Isaac And Willow The Unknown

ISAAC AND WILLOW THE UNKNOWN







"This shall be interesting, it will truly determine the face of danger."

"Danger it is none."

"We shall see after this. You don't expect to build a house of cards without anticipating its downfall. The possibilities are secured towards ourselves and yet none can be sure. Murder is a crime. But murdering imagination is double the penalty."

"Murder to us is nothing. All of it counts as ability to control this world. The acquaintance of greed has to be made for a man to be ruthless. Tissues of emotions run through these beings while none pass our minds. We are enveloped in ignorance."

"But I plead for ignorance."

"As do I, this is what makes it so encouraging and attributes traits of loss. Ignorance does have feelings, unlike many believe. Only it is a different species of feelings all together. We excruciate pain in ourselves and are careless, thus inflicting it on others."

"If we understand ourselves so well, wouldn't we acquire the 'right path'? I feel charismatic and stubborn nevertheless, I am thirsty for my agony, why not the agony of others? My judgement is me, it is all we behold, if misled, our lives are misled."

"We aren't misled, God is guiding us. A shadow of fate."

"Precisely. A shadow. A non-existent shadow."

"Do not rebel against The Lord's influence."

"I was merely seeing how you were to respond."

"Clearly God is far more important and worth death than a mere revolution. We have power, money and access to things no one is capable of reaching, we will stay and rise."

"I believe we should act now."

"I think so too, no need to keep them waiting. We should also give in contribute to the rules, the sooner the better."

"Agreed. More fear arises more power driven towards us."

"Send the command as soon as possible."

"Time is coming."

"Which reasons with the command I uttered."

"Alright, we will only live forever after all."




Panic was rushing through me. It was harassing my mind, mocking it of its pride. Fury against myself was let lose, wild to run through my rummaged, pain-struck heart. Anouk was trying to tell me. Tell me something that was more important than this stranger covered in blood that had hovered over me. Her story was probably relevant to this situation. Sapidah was standing there in the small crowd of children about to consume a severe beating. I had rushed behind a large tree, my thoughts getting the better of me, childish behaviour and yet it didn't seem egoistic at the time. I, for one, feel as if Anouk is more responsible than I am. Even though she is down in tears, she has reason to be. This could possibly scar Sapi for life, she knows what it's like, she's been beaten before. Severe. That's how they described the beatings of these children. Sapidah is so fragile and vulnerable, I'm afraid that with one hit of the ferocious flail will make his heart jump up in fright. His last breathing moments could occur any second. Ruina doesn't care about what happens to the victim of the punishment afterwards, they only count in number of beatings and severity. One may die from the same beating one survives in. Bliss slips past me, laughing in my face. Shame outlines what I have brought on myself, I am the one to blame, not Anouk. As soon as I think things through I decide to head back to where Anouk is still on the ground, drowned in sorrow. Dreading the end of her brother's life. Believing that she is partly responsible. I run back and grip her in my arms, tightly. Tears are escaping my own eyes. She cries even more noticing my own crystallised liquid mixing with hers. I am vulnerable. She sees it there. I don't let go of her, almost as if the moment has already occurred. I grab her shoulders, to face her, ignoring the figure of the delinquent girl still lying down besides us. She stares at me, hoping to find confidence, I must act it. Rubbing off her tears, I whisper to her words about being alright. I must find a way to save Sapi and there is no time to waste. Everything seems a blur. A blur of emotions, a roller coaster. I need to think quick. Allow all thoughts and plans to invade my head. Theories of extreme situations flood dramatically as I scavenge for an idea. A distraction. Something that could possibly divert attention while I rescue Sapi and with luck, some of the other children. I peak around, still clutching onto Anouk's firm and nervous shoulders, and look for an answer, something to help me. Syllipsi. Please help me. Hear my pleading, I beckon. Do not act like a God to me, just take the credit for what I will do well, seize the good in my actions, I will carry the wound, the burden. With Sapi about to be beaten, a half-dead girl lying next to me, Anouk in tears and the problem of not making ourselves too noticed, I try and concentrate. Hatred for my situation and love for the people in it make this difficult. I cannot take time to think, I will have to act by heart and bravery. I will dig deep within myself until I find this within me and I will do that in the least amount of time possible. Chivalry I have always wished to be one of my traits, however it never came naturally. It takes soul to acquire it. I will have to create soul within me to take it out. A soul. I already have another soul. 

