“What is this place?”


“This? This is what life could be.” I grinned and pushed the big, metal door open. The breeze hit us like a wall of bold freedom. I climbed through and waited as Lux made his way through the excitement.


“I always knew you were crazy, but this? Lily, defying The Authority is going to be the death of you for sure.” He cracked a small smile, letting his beautiful white teeth show through.


“I’d rather have my death be free and exciting.” I smiled back, and searched for the light switch. The air was slightly chilly, but the adrenaline that was coursing through me made me forget about crimes I was committing.


I finally found the switch and flicked it on to reveal the secret roof-top garden I found a few years ago while patrolling the top level of the highest Authority office building, but when I found this place, it had been before the killings of The Spark and the hurt of The Wars. I turned back to Lux, who’s looked at the garden in both astonishment and horror. The look on his face made me smile again.


“Don’t worry about getting caught. I used to come here all the time when the Wars were going on. I found it when the world was good. When we lived in a city, not a dictatorship. Nothing has changed or been disturbed since then, well except for the dead flowers, but other than that, this is the only place that has remained the same since before The Spark.” I started walking toward the bench that sat in the middle of the garden. The flowers drooped dead. Everything was dead now, but for some strange reason, they still gave me a certain feeling, a feeling of home and what life used to be.

“How exactly did you come across a garden at the top of a high government building?”

“Well”, I took a seat on the old, cracked bench,” My father was a high authority figure for the old government. My mom had left us the year before. I was only three. My dad started taking me with him to work. When I was about four, a week before The Spark, he let me go and explore. I usually sat in his office or I would go spend time with the janitor. My dad said that there was an adventure on the top floor for me. I knew there was nothing up here, my father always told me it was an empty storage floor, but I was bored, so I went up anyways.

“When I got up here, I explored the floor multiple times. There wasn’t anything that could be considered “adventurous” up here. I took the elevator back down to my father and asked him what he wanted me to see up there. He said that I needed to make my own adventure. I came back up and found the big, metal door that lead us out to here. It wasn’t locked, and I pushed it open, and well, I found this place.”


Lux took the story in and after a long pause he spoke,” They let you run around a high government building alone when you were only four?”


I laughed at his ignorance. “It’s the top floor of the highest building in the city! There’s nothing up here. This garden is the most exciting part of it. Well frankly, it’s the most exciting part of The Establishment now.”


“Well, it’s lucky that you are the only one who knows about this place.” Lux let a smile creep across his face as he walked toward the bench. “So, this is life for you?”


“I guess so. For me, this is what freedom is supposed to feel like. Fresh air, defiance and well, dead plants.” My nose crinkled as I grinned and allowed a small laugh escape as I looked at Lux, who was now sitting next to me on the bench. His blue eyes danced in the light from the garden. They looked like they came from the deepest depths of the ocean and were waiting to tell all of their secrets. I knew Lux had seen more than most 17 year-olds, and I also knew that he usually kept quiet about his past, but I needed to know exactly what he saw during The Wars.

“Ok, I told you my secret. Now, it’s your turn. So Lux, will you please tell me your story?”


He sighed and closed his eyes off from me. “Lily...”


“I mean, you really don’t have to but, I just thought, maybe you would want to tell someone. You’ve been so distant since you came to the Establishment, and I thought, maybe because you seem comfortable with me, you’ll tell me.”


“It all started before The Spark.” I looked quickly at him in surprise. I didn’t expect him to tell me so soon and easily.


His voice shook as he reencountered his past.


“I was only four. My life had been like most four year-old’s, growing up outside the city. I went to daycare sometimes and I even had a playmate. My dad was transferred to who-knows-where a few weeks before The Spark, but that doesn’t matter. All that matters is that my dad leaving is what started it all.


“My mom made me continue daycare, but even that seemed wrong. All the adults seemed edgy and nervous all the time. The play dates soon stopped. It was then that my mom got sick.” Lux paused at this and looked at the open sky above us. It was impossible to see the stars above, but the idea of an open sky made hearing Lux tell the truth of his past, a lot better.


Lux regained himself and continued. “She sent me off to live with an aunt of mine outside the neighborhood. I remember my mother telling me that this was going to be the last time I would see her again. I didn’t...I didn’t want to leave her alone. But I did. I left her. Just like my dad did.” Lux’s started to choke on his words. I could hear the tears caught in his throat. I reached for his hand and he let me take it in mine.


“She was an amazing mom. She loved me so much, and I didn’t even realize how much she did love me till The Spark. I think she knew what was coming, because when the first shots were fired and the rebelling of the people started, a rumor started of a women who lead her neighbors against the killers. I believe my mom is The Spark, or at least I want to. I always wanted to think that her sending me away wasn’t because she was sick, but because she wanted me to be safe from what was coming. From what she knew she had to do.


“I spent three weeks at my aunt’s house before War One started. They were freest weeks of my life. I spent all my time outside, learning. My aunt taught me the correct ways to run and fight. She must have known what was going to happen, which adds to my thoughts on my mom. The adults knew, or at least some of them.


