Star Crossed: On the Line - 8. Mother's Games

30 years ago

“But Ma’tiem! I’m so hungry.” The little one cried and tugged on my robe. He is much too small. It is not right.

“I know, Yebia.” I kneel down and run my fingers over his cheeks. He looks ready to cry. “Right now we must play our game. Do you remember the rules?”

He sniffs and nods before repeating them. “We must stay down. Always stay together. Hide from the guards in grey and gold.” He frowns before wrapping his tail around himself. “I do not like this game. You take it too seriously.”

I huff a laugh but peek over the window. “I am just very competitive. I want to win.” No sign of anyone outside. Now may be our chance. “Do you not like winning?” I smile down at my little Yebia. My much too little Yebia. “I could have sworn I’ve been teaching you to always win.”

He gives me a smile and nods. His big grey eyes glittering off the sunlight behind me. Just like his father. His dead father, I think bitterly.

“I always win!” He practically shouts. I quickly shush him and glace out the window with wide eyes. I don’t hear anything so I think we are safe.

“You must stay quiet, Mekaias. That is how we lose. Do you want to be taken away?” I kiss his forehead as soon as I see his chin trembling. “Now, now. Do not cry. We are going to find some food. We just need to play our game first.”

He nods his little head, perhaps a little too hard since his giant ears bob with him. They are much too big for him. Perhaps he will grow into them. I wouldn’t ever tell him that they are too big for him right now.

“Enyase?” I look down at him with a smile.

“Enyase.” He grins and bounces on his feet.

He tightly grips onto my robe and we walk out of the abandoned shed. It was nice while we were there. Unfortunately, We were spotted. It was another slave but I can not risk it. I don’t know how I would live with myself if I lost my little Yebia as well.

“Ma’tiem,” he whispers below me, “Can we see the circus tonight?” He grins up at me and I give an apologetic smile.

“I am afraid we can’t yun tuaon.” I peek around the corner of an alley and see it is empty. “We can’t afford a ticket tonight.” He frowns but stays silent.

I probably could manage to buy him one ticket. I would even let him go on his own. I just don’t want the possibility of being taken away and then he has nothing to come back to. He is my fragile flower and I must keep him safe from the dangers of this place.

“Bow your head.” I whisper, as a group of people walk our way. He immediately listens and we step out of their way. As soon as they have passed at least three steps away, we start moving.

It’s a rather busy day today. Everyone is running to stay out of the way of the guards. The King has created a law saying that anyone who doesn’t have a emblem of peace or slave markings, is to be taken and either executed or they shall be given slave markings. While I have them already, Mekaias does not. Surely they would not just let him work in the houses of the rich as I do. I just know they would force him to do worse.

I will not let them get to my Mekaias. He is too good for them. The thought of ever seeing him in those disgusting markings is just heartbreaking to me.

Two guards are speaking to each other on one side of an open area. Thankfully the place is crowded with many different slaves. Still, I want to be extra careful.

“Yebia, shall we play hide and seek from the guards?” I whisper and hope my smile is convincing enough to him. I am fairly nervous right now. The past month has been awful trying to find places to sleep and getting to the marketplace then back. All in hopes of finding any spare food.

“Yay!” He grins and claps his hand. “Where should I hide?” He practically beams.

I point to a pile of boxes that are hidden just behind a corner that should lead to the marketplace. “Over there should be a good spot.” I smile and push him to run ahead of me. “The guards know we are playing already so you must be careful not to let them see you, alright?”

“I will be super sneaky, Ma’tiem!” He whispers loud and then curls his tail around his waist and makes his way through the crowd.

I guess it is a hidden blessing that he is deformed. If he was taller, this would be harder. I cover my face with my head wrap and duck low. I know it’s a little harder for me to sneak through. I am unfortunately taller than most. There are those that are as tall as me. Those I try to keep us behind. Usually they do not mind.

Walking around hunched over isn’t seen as strange thankfully. Everyone possibly thinks that my body was built to walk as if I have a permanent boulder on my back. Thank goodness this planet is filled with different species. I peer through all the people passing by. I vaguely see flashes of that black mess of hair. Good. He should be there already.

A few people bump into me or step on my robe. They either snarl or grunt. Most people are rather rude to us. It’s alright. You get used to it I guess. I know Mekaias already has.

I reach the pile of boxes and see Mekaias is searching through them. Unfortunately they are empty. Possibly left there as garbage.

“We did it, Ma’tiem!” Mekaias bounces around me before grabbing onto my robe. We begin walking towards the marketplace.

“Yes we did, Yebia.” I smile and lean down to scratch the top of his head. “You did so well! I wonder where you’ve learned to sneak around like that.” He giggles and shrugs his shoulders. His tail swings wildly behind him. Good. He’s having fun. That’s all I want him to think about.