Arnou.

I let my thoughts be heard, quite literally this time and pray Arnou to come. He must. I shout out mentally, calling for him to come to me. If there is any time I need Arnou, it's now and Sapi and the bloodied girl's life depend on that. Anouk's trust in me could be forever broken. Like losing both my siblings at once. I dread the idea but it is now a grave possibility if I do not act out quickly. I allow the symphony of silence to whisper in my ears, clearing the darkest of thoughts away. I don't need them right now, I need to focus. Anouk turns around to face me again, seeing that I am calling mentally for Arnou, she does the same. She hasn't quite mastered the technique of talking to other people's criaturas yet but with will comes force. Strength. Mental strength. I can hear her utter the words of pleading for Arnou to come. Just like that, he appears from the spirited forest. He comes running, his long fur sweeping in the distance, determination on his face. 

I feel partly offended. Why is it that when I called him he wasn't there yet? Was he just running towards me or did he start once Anouk's voice came into action? It must have been a coincidence, nothing more. The shadows of his strong-will masked his face, his paws stepping lightly, only to take of again. Swift danger in his intentions. Danger to the people who get in his way. I haven't seen him like this in a long time. So, surreal. The singing trees behind him kept the scene into full action as the devious sky looked upon the crime to be committed. Both interrupting my flow of thoughts from invading my mouth. Yet I must conceive my allies, begin my conspiracy and hope not to come out too emotionally scarred. As Arnou comes storming towards us, I'm thinking about how to shape my words, what to tell him. 'I was being an idiot and didn't listen to my little sister who was trying to tell me my brother might die soon, instead I screamed at her from the top of my lungs and being a disrespectful older sister.' That should do it just fine, only I don't think he'll be willing to help me if I say that to him. He would tell me to get out of it myself since I'm the one whose brought us here, into this mess. I'm half mumbling to myself as he comes to a sudden stop shifting his head slightly, to lock eyes with mine.

"I know what happened, now we don't have much time." He says, before I can even form words.

"What?" I scream back, he caught me by surprise, "How do you know what happened?"

"Anouk told me." He answers, quite matter-of-factly.

I look at Anouk, she doesn't seem to find anything wrong with having told him, she doesn't look the slightest bit guilty. I wonder how she formulated it to him.

"When? How?" I know I shouldn't press matters but I am so curious to know.

All I get is a death glare from both Anouk and Arnou.

"Echo does that really matter now? We need to do something, I thought you were the one saying we didn't have much time." 

I nod. I don't know why I didn't drop it in the first place.

"Alright," Arnou begins, "we need a plan, I think our best guess is distraction."

"But there's a list with the names of all the children that need to be beaten, they cross your name off the list once you are done." Anouk interrupts.

"Then we need to get to the list," I say, "Anouk, I think it's also best if you quickly and rapidly tell us what happened and why Sapi is being punished. That's what you were trying to tell me before, right?"

Her head bobs up and down, it was what she wanted to tell me earlier. I feel even guiltier. No time for that, focus.

