Authorities of Exile
Chapter One: Exile Day
At night, every shape in the darkness looked like the menacing silhouette of a man. But it was just past three in the afternoon so I had little to worry about. In my cotton sweatshirt, the sun heated me to the point of discomfort, so I stayed to the shade. That among other reasons. The breeze made the air brisk, but judging by the way the grass crunched underfoot, spring wasn't coming very soon. Grass isn't meant to crunch. But I'll always take the crunch of dried leaves over the cold crunch of snow.
I meandered around the wide trunks of the bare trees and considered climbing one, just for the heck of it. Just to do something for fun. To be fair, I do a lot of things that are fun, but not a selfish kind of fun. I can't afford to do that anymore.
The tip of my shoe brushed against a rock and I watched it tumble through the long, brown grass. The way it rolled caught my eye. I stooped and picked it up with a grin.
"Hello there tasty," I said. A nut. I crushed the shell between two rocks and hastily opened it. A walnut. The sweetness caught me off guard. I popped the whole thing into my mouth and ignored the grit of dirt in my teeth as I let my tongue explore every crevice and get every little bit of nut out.
Once I spat the shell to the ground, I hit my knees. If there was one walnut, there were probably more. The blades of grass were sharp, but I hardly noticed since I remained focused on one goal: find the walnuts.
It took me a few solid hours, but once certain that there were no more walnuts hiding in the grass, I indulged in a few more. The stupidly sharp shells nearly sliced my thumb open, making me feel entitled to a few more. After all, it was my birthday, and Abby didn't like nuts very much anyway.
As I gathered, it was impossible not to think back to four years ago. Today I celebrated my exile. At the time the Authorities threw me out of the city, I begged them to take me back. I pleaded and sobbed and pounded the wall for much longer than I'd ever admit to anyone. I wanted to die. I wanted to brutally murder everyone who forced this on me. Back then I thought my exile was a death sentence. But back then I was just me and now I'm a mother. It was only fitting that I have a re-birth through exile before Abby was born. At least now I can see the goodness in the past.
That's why I'm celebrating today even though it's not actually my birthday. My actual birthday is in a few months and I'll be turning nineteen. I refuse to believe it. It sounds way too old of a number to belong to me. Then I think about how Abby will be four in two months and suddenly nineteen doesn’t seem old enough.
In Aden, women don't have their two babies until they are thirty. They have one at thirty and one at thirty-three and then they're done. I was half their age and now I believe I was twice as qualified.
My backpack bulged but it looked heavier than it was. Nuts aren’t like potatoes or apples or hammers or the many other previous contents of this bag.
If I ran, I could be back home in twenty minutes or so. I checked my watch. The cracked face make it a little hard to see the tiny hands, but I'd managed just fine. In fact, I loved this watch. I'd found it on my birthday two years ago and ever since the leather strap snapped, I'd kept the face on my wrist with the wide strap of a broken belt. Originally the enormous buckle bothered me, but not anymore. Not many things bother me anymore.
With plenty of time before dinner, I simply strolled back through the woods. Branches cracked around me and I smirked at the wind that tried to blow my hair into my face. "Nice try," I muttered. Janessa recently chopped it short for me again. One less thing to worry about.
A snap drew all my attention to the person rushing through the trees ahead. My knife clutched in my hands, I prayed it wasn't a man.
"Arika!" It was just Nicole. I should've guessed it was her. Her big breasts bounced back and forth as she jogged, which made me self-conscious and grateful for my withered orange-sized boobs. I stepped out from behind the large trunk and lowered my knife.
"What were you going to do with that?" She gasped.
"You can never be too careful," I shrugged. "What's going on? Abby throw up again?" Abby and the other kids were always sick with something. I don't know why Nicole always thought I had the solutions. I hadn't been training to become a Medical Advisor.
"No, Abby is fine." Nicole bent over as she tried to catch her breath.
"Breathe," I said. Setting my hand on her shoulder. "It's not an emergency is it?"
"Yeah, it is," she sputtered. Images of Abby or Jace covered in blood shot through my imagination.
"The kids? Are they okay? A man?" I grabbed my knife again.
"Not a man. Another exile." Nicole motioned back to our home.
"Is she hurt?"
"No... and yes." Nicole shook her head and wiped her sweaty forehead. "She's in labor."
I sprinted away from Nicole. It was against my rules to leave a sister alone in the woods, but this was a different situation. While I had confidence that Janessa would do a good job helping the new girl with controlled breathing, I had the most experience with childbirth. My heart pounded into my throat as my feet found their way to the beaten-down brambles. I heard her cries before the metal roof came into view. I intended on climbing up after they cooled tonight and re-coating their shiny surfaces with mud. Clearly that wasn't going to happen.
"Whyyy is this happening to meee?" The girl shouted before screaming again. I rounded the bend and saw her hunched over in the front og the house. The kids stared on and Janessa, Mel, and Diana crowded her.
