Hi, I'm Lilith, but my friends (well, just friend) call me Lili. I guess there's not a lot I can say about myself, really...
I'm a high school freshman, and I live in a cabin on a peninsula just outside the Town border. It's peaceful here, if nothing else. I'd say you get a nice view out here, since the air's pretty clear, but there isn't much to see. Just water, really.
I live there with my mom. She's nice, and she always looks out for me, but, hmmm, how do I put it... she's not much for conversation.
Mom's my only family, and she doesn't have a job, so we depend on welfare. Despite what I might think sometimes, though, life's not all doom and gloom. I can take pride in being a good student, and while I don't have any exciting hobbies or anything, there's always some way to have fun.
My day starts with a big stretch and a yawn. I sit up straight and stretch my arms behind me, then bend over and knead with my hands like a cat. As I start to get up, the drowsiness hits me harder. It's still too early..
.
I lie back down, hugging my fox plushie. I fold in my legs to wrap my whole body around it. "Ah, if only I could embrace another human being like this." i think to myself.
I've got a small collection of plushies, all of which I've named and treat like dear family. They're probably the only fun thing in my room, if not the whole house (apart from an old laptop I use on occasion).
After immersing myself in a comfortable embrace for just a little longer to try and ignore my worries, I notice my mom opening the door.
"Lili, honey, you should get up now, school will be starting soon." I'm sure she really does care, but there's that empty look in her eyes, as always...
"Yes, mother...."
I don't wanna disappoint her, so I decide to get a move on.
After rushing out of bed, I run over to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I walk out into the living room where I can see my mom is still preparing breakfast.
Our house is laid out a little strangely, there's not really a kitchen or dining room per se. There's one room, which you enter upon coming through the front door. It contains a chair in the corner as well as a drawer with a lamp on top, where my mom often sits and reads. On the opposite side of the room is a fridge, stove, and countertop (comprising a modest kitchen, more or less), and in the middle of the two sides is a small table with two chairs on either side.
I sit down at the table, and after just a moment, mom comes over with toast spread with strawberry jam, roasted potatoes, and asparagus for both of us, along with cups of green tea. Drinking her green tea has always been one of the everyday joys of my life. She cultivates it herself in her garden at the edge of the forest and serves it mixed with fresh honey. Always warms me up.
I'm grateful that mom still cooks well, if nothing else.
Finishing breakfast, I got up and went back to my room to change into my school uniform. Its a sweater-vest with a white-and-red checkered pattern and light grey sleeves, along with a mid-length dark grey pleated skirt for the girls' uniform and linen pants for the boys'. I like to wear over-the-knee socks with it, I think it looks cute. Making sure I had all my supplies in my backpack, I walked out the door.
The sky is shining in its usual blank tone. Sometimes when I'm not feeling well, the mysterious brightness is overwhelming, but today it fills me with energy. As I often do in the mornings, I stare out into the grey sea and accompanying grey sky. The water is clean and clear-looking, as though you could kneel down and drink straight from it, but that would be a silly thing to do. In the distance, I see a pack of verans circling a rein. I think to myself, nature is rather quaint, but it can also be violent.
My mother leans out of the door, and tells me, "Take care, honey, don't be late!"
"Thanks! See you later!"
I'm off. I don't have a bike or anything, so I just walk all the way to school. It's not too far if you know where you're going, and I've made this walk hundreds of times. The bridge to the mainland is so narrow that as the waves crash against the shore, I can feel splashes of water on my feet while I walk. After a short time I make it to the island's edge, where the sand gives way to a forest. The forest is densely shrouded in thick-wooded trees, blocking out the sky in many places. Due to the lack of light, smaller plants suffer, but "oases" can be found in a few places where beds of beautiful flowers grow, inhabited by bees and grasshoppers.
There are rumors among kids that fairies and other mystical creatures reside within oases in the deeper, more secluded areas of the forest, though by my age, most don't believe in them. In any case, few have ventured to look for them.
It's a winding and uneven path to Town, but it's hard to get lost thanks to the dirt road bordered with stones, which is the quickest route through. In theory, you could take a shortcut, but that would necessitate going through the more dangerous and less explored part of the forest, so it's best to take the traditional path.
