Aiden stood over Sky, laughing. She was on the ground, twisted up in pain. Purple and green clumps had formed under her skin, and her lip was bleeding. The skin on Aiden’s knuckles had torn from him repeatedly striking Sky until she had fallen. Tears welled up in her face and she tried to contain them. She would not cry in front of Aiden.
He spat on her, which was the last straw. Her favorite brother who had always been her guardian had turned against her. If he could betray her, then then anyone could. Sky couldn’t take it anymore, she couldn’t handle acting tough. The tears that had been gathering in her eyes began to fall down her cheeks in fat, ugly globs.
“Awe! Is the little baby going to cry?” Aiden said mockingly. “Well that’s what you get for going against your government!” he said up in her face. Sky angrily wiped her hears and stood up, but Aiden knocked her back down. “What was that? Did I look like I was done?” he yelled. “Your government protects you! You of you are a traitor!” He yelled, then his body began to morph into that of an Upholder.
“We feed you, give you safe harbor, and allow you to live. And this is how you repay us?! You lot are foolish! We provide a way for you to be happy, and you plot our downfall! You will not die, not yet, not here. We are gracious and kind, and to show that kindness we offer you a second chance. Step forward and you will be brought to a government facility to have your memories wiped, and you get to live out the rest of your lives. Or you can stay here and burn, and when you die so will your mutinous behavior. There is no third option.”
Sky’s eyes snapped open, and she sat up in her bed. She was breathing heavy as she thought about her dream. She remembered…everything. Each of the memories which had been locked away from her conscious mind had broken through. The government was evil.
A knock came at the door, then Aiden stepped in. Sky cringed at the sight of him, he had been so awful to her in that dream. But Aiden didn’t do that. He wouldn’t, would he? Sky could trust him, right? She didn’t know. Aiden had already gone to his revealing, which meant he was potentially working with the government. Did he know about what the government did? She doubted it, but she couldn’t be sure of what he would do if she told him about it, so she said nothing.
Aiden noted her hesitation to talk to him when he entered the room. Cocking his head to the right and raising his eyebrow, he softly closed the door. “You haven’t gotten up yet? You have to leave for your Revealing in an hour…” he said hesitantly, not knowing what was up with his sister. Sky nodded and Aiden walked out.
She sat in her bed absentmindedly for a few moments before finally taking the time to get dressed in her ceremonial uniform. You were required to wear a specific uniform when you went to your revealing. Sky wasn’t sure why, but she assumed it had something to do with order. They probably wanted to know who the newly revealed were because they had a tendency to get lost easier because everything they had previously known about themselves was irrelevant.
The clothing itself was not especially feminine. That was to be expected of course, because everyone was to wear the same attire regardless of gender. It was a white shirt and black pants with no shoes.
The white shirt represented purity. It symbolized our youth, and what how we were expected to act as we grew up. The black pants represented our immaturity and ignorance. When you are still a pre-revealed young person, the consequences of your actions are lighter than that of an adults. This was purely because young people had not yet developed a complete understanding for Utopia’s rules and how our world worked.
A knock came from the door, and Sky hesitated before answering. “Yes?” she asked.
“It’s Dad. Your mother wants to know if you’re ready to go yet.” Father said.
