Solecism

PROLOGUE

With a groan, I straighten my aching back, wincing as it causes my bare knees to press against the naked tile of my clients floor. I've been scrubbing the same spot for at least twenty minutes, and cursing inwardly at the stubborn stain that refuses to go away.

I'm half tempted to demand better pay, but I know they would simply hire another cleaning lady, and so I keep my mouth shut.

My fingers ache from the pressure I've been exerting upon said floor, and yet I continue scrubbing away mindlessly, even though I have yet to see any results.

From the nearby open window, a soft breeze carries the scent of honeysuckle and lemon grass, products of Mrs.Lin's terrace garden. At this height, thirty levels above the floor of the city that I call home, I can't even smell the familiar scents of piss and filth.

Of course, the Lin family wouldn't know what it's like to live beneath the world's heels, but I take comfort in the fact that they aren't exactly high class citizens either.

The Mirror has a total of eight towers, and eighty-seven stories.

Compared to those who live atop the clouds, the Lin's are nobody's.

But what exactly does that then make me?

Sighing in response to my melancholic thoughts, I throw in the metaphorical towel. No matter how much I scrub, this stain isn't going anywhere, and if Mrs.Lin is going to fire me over it, she's going to end up firing the entire cleaning sector as well.

There isn't a damn thing I can do about it.

As I toss the scrub brush into the bucket of now lukewarm water, I stand, and stretch thoroughly. Spring has arrived, and the air that seeps in from the kitchen window leaves me feeling at least slightly more refreshed than I was before.

I smile. It's the small things really.

Crossing the room to the window with every intention of shutting it before the madam finds out, I am instead given pause. There are shouts coming from the streets below, and though this isn't entirely uncommon, it is far more heated than what normally occurs.

I take a quick glance outside, spurred on by my damnable curiosity.

Five large and muscled men surround one slightly smaller man whose face is entirely hidden by a hood. I can't hear what they are saying, but as I spy the glint of a blade being pulled from it's sheath, I realize that the man below is in serious danger.

I don't even stop to think, or question my actions.

The thing nearest to me is my bucket, and before I've even given myself time to comprehend the possible repercussions of my actions, I have grabbed the thing, and tossed it and the entirety of it's contents out the window.

Several of the men shout indignantly as they are doused with the unpleasantly dirty, lukewarm water. But I am not afraid.

"Go pick on someone your own size!" I shout angrily.

"Fuck off lady, or you'll be next!"

"Don't make me come down there!" I warn seriously. "I guarantee you won't like it if I do!"

"What are you gonna do? Scream us to death?"

Another man opens his mouth, presumably to deliver a threat or a crude statement, but his voice never greets the air.

Instead, he seems to simply shut down, body slumping to the ground as if he's suddenly lost consciousness. I watch curiously as the others follow, leaving only the smaller man in the center untouched.

"Are you okay?" I holler, hoping that the man can hear me despite the fact that he is at least two stories beneath the Lin residence.

He gives a barely perceptible nod of his head, and then much to my surprise, he simply vanishes.

I look all around, astonished, wondering what the hell it is that I have just witnessed.