Dong ! Dong! Dong!

A bell rings throughout the town as dusk draws near

By the eighteenth elegant stroke, a peaceful silence sets.

The people of Soterra are always at peace, always happy,

The perfect nation,

All minds here are dedicated and happy,

All minds but one...

…. I stare at a portrait of the ‘last royal family’, my mind thoroughly confused,

The king stands gloriously his face depicted sternly with a long red mane of a beard,

His wife beside him a beautiful woman with sparkling red eyes and a beautiful smile that exudes her love for the boy that stands between them, flaming red hair like his father a face blissfully unaware of the struggles he would soon face.

Omari,

I don’t know how I should feel about this,

We never were really friends, so I’m not surprised he’d hide this,

But what am I feeling? I saw him blow himself up, he intended to kill all of us back there.

What am I feeling?

It’s definitely not sadness

Regret?

He lost his home and for years suffered while others thrived happily,

I feel his regret for not ever making it back, for not fighting back

Meanwhile I survive and peacefully live out my years here,

No, I have to get out of here, I can’t stay, I don’t belong.

“Sir,” I bow to the priest, “I thank you for hospitality, but I will take my leave now.”

“Dedicate yourself before you go?” The priest implores

I’m already making my way through the cathedral

I will dedicate myself to finding the truth,

Finding my truth

***

The roads are empty as the moon draws into the soon night sky.

The lights that illuminate the city are a sight of awe

Although it may be quiet and empty

I feel weirdly safe walking alone.

“State your purpose?” a guard asks as I approach the gate

“I wish to leave’”

He looks at me directly in the eyes,

“Dedicate yourself and you may leave”

“What, why must I, I’m leaving?”

“Dedicate yourself and you may leave,” he repeats

“I don’t need dedication, I need to leave’”

“Dedicate yourself and you may leave then”

The guard adamantly refuses to let me pass

Should I turn back? Head to the cathedral become ‘dedicated’?

How do I get out of this situation peacefully?

“I will not dedicate myself to your cause,” “I say calmly, I have my own cause to fulfil, let me pass and you may never deal with me again.”

What would your cause be? the guard scoffs

“Is it to stand against us?

Are you by chance an opposer?

A sewer rat!?

We dedicate ourselves so that we can be with God, like God and serve God

You may not leave here ever unless you are like us!” he rants

‘What if I’m not asking anymore?” I threaten getting irritated

“Look,” the guard laughs, “God, who loves all beings still punishes those who stray and like him I will not hesitate to punish you”

Cautiously I draw my bow, while my mind races in thought;

Should I be reasonable about this? Agree to head back to become one of them?

Reaching backwards I draw an arrow

“Look, I don’t want to hurt you,”

“You are not permitted to,” the guard sneers, dedicate yourself and you may stand a chance!”

Raising his hands, the guard lets out a blast of wind launching me into a solid stone wall