Remember Me Spain

Chapter 12

Wake up, go to work, come home. That was expected of me most days. On the days when Nathaniel didn't need my help organizing events and answering phone calls, I worked on getting Ales' things sorted in his office. Within a few short weeks, I managed to get everything sorted neatly into drawers and cabinets. Soon, Nathaniel set me to work doing simple computer tasks. Not the most demanding work, in all honesty, but it was work.

On my days off, I found myself wandering my new Colony, drinking in the new scenery. Sometimes, I found myself bewildered by where I was. The settlement was more than I could ever imagine. They had certainly made improvements to the colonies since the days I lived there. Instead of dark streets and dimly lit houses, the entire colony was filled with electric street lamps and shining billboard screens. Music pumped through the air from various stores, each one beckoning me to enter. And there was so much life. When I had first lived in a colony families would huddle around their fires. Only on rare occassions would anyone involve themselves in social activities. In this new colony, however, couples would walk the streets, engrossed in lively conversations. Meanwhile those who were single would enter the Night Clubs in hopes to casually hook up with someone. Meanwhile, teens would enter the stores and exited with numerous bags. What made me the happiest was the sight of families, laughing and playing in the parks. When looking at this new life, I couldn't help but smile.

What impressed me the most, however, was the housing. When I was still living in my Colony we only had a handful of houses, which would only be able to house a family of five. In this new colony, when there weren't stores, restaurants or entertainment buildings, there were houses. Hundreds of condos, dorms, apartments and houses lined streets, making lovely neighbourhoods. And within them hudreds of families lived comfortably. I found it all very exciting and new to me.

Deep down, though, I couldn't deny I was getting restless. And as much as I loved my new life in the Colony, I needed a twist, a bit of excitment. I missed the days where I could travel freely. Sometimes, it felt as if the Colony was like a well oiled machine. There would be scheduled times to hunt and even then only within certain seasons. And there a solidified age for children to travel outside of the colony. I remember, when I was a child, there were no rules limiting us from hunting or travelling. In fact, in order to survive we had to hunt whenever we could, no matter what the season. And children would often leave the home early, so they wouldn't be a burnden on the family.

But with no prospects elsewhere, this was my best bet at finally putting down some roots and living a life that wouldn't make my hair stand on end at every turn. And despite hating the regulated rules that surrounded the Colony, I still felt at home. I felt...safe.

One early summer evening, a murmur of unexpected voices drifted from my office as I came into work that evening. On a nervous tic, I thrusted my back against the wall while listening carefully. One voice I recognized—Nathaniel's—but the other was stranger.

"Please, sit down, Ales, we have much to talk about." Nathaniel gestured to an empty chair.

Through the crack in the door, I peeked in to see who he was talking to. Across the room, a slender-faced redhead slowly paced the room. His shoulders hunched terribly, as if his spine could not handle the weight of his arms. He had either been out in the elements for some time, or had recently rolled around on the forest floor. Burrs and grass stains patterned his shirt front; I had mistaken then for the fabric's print. So this was Ales?

Suddenly, his eyes darted to the door, focused and piercing. I gasped, jumping back from the door. His eyes still followed me, though, burned into my own as if I had stared into a bright light. They were tired...so tired. But beyond the dark circles, a vigorous intensity struck me and I was left agape. Pure energy, wild and unadulterated, but where it came from or why it was there, I did not know. There was a past to this character, but of that I could say no more. Steadying my breath, I returned to my spying.