"Well," she starts, "I was telling you about our Prisona revolution, the singing, the dancing, the posters, graffiti. We went around classrooms screaming things against Priest Nómos, making sure everyone would hear. I knew we would get in trouble but I thought I would assume the consequences by myself and that it was worth it. I didn't care anymore about my pain. But I cared about other people's pain. I didn't think things would get out of hand but kids were rebelling under my influence and enjoying it, to say the least. They realised their independence. Then just like a flash it went from overjoy to horrid disasters. Guards came in, having been probably warned by the teachers. I told everyone to go back to their classrooms or go hide somewhere. I made sure to be the last one out, after all I was the one to start this. But that didn't mean I wanted to get caught. As soon as all the other kids went into hiding, I went back to my class. I think I was the only one to do so because I managed to sneak in, therefore not needing to explain reasons for my lateness to the teacher. That's when I realised my tag had come off during the run, on which was in scripted my last name. They found it and must have gone around the classrooms, as there are two kids with the last name Lillowe, me and Sapi. His tag must have fallen off somewhere as a complete coincidence because as soon as they found a no tagged Lillowe, it must be him. Hence, they had no need to come and see if I was the mischief. On top of that they took kids that they thought were in this from previous clues they accidentally left behind. No one dropped me in, as their safe leader but they probably feel that they are in a really unfair position. The heart and brain of the revolution is left standing unharmed and they all get severe beatings. But I never meant for them to be up, I promise. If I knew I would never have started this, I just thought they would punish me. When I told them it was indeed me, they just thought I was being the loyal sister therefore stayed by the rules. You cannot swap for a beating for a beating. But I honestly swear-"

"No time for apologies. You can do that later." I answer, when, really, it is me who needs to apologise for not listening.

"Echo you will be in charge of escaping with Sapidah, I'll create the distraction and Anouk will cross off the list." Says Arnou.

"I'll wait up in the tree, making sure not to be caught, signal me once I can go and Anouk as soon as you are done run away. I don't want you to stay in this mess that I have started, ok?" I need Anouk to stay out of this as much as possible. 

If we didn't need a third hand I wouldn't have her here at all. 

"Alright. I'll go straight after, I promise."

Just like that I run back once more for the tree in the distance. The words of woe fly past me as I convince myself to keep running slyly. I must not be noticed, I must sneak up. I have never stolen, even in Ruina, sneaking doesn't come naturally to me. Trying to teach myself in the heat of the moment, I look wearily around. Grabbing the rough bark, I lift myself up putting all of my weight against the tree. My legs swing up and interlock onto the lower branch, I then grab the branch right above my head and bring myself on top of it. Escalating is clearly not one of my skills but I have to do anything I can to save Sapi, this is much more important than anything else, even the few deep scratches on my left knee and right elbow. The rough tree scrapes against my skin but I ignore it. I don't have a choice. After a few clumsy climbs I reach the top. I look down and realise I shouldn't have, now feeling dizzy. The view of the markets is quite remarkable from this angle, you can see the strings and many plugs behind the stage to keep the lighting. I remember someone once tried to sabotage it and got a very grave punishment. Ruina is too hard of a code to crack. You may try but you will not come victor. Something that infuriates me is not knowing who our ruler is, never having seen him, not knowing anything but a name. An anonymous figure that determines our life and death. Priest Nómos is probably only a pseudonym. A code in a pool of codes. Only there is one that stands out more than the others and that's his. Priest Nómos. Deep in reflection something catches my eyes. There is a tree to my left, I look down at the trunk, the bottom of it. I notice a branch that I swear was their before I got to the tree, broken off. Frowning and confused I stare at the broken branch, recalling the memory of seeing an non-impacted tree. 
Suddenly I hear a whisper coming from the higher part of the tree, I narrate my gaze up and notice a figure sitting in the tree.
A young boy of about my age if not older is sitting there, crouched. He has a lightly tanned complexion, Arabian looking. His dark eyes outline his features and he stares at me as confused as I am. He is only a few meters away from me, thus I can hear his whispers as if he were right next to me.

"What?" I word.

He looks back towards the children in the beating's area and then carefully swings himself from his branch to the one next to me, going from one tree to the next.

"What are you doing?" I ask, confused.

He still isn't facing me and is looking in front of him.

"I would ask you the same question." He answers.

If he's going to be mysterious, so will I. I am not one to give away information anyway.

"So?" He asks again.

"I don't have time for this," I answer plainly, "stay and be quiet or leave please."

It feels quite unnatural speaking so neutrally, I wouldn't respond like this but I don't know this person and I'm not risking waiting anymore time.

