Rowan

Before I met Carlos I thought I was safe, I thought the Leaders were right, I followed the rules. After school I went home, I did my homework, I did the chores and when it was dark I closed the curtains, locked the doors and never went out after Curfew. I kept my head down and didn’t look or speak to a Rich. I made sure never to get my clothes dirty and never to speak without being spoken on. I was a good kid, I was like everyone else.

Then one day when I was walking home from school, someone bumped into me. I fell to the ground, scraping my palms, dirt covering me.

“Shit, I'm sorry,” The boy said, stopping in his tracks. He offered me his hand, showing his gold bracelet. A Rich.

My eyes widened. I wasn't allowed to take it, I wasn’t allowed to speak. I shook my head but he didn’t leave.

“I won’t tell,” He said looking straight into my eyes.

He had broken the rules. He had broken them for me.

My hand reached for his. He pulled me up, and smiled showing his crooked teeth.

“I’m Carlos,” He said, his voice vibrating through me. He told me his name, a Rich.

“Rowan,” I whispered. My heart was thumping in my chest. I was so scared someone would see. But no one did.

He winked, “I better get going. See ya around Rowan,” and then he ran off and I watched him go, I looked at a Rich.

I had broken so many rules. And I didn’t care.

We became friends, secret friends. He told me about his life, I told him about mine. Eventually I wasn't scared anymore, I wasn’t scared of someone seeing us. We broke rules together. He told me about the world, about how it was wrong. He told me it wasn’t perfect. I didn’t believe him.

But now I think maybe I do.

The Leaders created the Wall years ago to keep us safe, to keep the outside out and us in. They say outside of the Wall, there is nothing, there is just grass, the Field. That we were safe in here, there was never a reason to leave. But I had heard of the people that ran away. Mostly Magicks. That ran out into the Field never to return. The Leaders said Magick’s were unsafe and were a threat. That they hated humans and would use their powers to destroy everything, everything we have made. That they would hurt us. But I’ve been thinking, maybe it's the other way around, maybe it's humans that want to hurt Magicks.

Carlos was a Magick. Carlos was nice. Carlos would never hurt anyone. But the Leaders said he was unsafe, the Leaders said he would use his powers to hurt us. The Leaders killed him. But he was just the same as before, wasn’t he?

The Leaders make rules, lots of them. They say that they are keeping us safe. But I don’t think they are anymore. The Poor are dying, the Rich are thriving. The Poor scrambling for scraps, the Rich holding feasts each night. The Poor fighting for who gets what, the Rich arguing about money.

The Magicks not fitting into either the Rich or the Poor. Hiding, hiding their secret. Scared, always scared. And then breaking, showing the world who they are only to be taken away. Taken away to be killed. And we are not doing anything about it. We are just watching. Watching them die.

If we could only be united. We would do so much better. The Leaders must know that. And if they do then why are they dividing us?

The Leaders say we are lucky, we live in a perfect world. And everyone believes it. But how is this perfect, how can they believe it? How could I have believed it?