Chapter 1
When the thunderstorm finally passed, Emilia looked out the window and noticed the sky was extremely blue, as if it had been cleaned by the rain. All the trees had raindrops all over them, like they had just come out of a nice shower.
Emilia pulled the blanket around her tighter. She couldn’t wait to get out of bed and go out to smell the fresh air. Sunshine started to brighten the whole world, and the raindrops were like countless pearls hanging in the trees. She wished she could at least open all the windows.
“Emilia, dinner is ready!” Her mom was calling her from downstairs. Emilia sat up, she looked out of the window again before she finally stood up and walked downstairs.
When she walked into the dining room, her brother Whyatt was already sitting at the dining table and fixing the plates. They were having tomato beef soup for dinner today, much better than the potato soup they had yesterday. Emilia even noticed their mom was pulling a cake out of the oven.
“What’s going on?” she whispered to Whyatt, who was three years older than her. He had thick black hair and big dark brown eyes. His high cheekbones made him look more serious than he was.
Whyatt just smiled and pointed at their dad, who was still sitting on the couch in the living room while reading a newspaper.
Emilia looked at her brother in confusion. Right before she was about to ask again, their mom, Mary, started calling from the kitchen, “Bill, time to eat!” Mary always sounded firm; no matter the situation, she could make the gentlest request sound like a command. Mary was wearing a long and loose dress, which she normally wore while cooking. She had her long hair tied up at the back of her head. She moved swiftly, like she was always competing with someone else, though she was normally the one who did the housework most of the time. Emilia always thought her mom must have been very pretty when she was her age. She wished she could have seen a picture of her at that age, but she had only seen pictures in the newspaper; she did not even remember what her mom looked like when she was a kid. Her mom mentioned to them that when she was little, her family had pictures all over the wall. Emilia couldn’t imagine how wonderful that must have been.
Bill walked to the dining room and sat next to Whyatt at the dining table. He looked at them while putting the napkin on his lap. Emilia noticed his mustache had gotten longer than usual. He had very short hair, which Emilia believed he cut so short on purpose because almost one third of his head was already bald. His once-long face was getting rounder over the years, just like his waist. Mary always joked about how handsome their dad used to be when he was young. Emilia had just noticed his nostril hair hadn’t been trimmed for a while. She was going to say something, but then she heard her mom asking her to set up the plates and help get ready for dinner.
When Mary and Emilia finally sat at the table and fixed the plates, Mary couldn’t hide her smile any longer. Bill took the first bite and looked at everyone with a proud smile on his face. He then nodded at Mary.
“Okay, Emilia, there is something about your brother we want to tell you.” Emilia looked at Mary, then she turned to Whyatt. She had thought it was about their dad.
“Well, do you want to announce it, Bill?” asked Mary.
Bill looked at Whyatt and then Emilia. He cleared his throat and then said, “Well, I have finally finalized the search for a mate for Whyatt. After so many days and nights working on the database we have in the city,” he paused a little and looked at Mary, then continued, “the girl’s dad has agreed to the marriage between Whyatt and his daughter.”
Mary couldn’t hide her excitement anymore; she clapped immediately when Bill finished.
Emilia also almost burst into tears. Since they were little, they had known this was one of the most important moments in their lives. Emilia just did not realize it could come so suddenly. She reached out to her brother’s hand and squeezed it. She truly felt happy for him. She then got up and gave Whyatt a tight hug.
“I am so glad for you, Whyatt,” she said, “hopefully I can meet her soon.”
“No rush, the most difficult step is over, and the wedding day should be settled soon,” said Bill.
“I wish I could see her picture.” Emilia immediately knew she shouldn’t have said that, but it was too late.
“Stop the nonsense!” yelled Mary. Emilia had her head down and it was dead silent for a moment.
“I am sorry,” Emilia murmured.
“Well, let’s eat. People will reach out soon, Emilia, you don’t worry.” Bill tried to comfort her. Whyatt also turned and nodded at her, Emilia could tell he was happy about the arrangement and she felt happy for him as well.
Emilia had just turned eighteen that year; her brother Whyatt was three years older than her. Since they were little, the house had been like the whole world to them. The government had started the strictest social distancing rule since the last pandemic began. No one was allowed to leave the house unless their job was essential to keeping society alive. All outdoor activities were canceled; even schools were closed. The hospital was one of the only places people were allowed to go. There were no stores open since the government delivered food and other necessities directly to every family. The only entertainment they had came from certain books, newspapers, and board games at home. They lived in a complex along a street that was once the busiest street in the town, but they did not know, nor did their parents tell them much about the history of the town.
It was not until years later that Emilia’s mom accidentally told her that people had been quite angry over the rules during that pandemic. They had just had a fight, and Emilia did not want to talk to Mary, so she locked herself in her room.
“Open the door, Emilia.” Mary was standing outside of her bedroom door.
“I don’t want to talk to you, go away!”
“You don’t talk to your mother like that; no mother deserves that attitude from their children!” Mary sounded very angry.
“No one cares about me; how can everyone act like this is what life is supposed to be! I just don’t understand!” Emilia cried.
Mary sighed and then opened the door slightly. Emilia was sitting on the side of her bed and looking at Mary with tears in her eyes.
“I care about you, your dad cares about you, and your brother cares about you, isn’t that enough?” She touched Emilia’s hair gently; Emilia could tell her mom was not angry anymore.
“Then why can’t you guys understand me? Why can’t I question how people live like this and why can’t I have my own way to live?” yelled Emilia.
“Because people tried and we all failed!” Mary couldn’t hold herself any longer and she yelled back at her.
“What do you mean?” asked Emilia after a few seconds.
Mary looked away and took a deep breath. “Emilia, people tried to fight against the lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic, but they were either put in prison or disappeared, and then, slowly, no one heard anything about these protesters anymore. We didn’t even remember how life was before the pandemic. People tried,” said Mary calmly. She then turned to Emilia. “People really tried, Emilia, trust me. I even thought about trying it, but I gave in, and I want you to give in because no mother would rather see her children get hurt.”
That was one of the most intense fights Emilia ever had with her mom, but also one of the most memorable moments she would remember many times throughout her life.