I walk along the road until I arrive at the edge of Town, saying hi to the aerids and other small creatures along the way. The Town is a simple place, with stone roads linking various buildings, most arranged in neat lines. We have all the necessities, markets, houses, a bar, schools, and so on. The houses all look a bit samey, especially from the outside, but they're comfy enough. Few are especially big, though there are some notable examples including the school and government buildings. Naga's bar is one of the most popular gathering places. There's also a park, one of the more vibrant places in town. On some of the busier streets, people run stands, selling things, mostly food. The red-dyed plastic of the buildings, along with other decorations and fixtures in some places, such as lights and signs, contrast with the largely grey terrain surrounding it. The Town is divided between four regions, North, West, East, and South, each of which have a large school with a corresponding name. In the center, the government headquarters can be found, where the councillors gather. The government is rather secretive, and accordingly, HQ is off-limits to normal residents. They say its something about "ensuring our security and the safety of our people."
Waiting for me on the road with a smile on her face is my best friend, Eve. She has black, braided hair with a wonderful sheen to it, tied with two red bows. Her skin is bright and clean and has no visible acne or other blemishes. She's pretty.
"Good morning!"
"Good morning, Evie!"
Even though she lives a bit past the edge of town, she always gets up early to come here and walk to school with me. I've always thought that she's very kind and responsible. She seems so mature, even though she's only a year older than me. She's a student council member, always gets good grades, and is in multiple honors classes. Sometimes I wonder how someone like me could be friends with her. I wonder how she has time for all of this, too.
Eve gets along well with everyone, but other than me, the only person she's close with is the student council president. She often goes out of her way to help her. However, its just the two of us walking together. We don't tend to say much, though we do exchange smiles and friendly small talk.
"I hear a lot of new students have been enrolling to North," she tells me."
"Is that so?"
"Mmhmm! We have the best math and science programs in Town, so people commute from other regions just for the classes here. North has a lot of prestige."
"Wow! That's nice to hear. I just enrolled here because it's the closest to this edge of Town."
"I figured. Well, I suppose there's nothing wrong with that. Some of us put a lot of thought into choosing a school, but any of the major ones are fine."
Eve can be a bit direct, but she's never really mean.
"Anyhow, it seems like we'll have plenty of underclassmen next year."
"Yep! Ahh, I look forward to meeting all the new first-years. The start of a new school year is always exciting."
"True, true. Though, it means a lot of work for the student council as well... But I can't really complain, I signed up for this."
The idle chatter continued between us, irregularly, on our way. Our walk, as always, was unremarkable but felt nice. Evie kept smiling and skipped around a little, as she tends to do, despite her reputation as a serious person.
We arrive at North. Appropriately, it's the biggest building in the North region of Town, and is much more elaborately built than the surrounding area. Beyond the school gates is a large courtyard with patches of greenery that attract bees and butterflies. In the center is a fountain adorned with a statue of the school's founder on top. On the front of the fountain, facing the gate, is a plaque that reads,
"North High School
Education for a brighter future
Est. 2102"
As classes are starting soon, the courtyard is bustling with students making their way through. Sounds of conversation and footsteps fill the air.
The main school building itself is quite impressive. It spans 30,000 square feet and has four floors. It is constructed with marble and granite, and is supported by rows of columns on the outer edges. The roof is flat and provides a great view of Town from the top, complete with an ornate fence which is tall enough to prevent most people from jumping, though students aren't usually allowed up there anyway. Still, the roof is a popular hangout spot for those delinquent enough to bend the rules.
"Shit, first period is in 2 minutes!" Eve suddenly realized, looking at the clock hanging on the front of the school above the doors.
"Right, let's move!"
We run into the school through the imposing front doors, but slow down abruptly. As per the eternal rules: no running in the halls. As I start speedwalking to class, I say bye to Evie. While I'd love to share a class with her, I'm a year younger and unfortunately not an honors student.
"Hope I can see you after school!"
"I have student council today, but we'll see!" she says, already a few feet away from me. Well, I guess it can't be helped, I think to myself.
On my way up the stairs to 2F (where all the first-year classrooms are), I run into my homeroom teacher.
"Good morning, Mr. Faust!"
"Morning, Miss Cloverfelt. Good work on the last test, keep studying."
It's odd to see Mr. Faust arriving so late. We're not actually late for class yet, but still, he's a dilligent person, so he usually shows up a bit early. He often seems a bit tired, though, so I guess it's not that surprising. He can be a bit eccentric, but he's a nice person and a good teacher.
I make my way into the classroom. It can be a bit of a pain getting around in the school with how big it is, but I'm used to it. It's a decently-sized classroom containing 30 students, and everything looks pretty tidy. There are some weird posters on the wall saying things like "Studying is success" and "Everyone in our community counts! Become a contributing member of The Town!" The latter poster contains information about work and education in small print on the bottom.
