October 13, 1999 — Outskirts of Eva — Zone 47
The sound of glass shattering was the first thing that echoed in her mind.
Sarah wakes up startled because of the noise.
While she is still lost in thoughts about these recurring dreams, she begins to get up.
Still sleepy, with messy hair and wearing loose clothes, she leaves her room and goes to her parents' room. When she sees that it is nothing more than her mother dropping another mirror while cleaning, she smiles lightly and returns to her bed.
But the shine of the star king that has just awakened insists on touching her face and illuminating her brownish gaze, giving her no alternative but to prepare for another day of school. However, when she remembers what awaits her today, she jumps excitedly out of bed and begins to change.
The birds now reclaim the sky while the clouds that before were apathetic now gain golden tones that mix with the usual white. Even the fog, now almost imperceptible, begins to leave the stage.
"Do I really need to answer this?"
Sarah asks the wind more murmuring than anything. With her left elbow resting on the kitchen table, she stares at a white sheet full of questions and alternatives in front of her while her head rests in the palm of her left hand and she plays with the pencil between the fingers of her right.
"Yes daughter, everyone in your school needs to answer it. That is how they decide the curricula of the final years."
Leila takes the moment to pull Sarah's long black strands back and let them fall over her back.
"But mom... I don't want to be any of that!" She finishes speaking releasing the air and relaxing her shoulders.
"Not even an archaeologist? It may not be sporty, but it is very nice to discover the..." While her mother's eyes shine with every word and she even travels in her mind looking far away, her voice becomes almost inaudible to Sarah's ears who continues staring at the options.
"Hunters Guild
Military Service
Fishermen Guild
Archaeologists Guild
Collectors Guild
Librarians Guild
Other: _____________"
"I just want to enjoy each day. Live each moment." She whispers to herself while her mother's voice returns.
"Your friends already know what they want to be. Marcela even brought me some seeds that are very hard to find around."
"Are some of them passion fruit?" Sarah even distracts herself for a moment and directs her face upward searching for the emerald green gaze of her mother.
"You know their seeds are only found in the black market." She answers while placing her hand on her daughter's forehead and redirecting her face against her will to the paper on the table.
"Good thing potatoes are very common." Sarah finishes speaking making a pout to the side with her mouth and looking again at the options.
"Come on, answer it quickly or you will be late."
Leila watches her begin to move the pencil and do something on the paper.
"That's it!" Sarah then drops the pencil there on the paper and the table and runs away still barefoot, climbing the stairs and disappearing toward her room.
Leila smiles lightly after releasing a handful of air while looking at the paper. When she sees that instead of signing one of the predefined options, Sarah circles the option "other" and writes "LIVE EACH MOMENT!!!!" very big on the line ahead.
Sarah is already saying goodbye to her mother at the house door. Her long black hair in contrast with her light skin moves gently with the morning breeze.
"Again without a uniform?" Leila, her mother, fixes a strand of her red hair while frowning for a moment when observing her daughter's dark jogger pants and black shirt.
"Today we have physical education! I have a reputation to maintain." Sarah answers with her firm voice, adjusting the dark green backpack on her back.
"I even ironed it for you." Leila grumbles after placing a fruit and the paper she forgot on the table into the backpack.
"My bad!" Sarah is already mounted on the bicycle.
"Don't talk to strangers!" Leila raises her voice trying to reach her already far away, her greenish and distant gaze getting lost in memories of the news she has been watching.
Sarah follows her path without looking back.
During the minutes of pedaling, she observes the houses, some cars, and even a vehicle from the armed forces all painted in a light brown tone doing its morning patrol. She notices the gray shine that emanates from the rear bumper. Shortly after, she sees another one the same. But her curiosity soon fades when she sees the school gate.
Upon crossing it and reaching the bicycle rack, three girls leaning against a half fence observe her arrival. The whispering begins.
"Hey girl! Come here!" Grace, with light brown hair, calls her.
Sarah approaches, hesitant.
"What grade are you in?" Grace asks with her nose raised.
"Eighth grade. Why?" Sarah answers raising her gaze toward her.
The three exchange looks in silence before letting out restrained giggles.
"How old are you, thirteen?" She asks again.
"Fourteen..."
"What a pretty backpack little girl." Rita, with straight dark brown hair, approaches and touches the fabric with disdain.
Sarah only watches from the corner of her eye.
"Hey, isn't she the daughter of that businessman?" Rita comments loudly, throwing an accusing look at Sarah.
"That's right! The one who has business with the nobles of Âmica." Grace adds while making a disgusted face. "She must be one of those spoiled little girls, by the way, why aren't you in a private school?"
"Now I remember! She keeps playing among the boys from the second year!" Letícia, curly chocolate colored hair, throws her sharp words toward Sarah.
"Ew! Gross! Stay away girl... boy... I don't even know what you are!" Grace steps away.
Sarah looks at the girls fixedly. Her fists clench.
Before anything else happens, three boys approach them wrapping them in hugs. A few seconds later, Sarah is no longer there. No one seems to care.
Minutes pass and the bell rings. The students move toward their classrooms, and one by one leave their answers on the teacher's desk. Soon after, the teachers arrive and begin their work.
At a certain moment, when a teacher turns to write on the board, Marcela, a slender girl with blond hair who sits behind Sarah, pokes her in the back.
"Hey, why didn't you go eat with us today?" Her voice is sweet even in a whisper.
