Awakening

The story I want to tell you isn't just any story. This story happened long before all humanity was wiped away from the surface of the earth and also long before they became aware. This is a tale of two cities coexisting in a perfect harmony until the very moment the truth, that was being hidden so well, surfaced so swiftly. You see there was a nation of people, the simplest and the purest of the kind, they blend in with nature so perfectly that they became a part of it. They lived in mud huts in the woods and on the prairies, formed families and somehow created their own culture.

And then Urbans arrived, with their giant, metal ships that tore the sky apart. Build their iron cities next to them, taught the simple creatures how to grow food, farm animals, curious is that they never truly civilised them, never taught them how to read, how to heal or how to understand. So that villagers became not only useful but also dependent on them. After all, it was the Urbans, who formed their relationship. The Urbans, parasitic gods who like vampires soaked the resources out of villagers as well as out of nature. To them, it was all primitive.

`How can anyone blame me for having such rage in my heart when I have you by my side telling me stories like that all my childhood’. The dark haired girl burst into a laugh. `But, you’re not a child anymore Liana’. Replied old woman, sitting by a window. Liana stood up swiftly and started pacing around the room, as she was doing every time she got upset. `this tree house of yours seriously needs repairing, it’s older than you Freya‘ And a little cheeky smile appeared on her lips as she was trying to turn an insult into the joke. However, Freya didn’t get insulted:, don’t change a topic, my dear, we need to talk about this sooner or later, you need to know‘’ `Know what? I thought it was just a story wasn’t it?’ `It is never..’ `Just a story, yes I know‘ Liana laughed a bit again. Back then she was too stubborn to understand, too young and too agitated. After all, it wasn’t until Saya was born that she finally grew up. Her little baby sister that she held, sang to and waddled for two months until the day they took her away from her. Oh how much she wished she would have listened more carefully all those years before. Freya always wanted the best for Liana, deep down she loved her with the protective motherly love that childless women often feel and Liana cared for Freya with the same affection. Her parents never understood her, believed in her or even took her seriously. They were just those pale shadows in her story, present but not really there. And after the day of the great harvest, she never spoke to them again. But let me go back a little bit to the evening before it all begun:

Liana sneaked out of her hut that evening and travelled across the woods to the old woman’s hideout. Climbed to the tree house and with that exhausted, irritated look she usually had occupied Freya’s comfortable sofa. 'Have you decided to live miles outside the village just to purposely irritate me?’ Asked Liana provocatively, already knowing the answer.’ 'You know that I don’t want them to track me silly‘ 'Is that why you have so many weird alien stuff in here? Because you are also an alien?’ Freya sigh ' They are not aliens, they are humans like you, just the very fragile kind‘ 'But look at all these weird stuff a fabric on a window and on the floor? A stick on a fire?’ Went Liana on, completely ignoring the answers. 'Curtains, carpet, candle. You know all of these already‘ said Freya calmly. Then looked at Liana in a kind, loving way and asked her:, what would you like my child?’’ 'I want to hear a story about you this time‘ Liana replied with a little smirk on her face. Freya took a deep breath and calmly replied: 'My story is too painful to remember, but I can tell you about the place I come from, would you like that?’ Liana didn’t say a word this time, comfortably settled on the pillow sofa kept silently looking into the old woman’s eyes. Despite all the mocking, deep down she loved her stories, deep inside she admired her. Freya got up and lit the candle in the window, then walked back to her chair and with a patient yet serious look on her face she commenced:

'On the coast of the ocean blue just like your eyes lies an Iron city, covered with an airproof jar, protected by the sharpest fence and equipped with the most unwelcoming gates you could imagine. Almost like it was trying to protect itself from the woods, prairies and the little mud huts that are all around it. The city is inhabited by a very powerful, yet fragile people. They weren’t born vulnerable, they just made themselves that way. For years and centuries, they did everything to protect themselves from just about anything. Surprisingly they fear nature, so they never let it in. Fearing that tiny organisms called bacteria would cause them diseases they replaced every single healthy beautiful thing with the synthetic. They don’t know what mud is, they will never feel the wind in their hair. They take pills instead, a pill for vitamins, pill to concentrate, the pill to stay healthy, pill to be happy, pill not to have children, then the pill to conceive. A pill to get better, even though all of these pills are just making them worse. Everything is fake including their personalities. They developed certain ways they greet each other, assure themselves everything is 'ok' and by those few superficial sentences they limited conversations and social interactions to complete minimum. They focused on progress so much that they forgot how to live. Searching for the new ways to improve, eradicate their problems to become immortal all sorts of things. They all work as scientists and researchers, but they don’t work, not really. Everything is being done for them by the machines they invented.’

