A Fine Black Sky
CHAPTER TWENTY
Kid turned fifteen.
Never was it said that Kid was not cared for. No one could accuse the South Tower of that. Conflict was something of a word that contained eight letters and very little meaning.
Peace was rife about Unity, even if small pockets of people hadn't quite reached that page upon their own script yet. But that was largely in the City proper, which was of scant regard to the people of the Towers. Kid had a room, albeit once a storeroom with low slanted roof where the vegetation had commandeered available space. Kid wasn't insulted. Far from it. It was small and manageable, with only a bed and desk in it.
He spent much of his time sitting at the window that permitted a porthole view of the darkened world outside, but most importantly, a tantalising view of the only place he had ever felt whole - that of the North Tower. Of course he couldn't see all of it, but where he could see, there was a window, always open, and illuminated from within by a yellowish light. It wasn't the light that captured Kid’s attention. It was the little girl, somewhere close to his age, that moved within the aperture, framing her world in glimpses of sorrow, happiness, growth and learning.
He didn't recognise her from the people or Daughters of Nobles within the Tower, but then Kid would have found it hard to describe his own Brother, Eighteen, from a line up of similarly tall, lanky types such as he, if pushed. The girl represented so much more, however. She represented the promise Kid made to himself, that as long as he could see her, he knew he was safe and everything was alright. She was a symbol of hope, Kid’s constant in his ever changing world of flux. Kid called her Ancora, for want of a better moniker.
Ancora wasn’t beautiful, as no girl was beautiful at that age. She was, however, very pretty, almost comely in her innocent, soft skinned way. Kid wasn't enamoured, as perhaps he should have been. She was to be a symbol at this age, and she could remain ever so, as long as they were never to meet.
She sat at her window, gazing longingly into the City. What captivated her mind could only be speculated at, but whatever it was drew her back every day. She would leave for study, or study at the window. She would dress and play, and skip back and forth in that tiny framed world. Her hair grew, became more tawny, with rivulets instead of curls, and the dresses went from shouldered to off the shoulder, as her games became more functional, more homely. Fairly soon there was a boy there with her, or a number of her giggling friends. Soon the boy was replaced by the young man, and the dresses changed to a uniform, and the toy replaced by the tool. The girl was no longer the little, innocent child she had once been. She was now the young woman, with her own mind, her own desires, her own pleasures and her own inbuilt strength.
Kid continued to watch her, eyeing her warmly with relaxed voyeurism, while contemplating the simple passage of time with one minute following the last, until years had passed and the boy had not further advanced, while the girl has turned into a woman and - so it would seem - begun on her own path of discovery with the young man that proffered his arm and his heart for her to keep.
Kid turned away, not out of a sense of loss, nor for any kind of self pity, but to make the daily trip, along the hidden and secretive shadows to the Library, where he intended to hide in the shadows and remain thus until his time was spent.
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