Mr. Faust stands there for a moment, sipping his coffee as students fill the classroom. He then takes attendance before proceeding. "Good morning, class. As you should be well aware, exams are next week. Everyone should be preparing, and I will give plenty of time to study, but first I'm just gonna do some review on what we've discussed in class for this unit. If you have any questions, please ask away."
"How our world began is unknown, even to the greatest minds among us. Several theories exist, but still none have been proven enough to create a consensus within the community. What we do know is that the world was at first quite a hostile place. Our planet started out as a lifeless sphere, but, due to certain cosmological forces, the four elements essential to life were formed. These include: aura, aqua, plastic, and gramen.
Without aura, there would be nothing to supply humanity with the vital acids, and we would all become sick.
Without aqua, we would have no hydration, and the aquids would have no home, leaving the ecosystem desolate.
Without plastic, we would have no surface to stand on, leaving the world to the aquaformes.
Without gramen, we would have nothing to eat, and the bugs and creeds of the world would have no home.
First came aqua, and within it primitive aquids formed, but the only nutrients they had were each other and minerals, creating a chaotic environment where no one creature lasted long.
Then was gramen, which flourished underwater, giving way to the first herbivores.
Such was the state of the world for thousands of years, until rising pressure within the planet's core caused molten plastic to escape from deep within caves, seeping out from rich mineral stores. As it entered the water, it floated to the top and hardened due to the lower temperatures of the surface. These clusters of hardened plastic became the islands we inhabit today.
The primitive aquaformes evolved into more complex aquaformes, creeds, bugs, aeroformes, and of course, humans.
While advanced, humans struggled for hundreds of years, just barely evading extinction. We depend on certain invigorating acids, salvinorin and tetrahydrosalvinorin, that can only be found in mineral deposits. At first, this was simply found in caves, but as resources were exhausted, humanity had to rely on its ingenuity to come up with new tactics for claiming the acids. While we enjoyed some success locating and mining out glimmerstone, the mineral which contains the vital acids, distributing the product evenly among people was an issue, and so there were limitations in the places where people could live and even how many people the ecosystem could support.
Tragedy befell humanity yet again when Ba'al's Trench, the largest and most important mine, located in the heart of Eden, humanity's greatest settlement, was exhausted of glimmerstone entirely. People everywhere thought that their days were numbered, as the sickness began eneveloping the population. The onset was marked by a strong headache of increasing intensity, followed by nausea. It didn't take long for the vomiting to begin, and with it, symptoms of severe malnutrition, including extreme fatigue and organ damage. Victims perished after 7-30 days.
Smaller mines still existed and allowed some to keep on living, temporarily, though these too were exhausted quickly, and it became harder and harder to find untapped deposits (especially with how prospecting equipment was unsophisticated at the time).
Just as our species was ready to give up hope, however, an explorer by the name of James Engel III discovered a yet unsettled island in the deepest reaches of the Dead Sea. He decided to call it Point Zero, the single furthest place from any other landmass in the world, and seemingly the most untapped when it came to natural resources. While small, the island contained a healthy ecosystem consisting of a forest and a beach, as well as, curiously, a large desolate stretch of raw plastic. It was also discovered that the island was in fact an archipelago, and contained a few surrounding islands, though these wouldn't be explored to any satisfying extent until much later.
Engel set up a temporary camp in the plastic region of the island so that he and his associates could have a safe place to rest inbetween their research. However, while the expedition team was originally most interested in the forest, a miracle that would change the course of history soon unfolded right under their noses.
Sometime well past midnight, when the sky was pitch black and the atmosphere eerily silent, one of Engel's comrades suddenly awoke to find a massive fissure forming rapidly in the plastic beneath them. Believing the island itself was about to split in half, she awoke her cohorts, who were terrified at the sight. They quickly ran away from the faultlines, until they ceased expanding. The team watched on as a strange gas began to emerge from the cracks, filling the air like a thin but very visible fog. They feared it was poisonous, but equally feared going out into the dark forest at night, and had no time to retreat into the water. One rather dejected fellow walked into the fog, accepting his fate, but much to his surprise, he found himself full of strength and vigor. Observing this effect, the rest of the team joined him, drawing close to the origin point, and soon found themselves engulfed in euphoria. They fell asleep right on the ground, and by the morning, the fog enveloped the archipelago, somehow never seeming to dissipate. This fog is what we now know as aura, the elusive fourth element which facilitates humanity's continued survival. It was expected that at that rate, whatever cavern may lie beneath the island would run out of the mysterious, invigorating gas, but weeks went on, and the explorers grew used to it.
