Vecherinka was the kind of place you'd expect crime to happen; there were always shifty figures slinking about, watching the boisterous visitors of The City's party district. Surprisingly enough, you were safe as long as you kept within Vecherinka's borders marked by red street lamps. However, leaving Vecherinka was another story. Someone could just follow you outside Vecherinka's drawn lines and the mysterious enforcers who kept the peace would do nothing to intervene if something happened. Whoever was in charge of Vecherinka was probably responsible for keeping it… somewhat safe. Although I'm sure there was shit going on that no one saw – and you were only safe from being murdered. People kept coming, even with all the rumors and the dubious safety of the area. It was the best place to party in The City after all.

My phone lit up with a message from a group chat Deja had taken the liberty of adding me to. I was met with kind greetings upon being added, lots of "how's it going?" and so on. No one asked what I'd been up to. Everyone knew of what happened a year ago.

The last time I'd been to Vecherinka it was after sneaking out of home. My parents had planned for our family to visit my grandparents' graves in the morning and wanted me up early. Despite my father's words echoing in the back of my mind, I went against them anyway.

Before I'd gone, I'd been frightened by my younger sister, Kiraka, who was also breaking the rules. Her small, round face was illuminated from below by the light of her tablet as she made herself known.

"Where are you going?" she'd asked.

I almost screamed.

"Out," I said quickly.

"Alright. I can't help you if you can't wake up in the morning. Be careful out there."

"Got it."

The sky was clear when I stepped out of the apartment and the moon was high in the sky. It was two hours before midnight. I had all the time in the world to have fun. And fun I had. 

My friends that night were the same ones I planned to see again: Deja, Leilah, Tamia and a four-horned MMonster named Kalm. 

"This is early for you," Tamia said as I stood up from our table. 

"I've got plans in the morning," I explained.

"It's the weekend. You one of those temple goers? Never knew," Kalm grinned as he put his hands in prayer and bowed his head to me.

"As if. Just a death anniversary," I waved my hand nonchalantly.

"Oh okay. Well, bye," Kalm said.

The rest of the group bid me farewell and I took a cab home. Getting off a block before home, I carefully snuck back into the apartment. I grinned seeing the tablet on the living room couch and quietly made my way to my room and fell back into bed. From there I quickly… fell… aslee-

"KODEKO!"

The booming voice of my father pulled me from my dreamless slumber.

Despite my heart flying out of my chest, my body wasn't as quick to rise. My head hurt and I felt sluggish. I squinted at the ceiling light and sat up to see my father looming over me and Kiraka peeking at me from my open door. 

"I tried to wake you," her lips read.

"You know what today is, right?" my father said sternly. 

My father's blue eyes tended to move slightly when he was angry at me, like he was switching focus between my left and right eyes. I wondered if he saw the same when I stared back at him. Today his gaze was a little too strong to contest, so I lowered my eyes and rubbed my face. 

"Grandpa's death anniversary," I muttered into my hand. 

"And you're not up yet. And you're hungover," my father added.

"I can get ready, just give me a sec."

"Don't bother. Kiraka already tried to wake you a while ago. I'm really disappointed in you, Kodeko. Make sure you make yourself more presentable before you apologize to your mother."

Kiraka made way for our father then ran after him after sparing me a sympathetic glance. I groaned, getting up from my bed and trudging to the bathroom to splash water on my face. By the time I walked out, Kiraka and my father had left and my mother was waiting by the door. Her expression was disappointed but without the anger my father had on his face. 

"You know, your father is just tired of repeating himself," my mother murmured as she took my hands. "I know you know better."

My mother pulled me closer to her and looked up at me, but I didn't meet her gaze. 

"Sorry, Ma," I mumbled. 

I did feel bad. 

"Alright. Just get ready and follow after us once you're ready, okay?"

"Okay, I'll meet you there."

My mother got on her tiptoes to give me a kiss and I lowered my head so she could reach my cheek easily. 

"You grew taller but you do need to grow up," my mother lightheartedly quipped.

I nodded, humming in half-hearted acknowledgement. With that, my mother went to join my father and sister. I sighed and went to get ready.

***

"What the hell is with these fucking trains?!" A man complained aloud. 

