Families of the Mist

"Just take it!"

I froze, mother had never yelled at me before, not even when I left the sealing shade open a crack once and the night haze got into my little brother's room. I still miss Tempur, he was so much fun to play with.

"What are you doing? I told you to take it! You have to get away!" Mother reached her hand out her locket from father hanging by the cord that she wore around her neck. I took it from her. "Good, now go! You need to run they will be here in no time and they can't track you!" With that, she stepped towards me and gave me a hug. "I love you so much. I am proud of the young woman you have become. I hope we can be together again. Now go." Her voice was stern but soft. I put my fingers together in front of my chest and traced a horizontal circle in the air back to my heart where I kissed my fingers and then reached out towards her fingers splayed and thumbs touching, the heart-shaped locket dangling from my left hand. Our special greeting between the two of us, but reversed as to indicate a departure.

I ran, through the small building that we used as a house grabbing my travel sack which was always packed and ready to move in case the haze was exceptionally thick or the inquisitors were spotted.

I ran, over the broken walls of crumbled buildings flitting between withered trees and struggling bushes.

I ran, till I got to a river and crossed the broken bridge. Carefully holding on to the rusted support metal poking out of the concrete like a skeleton.

I ran, through a field of tall grass and flies. They were attracted by the bodies of people and animals which were caught by the haze.

I ran, till the sun began to set and I found a taller building that should keep me above the haze this evening. I still set up my travel tent, it would keep out haze if it got up to my level and it would help keep me warm. I laid down and zipped it shut, it wasn't large I had just enough room to reach my elbows out to brush the sides. Rolling over I pulled out my pocket light and wound it. Cranking the small handle.

Ten times for a task done quick. Twenty cranks for getting yourself dressed. Forty for when you settle for a rest. Sixty is much but use for an interest.

Mentally reciting the poem Mother had taught to me and Tempur. After the sixtieth wind, I placed the light so that it shined upwards and pulled out the locket. It was a simple thing but Mother had worn it always and told us it was important. The cord had originally been a chain but that broke shortly after Tempur began walking.

I don't remember Father much. Mother told me that the inquisitors had taken him before Tempur was born. She said that the only four things she has left of him are me, Tempur, memories, and the locket.

The locket was heart-shaped made out of a shiny metal that mother said was special forever being shiny. The locket had some carvings in it which I couldn't read but I often saw mom trace her fingers over them tenderly and smiling. She didn't smile much but when she did it seemed strong enough to drive off the haze.

I turned it over to look at the back there was a flat spot about the size of my thumb. In the middle of the flat spot was a small hole. On the side of the locket, there was a small line separating the front and the back. I tried to pry it open but it held tight. The light began to dim so I tied the cord around my neck and got comfortable for sleep.

A loud crash and boom from the direction of where I had run from awoke her in the early morning. Popping open the small viewing window in the tent to check for haze I saw there was none nearby so I unzipped and got out. In the south where I lived with Mother was a dark plume of black smoke rising into the sky to mingle with the clouds.

I resisted the urge to return home. Mother had always talked about a safe zone in the east where the towns are so high up in the mountains that they are above the clouds themselves and safe from the haze. She said that the inquisitors would never go there either because the people there help each other and work together so the inquisitors can't sneak and bribe people to sell secrets.

Not sure how far east this special place was but I will never get there if I don't keep moving. It took me only a few minutes to pack up the tent and drink some water. I only had a little bit of travel food made out of dried berries. I chose to wait till night to eat that hoping to find some food along the way.

Looking down at the ground the haze still lingered in many of the lower spots on the ground. I needed to be careful, a person can walk through the haze but they shouldn't breathe too much of it.

One breath and you may cough. Ten breaths will hurt you strong. Thirty breaths and your life will stop. Zero breaths for a life full n' long.

I had a handkerchief that I could hold over my mouth but it didn't help that much with the haze. Mother always said I should only use it if I had to run through the haze and then only breathe when needed and discard it after.

