The City of Ionia

A few months had passed since Raphtalia moved into my cell. I sat in silence, wondering when the guards would bring us food. We worked for hours and received nothing.

On the other hand, Raphtalia hummed in joy. She never felt down. At least I couldn’t tell. She was always upbeat whenever I looked at her. I didn’t know how.

She stopped humming and called my name.

“Hey Jill, do you have a dream?” Raphtalia asked, sitting against the stone wall.

Twirling my hair with my finger, I casually replied, “Ummm…not sure.”

“Really? It can be anything! Like watching the waves form in the ocean. Or maybe even eating some delicious food.”

“Are those your dreams?”

Her head tilted against the corner of the adjacent walls. “Well, yeah. I want to see the beautiful waves bashing against the rocks. From the stories, I heard people sit all day gazing at the water. And for the food, I want to try something other than what we get. Something bigger and better! Something so big and great that I will completely forget what an empty stomach is! But I also want to do something greater.” She took a refreshing sigh, looking at the dull ceiling, almost as if she was thinking of something.

“Oh ya, what’s this ‘something greater’ thing?”

Raphtalia stood and spun around in circles as she danced around the cell. “Jill, do you think we outsiders could live with the Ionians one day?”

I scratched my head, trying to remember the history that had been poorly explained to me. “I mean, outsiders and Ionians have been separated forever. So I doubt we will see the day when it changes.”

That wasn’t the answer Raphtalia hoped to hear. Her excitement faded, quickly replaced with sulk as she turned away from me.

“Sure. You can think that” she said passive-aggressively. She took a few seconds for her head to cool. “Jill, I want to see the day everyone can live together. I don’t want people to be segregated into two groups. Humans are humans. We should unite as one. I want to create a world where everyone can live together as one.”

‘Big’ was an understatement. I didn’t know how to react. Should I encourage her dream? Or maybe criticize her for having an extravagant dream? I wasn’t sure. Her dream was similar to mine. All I wanted was to escape hell, but she wanted something even more remarkable and less selfish.

I asked: “How are you going to do it?”

She looked back at me, her face lighting up. I guess she thought I was genuinely curious, which I was.

“I will ask one of those blue-armored people; I forget what they're called.” Her palms pushed against her head, trying to remember the name.

My bare feet touched the concrete as I got up. “Those armored people are called SCAR agents. I hear the guards talking about them from time to time. Apparently, they spy on us from a distance, and no one has ever met one. Well, not that I know of. Yet again, we are chained into this place, so there are many things I don’t know.” My voice lowered by the word.

That was a lie. The SCAR agent I met was an exception. I wasn’t sure if anyone outside the halls had met one, but judging by the guards' reactions, it was a frightening sight.

“Then yeah! I’ll ask a SCAR agent if it’s possible! Maybe they know! And they could help us! Yeah, yeah, that’s perfect!”

“Ok, ok, stop shaking me! Man, you’re really getting worked up about this dream of yours.”

Her face was riddled with a bright smile—the same one I saw on our first encounter, but this one was wider than before. She wanted this more than anything. She wasn’t dreaming for herself; instead, she dreamt for every outsider. Things would be so much better living in Ionia. So much better.

I needed to make this a reality. In order to do that, we had to get out of here. We had to burst free from the bars and run as fast as we could.

And then we could head to Ionia.

I wanted to break free from here and see the day Raphtalia could constantly smile as she looked at the world she had created. I wanted to break free from here and forever be with her within the city.

“Raphtalia '', I said with my hand on her shoulder, “I know what I want to do. I want to escape from the hell we’re shackled to and live in the City of Ionia.”

Her feet rapidly pampered the floor as if she were running in place. Excitement brimmed her face. My words meant everything to her.

“Yes! Yes, yes, yes!” She jumped around, giving me a quick yet tight hug. “We will esc—”

I covered her mouth with my hand. “Quit yapping so loud. What if the guards are strolling by?”

She muffled an apology behind my hand. I dropped my hand so she could speak clearly. She whispered, “So, we’ll escape from here and tell a SCAR agent about the big dream. Let’s make this a promise.”

She wasn’t aware of the massacre eight months ago. The fake image of SCAR blinded her. I wasn’t going to tell her and ruin the moment.

She moved her blood-colored hair to the side and held out her arm. My hand met hers, shaking at her promise.

“I’ll never forget your big dream, Raphtalia. I promise I won’t unless you tell me otherwise.”

I looked into her eyes. Through her dark pupils, I could see a glimpse of something beautiful. We were holding hands, running to a place I couldn’t tell.

But maybe that place was the city she sought. Perhaps fate brought us together in hopes of a brighter future for us.