"No way, I climbed a tree for a reason, ever thought I'm here not only because I need to speak to you."

"You don't need to speak to me." I snap at this stranger.

"Exactly what I'm trying to say."

"Than why are you here?"

"You go first."

"Let's get this over and done with, my little brother is caught up in this mess and I'm trying to save him."

"If he's there, there's a reason for that, don't interfere."

"That's the thing there is no reason for him being there, he was confused for someone else and is being punished for someone's actions! He doesn't deserve this!"

"Who did he get mixed up with?"

"My little sister."

"Than get her to save him." He remarks.

That comment just gets to me.

"Listen! I don't know you are and my sister is trying to get him out of this mess but you don't expect a six year old to do that by herself! Now I don't know you, like I said, so just do what you came to do and leave me, I have to focus!"

"My name's Isaac and I'm here because my little sister is in that mob of children and she is innocent too, I'm no different to you, no need to act harsh."

His opening up all of a sudden caught me off guard. I thought he was the mysterious and closed off one.

Don't judge a book by its cover.

"Alright Isaac, why are you in a tree? And don't ask me why I am because I have a plan ok?"

"What made you think I don't have a plan?"

He is jumping around the answer.

"I don't know, by the fact you look disorganised."

That is an utter lie. He looks far from disorganised.

"Do I now?"

I pretend to have not heard his rhetorical question but then something catches my attention and I need to ask him.

"How come I've never seen you here?"

He shifts around and climbs back onto his own tree, forgetting my question. That starts my nerves again. I have a very heated temper.

"Your face is going red? Are you angry or embarrassed?" He asks before I can snap at him.

"What do you think?" I shout back.

"I don't know, why would I ask otherwise?" He smirks as if on cue, "Now what's your name?"

"Theresa." I lie, I will not give any personal to this frustrating stranger.

"Well Theresa, don't be such an immature child."

Immature child? Was he expecting me to get mad at him? Was he trying to irritate me? I can't talk to him much longer, the signal will be soon.

"Stop it, I don't have time for your nonsense!" I say in a responsible voice, making it sound like he is much younger and more inferior to me when in reality he is just as old and equal as I am. 

"Nonsense? Says the girl not dropping the subject." He argues.

"Shut up! I am not-"

I stop realising that I can hear a loud howl coming from the 'scene of the crime'.

Climbing down as fast as my body will allow me I race, not daring to look back at Isaac whom is probably confused about why I ran off mid-way of my angry phase. Striving for the children, all I can see is dismay around me. Anouk has hopefully already reached the list and Arnou has clearly already appealed to his distraction people are scuttled everywhere.

"Sapi! I'm here!" I shout in all the confusion and people running from place to place.

Out of all the trouble a tiny boy, half my size comes crying and hugging me with all his force, eyes filled with tears. As I hug him back I stare ahead and can see Isaac gripping a little girl tightly, she is as emotional as Sapi. He stares back at me in a synchronised motion to my own acknowledgement. I lunge for Sapi and squeeze him tightly letting my fears cascade out of me.

"You're fine, thank the good in the world, you're fine!" I say tears catching on to my absorbing cheeks.

We stay hugging for a second or two longer but are quickly alert that everyone around us is still panicked and we haven't escaped.

"We need to run! You go straight home, don't stop for any reason, now go!"

"But-"

"No arguing, go!"

He stares at me hesitantly and all of a sudden his face lights up and he runs away, he understands how this will help both him and I. Scurrying and panting heavily, I run around the chaotic surroundings, the guards are holding on to a few of the children, using them as bait. Some are running around not knowing what to do. Anouk is nowhere to be found.

"Anouk!" I shout out helplessly.

No response. The clouds are witnessing the event, judging us for our inner battles, but I need to win my battle. I can't be just another child to end up with their figure hoisted on top of a stage, neck hanged by a rope. Right now, however, I feel like I will personally ensure to have a bullet through my head if I don't find Anouk.