I was pursued by the smoke from the south persistently carried by the wind. It reminded me of a family of crows I watched once that followed and harried a hawk that had gotten too close to the nest. The black wings dipped and curved regardless of what direction its target turned. I saw people along the way but nobody bothered with strangers. It wasn't safe, a stranger could be dangerous true, but the real danger was in new people wanting to stick around and eating food.

The smoke dissipated after two days when it was gone I had finally left the ruins of towns and civilization. The mountains loomed large. I had been walking for four days. One night I needed to sleep in a tree because there wasn't any place else to get above the haze. I was scared as it kept creeping up higher and higher along the trunk pushing me up to where the tree trunk seemed to barely be able to support my weight. There was no rest that night and the haze stuck around till almost noon in the flat land at the base of the mountains.

At one point I used my handkerchief to pass through a small ditch filled with haze. Afterward, the day became a day of running. Knowing that if I could get to the mountains before nightfall I should be safe from the rising haze. I had long looked at the mountains before in the distance but they felt magical as if the land itself was reaching towards the sky to escape the dangerous lowlands guiding me towards safety.

I picked my way through the bushes collecting berries and edible plants along the way. I was chewing on the stem of a common yellow flower when I crested a hill and saw the town.

It wasn't like other towns that I have seen before, those were always ruins or dilapidated-looking buildings where some people may live. I had even seen a city once with its high walls which kept out the haze and tall buildings where the inquisitors lived during the night. Places where Mother said the high people lived. People who would die if they entered the haze at all but who had control over the resources and power to pay the inquisitors to leave the city and find others to work as slaves.

This town was different. There were walls but not like the city as the gates were open. The buildings were small like the ones in the ruins but they were bright colors. Yellows, whites, pinks, greens, and blues. There were flowers in front of them and people milling about lots of them. Everybody was dressed brightly as well and in large groups.

As I neared the town I heard something I had never heard before, like talking but there was a rhythm to it, a rise and a fall, and many people were sharing the words. I also heard another new sound. It was repetitive and caused the same emotions that my Mother's smile did.

At the gate to the town a man was there, holding a long stick with a shining piece of metal on the tip. "Stop! Who are you?"

I said my name by holding one hand up in a wall and the other as a Y, striking them together and shaking the Y. Yeesobell. The man looked at me confused so I repeated it again with more vigor. This didn't help. So I signed my story about how my mother told me to travel to the mountains and bring the locket. At the end of my tale, I pulled the locket out from under my shirt.

This the man seemed to understand, "Ok, come with me. I think I know someone who can help."

I followed him through the town, me a wonder on display to the townsfolk. I had never been around so many people before. Near the center of the town, there was a large building and this is where the man took me. Inside there was someone sitting at a desk with his back to the door. "Sir. A young girl came to the south gate this morning with a locket. She talks like you sir, with her hands."

The man turned around at this. He was tall with graying hair and a trim beard. Dressed modestly he smiled when our eyes met. Asking for my name was, I repeated the sign from earlier. He thanked me and told me his name. H coming off of the father sign, then he spelled out, HAROLD.

He asked to see my locket. When he saw it he pulled out a small disc with a small projection in the middle. He placed the disc on the flat portion on the back of the locket and there was a click.

Inside was a picture of a small child, Father, and Mother with a large belly. Then I heard Mother's voice. Hello, Yeesobell, if you are hearing this then two things have happened, one grave and the other wonderful. The grave news is that I am dead or being held by the inquisitors in the city. The wonderful news is that you have met your father. His sign name is H-papa and he has been in mountain town trying to organize a resistance. We couldn't stay with him as they were looking for him. This locket contains something special besides a piece of my heart. It contains concentrated haze which can be used to stop the high people. I love you.

I compared the picture with the man in front of me, he was older. He scrawled something on a piece of paper and handed it to the guard who read it and said, "Yes sir! The resistance starts tomorrow!" He shouted as he ran from the room.

Father told me he was proud of me and gave me a hug.