"I wasn't hungry..." With her rough and low voice, Sarah throws the words into the air while getting lost staring at the floor between the rows of desks.
Marcela notices that on her desk there are small marks as if some liquid had been wiped in a hurry. She looks at Sarah's expression, but remains silent.
One after another the classes fade away. Explanations about guild systems and how human beings can become stronger appear.
One of the teachers named Miguel, wearing a black cloak and leather armor, writes three words on the board and then looks at his long green bow resting on his desk.
"Training, trauma and equipment. These are the three main ways to become stronger." He explains to the class.
But Sarah barely listens. Her mind is still trapped in the girls' laughter and in the dream of the woman with golden strands asking her to dance.
Soon the first questions arise.
"Teacher!" A boy with an athletic appearance and blond hair raises his hand.
"Go ahead Sebastian!" The teacher allows him to speak while sitting down.
"I train every day, will I be able to face the androids in the future?"
Some murmurs appear in the classroom but quiet down when they hear the teacher's voice.
"For us humans who are not from royalty, even with a lot of training it would be extremely rare to achieve such a feat. It would take decades of continuous training, and even so it is a consensus that it would be necessary to have the help of qualified equipment to match them." He looks again at his bow.
"But what about trauma? How does it make someone stronger?" A short haired girl does not miss the opportunity. Silence suddenly takes over the room while almost everyone listens attentively.
"Iris, hope you never become strong that way. Because only those who go through true hell and survive gain strength through that method." The teacher even runs his hand through his short brown hair to calm his thoughts.
"I heard that those who go through that method can even defeat an android." A voice echoes from the back of the classroom, drawing Sebastian's attention.
The teacher silently first observes Iris's white hair with purple streaks while she turns toward whoever spoke, and then he stands up while sighing.
"Listen! Strength always comes with a price. Whether years of life training, spending rivers of money, or losing yourself in the darkness and ceasing to be who you are." He breathes a little, leans on the desk in front with a distant gaze and speaks again.
"I have already seen how those who survive traumas deep enough to break them until they become stronger end up. And believe me, you will not want that!" He finishes speaking with the bow in hand and stretching the string, a large scar appears on the wrist that holds the bow and disappears under the leather armor.
At that moment, an almost funeral atmosphere hangs in the air, but the sound of an alarm clock ringing loudly breaks the silence giving the cue for new adventures.
"Don't forget that the guild test is coming." The teacher's voice is already distant to Sarah's ears as she was the first to leave. "Marcela, wait a moment." He calls the girl to talk with her for a bit.
After everyone has left the classroom, Miguel is still inside observing three of the answer sheets the students left on the table. Sarah's gives him a slight smile, but it soon disappears when he looks at Iris's and Sebastian's sheets, both marked with the option Hunters Guild.
When she arrives at the courtyard, Sarah sits on the ground leaning against a wall in search of a little sunlight. The children who just moments ago were running to form a line and get food are now running and playing tag. The older students sit talking and eating. Some still risk embarrassing themselves trying to play something.
"Hey, can I sit?" Marcela approaches from the left with her brow furrowed while observing Sarah. She is sitting with her legs crossed, her head resting in the palm of her hand and elbow supported on her thigh.
Without turning, Sarah answers with a slight positive nod.
The silence stretches for a few seconds.
"So... tell me what happened?" Marcela asks. However, the only answer she gets is the silence that takes over that small area for a while longer, until another voice breaks it.
"You are like this because of those idiot girls right?" A young male voice appears from the right side. Marcela recognizes him in the sunlight illuminating his brown skin.
"I saw you at the entrance today. Those idiot girls were picking on you?"
"So that's why you cried?" Marcela asks without thinking.
Sarah throws an annoyed look at her.
Bernardo sits on Sarah's right side. After a few moments, Sarah takes a deep breath and releases the air with her eyes closed.
"Do you think I look like a boy?" Sarah asks now looking down.
"No! That is your way of being." Bernardo answers. "And to me you are still a girl, the coolest in the school. Until today I don't forget your courage going down that huge street without braking your bicycle." He releases some enthusiastic words while observing the children running in the courtyard ahead.
"That's true, I am even afraid to get on a bicycle, but you always encourage me." Marcela exclaims gentle words while her gaze leaves the ground and turns toward her friend.
Tears run down Sarah's face.
Marcela moves closer and hugs her. Bernardo does not stay behind and does the same. Smiles appear among the rays of sunlight.
"I love you!" With her voice a little rough in a tone that transmits immeasurable peace, she lets herself be carried by the moment.
"Me too!" Bernardo returns the kindness.
"I looove yooou toooo..." Marcela begins to cry.
Bernardo and Sarah begin to laugh at their friend.
Sarah stands up and turns to the two smiling with all her heart. She grabs them by the arms and pulls them.
"Come on, let's go! I have a reputation to defend. I want to see if someone will finally be able to defeat me." With a smile stamped on her face, Sarah leads them to the battlefield.
Laughter mixes with the afternoon wind.
While the three cross the courtyard discussing the tests that are approaching, and Marcela tells Bernardo that teacher Miguel wants to talk with him.
Next to the window, the principal remains standing.
Her glasses reflect the illuminated courtyard, but her eyes are beyond it.
The telephone rings.
She answers.
"Confirmed."
"Yes. Half already went."
"In two weeks."
She hangs up.
On the desk, a clipboard with a long list of names.
Three are marked.