"Anouk!" I shout out again, I have not an ounce of breath left.

"Echo!" I hear someone shout back.

An innocent voice. Anouk's voice. Where is she? I still can't see her amongst the midst of trouble.

Everyone in the crowd is looking for someone, whether it's to beat them, regain order or save a beloved, everybody is going insane. Twisting my head, I can see a shadow cramped over another one right where I had left the mystery girl. Anouk is cramped over her, trying to lift her up but failing to do so, no thanks to her tiny physique. I run for the woods, where they are both situated. Anouk's face is smudged with tears and the girl is bleeding. Likely to be bleeding to death. Ghastly visions flash through my head.

"What are you bloody doing Anouk? Go home now! I told you to go as soon as you'd finish with the list!"

I don't understand why I am so furious. Not against her, but against myself. Why is it that I reflect my anger towards others.

Coldly, her gaze meets mine and she sees it.

She sees the barrier I held up for these many years.

She sees how she had surrounded it without noticing, not even realising that it was there.

She sees I am slowly building it higher and longer, to the point that eventually she won't be able to surround it.

She sees the bittersweet taste of my grief, my fury.

She sees my battle scars.

She sees what I had never wanted her to see.

All of this I notice in her stare. Her hero has always been a monster. A monster trying to justify itself. A monster that doesn't like being thought of that way, that wishes to be a hero. Born a monster, always a monster.

Syllipsi, I beckon please help me. Now I may lose my sister in the process of saving my brother from the same fate. My siblings. They are my world, who I live to protect, not to destroy. Not to ironically crush their dreams and soul's worship. How can I not rummage their hopes when I am their hopes?

"I don't want to leave this girl behind." She whispers, her voice barely audible. She signals to the half-dead girl, going delusional.

I nod. I don't want to leave her behind either.

"Just run off and I'll carry her back, alright? Go now." I answer still staring at the ground.

She doesn't even think about it twice, she runs.

I hear a scream from behind me. In a dash I turn around to see a young girl being beaten by one of the guards. Every movement of their wrist causes sharp pain to come from her back. It looks so painful. She looks in pain. She also looks familiar.

It's the little girl Isaac was hugging earlier.

Probably his sister.

I have to run, I've done what I came here to do so I won't endanger myself any further.

Yet, I can't help but feel guilty, like a sworn of butterflies are entering my stomach and digging a hole through my arched body. A burden far deeper than I can endure. It doesn't bring me to tears but makes me resent a complete different feeling. I can't describe it by a strict word but it makes me feel dizzily alarmed.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Arnou. I face him and realise he had been staring at me too. He can hear my thoughts as they vibrate. He bobs his head up and down as if to signal that he agrees to something. My confusion doesn't stop him from averting more attention to himself by howling loudly caution the guards to go off chasing him. What does he want me to do? He seemed to agree to my sub-consciousness. How am I to know what I was inwardly thinking? The girl. Isaac's sister. Why do I feel responsible for her? A flame of comprehension floods me. This is me. No matter what I do, there will be times in which I feel guilty. The blame is burning me rather than turning me. Turning me into a mature person. My mind digests the frequency of this sensation as something natural, not something to act willingly on. She may not even be Isaac's sister but I'm not cruel. I'm not Priest Nómos. I don't create a path to exile to lead mis-adventurous people there. Instead, I help build a new path. A path of freedom. It takes many souls incarnated into this decision for it to be achieved. If we need millions of sacrificed lives I am willing to be one of them. The wind whistles familiar tunes, familiar calls. Calls of the wild. They metamorphose into oblivious bubbles of sound, soaked by my thoughts. Draining them from the power they once held over me. The need to stay still, paralysed whenever I would need chivalry the most. I run ahead, I must get the 'Bloody Girl' home but most importantly I must help someone who I know is alive. The Bloody Girl could already be dead for all I know, what assures me that I would drag her home for nothing. I lunge myself forward, sneaking up ahead. Where is this Isaac character? The guards have run up chasing after Arnou, trying to contain who they believe is the heart of the revolt. I harshly take the young girl's right wrist and yank her towards me. She is quite clearly weak and doesn't fight back. She must think I'm another guard, taking her to further punishment. Her eyes shut themselves slowly, reflecting her clear fatigue. It is in the midst of all this chaos that I truly take in her appearance. Her transparent eyes, mystify and outline her defined features. Her dark, straight hair contours her face beautifully, I have rarely seen such pure physical features. As if she has risen from a water fountain of clear water. For an unknown reason this makes me hold on to her with even greater care. I feel guilty for contributing with more weariness based on this child's physical attributes, something I never resort to. I do not have the most fabulous features, myself, I remember that it was an issue before coming to Ruina. I would feel very self-conscious. Not many people would put shame on me by mentioning it but I would put myself to shame by doing so. Living in Ruina has made everyone forget about little details like this. Survival first, then pride. However I do remember how it felt to envy others and feel horrible about my looks. Naturally, I can't help but feel slightly jealous of the lassie probably experiencing a pool of fear and terror. Noticing how she tenses up I can't help but try and put her at ease.

