INFUNDIO (A Perfect City, A Hidden Truth) - English edition

CHAPTER ONE

The sun streams in through the window like a caress bringing color to my pale cheeks. There is nothing I want more than to stay in bed and prevent today from happening, but I know I must get up. I slowly open my eyes and stretch out my arms to force myself to get up, though it is something I find nearly impossible.

I can hear the customary and perfect melody sang by the birds at this hour. I sigh; I'm going to miss waking up like this.

I swing my feet out of bed and onto the wooden floor. It's cold, and it sends a pleasant shiver through my body, yet also discomforting. The room is bathed by morning light, highlighting every detail. My drawings of horses stuck on the walls make it look like a little girl's room instead of a woman's, although who says one thing cancels out the other?

"Hayley, Mom's already made breakfast," says a voice through the door as I'm getting changed.

That shrill, demanding voice is recognizable from a distance.

"I'll be down in a minute, Lilith," I answer, almost in a murmur.

I wash my face in the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror. My green eyes are swollen from crying and there are dark circles under my eyes drawing a perfect crescent moon.

My birthday is only a few weeks away and I can't accept the idea, not of getting older, but of having to go to the city and leave my home which, despite not being perfect, is the only thing I know and have clung to in my short life. Our home is humble even though our economic situation is better than many. However, in these times, it could be said that we are all equal, since we have had to give up certain luxuries to give them to the army and collaborate with the battle that is fought day by day.

Anyway, my mother has never wanted us to enjoy our abundance and my father is the reason. He has always said that we must get used to certain conditions to, in the future, be part of the army. I don't mind not watching the news, not having a lot of clothes or having to grow our food, those are minor issues. The problem is that perhaps I don't want to be part of the army.

Let me correct that; I have not a shred of doubt in my body; I definitely don't want to join the army. The main reason for this is that I don't want to be like my father and therefore I don't want to follow his path. But I know very well that I don't have much power in this decision since it's a mandatory mandate in our family. Anyway, this is not the time to think about it.

I stop looking at my reflection in the mirror and repeat the same thing I've been telling myself every morning for the past month: Breathe and everything will be fine. and with that mantra and a fake smile, I head downstairs.

Lilith is already devouring her breakfast when I enter the kitchen. Her blonde curls shine in the sunlight, making me squint. She is as tiny as I was before the training imposed at the Institute for ladies over sixteen, a way to sell us the idea of joining the Army.

Although we are sisters, Lilith is very different from me. She looks like a porcelain doll, like the ones I collect on my shelf, another of the many characteristics that make my room look like that of an eleven-year-old girl, while I am neither delicate nor do I look so fragile, although sometimes appearances can be deceiving.

"Good morning" I say surprising or scaring her, I'm not sure which.

She jumps up and automatically places her tiny hand on the place where her heart is.

"I almost died of a heart attack, Hayley!"

"Sorry, but it's not my fault you're eating like an animal and didn't see me behind you." I arch my eyebrows slightly and can't help but laugh at her annoyed expression.