"Kael, do you know what living feels like?" His father asked. As they made their way down the dingy alleyway, the musty smell of rotting food invaded Kael's nose, reminding him of how much he disliked the place. Feeble figures of human beings covered in grime were strewn at periodic intervals throughout the street, the only thing that offered the slightest bit of comfort being blankets and pillows that haven't been washed in years. These people were even lower than them: either they were too old or too sick to make trips to The Heap. As the duo walked past, these figures would lift up their heads, staring either greedily or expectantly at the duo, before they caught the outline of the gun in one of their bags and hurriedly looked away.
"Haven't we been living since the moment we were born?" Kael responded.
"Then do you think that these people," Kael's father gestured to the figures at the side, earning him a handful of scathing glares, "are living? Or are they simply surviving?"
Kael looked at the figures. They were pathetic but pitiful creatures, struggling to cough up even one more day of lifespan.
"In that case they are just surviving." Kael agreed with his father.
"That's right Kael, they are surviving. In fact, all of us in this Garbage City are all just surviving, we are just surviving in the city, clinging onto the illusion of living to give us hope to work another day." Kael's father sighed. "We all don't want to be here. Who wants to pick up trash for a living? It's tolerable at best."
"The switch from surviving to living happens when surviving becomes a non-issue, when you can live a comfortable life without worries, when you can afford luxuries that extend beyond survival, that is when you start living."
A torrent of emotions surged within his father. He had spent his entire life struggling, and now that freedom was in their hands, the accumulated resentment that he had buried deep within his consciousness for all those decades resurfaced all at once.
"And we will start living, starting from today, the moment we hand in the bounty, we will be free of all the stress and worries of this goddamn city. We will be free of poor quality of life, we will be free of eating half eaten food, we will be free to indulge in what we truly want. No longer will we have to constantly worry about safety, no longer will we have to go to that fucking heap and pick one more piece of garbage."
Kael quickly took a glance at his father, only to quickly avert his eyes. He could see small, beady water droplets trickling down his face, and didn't want to see his father's crying face.
"So promise me this, Kael. Promise me, that when we arrive, we will start living a life worth living. We will live life how we want to live, not restricted by fucking poverty. We will gain the freedom to make our wildest dreams into reality, and know that we deserved every bit of this damn ticket."
Kael could hear the sniffling that came beside him, but he didn't want to look over. It would be too unbearable.
"Yes father, I promise." He whispered under his breath, barely audible to his father.
Only when the sniffling died down did Kael dare to look over. His father's face was still flushed red, but at least the tears had disappeared.
"Look, we're here." His father came to a halt, and so did Kael. In front of them was the main gate of the Embassy, standing in dramatic contrast to the dreary buildings that lie outside. Surrounding the gate were towering walls with electric barbs, to prevent any uninvited guests from invading the place. The gate itself was polished and clean, with only a small door that led to the interior, protected and hidden by a small office where officers sat, ready to scrutinise every person that dared to enter the premises.
The duo both placed their hands on the door of the office, and entered.
"State your business." As soon as they entered, an officer, noticing their haggard looks, got straight to the point. "If you have no valid reason, get out." Only Inner city permit holders were able to come and go as they pleased here. Not that any of them ever wanted to come here.
"We are here to turn in the bounty for the crystal."
"Is that so?" The officer narrowed his eyes. Over the past few days, the office had already dealt with numerous fake replicas from people who sought the reward, and he doubted this would be any different.
"Put it here." The officer pulled out a small plastic tray from behind the desk and slammed it on the table. Kae's father looked at Kael, who reached into his mouth and pulled out the crystal.
With visible disgust but still maintaining a professional cover, another officer put on some gloves and received it from Kael's fingers, before moving to a nearby sink to wash away the saliva. What remained was a crystal that fitted the description of the bounty except… it wasn't shining at all. Not like when it was found. It was just a white coloured crystal now.
"Leave now. Get out." The officer stood up and demanded. Honestly, the audacity to submit such a blatant fake.
"..." Kael was confused. Hadn't it been glowing just over an hour ago, when they had found it? but his father was a whole different beast.
"What do you mean 'leave'? This was what your government was looking for. I ain't leaving until we get our reward." His father replied coldly.
"I said leave. Otherwise, I will have to use force." The officer stationed himself directly in front of his father, sizing him down.
"I won't accept this until I confirm for absolutely certain that what we brought was a fake."
The officer sighed. He had gone through this scenario before, and every time, they ask for the same thing.
"It's not glowing. That is enough to prove it's a fake."
"It was glowing when we found it." Kael chimed in.
"That's a likely story. Now get out." The officer pointed to the exit.
"No. I need verification." He looked back at the father, whose voice was full of resolution.
The two men looked face to face, sizing each other up, before the officer sighed and signalled another officer.
"Call Mr Venther. He'll verify it."
"And both of you, you can sit down and wait."