"Mom, are we having another baby?" Abby tugged at my shirt. I took of my bag and handed it to her.
"Yes, honey. Take this into the kitchen and then go play with the kids in the playroom. Mommy has to help." I cleared my throat. "Janessa, take all the kids to the playroom. They shouldn’t be watching this. You're gonna give them nightmares!" Janessa obeyed quickly.
"Come on kids. Mom Arika is going to take care of her. Let's go play," she coaxed as she herded them through the patched wooden door.
"Mel, grab all the clean clothes from the laundry line. Make sure they're really clean. Then make a bed for her beside the river."
"Okay," she said. Her voice rang with fear.
"Diana, go with Mel."
Diana pulled at her short, black hair uncomfortably. "I don't really want to be around for this. Can I just go inside?"
I could have slapped her. "Whatever," I reached for the newcomer and supported her on my arm as another contraction left her crying. "Make dinner then."
"You know I can't cook," Diana said, stepping away from us. She gave the girl a dirty look, like she was soggy bread.
"Then switch places with Janessa and watch the kids!" I shouted.
"I'll make something," she consented and walked to the house so fast you would have thought she'd seen a man.
Once the contraction ended I took a good look at the girl. Probably sixteen years old. Dressed in business casual. Pressed white slacks. Lacy black formal top. Closed toe leather shoes. She had to have been exiled earlier today. Her clothes were still nice, she hadn't ditched the shoes and besides the streaks of mascara and eyeliner down her cheeks, her makeup was intact.
"I'm Arika." I said, guiding her towards the river. "What's your name?"
"I'm…Whaat's happening?" She stumbled and I caught her by her elbow. Could she really not know?
"You're going to have a baby," I stated. "Let's go where you can sit comfortably for a little while and where we can use the river to keep you cool and wash you off."
"I can't. I can't have a baby. They-" Another contraction started up and her water broke all over her white slacks. She gasped, panted, looked down and screamed. "Help me!" She gasped. "Please help me!"
"I'm going to help you." I waited for her contraction to pass and then I asked her again. "What is your name?"
She stared at me hard and shuttered out, "Lynn. I'm Lynn. I can't do this. I can't have a baby. I don't want to." I took her hand in mine and I gave her a serious look.
"Lynn, you can do this. I'm here with you. I've done this before. We can do this together." Hours passed, night came and around midnight Nicole switched places with Mel. "Keep the flashlight steady and try to keep it on." By the time I told Lynn to push, the sun teased us with the faintest rays of light. I entered delivery-nurse mode.
At night, every shape in the darkness looked like the menacing silhouette of a man. But it was just past three in the afternoon so I had little to worry about. In my cotton sweatshirt, the sun heated me to the point of discomfort, so I stayed to the shade. That among other reasons. The breeze made the air brisk, but judging by the way the grass crunched underfoot, spring wasn't coming very soon. Grass isn't meant to crunch. But I'll always take the crunch of dried leaves over the cold crunch of snow.
I meandered around the wide trunks of the bare trees and considered climbing one, just for the heck of it. Just to do something for fun. To be fair, I do a lot of things that are fun, but not a selfish kind of fun. I can't afford to do that anymore.
The tip of my shoe brushed against a rock and I watched it tumble through the long, brown grass. The way it rolled caught my eye. I stooped and picked it up with a grin.
"Hello there tasty," I said. A nut. I crushed the shell between two rocks and hastily opened it. A walnut. The sweetness caught me off guard. I popped the whole thing into my mouth and ignored the grit of dirt in my teeth as I let my tongue explore every crevice and get every little bit of nut out.
Once I spat the shell to the ground, I hit my knees. If there was one walnut, there were probably more. The blades of grass were sharp, but I hardly noticed since I remained focused on one goal: find the walnuts.
It took me a few solid hours, but once certain that there were no more walnuts hiding in the grass, I indulged in a few more. The stupidly sharp shells nearly sliced my thumb open, making me feel entitled to a few more. After all, it was my birthday, and Abby didn't like nuts very much anyway.
As I gathered, it was impossible not to think back to four years ago. Today I celebrated my exile. At the time the Authorities threw me out of the city, I begged them to take me back. I pleaded and sobbed and pounded the wall for much longer than I'd ever admit to anyone. I wanted to die. I wanted to brutally murder everyone who forced this on me. Back then I thought my exile was a death sentence. But back then I was just me and now I'm a mother. It was only fitting that I have a re-birth through exile before Abby was born. At least now I can see the goodness in the past.
That's why I'm celebrating today even though it's not actually my birthday. My actual birthday is in a few months and I'll be turning nineteen. I refuse to believe it. It sounds way too old of a number to belong to me. Then I think about how Abby will be four in two months and suddenly nineteen doesn’t seem old enough.
In Aden, women don't have their two babies until they are thirty. They have one at thirty and one at thirty-three and then they're done. I was half their age and now I believe I was twice as qualified.