"Breathe, it'll be fine." I comfort her.

Seeing how she tenses even further, I can tell she doesn't believe me.

"I'm not going to hit you." I say soothingly.

At the sound of those words, she relaxes a little and takes her left arm away from her face, slowly peaking up to witness who is talking to her. She drops her shoulders in even further relief as she sees me.

"You're a girl?" she asks in disbelief.

"Did I sound like a man?" I ask back, not in the least bit offended.

"No, but I thought you would be part of the authorities, but then I saw you were a girl. I'm just glad."

 Ruina's hierarchy does include sexual discrimination. Some jobs only men can do such as serving as guards. Only women can serve as servants though. There are also another bunch of jobs that have such guidlines but these are the two that are closest to the palace and the Priest. It includes being cast away from your family. 

"There's no time to be glad, I have to get you out of here but I have to get another girl out and she has passed out. Seeing that you are in no condition of helping me carry her just follow me and once we're back and I've found a place for the girl to rest we'll get you home, sounds alright?" I tell her, demand filling my voice.

Instead of waiting for her to respond I drag her from the same wrist I had grabbed earlier and we run towards Bloody Girl. I start lifting her onto my back, giving her a piggy back. However she is heavier than I expected her slim figure to be. I take off her boots and any strange jewellery that is attached around her body and a lot of weight is dropped among the accessories. How did she get all these gems and things along the lines. And then a thought escapes my mind and is instantly spoken aloud.

"What if she's a robber?"  I mutter and retaliate by covering my mouth, shocked I had spoken out loud.

Accusing someone of robbery can be accounted as extremely rude, fortunately she is currently out. Pretending nothing happened I get back to trying to lift her up.

"I want to help you pick her up." Whispers the young girl next to me.

Before I have time to argue, she ignores any sign of neglecting her help and takes the legs of Bloody Girl. I decide not to try and deny what she is offering because I know I couldn't carry her all by myself. The girl clearly had quite a lot of strength as the body was much easier to lift as I took Bloody Girl's arms and she took her legs.

"Who are you?" she asks, "I mean why did you rescue me, there were a lot of kids who needed to be taken out of the mess."

"My name's Echo, I live in the North part of town and there is no specific reason to why I saved you. I just wanted to help someone and grabbed whoever was there." I lied.

I don't know why I didn't just say that it was because she was the sister of a total stranger who I had met five minutes ago and who intrigued me in many ways. She'd think of me as a lunatic for helping someone who I didn't know at the cost of my own life.

"You know I can tell you're deep in thoughts. People only think like that when they are troubled by something." she says matter-of-factly.

"I'm just concerned about your safety." I cover up with another lie.

"I know a lot of things and I can tell you're lying again." she brings up again.

Who is the child there? I certainly feel foolish.

"Okay, my turn to ask a question. Who are you?" I ask her this time, she is caught off guard but quickly regains her calm.

