The Perfect Machine: Kingdom Of Glass (GxG

14. Still Human

"Are you alright?" Harlow asks me as we stroll down a pathway, and I nod, even though that is not the truth. I have never been okay, not once in my twenty-one years of living. I was born into an underprivileged family and going to bed with no food in our belly was nothing new.

My father is a mechanic, and it is not a very well-paid job. Sometimes they weren't even paid for weeks because of the high taxes this country demands. My mother was a maid for a nice hotel, but the hotel went bankrupt because of the struggling economy.

She lost her employment, yet she figured out how to get some private cleaning tasks from various organizations. They didn't pay much either, but it was superior to nothing. Given the high expenses and electrical bills, the vast majority of my parent's money was no more. We struggled to get any food on the table.

When I started to work, it got a little easier, but still, at times, I was not paid as well. I loved my job because it made me feel important and gave me the feeling I meant something to someone. Being a teacher wasn't always easy, of course, but the kids needed knowledge and education. However, it seems to have been put mostly aside by the President since the war broke out. Most children and teenagers that went to school didn't have notebooks, pencils, or a backpack, for that matter. Just like the rest of the country, schools are also divided into low and wealthy classes. I didn't have much to work with except old books and a low education myself. Yet, I put as much effort into enlightening myself with books from the library when I went to school.

Being a teacher emotionally isn't always easy. I have seen kids come to school with no shoes, sore feet, and rashes as dark as a cranberry. They would fall sick often because of the lack of food and water. It was rare, but sometimes they wouldn't return as they had fallen ill and didn't survive. The parents or the caregiver of the child would inform the principal. Reality would take its toll and the only way to escape it was through books. Yet many times, I would cry myself to sleep as the thoughts never left. My parents would try and comfort me. It didn't always work, but it made me feel less lonely.

I miss my parents. Sometimes when we could afford it, my father would make fresh bread, and my mother would bring some strawberries from the hidden market to make some sweet jam. We would lounge around our kitchen table and make the most of our feast with some laughter. It was only once in a while, yet it's perhaps my best memory.

"Do you miss your family?" I wonder as I rip apart a piece of the bread. We had to take a small break because my feet were starting to ache and my stomach was crying for something to eat. Harlow looks at me as her black eyes search my face.

"I miss my father, yes, my mother, I don't know," She shrugs as she turns her gaze in the other direction for a few seconds.

"Do you miss your family?" She asks, consequently.

"Yes, I do a lot," I sigh as I look down at the sand that is burning underneath the heated sun.

"I'm sorry," She says with an apologetic smile.

"Thank you," I tell her, as she raises her head in a rush with eyes wide open before she gets up on her feet.

"What is it?" I ask as her reaction made my heart pound in my chest.

"There is somebody here," She murmurs as she snatches my hand in a strong grip. She pulls me after her towards a small house.

"Here," She hands me the backpack but grabs the katana.

"Go in and find a place to hide," She tells me as worry is written all over her face.

"Okay," I nod, yet before I could even move the slightest bit, four men remain behind Harlow a few meters away.