Beachmash

Beachmarsh. You can tell from the name that this town is situated near the sea. The tumblristic deep blue sea with various marine creatures many travellers dream of. It is a bustling town in Abral with a diversity of culture and tradition. In other countries, most of the traditions and cultures have been modified due to globalisation. We made changes in this town too, just so we are more unique than others. Yet here remains a tradition that is highly impossible to change. That is, to divide the town into 2 - the North for the rich and the South for the poor or even average families. Our government, together with other hardliners, implemented that only to Beachmarsh. I'm still scartching my head, wondering why.

All my life in Beachmarsh, I was told not to associate with those in the North. Oh, I might have just indirectly exposed which side I'm living at. Never mind. My parents influenced me to call the North Beachmarshians all sorts of vulgarities when I was young. Literally at a young age. They said that the North earned lots of money without any effort and had many dirty tricks up their sleeves. Those dirty cash they had was spent on unnecessary items such as sports car, designer clothes and even private planes. The South, on the other hand, had backward technologies like horses and monochrome TV. We believed in saving and spending on other essentials. Apart from that, the North was claimed to be evil too. Every month, at least five girls from the South would be taken away. It was said that these doings were ordered by the North to find them as the missing Abralian Crown Princess. Yes, the country I'm living in is ruled by a King and Queen too. There are more bad deeds by the North, but I suppose this is enough to paint a bad image of them already. Therefore, being that creative, I named the North as filthy pigs.

"Ade! We need to go back before our mum whack our butt!" Mrs Whitley's daughter, Daisy, shouted.

There goes the end of my mini introduction of my town.
A beginning.

Wait. Where are my manners? I could introduce myself properly, but let's keep it brief. I am Ade, in short for Adelaine Vasquez. Many may have known me to be the florist's daughter or the girl who lives at the top of the hill.

I got up from my "mermaid" position on the huge beach rock, clutching my journal and pen in my hands.

"Do you need me to help you?" Daisy asked sweetly.

"It's alright, I'm fine," I huffed a puff as I landed on the golden sand, "shall we race to the Pizza shop?"

Daisy's grey eyes glowed up in delight as she enjoys racing with me. While she was happily squealing "yes", I took the opportunity and ran first.

"ADDEEE!!! THAT'S UN-UNFAIR!!" And then, I started hearing her screaming my name in a pitch ten times higher.

Although I am 18 years old, racing with kids is still my thing. I enjoy being with kids because I think they are honest with their emotions and words. Daisy is a decade younger than me and she's the sweetest girl in the neighbourhood. Many adults, including my mother, would question why I hardly hang out with teenagers or people at my age. But who cares? This might be the last year I will be seeing Daisy.

I intend to get out of this crazy country and settle down in somewhere more peaceful. Since this is my final year in college, I have been mugging to get a scholarship to an overseas University. My plan is to major in neurology and to work in a hospital. I also plan to bring my parents along once I've gotten a job. Getting a scholarship is a big deal for me as I don't wish to live in a place where people are judged by financial backgrounds. So if I managed to go overseas, I swear I will never come back to this crappy place.

"Ade... Ade... Why did you run so fast... I'm sweating so much..." Daisy has finally reached the end point and I was there much earlier than her.

"Look at this Daisy. I have long legs!" I pointed to my legs and proudly showed how leggy I was.

"THAT'S NOT FAIR! I WANT TO HAVE LONG LEGS TOO!" Daisy continued to stare at my endless legs, while I laughed softly.

"Your time to grow will come one day. Now isn't time to go home and have a shower? You stink like a pig sty."

"OUH MAMA WILL WHACK MY BUTT! BYE ADE!!" With that, she dashed into the pizza shop and went to look for her mum.

Just then, I realised that it was close to sunset and I had to be home by now. I mustered what's all my energy left and ran home again. Praise myself for participating the athletics club. If I'm not home on time, I would have to chop onions for the entire week. Forgive me again. I forgot to mention that my father owns a small food stall at the "border" of the town. And yes, I have leaked another information of myself to you. I have something against onion.

Within five minutes, I was at the doorstep of my house. A lovely house with a vast view of the breathtaking landscape. I stood rooted and gazed at the purple-pink clouds.

"How long are you going to stand there? Until night time?" My mother shouted through the kitchen window with a ladle in her hand. As soon as she turned away, I quickly entered the house by the kitchen window. With a tiny framed body, it was effortless for me to sneak in.

"Don't think I didn't see that Ade. You should know better how a lady should act." Mother scooped the mushroom soup into our small porcelain bowls. While she was scooping, she told me to call my father down for dinner.

"It's ok honey. Your voice is quite audible enough. I'm not deaf yet!" Father came down jokingly, which sparked mother to spill out profanities.

"You should know better how a lady should act." I mimicked mother in a fairly similar tone as hers. Father and I laughed our tears out, only to get a hit on my head by the ladle Mother was holding. I just washed my hair...

When dinner was prepared, we dug in and shared some gossips. We talked about my school's activities, Mother's new business contract and Father's weird customers. It was one of my favourite time as I get to connect with my parents. As we were about to touch the subject of the new town leaders, there was a commotion from our neighbours.

Everyone of us halted. We were trying to listen what's going on, only to hear 'daughter', 'my Isabelle' and 'find her'. I tried to ask what was going on, whereas my parents exchanged looks as if sending a mental message.

"Ade, go upstairs to your room. Now." Father said sternly.

I froze onto my seat for a moment, earning me a glare from Mother to hurry. Dragging my chair out reluctantly, I walked away from the dining area.

Bang.

My parents left and shut the door with full force. Again, I froze at the stairs, pondering what was going on. What month is it? April. What day is it? Thursday. It's dooms day today.

The cries and screams were more and audible now. Isabelle, my neighbour, was taken away. The only place she could have been taken to is none other than the palace. The Cruel Palace.