three weeks and looked worse then I did. I built a fire and heated up some sweet onion soup my mother had made for me in a thermos. I showed him out but sadly had nothing to bring to the table that night when I returned home. He still visits but not as often as he used to. His name was Bailey.

State 4 is also full of lakes, made from unused shallow mining holes. The lakes are black from the soot at the bottom and when you go swimming in them you turn black yourself. The fish in the lakes have been deemed uneatable from the poisonous gases that leak from the underwater mines. It's a big let down to the folk here, years a go this was supposed to help us but it only caused a stream of deaths to children and families.

State five is a secretive place, it is said to be where the military practice their bombs and train soldiers. It is much larger than any of the other states and is buried in the Wilds. I wonder if this is where I will be shipped off to before I get sent to Camille, the thought leaves my mind numb.

Speaking of Camille, Camille is a world discovered by scientists in Tempo Central. No one knows much about it, not even the leaders of the capitol, but we are told it is a place to praise. Maybe they mean it is a place the rich will be sent to to dominate the land like they did Tempo and leave the rest of us to die bitterly with the land.

I left the lawn chair sitting up and slowly I found myself to the door again. On the opposite side was my mother. She opened the door and embraced me. I noted her sniffling and her puffy red eyes as she looked into mine. I felt like I, too, should cry but I couldn't be broken. Her arms tightened around me and she quickly lost control of herself. I tried to not hear the wailing and just pay attention to soothing her. I knew I couldn't hold out much longer. My mother's big man of the house would be gone and there would be no one here to protect her and my brother from foreclosure and hunger. Claudas wasn't even old enough to sign up for pity grain and my mother would be too heartbroken to leave her bed, much like she was after my father had passed. When she told us what had happened the night he passed, I became a man for her; I wanted to protect her and Claudas with my life.

My mother's grip loosened and she stared with a smile at me. "Your eyes are so dark, like your fathers." I thought of the irony at her smiling into my eyes. Hadn't she hated them? Didn't she cry over them?

When I was born my mother supposedly wept at my eye color, the color of soot. My father told me she loved me but to her this meant I was a child of the coal and wouldn't be able to escape it. I'm glad to say I won't be a child of the coal for much longer, soon I'll just be a soldier; a pawn for the Central. I imagine I'll be known for coming out of the ash clouds, the dust storms, and the darkness of State 4.

I begin thinking over how I will handle this; how I should act about it, how I would tell Claudas, and how I will prepare for when I am no longer here. Immediately the thought of my death crept into my thoughts.

How would I die? I'd never imagined it as anything amazing or heroic, maybe I was killed by a cougar, or hunger. I could have been caught hunting and immediately exiled to live in the Wild, to die alone in the silence. I would not die that way, no, now I would be killed in combat by whatever the hell is on that godforsaken planet. I'd never have a family, a funeral, a legacy. All I'd have is the flesh eating monsters to feast on my scrawny body while I bleed out.