In the indifferent stillness of the early morning, the sleeping Eli restlessly stirs awake. His brows are furrowed and his dim eyes are coated with a glaze of fear as they dart about furiously in the hazy light. A cloudy light, a gray-white dimness reminiscent of smoke, streams in through the cracked windows of his room. It’s a cold light without warmth or comfort. Eli groans as he shakes away his nightly terrors and regrets, rubbing his eyes with the hanging sleeves of his pajama shirt, the fabric covering his hands in its length. The oversized clothing he wears has twisted around him, so he sits up with creaking motions, carefully unwinding the fabric that has wrapped around him in his sleep. After fully waking up and sorting out his wardrobe problem, Eli lets out a tired sigh before climbing out of bed, his bare feet tapping against the cold floorboards.

Based on his usual sleeping patterns, he quickly comes to the conclusion that it’s around six in the morning. Moving over to the window, Eli looks outside, noticing that the weather has caused the smog filled sky to fall to earth. His eyebrows furrow as he remembers that he’ll need to adventure into that disgusting cloud today, the thought filling him with a mixture of both unwillingness and flippancy. With another sigh and a casual shrug of his shoulders, Eli steps away from the window, checking that the bedroom door is closed before quickly stripping out of the old clothes and changing into some daily wear.

The door clicks open and Eli steps out. His pants are cuffed at the bottom, and his overshirt has its sleeves rolled up. The belt he wears around his waist is faded, with the leather flaking off along the edges. His hair is tangled and messy, desperately in need of a cut. His socks are stretched uncomfortably, with his small feet struggling to keep the fabric from slipping off. With tired eyes, Eli makes his way to the second floor bathroom. There’s no fear that he’ll accidentally walk in on Audrey, as she’s staying in a room near the stairs, and therefore will go to the bathroom nearest, which happens to be on the ground floor. While idly reinforcing such thoughts, Eli enters the empty bathroom and glances at the mirror. Checking out his expression, he notices that his face has smoothened out, most likely a result of the relatively healthier lifestyle he’s been living. Shaking his head free from such thoughts, he bends over and wipes his face down with some cold water. Afterwards, he picks up the toothbrush that he found a few days ago, spreads a line of cheap toothpaste across it, and quickly scrubs his teeth.

After finishing his business in the bathroom, Eli heads downstairs, looking into Audrey’s open room as he passes, noting how the gray interior is completely empty. His footsteps creak as he carefully walks down the stairs, and he makes sure not to trip over himself and break his neck by accident. After reaching the ground floor, he heads to the kitchen, hearing the clinking of metal against glass. Entering the kitchen, Eli spots Audrey sitting at the small table to the right of the entrance. In front of her is a small bowl of cereal, the cheap flakes softened with tap water are slowly consumed by the young woman. Noticing his presence, Audrey raises her head and gives him a charming smile.

“Morning Eli. Care to join me in this meal fit for kings?”

“Heh, oh course My Lady, I’d never miss out on an opportunity to spend some precious time with you.”

“Ha! Ewww, you made it weird~!”

Eli feels his lips curl upwards as he watches Audrey shovel more food into her mouth to stop herself from laughing, nearing choking in the process. Walking past her, he picks up one of the few unbroken bowls left in the house and fills it with the cheap convenience store cereal they were lucky enough to find. Afterwards, he moves over to the sink, wets the food with water, picks up one of the clean spoons, and joins his young companion at the table.

Time passes in blissful silence. Eventually, Audrey finishes her food, making sure to eat every last flake. Instead of getting up and putting away her mess, however, she chooses to sit at the table in silence, obviously thinking about something important. Eli raises his eyes, unable to miss the little performance she has going on. Her lips move side to side as she repeatedly “Hmmm”’s over and over again. He notes how open she’s gotten around him, feeling a bit of pride in being able to get past that hostile exterior she had when they first met, at least partially. Unable to hold out any long, Eli sighs as he finally questions the girl.

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

“Hm? Oh you know, this and that…”

“This and that? Care to elaborate?”

“Well you see, I’ve been thinking about where we should make our rounds? This district may be rather convenient with the nearby stores and whatnot, but there aren’t that many people here. We could move to a different district that has a higher population, which would allow us to make more money.”

“The more people there are, the less opportunities we have. We struck gold by being able to have this place to ourselves, and the money we bring in is enough to let us last a week as long as we go out every other day. I’d say we’re doing rather well for ourselves.”