My backpack bulged but it looked heavier than it was. Nuts aren’t like potatoes or apples or hammers or the many other previous contents of this bag.
If I ran, I could be back home in twenty minutes or so. I checked my watch. The cracked face make it a little hard to see the tiny hands, but I'd managed just fine. In fact, I loved this watch. I'd found it on my birthday two years ago and ever since the leather strap snapped, I'd kept the face on my wrist with the wide strap of a broken belt. Originally the enormous buckle bothered me, but not anymore. Not many things bother me anymore.
With plenty of time before dinner, I simply strolled back through the woods. Branches cracked around me and I smirked at the wind that tried to blow my hair into my face. "Nice try," I muttered. Janessa recently chopped it short for me again. One less thing to worry about.
A snap drew all my attention to the person rushing through the trees ahead. My knife clutched in my hands, I prayed it wasn't a man.
"Arika!" It was just Nicole. I should've guessed it was her. Her big breasts bounced back and forth as she jogged, which made me self-conscious and grateful for my withered orange-sized boobs. I stepped out from behind the large trunk and lowered my knife.
"What were you going to do with that?" She gasped.
"You can never be too careful," I shrugged. "What's going on? Abby throw up again?" Abby and the other kids were always sick with something. I don't know why Nicole always thought I had the solutions. I hadn't been training to become a Medical Advisor.
"No, Abby is fine." Nicole bent over as she tried to catch her breath.
"Breathe," I said. Setting my hand on her shoulder. "It's not an emergency is it?"
"Yeah, it is," she sputtered. Images of Abby or Jace covered in blood shot through my imagination.
"The kids? Are they okay? A man?" I grabbed my knife again.
"Not a man. Another exile." Nicole motioned back to our home.
"Is she hurt?"
"No... and yes." Nicole shook her head and wiped her sweaty forehead. "She's in labor."
I sprinted away from Nicole. It was against my rules to leave a sister alone in the woods, but this was a different situation. While I had confidence that Janessa would do a good job helping the new girl with controlled breathing, I had the most experience with childbirth. My heart pounded into my throat as my feet found their way to the beaten-down brambles. I heard her cries before the metal roof came into view. I intended on climbing up after they cooled tonight and re-coating their shiny surfaces with mud. Clearly that wasn't going to happen.
"Whyyy is this happening to meee?" The girl shouted before screaming again. I rounded the bend and saw her hunched over in the front og the house. The kids stared on and Janessa, Mel, and Diana crowded her.
"Mom, are we having another baby?" Abby tugged at my shirt. I took of my bag and handed it to her.
"Yes, honey. Take this into the kitchen and then go play with the kids in the playroom. Mommy has to help." I cleared my throat. "Janessa, take all the kids to the playroom. They shouldn’t be watching this. You're gonna give them nightmares!" Janessa obeyed quickly.
"Come on kids. Mom Arika is going to take care of her. Let's go play," she coaxed as she herded them through the patched wooden door.
"Mel, grab all the clean clothes from the laundry line. Make sure they're really clean. Then make a bed for her beside the river."
"Okay," she said. Her voice rang with fear.
"Diana, go with Mel."
Diana pulled at her short, black hair uncomfortably. "I don't really want to be around for this. Can I just go inside?"
I could have slapped her. "Whatever," I reached for the newcomer and supported her on my arm as another contraction left her crying. "Make dinner then."
"You know I can't cook," Diana said, stepping away from us. She gave the girl a dirty look, like she was soggy bread.
"Then switch places with Janessa and watch the kids!" I shouted.
"I'll make something," she consented and walked to the house so fast you would have thought she'd seen a man.
Once the contraction ended I took a good look at the girl. Probably sixteen years old. Dressed in business casual. Pressed white slacks. Lacy black formal top. Closed toe leather shoes. She had to have been exiled earlier today. Her clothes were still nice, she hadn't ditched the shoes and besides the streaks of mascara and eyeliner down her cheeks, her makeup was intact.
"I'm Arika." I said, guiding her towards the river. "What's your name?"
"I'm…Whaat's happening?" She stumbled and I caught her by her elbow. Could she really not know?
"You're going to have a baby," I stated. "Let's go where you can sit comfortably for a little while and where we can use the river to keep you cool and wash you off."
"I can't. I can't have a baby. They-" Another contraction started up and her water broke all over her white slacks. She gasped, panted, looked down and screamed. "Help me!" She gasped. "Please help me!"
"I'm going to help you." I waited for her contraction to pass and then I asked her again. "What is your name?"
She stared at me hard and shuttered out, "Lynn. I'm Lynn. I can't do this. I can't have a baby. I don't want to." I took her hand in mine and I gave her a serious look.
"Lynn, you can do this. I'm here with you. I've done this before. We can do this together." Hours passed, night came and around midnight Nicole switched places with Mel. "Keep the flashlight steady and try to keep it on." By the time I told Lynn to push, the sun teased us with the faintest rays of light. I entered delivery-nurse mode.