“I hope they leave us some of that strange pink and black bread, like they did last time!” He sighs.

“Me too. You should not get your hopes up, however.” I sigh as well. It’s been about two weeks since I’ve eaten. A week for Mekaias. There was barely anything there last time that I gave it to Mekaias. The cook had thrown the burnt bread at our feet and walked off. Not even a handful of bread. I am not sure what we did to offend him. I pray he will have mercy on us today.

~~
~~

We managed to find food. Not exactly directly from the cook but it was close enough. The cook had forgotten to throw the leftovers away for the animals. Mekaias had managed to sniff it out. Unfortunately whoever had eaten today decided to have citrus from earth. It had spilled on everything. Unless the cook did that on purpose. Surely he wouldn't do that. Would he?

“Ma’tiem,” Mekaias cried, “but I’m so hungry.” He sobbed and I knelt down to wipe away his tears.

“I know, Yebia. I know.” I pulled him into a tight hug and let him let out any tears. Better now than for later. “It is very bad for us. We may have to wait for another time. Right now we must find another home.”

“Another one?” He pushed back then stuck his bottom lip out and looked up at me with big, sad, wet eyes. “Can we not go back to the one before? It had a nice roof.”

“I fear that it is too dangerous to go back yun tuaon.” I freeze as I see a guard looking in our direction. He slowly starts walking our way.

I pick Mekaias up and start walking the other way. Mekaias just giggles in my ear. Possibly thinking this is just a fun ride. I look behind me and see the guard is talking to another and is pointing straight at us. As soon as he calls for us, I run.

“Weeee!” Mekaias laughs and holds his hands up in the air. I grab them and wrap them around my neck.

“Hush, my love!” I huff and hop over a small crate. “You must be quieter. We are mixing two games this time. Tag and also hide and seek. Do you know what that means?” I push past a crowd of people and Mekaias keeps his legs wrapped around my waist.

He puts his finger over his mouth and makes a shushing sound. I nod and give a small smile before turning a corner and running towards the river.

The river is filled with parked boats right now. I do not hesitate to jump off the road and onto a boat. I look back and see two guards trying to push past a crowd of people. I keep my arms wrapped tight around little Mekaias and start jumping from boat to boat. None of them are close enough to jump onto the other side.

I hear loud thumping as the guards have now reached the boats. I don't even bother turning to look backwards. I know they are there.

Insects fly above the water and the stench of dead fish and blood fill the air. I move my scarf to cover my face and Mekaias does the same with his.

“You should make your legs glow, Ma’tiem!” Mekaias shouts into my ear. I flinch at the high-pitch but listen to what he says. Magic gathers in my legs and I start moving faster. I try and pick up enough speed and jump high into the air.

Mekaias screams and I turn to keep him above me to soften his landing. We land hard on my back and I grit my teeth from the pain on my leg and the back of my head. I groan as I feel small hands trying to pull me up. I lift myself up onto my arms and open my eyes.

Muffled shouting is all I hear and then I see a blurry Mekaias trying to pull me to run. I look behind me and see four guards running in our direction. I gasp and quickly push myself off the ground.

I scoop Mekaias up and then sprint down the road, following the river. Where I could possibly be headed, I do not know.

I have a small limp now. A spike of pain goes up my left thigh every time I take a step. I look down and see a large piece of glass is sticking out.

“Mekaias,” I whisper, “look at the boats!” I try my best to fake excitement. The little angel turns to look at them. I reach down and grit my teeth as I pull the glass shard out. Blood starts to spill down my leg. It will heal soon. I should be fine. I still unfortunately have a limp. I curse under my breath and hitch Mekaias higher on my hip.

“Ma’tiem,” Mekaias says while wrapping his little hands tighter onto me, “They are taking the game too seriously. It’s scaring me.” He buries his head into the side of my neck. I put magic back into my legs and just fight the pain. I will not let them get my yebia.

“They just want to win as much as us. Do not worry, love. We will make it.” I grip him tight. “Remember what I said about being underwater?” I ask.

He seems to take a moment to answer and I almost don’t even bother to wait. I need to know if he can do this. “We...we hold our breath. Ma’tiem I don’t know how to swim.” He whispers and I feel him start trembling.

“It will be ok, Yebia.” I peek behind and see they are still chasing, though they are a lot closer than before. “Just hold onto me. Enyase?”

A moment passes before he replies. “Enyase.”

I take a deep breathe and hear him do the same before turning and jumping straight into the dirty river.

I don’t dare open my eyes under the water but I try and kick my feet to reach the air. I feel some things hitting my legs as the river carries us but I try not to concentrate on that.

