Tigres leonesque numquam feritatem exuunt, aliquando summittunt, et cum minime expectaveris exasperatur torvitas mitigata. Numquam bona fide vitia mansuescunt. Deinde, si ratio proficit, ne incipient quidem adfectus; si invita ratione coeperint, invita perseverabunt. Facilius est enim initia illorum prohibere quam impetum regere.
Tigers and lions never put off their wildness; they sometimes moderate it, and then, when you are least prepared, their softened fierceness is roused to madness. Vices are never genuinely tamed. Again, if reason prevails, the passions will not even get a start; but if they get under way against the will of reason, they will maintain themselves against the will of reason. For it is easier to stop them in the beginning than to control them when they gather force.
— Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter LXXXV
An hour and a half after moment X, we cross the doorstep of my apartment. We were very lucky that it was in the blockade zone, and not outside it. NSC agents have cordoned off every millimeter of the downtown and continue to patrol the streets, which would make it extremely unsafe for Zeke to get home. The current government has got into the habit of checking the phones of residents who come across them at checkpoints.
"Make yourself at home or... do whatever you want."
I throw my bag on the floor and hang Zeke's heavy coat. Taking off my shoes, I run into the bathroom and immediately put my hands covered with dried blood under warm water.
"Get off me, please."
Tired, I sit on the side of the tub and look at the flow of water. No matter how much soap and antiseptics I pour, I will definitely feel this blood, I know it. Even now, seeing with my own eyes how it's washing away, I don't feel the difference. The view is changing, but the energy of other people got into the skin with bloodstains, and my soul doesn't feel better for a second.
I watch as the clear water turns red as it passes through my fingers, splattering the sink like the walls of a metro. At this moment Zeke comes up.
"Turning water into wine?"
I just chuckle at him.
"Need help? You don't look well."
"I'll manage on my own somehow." The phrase sounded harsh and, shaking my head, I say, "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude."
"Don't worry. It's forgivable for you today." He repeats this phrase again, but now it seems even more like a pathetic excuse that I don't deserve.
After washing up a little, I give Zeke a place at the sink and go to the room. The apartment seems small, but it has a large kitchen, a hall and a spacious living room, which has access to a balcony, where I usually spend all evenings, regardless of the season. I sit down on the floor with my back to the couch so as not to get it dirty, and turn on my laptop. I still can't believe what we're about to see, but if it really happens, I won't be able to justify our 'leaders'.
Zeke sits down next to it and a breaking news message appears on the screen, where, indeed, the president descends onto this very platform. It's not CGI, I recognize the traces of blood on the floor.
Deep breath in and out.
The cameraman points at the president's son, and I feel completely uneasy. A semblance of pity and bewilderment mixed in me in one second.
"He's not even eight years old." I whisper, gripping the edge of the laptop tighter.
"The poor kid should be on the playground with his friends right now, and this bitch takes him to see the freshly spilled blood."
YOU ARE READING
Astar
ParanormalHow often do you find out about military secrets by accident? In pursuit of a prestigious education, Florence uncovers the terrible secret of the murder of her relative. But it is not so easy to convict and punish the culprit when it is the governme...
