Lottie's a short for Charlotta

2

The sun over District Three could never shine brighter. The sky blurred into its truest blend of colors; pale purple, warm orange, delicate strips of sea green flowing neatly from one color to the other, so the picture made up of different elements still remained whole. Everything she'd see above the flat roofs of blocks had luscious, ripe tones and seemed to glow. She was quite convinced the city hadn't yet experienced such sunny, scorching and beautiful weather, though she was unable to locate the sun itself. She didn't really need it. It was enough - gray blocks glistening so much they no longer appear gray, but silver, and that wonderful warmth flowing from the neck down, making you feel a friendly numbness. She stretched in her airy T-shirt, relishing the lack of a coat and pantyhose. Her bare feet brushed the rough wall of the building, where she sat fearlessly, as if nothing was illegal and a fall from a great height wouldn't kill. It was the only place where she felt completely at ease, and no, even the most serious, problems troubled her mind.

"Beautiful, right?"

She didn't flinch or even turn around when she heard a polite male voice behind her. With her eyelids narrowed a little, she allowed her face to form the kind of smile she usually tried to avoid. Wide, warm and distinctive.

"Truth. It's great" After several seconds of thinking, while she was waving her bare legs over the glowing chasm, she added: "I shouldn't be here, but you won't hand me over, will you?"

The man crouched down beside her and held out a pale hand, spreading it upside down as if trying to catch the rays of the nonexistent sun.

"Of course not, Magdalene. Why would I?"

His voice was still nice and gentle, but she didn't fall for it. She had to be careful not to be punished or - worse - not to lose access to the place she loved.

"I don't know. Can I trust you? Could you lie to me?" She tried to find out, but still doesn't meet the stranger's face. The colors of the sky seem to pulsate and intertwine so wonderfully it was impossible to take eyes off them. She'd only see gray everywhere else.

"I would never lie to you" the answer comes almost immediately, and Magdalene felt a gentle hand brush her unruly hair from her shoulders. She realized she forgot to pin them up in the morning, which is another thing she could be reprimanded for.

After that discovery, warmth gived way to heat; an unfamiliar feeling ignited in her throat and cheeks, which, as she's slowly beginning to understand, was a toxic mix of regret and anger.

"You lied to me once" The words flowed accidentally, but she immediately knew they're true.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that the man was now holding both hands on the edge of the roof, his fingers tightening around it, as if testing the strength of the walls.

"No, it wasn't like that. You remember it wrong." He laughed.

This prosaic remark, spoken in a caring, though somewhat scolding tone, only intensified Magdalena's reluctance and gave her a headache. In a fit of determination, she looked away from the sky and quickly turned her body around, drawing her legs up and resting her knees on the solid concrete.

"So how was it?" She demanded, finally focusing on her father's dark eyes. They were cheerful, but inaccessible, and she immediately guessed that she won't get anything from him again.

Before she can repeat the question, louder and more insistently, something she didn't expect happened - the man smiled at her one last time, more sadly than before, then pushed on his hands and jumped straight into the abyss. At the first panic, Magdalene didn't know what to do, but then noticed a long rope trailing behind the falling father. She grabbed it, hoping to pull him back in, but her thin arms were too weak and her hands wet and slippery, and soon she herself fell head down among the swirling colors, scream in her closed mouth.