Dear Mom,
I guess Iʼm doing okay, but I miss you. As you can see, I finally finished learning how to write. One of the moms taught me in exchange for watching her daughter during the day. Since I can write now, I wanted to tell you everything that I can, even if you already know it. Iʼm not sure where to even begin. I guess, Iʼll start with outside of the
compound.
Unlike the story books, the grass is no longer green, and the sky is no longer blue. The plants have finally all withered, and there are not many animals left. The air constantly has this unpleasant odor, with a green haze covering the ground. People canʼt go out at night; theyʼre too scared of the Creatures. Food is hard to come by, but people in the compound share with each other; itʼs the only way we all will survive. I donʼt go out and scrounge for food-the Elders say itʼs because they want to make sure I reach a proper age, so I watch the few little kids here and mend the clothing and equipment when I can. Itʼs nice to be able to help out-it makes me feel good.
I once heard about this kid who went out at night, because he thought that heʼd be able to pick up more loot that way and maybe find some food. His sister kept begging him not to go, but he said that he was a man and therefore he had to go out and get food for his family. The sister was left behind, her face contorted with an ugly sob. The next day, all there was left of him was scattered fingers and toes…the sister was in hysterics. It makes me even more scared to go outside, during the day or night.
Next week Iʼll be turning 13; Iʼm still one of the youngest people on the compound. All the babies born either die from the Disease or canʼt survive long in the toxic air. Itʼs sad when I see a crying mom, and then I think of you.
I miss you.
I guess itʼs been tough since the Event happened; I canʼt really tell. I hardly remember the Event, and before it…as you know, it comes in glimpses. But I hear stories from the Elders about how life used to be; it sounds warm and peaceful. I have so many questions about how we used to live…but it makes the Elders sad to talk about it, so my
imagination takes over. I once had this dream where for dinner, we had a piping hot coconut with ketchup, roasted cats and beans, plates and plates of butter, cans of soda everywhere and tasty bread! It looked so delicious, that I woke up drooling! That was the day the Elders talked about different foods.
My hand is getting pretty tired now, and I think I hear one of the kids crying, so I am going to stop my letter here and Iʼll get back to you.
I lo-
“Hey Billy! Watch where youʼre stepping, you just ruined my letter!” I screamed at the running ten year old. He just smirked and waved a stick in the air triumphantly while continuing his getaway.
I looked down at the ground where I etched the letter to my Mom in the dirt. Footprints had kicked up the dust and smudged most of the writing- my heart sank. I knew that it didn’t matter since Mom was dead…but I worked so hard on that letter, writing for nearly an hour, and now it was all for nothing.
I stood up and gave one last longing look at where the letter had been. “I love you, Mom,” I whispered into thin air; I brushed the dirt off from my skirt. I strode across the patch, trying to catch Billy and make him give back the stick he stole from Adrienne.
“Last call! Lock down in 5 minutes; you know the procedure!” The tired night guard called out with his booming voice. The small gathering of people in the compound continued on with their tasks. I finally caught Billy and gave him a scolding.
I guess Iʼm doing okay, but I miss you. As you can see, I finally finished learning how to write. One of the moms taught me in exchange for watching her daughter during the day. Since I can write now, I wanted to tell you everything that I can, even if you already know it. Iʼm not sure where to even begin. I guess, Iʼll start with outside of the
compound.
Unlike the story books, the grass is no longer green, and the sky is no longer blue. The plants have finally all withered, and there are not many animals left. The air constantly has this unpleasant odor, with a green haze covering the ground. People canʼt go out at night; theyʼre too scared of the Creatures. Food is hard to come by, but people in the compound share with each other; itʼs the only way we all will survive. I donʼt go out and scrounge for food-the Elders say itʼs because they want to make sure I reach a proper age, so I watch the few little kids here and mend the clothing and equipment when I can. Itʼs nice to be able to help out-it makes me feel good.
I once heard about this kid who went out at night, because he thought that heʼd be able to pick up more loot that way and maybe find some food. His sister kept begging him not to go, but he said that he was a man and therefore he had to go out and get food for his family. The sister was left behind, her face contorted with an ugly sob. The next day, all there was left of him was scattered fingers and toes…the sister was in hysterics. It makes me even more scared to go outside, during the day or night.
Next week Iʼll be turning 13; Iʼm still one of the youngest people on the compound. All the babies born either die from the Disease or canʼt survive long in the toxic air. Itʼs sad when I see a crying mom, and then I think of you.
I miss you.
I guess itʼs been tough since the Event happened; I canʼt really tell. I hardly remember the Event, and before it…as you know, it comes in glimpses. But I hear stories from the Elders about how life used to be; it sounds warm and peaceful. I have so many questions about how we used to live…but it makes the Elders sad to talk about it, so my
imagination takes over. I once had this dream where for dinner, we had a piping hot coconut with ketchup, roasted cats and beans, plates and plates of butter, cans of soda everywhere and tasty bread! It looked so delicious, that I woke up drooling! That was the day the Elders talked about different foods.
My hand is getting pretty tired now, and I think I hear one of the kids crying, so I am going to stop my letter here and Iʼll get back to you.
I lo-
“Hey Billy! Watch where youʼre stepping, you just ruined my letter!” I screamed at the running ten year old. He just smirked and waved a stick in the air triumphantly while continuing his getaway.
I looked down at the ground where I etched the letter to my Mom in the dirt. Footprints had kicked up the dust and smudged most of the writing- my heart sank. I knew that it didn’t matter since Mom was dead…but I worked so hard on that letter, writing for nearly an hour, and now it was all for nothing.
I stood up and gave one last longing look at where the letter had been. “I love you, Mom,” I whispered into thin air; I brushed the dirt off from my skirt. I strode across the patch, trying to catch Billy and make him give back the stick he stole from Adrienne.
“Last call! Lock down in 5 minutes; you know the procedure!” The tired night guard called out with his booming voice. The small gathering of people in the compound continued on with their tasks. I finally caught Billy and gave him a scolding.
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