The Color of Knowledge

Chapter Ten (pt. 4)

Time passed them by as they lay there, and pretty soon Ivy could hear her parent's ascend the stairs to their room. She waited an hour before creeping down the hall to make sure they were asleep. Nearing their bedroom door, light spilled out from under it while sobs escaped through the cracks.

"I can't lose another child," cried Mrs. Stone.

"She will always be with us, Scarlett. Just like he is."

"It isn't fair. Why us? What did we do so wrong?"

"Nothing. We haven't done anything wrong. Do you remember what Nova told us before she left?"

Mrs. Stone's sobs quieted for a moment. "Her warning us doesn't make it any easier. She shouldn't have told us anything."

"She wouldn't have told us if she hadn't thought we would be able to handle it. It's easy to forget where we are and why we're here."

"Sometimes I wish we had all died that night."

"I know. Heaven doesn't sound too bad right now, does it? Get some sleep. I love you."

With her ear pressed to the door, Ivy could hear her father give his wife a kiss. The light went out and she went back to her room.

Spencer was asleep and Ivy thought for a second about leaving her there.

"Don't even think about it." Spencer sat up.

"I wasn't going to leave you."

"Yeah, right. Are they asleep?"

"Just a little while longer and we can leave."

"What do you think is going to happen to Yani?"

The question caught Ivy by surprise. She hadn't thought of Yani since Spencer had ousted her. Was she really that selfish to believe herself and her family were the only ones affected by her actions?

"I don't know. I don't think they can do too much to her. What she was doing doesn't seem as bad as what I did."

"What did you do?" Spencer asked. "You never told me."

"I never told you? Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"I broke the confidentiality agreement I signed for work."

"Why would you do that? Didn't you know you could be exiled?"

"I didn't do it on purpose. I didn't meant to," Ivy explained.

"You should have been more careful."

"Look, it isn't my fault the President is a sick—"

"What does this have to do with him? He was just doing his job! It's all your fault," the girl said, her voice quivering.

Ivy sighed. "It isn't like I wanted this to happen. I don't want to leave you and mom and dad, but I have no choice. So we might as well accept it as what it is."

Because Spencer gave no reply, Ivy moved closer to the door.

"Time to go. I want to get there early. They should be asleep by now. Happy birthday, by the way."

Spencer and Ivy tiptoed down the stairs and out of the house through a window in the living room. It was past curfew so leaving through the front door was out of the question.

The only real tree they had on The Society stood in the middle of the developed houses. No one ever stopped to take in its simple beauty and the area was almost always deprived of human life, even in the daytime. At night, however, the willow tree looked even more depressing. Its leaves seemed to hang even closer to the ground as though lifeless. Ivy knew they were very much alive, nevertheless. When she and Tima were nimble and young, they would climb up into the depths of the tree to make up stories and carve pictures into the bark. The leaves would swing with appreciation.

Ivy and Spencer arrived short of breath.

"Are we early enough? I feel like we ran here," said Spencer.

"I think so. I guess we'll just have to wait."

Ivy looked up, wondering if the markings were still there, if anyone had ever seen them, and if the tree missed the narratives that were told. She and Tima had stopped going to the tree before high school had started. At that age, make-believe tales appeared to be childish. They no longer held the hope that there was even the slightest chance the stories could become real. They lost the magic of the willow tree.

"I should have told you to come alone. But no worries, I too brought along someone."

The voice came from the darkness and Ivy squinted to make out the source.