The bells rang.
Three times,slow and even.
Aurex opened his eyes,feeling like he woke from a long dream,but already smiling. Lips pulled back just enough to show teeth. Not too wide. Not too little. Just right.
His bed was spotless. Sheets tucked with military precision. The wooden floor creaked as he stepped into his morning routine,each motion memorized long ago.
Brush teeth. Comb hair. Recite the ten rules.
"One: You must smile.
Two: No killing.
Three: No searching for the past.
Four: No talking in public.
Five: Speak only when spoken to.
Six: Be in bed by the third bell.
Seven: No littering.
Eight: Do not cross the black fence.
Nine: Do not discuss the erased.
Ten: Never ask what lies beyond."
He mouthed them in front of the mirror, grinning like a wax doll. His eyes didn't match the smile. He knew it. But no one had said anything yet.
Downstairs, his mother was already at the stove, apron spotless, eyes wide and vacant. "Good morning, sweetheart!" she chirped in her usual pre-recorded tone.
His father sat at the table, sipping coffee. His sister brushed their younger brother's hair while humming. All of them smiling.
Aurex sat down, lifted his spoon, and forced a light chuckle. "It's a beautiful day."
They nodded in unison. "It's always beautiful in Eliston."
---
School was a ten-minute walk along clean cobblestone streets. Flower boxes in every window. No trash. No shouting. Only smiling.
He passed three patrol statues with his little brother,tall stone men with permanent grins chiseled into their faces. They never moved. But everyone swore they could.
At school, they were reviewing the town's founding myths. Teacher Gralene stood stiffly at the front.
"Eliston is a gift," she said. "Before this city, there was chaos. Then the First Smiler came. He gave us the ten rules. And now? We have peace."
The class repeated after her:
"Peace in smiles. Peace in silence."
Aurex mouthed the words. No sound left his lips.
---
At lunch, it happened.
Renn,Aurex's best friend dropped his sandwich.
It slipped from his fingers and hit the ground with a quiet, ugly splat.
Silence fell.
Renn stared at the sandwich. Just stared. His smile,so carefully practiced,twitched.
His lips trembled. His eyes darted side to side. Then his breath caught in his throat as the corners of his mouth began to fall.
The hum started.
Low and steady. The ground vibrated beneath their feet, as if something massive had stirred beneath the town.
Then the light came.
It wasn't harsh. It was soft,warm, even. A halo formed around Renn's chest, spreading outward until it wrapped around him like sunlight turned to smoke.
He looked up. His smile returned,wide and shaking.
And then he vanished.
No scream. No flash. Just gone.
Only the sandwich remained.
For a second, no one moved.
Then laughter,high and shrill.
Cray stood nearby, grinning too wide. "He forgot to smile! What a fool!" His voice was bright, almost delighted. No fear behind it.
Across the courtyard, another boy,Torren,had gone pale. His lunchbox slipped from his fingers, but he caught it just in time. His jaw clenched behind his grin. His legs were trembling as he turned and walked away, too fast, too stiff, still smiling.
Aurex watched both of them.
One smiling without fear.
One smiling through it.
He didn't know which was worse.
---
At dinner, he didn't touch his food.
"Are you feeling okay?" his mother asked, still smiling.
He nodded. "Just tired."
His father set a hand on his shoulder. "We're lucky to be here, son. Eliston gives us peace. All it asks is that we follow the rules."
"I know."
His sister giggled. "You look like you saw a ghost."
Aurex smiled.
Then excused himself.
---
That night, lying in bed and staring at the ceiling, he thought of Renn. Of the sandwich. Of the statue's grin.
"If it happened to him, it could happen to me."
But worse than that was the other thought.
The one that came with a cold knot in his stomach.
"What if I'm the only one who sees it? What if I'm the only one who wants to leave?"