The subway was a cacophony of the music he was playing, his disgruntled shouting and the murmur of all the other commuters questioning the subway's especially awful service that day.

I looked down at my phone. The train had stopped three stops before my destination. While each of my family members had read my message announcing I'd left home, no one had read my message about the shitty subway service for the past ten minutes. 

"Bro, turn that shit off, I can't hear shit," said a short man to the loud passenger. 

"Man, fuck you," the music player responded. 

I shook my head and tried to listen to the warbling message over the intercom. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, I repeat, this is the last stop. Due to police investigation, all train service is suspended going north towards…" the low quality audio sounded over the speakers. 

I sighed and texted that I'd be a while longer as I followed the rest of the grumbling commuters out. I made my way up the stairs and looked for a bus stop, but it seemed that the bus stops were also full of people who'd been waiting for a while.

"The hell's up with the CTA today?" I grumbled. 

There seemed to be a lot of traffic as well. I sighed and began to walk north until I came across a bike rental. It was better than nothing. 

As I got closer to the park that held the cemetery my family was in, it became clear something wasn't right. Dark smoke billowed in the distance and traffic cleared a bit but it was emptier than it should've been, and fireworks lighting up in the distance made it hard to tell if I was also hearing gunshots. People on foot were walking and running away from where I was going, and the presence of police increased.

"Hey!" I called out to a woman as I neared her. "What's happening around Mramor?"

Startled , she came to an abrupt stop. 

"There's a police blockade. There's a riot," she answered before briskly walking away. 

I paused, looking off to the smoke. I called my father, mother and sister. 

"Why won't they pick up?" I muttered. 

My heart felt light, as if it wasn't there, and my stomach felt as if it'd turned over. I biked closer until I saw the blockade. The park was in view and so was the chaos on the other side. Another group of people hovered nearby as if trying to see what was happening.

"It's the Monsters," said a sharply dressed man beside me. "A whole buncha them walking up and down chanting about 'we are superior to Humans.' Someone musta spoke up and it got violent fast. They were looking for an excuse to start attacking people – I tell ya."

"They're attacking people?" I said in disbelief. 

"Sure as day. A woman with a gash on 'er head told me. Figured those freaks'd eventually pull a stunt like this."

Any other attempts at getting information proved to be futile. Wary of the riot gear and guns in the officers' hands, I refrained from speaking to them. A few people were also trying to meet others on the other side. We stayed the longest. After a while, we all somehow convinced each other to leave and hope for good news. The sinking feeling in my stomach didn't leave, even as I arrived home. The sun had risen higher into the sky by the time I got home. By the time the sun had gone down, I was called to identify the bodies of my family. 

***

There were a few months where I did nothing, getting by on whatever was left behind as a result of the untimely passing of my family. "Whatever" was no small amount, but I didn't care about that. My family was gone, and our home was just how they'd left it. I wished I could stay in bed and wait for my turn to come.

The City was reeling after that day, but I could hardly care about what was going on outside. For me, time had stopped. It took me three months to finally step into my parents' and Kiraka's rooms. I reminisced, then went down to the shop. Looking at the statuettes I'd helped my father make, and the pictures on the wall, I finally cried. The next day, I reopened the shop. 

I began to move again. I carved the most statuettes I ever carved in my life in just a week. The regular customers stopped by, buying items and bringing me homemade food, tellin gme I'd be fine as they offered their condolences. 

I hadn't set foot in Vecherinka since that day. I never really spoke about it either. There was my guilt at not being with my family, and the anger I felt knowing I wouldn't even have been able to do a thing, even if I was with them. I kept to myself, when I reopened the shop. All I did was work, carve statuettes, train and pray. Comparing myself now to me from a year ago made me laugh bitterly. My parents would've loved the Kodeko of now. But they'd probably want me to be happier than I was right now.

I was trying to socialize now, which was a nice step forward. The day I'd see my old friends came, and I dressed in the bright clothing I always used to. It felt alien to look at myself in these clothes after a year.

As I left my apartment, I muttered a short prayer — to Chika, the God of the Moon. The sky was clear as I stepped out, and the moon was high in the sky. I made my way to the slaughter.