“I agree, but that’s only in the long term. The way I see it, we have two paths to take. One, we can stay here and continue doing things as we are. If we want to make more money all we would need to do is go out more often. Or two, we could go to a district in the inner city, where there are more people to pay us. We would be able to get a small place if we’re lucky, and with our savings we could save enough money to get my dad a lawyer-”

At this, Audrey stops. Her intentions are now obvious to Eli, clearing away the confusion that this conversation has brought to him. Ah, that makes more sense. I was wondering why she wanted to leave all of a sudden. This is a good place, and she’s the one that brought me here. Making such a stupid decision like dropping what we having and moving makes no sense. I guess… this place really got to her, huh?

“... I’m sure there are other ways to free your dad, Audrey. It’s a smarter move to stay here and build up what we have over time. Once I actually get a job, we’ll be able to bring in a lot more money.”

“Then, what do you think I should do, huh? What’s the plan? If we don’t get a lawyer, what are we gonna do? Break him out? Trust me, Eli, I’ve thought about it. I know that area like the back of my hand, just like I know him escaping is literally impossible! I don’t want to think about the long term! How long is the long term? Five years? Ten? Every day my father is at risk of being murdered! An innocent man, his life is being threatened every moment of every day! And what can I do…? Nothing!"

Audrey begins to get heated. Her brows furrow and her face twists into a mask of hostility. She’s being unreasonable. Lawyers, especially decent ones, cost more money than either one of us have seen in our lives. There’s no way we’ll be able to free her dad that way. It’s just as unreasonable to break him out. Not to mention the strangeness of his arrest. There’s a chance the lawyer we find won’t be interested in pursuing the truth of the case. Eli frowns, his eyes glimmering with sympathy and understanding, an expression he finds hard to comprehend easily attaches itself to his face without his permission.

“Look Audrey, really look… What are you trying to accomplish? We’re struggling to survive right now. Raising enough money to free your father is pointless if we starve to death in the process… Look at how we live. This building is falling apart. We have no heat, no electricity. We’re struggling to find enough food, and have to rely on run down convenience stores that are emptying their stock of expired cereal. We don’t have the ability to worry about anyone other than ourselves… I know you understand this.”

“...”

“Why did you decide to bring this up? You obviously know the reality of the situation, so what has you so riled up today of all days?”

Audrey stiffens in her seat, her face hardening as her mouth draws a thin line. He’s right, she thinks, the admission crushing her heart in the process. We can barely make enough to survive, it’s impossible to free my father… Her lip begins to quiver as a look of despair coats her face. Is it an admittance of defeat? Is she finally throwing in the towel after all these years? The future is bleak, dark and unavoidable. It’s unreasonable to not struggle in the moment and instead plan for the future. Audrey’s face begins to crack, a look of agony and gnawing shame slips through the cracks of her headstrong exterior. Her hands begin to violently shake so she clenches them into white-knuckled fists, but this does nothing to ease the tremors. Just as she’s about to break down, to give up and admit the impossible, she hears a voice. The voice is deeply emotional, heavy with grief and longing, thick with understanding. Audrey lifts her face, which had previously lain against the table, and stares wide eyed at Eli.

“It’s not impossible… There is a way to free your dad. But, it’s not something that’s able to happen right this moment… It’ll take time, a long time, so it’s kinda unreasonable… But there is… hope…”

A light, faint and glimmering, dances about in the depths of Eli’s gaze. His voice, though wavering and heavy, carries a strange certainty, an indomitable will that seemingly manifested out of nowhere. No. Not out of nowhere. It’s always been there. There just hasn’t been any reason for him to draw out that part of himself. Not even his potential death, or his overwhelming sense of despair was enough to draw it out of him. And yet, his will to survive, his desire to see the future that he wants to see, has suddenly reared its head in the face of his closest, and only, friend’s plight.

Audrey tilts her head, her mouth dry as she struggles to understand what he’s saying. Despite her incomprehension, she knows that Eli believes his words to be absolute. This certainty, this strange will to achieve his goal, fills her with a feverish thrill as she stares into his impenetrable gaze. Her voice, as light and breathless as a whisper, quivers as she releases the question like a bird from its cage.

“I… can free my dad? How…?”

Eli draws in a breath, closes his eyes, and steadies his heart. Then, with the utmost confidence and certainty, he speaks the truth.

“I’ll do it for you. I’ll go back to school, become a lawyer, and free your father… I swear this to you.”