Why should she be stressed over such a simple question. On the other hand, I didn't feel the least comfortable when she asked me why I saved her.

"Lavinia." she answers.

"That's nice but when I asked who you were I didn't mean just name but where do you come from?" I replied.

"Does it matter?" she snaps back.

"It does because I will have to get you home, I can certify you that I will not stalk you, however I do need to know which sound of town you live in."

"I don't need to tell you that, I can get home by myself, I am just helping you getting this girl home." She tilts her head to Bloody Girl.

"I saved your life, hence, you owe me," I ask, I think about something for an instant and decide to go with my gut feeling, "And how do you know Isaac?" I finish.

She stares at me slightly shocked. What I said wasn't that bad.

"First of all, how do you know him?" she asks.

I am sick of this 'ask the question back' game. There is no point of waiting, I might as well cut to the chase.

"He was there waiting up for something in a tree, I was in another tree. He came over and started being a little too straight-forward for my liking. To be completely honest he is very irritating but very intriguing. I saw him with you and was curious to know who you were." I say perfectly honestly, I couldn't have put it in such clear words within my own head.

"So you saved me because of someone who you have never met before?" she implies, I don't know how she would feel about that as she is hiding her tone to leave nothing but neutrality abroad her voice.

"Yes and no. I want to know who you are because I have never seen you around and I know just about everyone in Ruina. But then again, pity and shame grows attached to me whenever I see someone going into a tunnel of pain. Whether they make it look effortless or not, I know that it scars; physically and mentally. It makes my own head spin with an unbearable burden." Words flow me, tranquil as they leave my lips, it is as if Lavinia's presence eases me. Rarely have I ever spoken with such truth.

"Pity?" she asks in disbelief, shakes her head and continues, "Anyways, he is my cousin. I know him really well. We've been long-time childhood friends." 

So they are related. Considering how they can both get under my skin, one with calm the other with frustration, they do both have a way with people. However different the ways may be, there is a concept of understanding one's psychological state that clearly runs through their family. Biting my lip, I realise Lavinia had started to talk again, though it looked like she was only talking to herself, subvocalsing. The incandescent sun had lowered itself as sunset approached. Delinquent lust in the colours lurking each other traversed my vision smoothly, burgundy streaks of clouds lighted and outlined the remaining tints. Like an artwork, a painting of thoughts were echoed through the shadows slowly engulfing the damsel painting and adding flow to the sky. Paintbrush in her hand, the maiden traced the endless labyrinth of colours. Embodied among the trafficked plaid patterns, carefully arranged above the town were the imaginary villagers dancing to the slow beat of the afternoon. They were happy. Why can't Ruina be like that? No criaturas were attached to them, they were free. The concept of a free soul is endearingly complex and yet beautiful to relish upon. No matter how many arguments we have I love Arnou with all my heart, I would never want him to disappear into thin air, just like he arrived. However, I would strive for the eternity of time if it would grant him a separate soul to mine. I am used to sharing, living in Ruina not doing so isn't an option but to be captured and intertwined with another living being is just too much to endure, or too little. In any case, disproportionate. The words big-little, easy-hard, love-hate they have no further defintion than themselves. With that in mind Lavinia and I strode off carrying Bloody Girl and I stayed in the only place I feel secure- deep within my thoughts.

 ...

 

"We don't have another bed so this will have to do." I try and say convincingly.

"This is ridiculous," argues Lavinia, "She is knocked out and is losing blood, you cannot leave her on your mere couch."

"No one can afford more than one bed in this whole city, why would you expect us to have more? Mother is sleeping on it and there is no way I will ever wake her up to put a dying girl in it."

"It will stain your couch and will smell horrendous for a dear long time. Considering this is where you sleep you might want to consider other possibilities."

"Well, there are no other possibilities."

"She could come and live at my house?" Lavinia naively suggests.

"No. I will take care of her and if saving her life means getting blood all over my couch then I do not care." I say, definitive with my tone.

