It was a day like any day. The streets of Tarrin danced in a sea of colour. A thousand bodies moved in a thousand directions. Each costume putting on its own display. One could get dizzy looking at it. The streets held an entire spectrum. Every hue and shade made present on the bodies of Tarrin’s many citizens. Yet, despite the thousands of bodies swaying to and fro, not a single face was to be seen. For to reveal ones face was the ultimate of shame. Though, no one could quite remember why. It was as such that Tarrin’s people took to covering their faces. Mostly with hoods and masks, but most anything would do for those who couldn’t afford such luxuries. Overtime one’s mask became a symbol of their status. And now it ascertained a person’s position in Tarrin’s rigid hierarchy, with the lowest wearing no coverage at all.
Today would not be like any day though. As the sun climbed higher in the sky the sounds of streets grew equally higher. So it was with an eerie atmosphere when the street became silent. Every head turned in the same direction, a few gasps escaped the crowd when they saw what approached. A large group of black shrouds, a large hourglass held by the one in front-center. The leader of Tarrin’s small council came darting from the courthouse, ushering the figures in. No one was to know what happened once inside.
However it was but two days later that Tarrin’s lottery was announced. The first one of its kind in over a hundred years.
In a dark alleyway a mother stood alongside her children. The trios ginger hair stood out against their dirty, tattered clothing. One could scarcely tell dirt from freckle. Her daughter, a girl of only three, wailed and fought her brother’s grip wanting to be earthbound. This only made him hold onto her tighter, it would only take a small crowd for her to go missing. He was use to standing for hours with his sister on his hip. It was their daily routine as his mother would wait for men to partake in her services. Already having two children, she was less than desirable and didn’t fetch a high price. So naturally when a man wearing a golden mask walked through, they had expected to be passed by. With their gazes to the ground they listened as every person on the road clamoured for the attention of the absolute. Yet shockingly the one he whisked away had been his mother.
“Isaiah, stay here until I return.” His mother said in her usual beautiful tone. So he did, and in that same spot he watched as a night passed by. Despite his mother’s instruction, by morning he had decided it best to return home. Turning the corner that led to the small tent his family shared he was met with a horrific site. Dropping both his jaw and sister, he fought back the tears and rage that came with seeing his mother’s crumpled body at his feet.
That was where the nightmare ended. As it always had. With a cold sweat Isaiah sat up in his bed, which was a wooden palette covered in cloth. At twenty-seven he had been plagued by reliving his mother’s last moments every night for fifteen years. On the way up from his bed each of his joints made a sickening noise, like one would expect from an old man. Quickly getting dressed he headed to the marketplace of Tarrin to pick up whatever work was available before dawn.
It was there he heard people talking about the lottery. Curious he asked everyone he saw, before finally getting an answer.
“Can’t you read?” The man he questioned said gruffly.
The woman next to him giggled, “Probably not Frederick, look at him.” She whispered something into her partner’s ear before turning back to Isaiah, “It’s a contest to win a sixteen million creds. Anyone can enter.” She pulled a piece of paper from her bosom and handed to him before continuing on with her husband. Isaiah‘s mind swam for moment at the concept. That would be enough to send his sister to college, with a little left over to buy an apartment slot. After pestering a few more people to assist him in filling out the application, he wasted no time submitting the slip and prayed that his name be drawn.
Today would not be like any day though. As the sun climbed higher in the sky the sounds of streets grew equally higher. So it was with an eerie atmosphere when the street became silent. Every head turned in the same direction, a few gasps escaped the crowd when they saw what approached. A large group of black shrouds, a large hourglass held by the one in front-center. The leader of Tarrin’s small council came darting from the courthouse, ushering the figures in. No one was to know what happened once inside.
However it was but two days later that Tarrin’s lottery was announced. The first one of its kind in over a hundred years.
In a dark alleyway a mother stood alongside her children. The trios ginger hair stood out against their dirty, tattered clothing. One could scarcely tell dirt from freckle. Her daughter, a girl of only three, wailed and fought her brother’s grip wanting to be earthbound. This only made him hold onto her tighter, it would only take a small crowd for her to go missing. He was use to standing for hours with his sister on his hip. It was their daily routine as his mother would wait for men to partake in her services. Already having two children, she was less than desirable and didn’t fetch a high price. So naturally when a man wearing a golden mask walked through, they had expected to be passed by. With their gazes to the ground they listened as every person on the road clamoured for the attention of the absolute. Yet shockingly the one he whisked away had been his mother.
“Isaiah, stay here until I return.” His mother said in her usual beautiful tone. So he did, and in that same spot he watched as a night passed by. Despite his mother’s instruction, by morning he had decided it best to return home. Turning the corner that led to the small tent his family shared he was met with a horrific site. Dropping both his jaw and sister, he fought back the tears and rage that came with seeing his mother’s crumpled body at his feet.
That was where the nightmare ended. As it always had. With a cold sweat Isaiah sat up in his bed, which was a wooden palette covered in cloth. At twenty-seven he had been plagued by reliving his mother’s last moments every night for fifteen years. On the way up from his bed each of his joints made a sickening noise, like one would expect from an old man. Quickly getting dressed he headed to the marketplace of Tarrin to pick up whatever work was available before dawn.
It was there he heard people talking about the lottery. Curious he asked everyone he saw, before finally getting an answer.
“Can’t you read?” The man he questioned said gruffly.
The woman next to him giggled, “Probably not Frederick, look at him.” She whispered something into her partner’s ear before turning back to Isaiah, “It’s a contest to win a sixteen million creds. Anyone can enter.” She pulled a piece of paper from her bosom and handed to him before continuing on with her husband. Isaiah‘s mind swam for moment at the concept. That would be enough to send his sister to college, with a little left over to buy an apartment slot. After pestering a few more people to assist him in filling out the application, he wasted no time submitting the slip and prayed that his name be drawn.