After briefly surveying the nearby forest, Engel's expedition team sailed back home to Eden to report their findings to the wisemen. While at first they were in disbelief, James Engel III had credibility as an explorer thanks to his many voyages which helped map out the continents of the southern half of the world. The wisemen had a special trust in him, as well, as his father and grandfather before him were similarly famous for their exploits. Out of luck, and in search of answers to humanity's plight, they financed follow-up voyages to further research the aura phenomenon. This led to the discovery that aura is composed of all the essential acids found in glimmerstone, and as Point Zero contained a seemly-infinite supply of it, a mass migration commenced.
With Eden abandoned, and nobody willing to venture outside the archipelago, that small region became the one and only habitat of humanity. With people in such awe of the miracle, myths and legends were told about the origin of aura, eventually leading to the belief system of Aurianism, the world's most widespread religion. The people quickly built up a settlement, and as it was expected to be the last one we'd ever need, it was simply referred to as 'The Town'."
Throughout that lesson, nobody had any questions. I can see my classmates yawning and collapsing on their desks beside me. I wish I could compel them to be more diligent, but I have my own things to worry about.
"Now, I know that was a long lecture and some of you are probably exhausted just listening to me, but I wanted to give an overview of the unit to make sure everyone got plenty of chances to write the important details in their notes. Next week, each class period will be free for your studies, and the week after that will be exams. Alright, class, you are dismissed, have a nice day."
Several students breathe an audible sigh of relief and start walking out hastily. I quickly review my notes before checking that all my supplies are in order, then join my classmates on the way out. Mr. Faust gives me a weird smile as I'm leaving. I'm sure he meant it as a nice gesture, though.
After class I enter the cafeteria on the same floor. Despite the academic merits of this school, the cafeteria food is infamously bad. Several students can be seen hastily gulping down food with a look of anguish on their faces. Not noticing anyone I recognize, I sit down at an unoccupied table and take out my lunchbox that mom prepared for me.
As I eat my sandwich, I start to stare out into space and think about my life. I don't dislike it, but every day feels the same. I get up, go to school, go home, and go to sleep. Some things happen in between but nothing much usually. I only have one friend, who I can't see much, and my mom is nice but she doesn't seem totally "there" these days, so it's kinda lonely.
I see Eve come into the cafeteria and instantly snap out of my daze. "Haiiii Evie!!" I start waving my hands in the air to get her attention. She smiles and waves, silently, and walks over to take a seat across from me. She came in a bit later than me, but there's still plenty of time left in lunch period, so I'm happy to linger here and chat.
She takes out her lunch, rice and sushi. She can't stand the cafeteria food either, so she brings her own, but unlike me, she makes it herself. For a moment, I just watch her eat. She can handle chopsticks quite elegantly, and she's very careful not to spill grains of rice anywhere.
"Something on your mind, Lili?" She says as she tilts her head slightly.
"Oh, nothing much."
"Typical, I suppose. You ought to occupy yourself with something. You always go right home after school, don't you? Why not try joining a club when we get back from break?"
"Hmmm. I guess you have a point. I don't really have any talents or hobbies though, so I don't know what I would join."
"Now, now, that's not true. You always get great grades on your essays, and those sketches you draw are nice! I'm sure you'll find you have other talents, too, if you would try new things."
"Heehee, no need to flatter me! Well, I'll think about it."
"Yes. Good." She pats me on the shoulder, I smile.
She notices the pickle juice and bread crumbs around my lips. "Oh, let me get that." She wipes it off with a handkerchief. "Sigh, you're so helpless."
"Wait, you've seen my drawi-"
The bell rings. Time for next period. "See you around!"
"You too." Eve smiles gently and walks out the door with me. We each go to our respective classrooms.
The school day continues boringly. My teachers go through their lessons, which are mostly review at this point, and classes end early to give us more time to study.
It's kinda nice to get out of school before the sky goes fully dark, but there's still little for me to do besides go home. I decide to walk around the school a little before heading out. School is winding down but the student body is bustling with activity. I hear people laughing and having fun, or studying and focusing on important work as I walk by the club rooms. Literature, art, music, science, athletics, games, and so on.
As I make my way back down the first floor I walk by the student council room, I can hear Eve's voice in there. Many people are present, seemingly talking about something rather serious, arguing and such. I can't tell about what, really.
I sigh to myself and walk out the door. I stare longingly into the darkening sky as my hair and skirt sway in the winter wind.
