Merto

Chapter 2

I woke up, alive. For some reason I felt relieved, as if I had accomplished something great, when in reality I had only survived the night. In a way, maybe that really was a great accomplishment? I mean-

Oh shit! I spaced out again. I really have to stop doing that before I die!

I let out a sigh before slowly sitting up from my bed, taking my face in my hands. After a while I finally forced myself to go up and start the day.

I changed my clothes slowly, feeling unusually tired this morning. But finally, one eternity later, I was clothed and on the way to Sen, to get my breakfast.

I walked down the white path again, slowly letting my mind slip into random thoughts, and thus making me extremely unfocused on the road in front of me.

'What if blonkz could fly? That would be terrifying! And so, so deadly! But what if-'

I was cut out of my thoughts when I accidentally bumped into Teh, Tih's twin brother. "Oh! Sorry!" I apologised and smiled sheepishly. But my smile faltered when my emerald green eyes made contact with his dark blue glare. After a while of staring at each other, Teh walked away without saying a single word and thus leaving me dumbfounded looking after him. I shivered and then shook my head, as if to try and sort out my thoughts.

After that, the walk to Sen was uninterrupted. Opening the white, high-technological door I entered the huge dining room, seeing everyone there. Except Teh and Tih who always woke up early to clean everything.

Immediately after I went inside everyone noticed me, and I was met with some thankful smiles making the morning seem brighter. Then I started walking to the kitchen, where I guessed Sen was, feeling hungry.

But before I reached the kitchen, I was interrupted by a loud squeal. "NOÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈ~~!" I heard the familiar voice squeal before I got forced into a tight hug. But it was cute, so I couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"Hey, Lii." I smiled down at the young girl, who grinned back up at me. Lii is the youngest here right now, only 8 years old. So far, she's never been on the surface. She still has a lot to learn before she can go there, if she'll ever go. Some here have never been up there, they have jobs down here instead. Now that I think about it, I'm probably the one that's been on the surface the most. From this camp, that is. There are a lot of other camps on Merto. Our camp is called "Nin", also known as "Three".

"... Are you listening to me, Noè...?" Lii's disappointed voice brought me back to reality. Oh damnit! I really have to stop spacing out so much! I could feel my ears heat up as a sheepish smile came over my lips.

"O-of course!" I cursed myself on the inside for stuttering. Lii's face fell and I immediately felt horrible for disappointing her. Kneeling down I took her in my arms, hugging her tightly. "I'm sorry, I spaced out..." I mumbled weakly onto her shoulder, looking to the side with shame. I couldn't help but feel a little surprised and relieved when I felt her tiny arms hug me back.

"It's okay..." she mumbled back onto my shoulder, a gentle smile on her lips.

"Thank you..." I whispered before standing up again, a smile on my lips. But then my stomach decided that it was a great time to let out a roar of hunger. It was embarrassing, but at least I made Lii laugh... As well as everybody else. I could feel my cheeks getting hot as a sheepish smile came over my lips when I heard their laughs.

But at least the laughter did some good. Sen heard it and came into the dining room, in perfect time for my stomach to make another screech of protest for not getting any food. She started to giggle before walking back into the kitchen, probably preparing some food for me.