That officer nodded, and slipped through the back door. 5 minutes later, a man in a cloak and casual jeans strode out. He had black, messy hair and wore black gloves, and looked like he was in his mid-20's. Behind him, the officer that went to get him closed the door.
"So, what's the trouble here?"
Mr Venther walked over to the desk and took out a small cup from underneath, where he then filled it with water from a small dispenser above. Leaning on the desk, he took a sip, though he did not take his eyes away from the new haggard guests the whole time.
The officer replied. "This man over here," he gestured at the father, "wants proof that his crystal is fake."
"I've heard about it. Bring it here." He tapped the desk, and then turned to the father. "So, Sir, how're you doing today?" Scurrying could be heard as the officers hurriedly presented the crystal beside him on the table.
"Terrible. Absolutely terrible. Now tell me if it's real." The father responded with deathly flatness.
"Sir, I'm just trying to talk. But since you asked," he tapped the desk and took a quick peek. In that one split second, he looked as if he had already evaluated the look of the object, assessing its closeness and missing elements. "I'll start by outlining the basic features of the crystal you brought and compare it with the original." Directing a computer on the desk towards him, he searched for a file, before turning it to face the duo. On the computer was a separate 3 dimensional rendering of the real crystal. "There are 4 check marks. The size. The shape. The colour. And the last feature is the light." He emphasized on the last word.
Kael wasn't paying much attention, as his attention was on the computer, where he greedily tried to imprint the device in his mind. He had never been this near such intricate machinery before. There were a lot of them at The Heap, but they were never working, and were always too destroyed to do anything about.
"So first, the size… fits the description perfectly. That's one check mark. The colour is spot on as well. That leaves the shape and light." Yet again he paused at the last word and let it sink in. "When I was informed of the situation, I brought 2 devices along to verify these 2 features. The first device is the box where it originally was taken from." He pulled out a small transparent box from inside his jacket that had been entrusted to him after the fiasco went down. Taking out a small key, he inserted it into the keyhole and turned it. Then, he closed his eyes for a moment and lifted the box to his chest level. In that moment, he remained unmoving, before he regained his senses and opened the box. Kael could see that inside the box was a perfect mold of the crystal.
Taking the crystal carefully from the small container, he placed it inside, and closed the box. Mr Venther's brow lit up in unsurprised amusement, as the crystal perfectly fit the mold of the box. "That leaves the last test." He took out a lux meter. "The… brightness test." Skepticism evident, He opened the box and brought the lux meter to rest above the crystal, before pressing a small button and recording the value. "And, in a very surprising turn of events, the recording doesn't match with our findings. It's supposed to sit at around one-hundred and seventy lumens, but unfortunately, your crystal doesn't emit any light." He stood up, as if his job was done. "Now, are you satisfied with the result, after running through all the features? I won't accuse you of making a fake. Perhaps you really found it and thought it was real."
Kael's father's head couldn't be seen. He had lowered his head, and his face was covered by shadow. "It was glowing just over an hour ago." He argued with hollow monotony.
"Like I said, it's fake. I'm sorry, but I cannot trust that claim."
"You heard him." The officer followed up. "Now get out." He pointed firmly at the exit, and made it clear there was no room for argument this time.
The father stood there for a moment, before bending down and picking back up his sack. Turning around, he whispered over to Kael: "Let's go, Kael. We're going back home."
Following his father, he followed behind, and they both exited the place.
The quiet tension that hung as the two pushed open the door was like a held breath on the verge of braking. Only when the door closed did the weight that settled in the room go away.
The officers breathed a huge sigh of relief. "That one was quite the hassle." One officer commented. "Yes, they were quite rude and unreasonable." "But it's people like that that keeps the job interesting." Another one who was more optimistic argued.
"If my job here is done, I'm leaving." Mr Venther kept the box and lux meter in his jacket, before crushing the cup he drank out of and throwing it into a nearby dustbin.
"Ah, yes, you can leave now." The officer replied.
Nodding, Mr Venther headed out of the room.
But just then, a particular conversation caught his attention.
The officer that had washed the crystal was taking out her gloves, and another officer approached her. "There's always a first for everything, eh? Taking it out from the mouth, I wondered what was going on in their heads." he said to her.
"..." Mr Venther let go of the door and approached this conversation.
"My apologies, but where did you say the people took the crystal out from?" "Huh? He took it out from his mouth. Honestly, it was quite disgusting."
Mr Venther narrowed his eyes and stood up. In a loud voice, he informed all the officers: "Call them back. I want to verify something."
The officers stopped their casual chitchat. It was clear there was hesitation in the room. Finally, one officer stepped up and opened the entrance. Looking outside, he could see the duo had already walked quite a few blocks. In these parts, it was unwise to shout and attract attention. Thus, following the request to bring them back, he strode quickly towards them. When the duo turned a corner, he also turned. Now, he brisk walked the remaining few meters that separated him from the duo.
Halfway there, his head fell off.