Lavinia sighs and starts wondering around the house. What made her think that she could shelter Bloody Girl better than I could? Her family surely wouldn't approve, it would mean that once woken up, there would be an extra mouth to feed. An extra mouth to feed. I certainly hadn't thought about that complication. After all, I can nurse her until she is able to take care of herself then the relief of having less work to do will be a blessing. I won't have to take care of her permanently she is older and looks to be wiser than me, she will be responsible to fight for her own food. Cruel but it's a dog-eat-dog world, as a dog you help others but not long enough so that they take your life.

Lavinia twists her body so her upper-half is facing me and her lower-half behind the wall she was so closely inspecting.

"Echo, who is this girl? I heard you call her 'Bloody Girl', do you know her?" Curiosity killed the cat. Now she will be caught up in this mess.

"No. No I don't know her. I was talking with my sister-"

"You have a sister?" she interrupts.

"And a brother, yes. Anyways, I was talking with her and-"

"What's your sister's name?" she wonders again.

"Why are you so interested in my sister and her name is Anouk."

"She's the one who started the revolt, she's really brave." Lavinia says, amazed at Anouk's achievements.

I feel a hint of pride but decide to keep it to myself, "Brave but foolish. Irresponsible and inconsiderate. She caused a lot of damage to others from her so-called 'revolt'."

"That wasn't her intention."

"Many things happen in life that we had no purpose in doing whatsoever, it was inconsiderate of her not to think about them beforehand."

Lavinia nods but from the glint of acknowledgement in her eyes it was obvious she worshiped Anouk's courage. My sister was really viewed a hero in the younger children whom she had encountered's opinion.

"Sorry for having interrupted, what happened with Bloody Girl?"

I nod and continue, "I was talking with Anouk and she was trying to tell me something important, she was trying to tell me about the revolt. I had started listening but all of a sudden she screamed I turned around to see a practically lifeless girl. I was too shocked to listen to Anouk, I was going to hear her but the girl woke up and spoke nonsense. Anouk then told me and we saw Sapi- my younger brother in the beatings area, we left Bloody Girl there and went to rescue him. If we are caught we will be beaten next week but we understood the consequences and were willing to do anything to save my brother from my sister's mistake-"

"And accomplishment." Puts in Lavinia. I had completely forgotten that she was still standing there. Almost like I was recounting the story for my own sake. 

"And accomplishment. So in truth, I do not know much whatsoever about her. I call her Bloody Girl because I found her covered in blood. I could have called her Fashion Girl, she has on the strangest clothes I have yet seen. I will think of a better name to give her for the time she is out."

"What did she say when she spoke nonsense."

"She mumbled something about buttons, four of them. A rainbow, cave, a hurricane? She said there was one extra and that she was in the rising tube. She kept on mentioning someone named Willow Laze? Lasey? I can't remember. At the end her voice sounded a bit like a drone like it was a recording machine and she said, 'have a jolly good time'. I can't remember much more. She was really determined to remember this Willow Lace or Lacy."

I paused, wrecking my mind to try and think straight. She sounded like this was vital information. This girl, her clothing, her way of behaving-even though she was about to fade into a coma, hell even her accent. Something was wrong.

"Maybe that's who she is." speaks up Lavinia.

"Who?" I ask confused.

"Willow. Maybe that's her name and she didn't want to forget it."

"So you think it's Willow Lac...z...e?"

"Just Willow. Don't worry about her last name."

With that I stared down at the figure of the frightened girl, hanging on for dear life to her soul. Even passed out, you could tell she was a fighter, a survivor. How else would she have gotten here? If she could stay alive through what she had to come here than she would open her eyes once well cared for. Willow. A pretty name. Whether it was truly hers or Lavinia's assumption was wrong, it didn't matter. The name Willow suited her. She just needs a title. 'Bloody Girl' worked because of the circumstances. She just needs a title to suit, to be attributed to her. And like a spark, the idea blossomed within my mind and I knew what would suit her. Mysterious and elegant. She would still be Willow but for the time being she is unknown. Willow the unknown.