Liana quickly turned her head around:, How can machine work for you? That’s silly.‘‘ 'There are all kinds of ways, cashier machines in the shops sell you things, machines at the gates make sure you don’t steal them. And if you do something bad it’s the computer that calculates if you are guilty or not. And the way they learn, they want to grasp all the knowledge so quickly that they developed machines to transmit all of the information to their brain. Throughout the television they spend hours visualising, that’s what they call it. I call it brainwashing.‘ 'Wait, the television?‘ Liana interrupted again 'Oh silly, you know television that big screen you see once a year during the big ceremony‘ 'Oh yes, what they make us watch, everyone in the village thinks it is a big miracle, they call it:, Their magic, I know it’s not. But still why bother with the ceremony if they come to the village and take our food weekly? Why do we let them?‘ Freya smiled and started explaining:, they take your food, because they are unable to produce their own, they don’t have that kind of power, it requires nature. However, it’s a bit more complex than that. They need us just as much as we need them, when we get sick we need their doctors and their medicine, they need our food. Now go home and have a good rest, tomorrow is the day of the great harvest and everyone is expected to be present.‘’

Liana went home that evening, reflecting the story in her head and wondering where to sneak out for that stupid ceremony she hated so much. She was awakened by the sirens assembling everyone to the great gates were the same old movie was projected every year. As she was examining the holes in the walls of her hut as a possible runaway option she didn’t have time to see her parents coming in. All covered by the modest prudish cloth all cleaned and tidy grasping her hand. Come, honey, the movie has already started. Said her mother swiftly and holding her hand started forcing her way through the crowd. That formed outside of the great gates of the city.

'Attention citizens, I am proud to commence this year’s ceremony‘ Yelled a voice from the screen, under which was a line of weirdly looking creatures with the white bandages on their body, covered eyes and tubes supplying oxygen under their noses, like little transparent moustaches. Liana tried to picture what Freya would look like in this outfit and giggled loud enough for her mother to shush her up. 'As we all know, you humble people are leading a difficult, hard working lives and half of your work we collect, which we really appreciate. However, we are here today to celebrate and reward your kindness to us by giving your children a brighter tomorrow‘ The speech was accompanied by some random pictures of the fields and cattle. The voice was almost impossible to hear through the loud cheering and clapping villagers. Stupid sheep. She thought. 'Once a year a certain amount of the special children is born, it can be none, it can be one or even ten of them. Special children are bright little babies of a high intelligence and the best genetic material possible, that will be given a choice to join our beautiful city. It would be a pure cruelty to close those gates and force your babies to lead hard lives as you do. Give them a chance, don’t let them experience the hard labour you experienced as children. Let us give them a better life! That is all my dear, the collection may begin.’

The crowd of villagers now started forming lines of women holding their babies, rest of the families stood in the back. Everyone had that eager look on their faces, yet despite all of the excitement, there was a complete silence as no one wanted to do anything wrong, to scare the 'gods' away. Liana held Saya in her arms so protectively that when her mother was about to join the queue she didn’t let go. Their looks crossed, as they were two sharp knives fighting each other:, Release now!’’Her mother hissed sternly. Liana didn't reply, she just stood there grasping her baby sister in her arms, she didn't know why but something inside of her screamed:,don't let her go''

Her father saw the incident and sharply pulled her to the back of the crowd. At first, she just stood there petrified, unable to move or speak. But then she broke away from her father’s grip and run towards the line, she was so determined that she tossed away few villagers trying to stop her. Unfortunately, she didn’t make it too far. And raging, kicking, screaming they carried her to her hut where they locked her away for the rest of the day. She didn’t even notice the sunset or the fact that complete darkness surrounded her room. In the late night, someone finally unlocked the door, it was her parents. Where is Saya? She cried. `Your sister was very lucky, although you almost ruined it for her with your jealousy.’ Said calmly her mother. `You let them took her away?!’ Liana screamed. `We did what was best for her, and we are very sorry you had to work in the fields when you were a little child, but that is no reason to jeopardise your sister’s future, is it. ‘She finally got up, looked her mother in the eyes and whispered:, how could you?‘’ And with the tears in her eyes run away. That was the last thing she ever said to her parents.