“Four weeks before my 5th birthday, my aunt woke me up in the middle of the night and told me it was time to use what I learned. She took me to the cellar and opened a huge door that had always been locked. It was a hiding place that my aunt must have never used. The area was no bigger than a broom closest, and had about five locks on the door. One was too rusted to use, but she locked all of them. I could tell she was scared, but she kept calm. I clearly remember her only command. Be quite.


“I also remember the shouting, the footsteps, the pounding. I was so scared that if I made one little sound, I would give us away. I didn’t even know who the enemy was back then; I just knew there was an enemy. We must have waited there about 5 hours. About an hour after the sound of the final footsteps leaving the cellar, my aunt unlocked all the locks, and told me it was time to run. She would run with me halfway, and then I was to run to the city by myself.


“We set off at the light of dawn. We ran for miles and miles. When we reached this old, abandon house, my aunt told me to rest, eat, and then get ready the final part of my run. We were captured as soon as we set foot in the house. My aunt thought that the old house would be safe, but during War One, I learned that no one was ever safe. My aunt was killed there in the house, and I was taken by the enemy.”

Lux stopped again. He looked around toward a bed of dead flowers, sighed, and continued.


“Being only about five, they decided that it was pointless to kill a child that they could train into a solider. It was at their base-camp that I learned that my enemy was a group of people who thought that we needed a new government system. One that was stricter, harder, and meaner. They were brutal people. It was with them that I learned how to shoot a gun, read, and kill a man.


“I kept myself sane by thinking about my mom and aunt. They wanted me to survive. Why else would they do so much for me? I knew that these people were no good, but being only five, there wasn’t much I could do. I did all the drills; I learned everything they wanted me to. By the time I was ten, I was ready for war. But there were two problems. One, War One was coming to a close. Two, the army I was supposed to fight for was losing.


“When the war ended, I was set free. The first place I returned to was my home town where I last saw my mother. When I arrived, I was greeted by the sound of nothing. The town was deserted. Bodies of neighbors lay in the street. I was terrified. I ran as far as I could from that place.


“With no clue of where to go, I decided to head for the city, just like my aunt told me to. On my way, I met a group of guys from the base-camp I was at. They talked of starting up the army again, this time with better tactics and a name. The Authority. I would listen to the guys talk about how they would breach the city, but they needed an army first. I decided to join the guys. I knew that if another war was to break out, I would be the safest with these guys. In a matter of three years, we had enough guys for an army. I was appointed a Captain. The rank gave me some authority, but I wanted more. I knew that if I gained the trust of the higher ranked guys, I would be able to escape or maybe even turn some of the army around.


“I sat in on the meetings for battle strategies and I hated what I heard. These guys were ok with killing anything in their path, including children. I hated what they were saying, but I had to stay with them. One night I was sent on a mission to the city. I was to go in undercover and learn about what was going on inside. When I got to the city, The Authority attacked the city for the first time. I took refuge in the city’s walls. I didn’t want to fight. I wanted to be free. I watched as The Authority took over and gained control of everything. I knew that if they found me, I would be killed for not fighting with them.


“I hide in the city for almost two years. When I turned 16, I finally was able to dye my hair, and situate a new life. My last name had been Luxous. I took Lux from it, and created a story about how I was from the country side and I had lost both of my parents in War Two. I was barely able to escape and come to the city. I came to The Establishment, met you, and well; I guess you know the rest…” His voice trailed off into nothingness.


Lux stared off into the distance, for a few moments. A single tear slipped out of his eye. He didn’t wipe it away. He just sat in silence next to me, holding my hand tighter and tighter.


“Lily”, his voice broke through the silence of the air, “you cannot tell anyone about this. You are the first person I have trusted in a long time. My past is the biggest weapon against me right now, and you’re in control of it. You have power to kill or save me.”


“Lux... You just told me your entire past. I brought you to a secret garden that’s completely illegal to go to. We are both able to kill each other, but we won’t.”


“I know.” He looked at me this time. His eyes were dry now, but his blue eyes no longer danced. They stood their ground as though they have lived a thousand lives and seen everything this world has to offer and more.


I moved closer to him, and he threw his arms around me. He held me tight against his body as though I was the only real thing left in his life.


“Lux?”


“Yes?”


“How often do you wish this was all back to normal?”


He let a pause ring out through the garden, and then he looked straight into my eyes. “Every moment. Every second. Every day.”


“Me too.” My words were barely even a whisper in the silent air. “But then, I would have never have met you.”


“Lily”, he took my face in his hands and looked at me as though I was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. “You are the exception.” He leaned in closer. I closed my eyes and let his kiss enfold me in overpowering warmth. His lips were gentle against mine. His kiss was full of passion and realness. I was the only person to know who he truly was. Secrets were a thing of the past for us, and I was eager for what lay ahead of us.


Lux slowly pulled away, and looked me in the eyes. A smile came across his face, followed by a laugh. But it wasn’t his laugh. Standing at the door was The Leader and his followers.


“Well, hello there Nick. I haven’t seen you in a while. What is it you go by now? Lux if I recall correctly? Well, this has been fun. I’m glad to see that both you and Lily are in the same place. That makes my life so much easier. This is going to be quite a story for your death reports, isn’t it?”