As soon as we break for air, I check to see if Mekaias is alright. His eyes are wide and he is very much scared. I hug him close with one arm and keep us afloat with the other and kick hard with my legs.

The river constantly flows and pushes us as a fast pace. I keep us close to the edge in hopes of finding an opening to get out.

“It smells nasty down here. What is that?” Mekaias tries to cover his mouth with his scarf but gags and instead uses his hand.

“Dead fish.” I simply say. I will absolutely not tell him that bodies are thrown in here after executions. I couldn't ever tell him that.

His nose wrinkles in disgust and I can’t help but laugh. I hug him tighter. “I love you, Ma’tiem,” He says, “but I don’t think we should play games with guards anymore. They play too serious.” I chuckle and kiss the tips of his ears.

“Soon we will never have to play games with them again.” I whisper.

“Really?” He gasps. “Wait, but what if I someday want to play with them again? They could get bored without our games.”

I shake my head but smile. “We shall see.”

A broken old bridge is ahead of us now. One half is barely under the water. I try to swim with one arm to the other side where it hangs. Mekaias even tries to help swim with me but I am pretty sure it isn’t helping.

As soon as I grab it with one arm, I lift Mekaias and lay him on the broken piece of wood. I just decide to rest my arms. I’m so tired. I could really use a nap right now. Although it would preferably out of the water.

“Ma’tiem, you should get out of the nasty fish water.” Mekaias says above me. I huff a laugh and try to pull myself over. So much for a small break. I groan as I flop down next to him. I remove our scarves and set them down next to me. We close our eyes to rest and let the sun warm us. We both sigh at the same time and hold each other’s hands tight.

The bridge would give us enough shelter if I were to remove the broken piece. It would be carried away into the water and then we would have a small roof to sleep under. There aren't any walls but it is better than nothing. Perhaps this was where we needed to go. The area is rather deserted so that’s good bonus.

“Excuse me.” A voice says over us. Maybe not so deserted. The sun has been blocked out and a shadow hovers over us.. “Are...are you living on this old thing?”

I grab Mekaias’ hand and we hop over onto land. “No we do not. Sorry for bothering you.” I say and turn for us to leave with our heads down. So much for that place to stay.

“No wait!” The human rushes to stand in front of us. “I...do you need a place to stay for the night? We have warm clothes and tons of food to go around if you need it.”

“Food?” Mekaias says in wonder. I smack the side of his head lightly. He closes his mouth and lowers his head.

“We will be fine.” I say and turn to walk around him. A pull from Mekaias stops me from walking further. “Mekaias," I sigh, "We need to go.”

He just shakes his head. “I’m so hungry Ma’tiem.” He whispers and his eyes begin to water. The human man looks down at Mekaias with a sad expression. Surely he isn’t like the others? None of them have ever offered food or shelter. “Please?” Mekaias tugs on my hand. He flattens his ears and thick tears begin falling down his cheeks.

I take a deep shaky breath and nod. I look over at the human, “Where will you take us, Sir...?”

“Kane,” He offers his hand, “Just call me Kane. I work with my friend Aileta in the circus. Have you heard of it? It’s run by other slaves...like us.” Mekaias gasps loud and practically jumps the man.

“Can I watch your show tonight?” He beams up at the man. The little faker. I shake my head but give a small smile.

“Of course!” He smiles wide at the little one. I guess if he’s a slave as well, it could be ok. We could always sneak out if it isn't safe for Mekaias.

~~
~~

Present Day

I stare out the window and watch Sadia giggling at whatever movie she is watching. Gabriel is nodding off with his back to the glass. I crawl over to his side and tap on the glass. He jumps and peeks behind and his eyes go wide. He crawls backwards and away from me. I guess I’ve never really tried talking to him or have ever even been this close to him.

“Do you ever guard the Director that is being held captive?” I ask.

He looks over as Sadia but she just cackles at her monitor. He glances at the door as if he desperately wants to run.

“It’s fine.” I sigh, “You don’t have to say anything. I know there are probably rules against it.” I didn’t really think these guards had the same rules as Alicia. I just assumed they hated me just like everyone else.

He slowly slides himself back, he opens and closes his mouth as if he wants to say something but he doesn’t. He frowns and turns his back to me once again.

I turn to Sadia but I don’t even bother tapping her side of the glass. She most likely has the same rules as Gabriel. Sure she lets me watch movies with her, but she has never spoken to me. I turn my back to the glass and bend down to hug my legs. I close my eyes to fight the tears that threaten to fall.

I miss my mother. I miss the time when I didn’t realize what the “games” really meant. I miss being stupid and not caring about anything.

I miss home. I want to go back to Utrio. The fact that is even possibly leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Yet...it's true.

I miss home.