While loitering around the campus, unsure of what to do next, I spot a boy walking by for just a moment. I could swear that when I blinked, he disappeared. I looked up and down the nearby streets and around the campus, but couldn't find him again. Despite only seeing him for an instant, the image of him was so striking that it remained clear in my memory. He had spiky, black hair and red eyes that almost seemed to glow. He was remarkably short, I would've perhaps taken him for a child, but he was wearing our school's uniform. This person wasn't somebody I had seen before, but North had very many students, so I didn't think much of it.
With that almost supernatural experience out of the way, I decided to wander around for a little. It's easy to get lost in Town if you don't know where you're going. All the roads look the same and a lot of the houses and businesses look the same too, so you have to pay attention to signs and notable landmarks where applicable, like the regional schools, the council building in the center, the park, or the odd standout business, like Naga's bar which is bigger than most non-governmental buildings and is made with wood and stone as opposed to plastic.
I walk around a 2-block area in a circle once or twice to clear my head. Next, I have a little pocket money, so I decide to visit the market district. Some shops have already closed, but I managed to get a box of fried rice from a food stand (with disposable chopsticks included!) Continuing on, I make my way towards the most northeastern point in town, which is only about a mile away from the market district. On the northeastern shore is an old lighthouse. You can tell it's old cuz it's made with stone and not plastic like most of the buildings around here. Some old man told me it was made with minerals mined from Ba'al's Trench. I don't know if that's true, but I could believe it. It's effectively abandoned, since nobody dares sail outside of the archipelago, and there aren't any major islands on this side of Town.
As I reach the shoreline, I'm refreshed by the moist air and the sounds of waves crashing. Someone's fishing here, but he doesn't seem to notice me and I choose not to bother him.
I swing open the lighthouse's heavy door and enter. There was originally a lock on it but I picked it a couple years ago and nobody has seemed to notice, or maybe they did and just didn't bother to put it back. Continuing, I make my way up the stairwell. It's a bit rickety, which is scary, but it hasn't failed me yet, and it's not too long of a walk. This is the highest point in Town, or at least the highest point I've noticed apart from the school rooftops. From here, you can get a great view on the ocean from one side and this region of the Town from the other. Nobody else seems to know about this place, either, so it's nice for when you want to be alone. I lean on the railing and gaze down into the sea for a moment. Some reins as well as small aquids are dancing around in their usual patterns. The fisherman I saw before manages to nail a rein with a harpoon and pull it to shore. Impressive.
I then crouch down and reopen my fried rice box. It's still warm. "Good," I think to myself, "I haven't wasted too much time." Gleefully, I eat about half of the box, and then, tired from all the food, find myself lying on the floor. It's chilly, but not terribly uncomfortable. I doze off for some time, hard to say how long, didn't have a watch on or anything. Suddenly I hear a slight squeaking, like the sound of a chrat, not uncommon in run-down buildings like these. Quickly I open my eyes and start getting up to defend my food, but as I'm on my knees, I can see someone, for just a moment. As I look up, however, they're already gone. Frantically, I inspect the floor, look around the stairwell, and the ground around the lighthouse, but they're nowhere to be found. "Was it him, again?" I wonder to myself. "Am I losing it, or something fucky happening?"
I figure there's no use thinking about it for now. It's pretty late, and I don't want mom worrying about me, so I walk back home. The trip back from school is about the same as the trip to, except it's dark and there's no Evie, so more boring and lonely.
As I enter the front door, I face my mom, who's sitting in her chair in the corner. She notices me, and looks up from her book.
"Welcome back, dear." She says with some delay.
"Uh, hi mom. I bought some food. I've already eaten enough of it, so help yourself to the rest." I bow my head respectfully.
"That's nice of you, dear."
I set the rice down on the table. She looks down and sits completely still for a moment, then slowly gets up and moves over to the dining table to eat.
I stand there for a moment, and she eats silently. I go to my room. This is the extent of our interaction for the night.
It's been this way ever since father passed. So I'm told, anyway. I was so young when he passed that I never really knew him. From what I've heard from some of the older Townfolk, he was a councilman, and a real stand up guy. A pillar of the community, always willing to help out, supposedly. Still, I only know vague details about him. I've never even seen a picture of the man.
The council operates largely in secret, so what father's work consisted of is a mystery to me and just about everyone else (though, if he was such an impressive person, it must've been something important). On top of that, mom's never been keen on saying anything about him. I mean, sure, she's never that, uh, present, but I can about hold a conversation with her if I make the effort. Yet, the topic of father is the one thing that always makes her go silent.
Well, there's nothing left to do today, so I climb into bed. It sounds a bit depressing when I say it out loud, but I look forward to going to sleep most days. Getting cozy and having a lil cuddle makes everything seem worth going through. I'm a bit tired from walking around today, too, so it's especially refreshing.