Chapter 1.1: Elias

Back in 2030, our world collapsed. No one knows how it happened, but a poisonous mist began to cover the streets from midnight to noon. So many were caught off guard; tragic.

It's been quiet for a while. I hear the waves crashing rhythmically against the sand of the Venice beach. "Elias!" I jump at the sound of my father's voice.

I sigh and reply, "Yes?"

"Come help me with this order! We have a customer coming as soon as the mist lets up."

My dad runs a bakery in town, opened it 2 years after the mist appeared. That, however, was 10 years ago. 

Welcome to 2042, you'll hate it.

I walk down the stairs to the main shop, where my dad is at the front counter taking calls. I check the clock on the wall, 10:54. About 2 hours until these customers come. Perfect.

 "What do you need me to do?" I ask my dad, while putting on my apron. He hands me a list and a smile. "Just get started, they'll be here soon." and so I do.

I finish in an hour, leaving me with plenty of spare time to get ready. I take off my apron, hanging it on the hook behind the door, before making my way up the stairs to change clothes.

I rummage through my closet, ultimately deciding to wear my strawberry pink hoodie with some denim jeans. I look in the mirror hung from my door and fix my dark hair so that it's mildly covering my eyes. I take a last look and decide that I want to wear jewelry of some kind, so I put on some small hoop earrings and head for the door. I slip on my white sneakers and open the front door to leave. I check the clock on the wall once more, 1:30. I become nauseous at how little time I have.

"I'm going to Carmyn's house, Dad!" I quickly say before closing the door behind me, not waiting for a response. 

The streets are cold and bare. No one's outside yet, which is odd considering the time. Usually, people decide to start their days around 12:30, since the mist is fully dissolved by then. 

On the route I take, there's a park. I check the time, 1:42. I've been walking for twelve minutes. I decide to stop at the park for a bit, just for a bit, to take a break from walking.

I step inside of the wooden gate that surrounds the park, the wind still moving steadily along. At first glance, I see some swings, a sandpit, and a tetherball pole, missing the ball. Under closer inspection, I see the swings rusting, the sand thrown everywhere, and the grass the park sits on browning. 

It makes me sad how people can be so careless to places like this.

I walk into the park, and go to sit on one of the swings. I choose the one with the least amount of visible rust. I slowly swing back and forth for a while, my feet never completely leaving the ground. The wind picks up a bit, and a candy wrapper glides past me.

After what feels like a minute or two, a boy, fairly tall with blonde curls and tan skin, walks through the gate. His head is down as he wanders aimlessly on the opposite side of the grounds. 

I notice I've stopped swinging, and stand up. This catches his attention, and his head whips up to face me. 

"Hey," I say, lifting my arm a bit to wave awkwardly.

"Hi." He responds, though his voice is almost a whisper, making it difficult to hear him properly.

We both sit in this awkward silence for a while, before I sit back down and take out my phone, 2:10. I sigh.

"So," The boy finally says. "You live near here?" I flinch slightly at the sudden question.

"No, just visiting a relative." I say, but I can tell that he isn't satisfied with that answer. "My sister," I continue, "She lives a few miles away from me and my dad, so I come visit her every once in a while."

"You're sister?" He says curiously. "If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"

"You first."

"I'm 18."

"Oh." I say, "I'm 17."

We end up talking for another while, in which I find out a bit about this mysterious boy. I learn that his name is Vesper, he has a brother 4 years older than him, and he lives with his dad in an apartment down the block. In return, I tell him my situation as well. Like how Carmyn is 6 years older than me and I help dad run the bakery.

"You own a bakery?" His excitement is genuine. "I'll have to go sometime." I chuckle at his words.

Without thinking. I check the time on my phone. 2:40. My smile fades a bit. "Hey, I have to get going if I'm gonna make it there and back before midnight. Do you want to exchange numbers?" I realize what I said the moment after they come out of my mouth. Though it's too late to turn back now. "Only if you want to."

He laughs. "Sure." And so we do. 

I walk for a few more minutes until I reach the building Carmyn lives in. Her neighbor, Mrs. Jule, a kind older woman with beautiful platinum hair usually pulled into a bun, recognizes me for the first time while I walk down the street.

"Oh hey, you're Carmyn's brother, she came over for tea yesterday and couldn't stop talking about you," She giggles. The idea makes my face brighten. 

I respond with an awkward chuckle and a wave, before knocking on the door. Carmyn opens it, and the split second before her expression changes I can see how tired she seems. Her eyes dropped much lower than usual, her smile nonexistent, and the bags under her eyes quite noticeable. 

She gasps whenever she sees me, before finally saying, "Elias! What are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming to visit for another week."My cheeks go red again, I had forgotten I promised to come over next week.

"Surprise?" I say a bit quieter than my usual voice, and a bit more enthusiastic.

"Gosh, if I knew you were coming I would have cleaned up a bit, baked cookies or something." She whispers, reaching out to put her hand on my shoulder. "You've gotten so much bigger than when I last saw you. Did you get a haircut?"

I chuckle, running a hand through my hair, "It's only been 3 months, Carmyn."

"Really? That long?"

"Yeah, that long. Now can we go inside?"

"Oh! Right!"

Carmyn steps out of the doorway to let me in, then directs me to the couch in the next room. She, however, doesn't sit down and goes to the kitchen to make tea. 

"What kind of tea do you want?"

"Whatever you have."

"Matcha it is, then." She says, rummaging through some cupboards. I let out a weak laugh. "So," She starts, "What have you been doing recently? Any new drama you want to fill me in on?"

"Just the usual, though I did meet someone today."

"You met someone?"

"Yeah, his name was Vesper. I stopped at the park on my way here and ran into him."

"Vesper.." She says, the tone in her voice suggests she recognizes the name.

"Do you know him?" I ask.

"Not directly, Mrs. Jule was talking about him at tea yesterday."

"Oh yeah, she told me about that. Didn't know you were the type to socialize with neighbors."

She laughs, "I'm not usually. So, how's Eleanor?" I freeze, my body gets colder and my eyes start to burn, as if holding tears that just won't come out.

"Uhm," I start, "She, she died last month." My voice breaks further with every word, and I feel a tear run down my cheek. My head is facing the floor now. Carmyn walks over with the tea, her face filled with horror.

"Oh, oh." She whispers. "I, I'm so sorry."

"It's fine, you didn't know." I say, composing myself.

We sit and talk for a while more, but the mood is still rather grim. After a bit more I hear my ringtone play. I reach over and grab my phone off of the table to see who's calling. It's my dad. I press answer and put the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" I say.

"Hey, are you heading home soon? It's 7 o'clock." Goosebumps cover my body.

"Yeah, yeah I'll be there soon." I say, hanging up the phone. "It's getting late, I'll see you later." I'm standing up and rushing out of the door before Carmyn has a chance to respond.

 I'll text her when I get home.