Summer's Song

The heat was scorching. The walls of the old, tattered barn were sweating from the humidity. Lila watched as the drops ran together forming larger drops. The large drops fell like rain, collectively. But she was unfazed by the heat. Soon he would arrive like a knight in shining armor.

Lila rubbed her belly. Circular motions from the center moving outwards. Though she could not feel the bulge that would soon grow, she knew there was life in her.

“Today is the day I will tell him.” Lila said to the baby. No larger than a peanut. “He will love you. He will love us.” She whispered.

Raze was the father and the only man Lila had ever been with. A beautiful creature. Big, bright green eyes. Olive skin. Flawless complexion. Exotic name. Just like the rest of them. The Synthetics.

Created in labs, 95% of America’s population is now Synthetic. Every gene carefully chosen. Every feature handpicked by the parents. Hereditary diseases eradicated. Women no longer bearing the burden of childbirth. Born sterile to prevent the mishap of birthing a flawed child. Something unnatural.

Infants are given special formula for the first few months of life to boost their immunity. Creating strong, healthy children. No more handicaps. No more diseases. No more cancer. A true miracle.

Lila and her parents were Naturals. Their kind have been shunned from the Metro. The first few years of the Transition, they were tolerated as the Synthetics numbers grew. At first, only segregated. But then Natural children were no longer allowed in schools. Naturals were no longer allowed in stores without full Hazmat gear. A walking side show for everyone to see.

The Naturals were berated. Terrorized. Forced to leave on their own will. To avoid being treated like an outsider.

Many lives were lost during the Transition. The unspoken push to remove the small population of Naturals out of the Metro. Into the unknown beyond the border. All because they were born, not created.

Lila’s family left in 2043. Twenty years ago. They found a spot of land a few miles from the Metro. Untouched by the pitfalls of society. So natural. So pure.

An abandoned shack become their home. It bordered a large field. A creek ran through the middle. It was paradise for years. Until her parents grew sick. Tuberculosis. A terrible disease with a small survival rate without proper treatment.

The hospitals in the Metro refused to see them. Naturals were no longer welcomed due to their high contagion rate and burden on the health care system. Forced to leave and fend for themselves. They returned to the shack and prayed for the best. Only homemade morphine from wild poppies to ease the pain. Death’s tendrils reaching for them. Waiting patiently.

Her dad was the first to go. Lasting only a few weeks after symptoms started. Her mother held strong for a year.

Across the field from the shack was the barn. A monstrous building. Aged from the elements and neglect. It was there that Lila met Raze.

Most Synthetics were terrified of going beyond the Metro borders. Afraid of the wildlife. The unknown.

Not Raze. He was out for a run. Enjoying the loosened restraints of the hustle and bustle.

Raze spotted Lila from several hundred feet away. She was working in the garden. He stopped dead in his tracks behind some brush. Like he had seen a ghost. Hypnotized by Lila’s dirty clothes and sunburned skin.

He moved in closer. Taken by her lack of make-up and the way her unbrushed curls poured down her back. So foreign from the perfectly kept women in the Metro. In a world of perfect beings, Lila was imperfect but extraordinary.

Lila spotted him and immediately hit the ground. Terrified to see another person aside from her parents. Fearing for her life.

“Hi there.” Raze greeted. His hands high in the air. A sign of good intentions. “My name is Raze. I was just out for a run and saw you.”

Lila sat up and popped her head over the tomato plants.

Raze was tall. At least 6 feet. His skin olive, shimmering in the dusky sunlight.

He moved closer. His big, green eyes never looking away from Lila.

“Do you live around here?” He asked.

Lila shook her head. Never let them know where you live, her mothers’ words echoing.

Raze moved closer. “Do you mind if I sit?” He asked now propping under the big oak tree by the garden.

Lila shook her head.

“Do you speak?” He asked.

“We’re not illiterate, you know.” Lila said as she went back to weeding.

Raze looked surprised. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. You have piqued my curiosity. I have never met someone like you.” He smiled. It was a beautiful smile. Perfect, white teeth underneath his pouty lips.

Lila smiled back. Unable to control herself. She was already smitten with the man she had only just met. “Are you thirsty? You’re sweating. A lot.” Lila asked.

“Come to think of it, I am.” He replied.

Lila nodded towards the barn. “Follow me.”

It was cool in the barn. A reprieve from the summer heat. There was an underground cellar where Lila kept water in mason jars for hot days. She pulled a jar off the shelf.

“Don’t worry. It’s filtered.” Lila handed one of the jars to Raze.

He gulped it almost finishing it off. “Thank you.”

The pair spent the next hour taking each other in. Such different lives intertwining like vines. Learning so much about each other. Lela wished he could stay forever. But Raze had to get back to the Metro. Security tightens at nightfall.

Raze visited every day after that. Except Sunday’s. Sundays were for church and family, he told her.

A week later, Raze leaned in for a kiss when Lila was mid sentence. Unable to control himself around her. Lila yanked away. She was taken aback. “I have never been with a man.” She told him. Holding her hands over her mouth. “I’m sorry.”

Raze reassured her with his smile. And went in for another kiss. The next day he brushed his warm fingers against her stomach. The next, massaged her breast. Taking his time. So patient. By the third week, his fingers found all of her. Unlocking feelings, she had never imagined. At first, she was tense. But she learned to let go.

Raze was intrigued by Lila. Her imperfections. The sprinkle of freckles across her face. Her slightly crooked teeth. The smell of dirt and sweat on her skin. The wildness that was inside her. He wanted to set it free.

Lila was fascinated by his beauty. His perfections. The way his hair cascaded perfectly to one side. A strand in his eyes as he hovered over her body. His abdomen, tight. His hands and arms strong. She wanted to set the wildness inside her free.

It was almost a month into their rendezvous’ when Lila’s mother finally passed. She had not spoken about her mother to Raze. As far as he knew, her family was no more.

Raze made a surprise visit on a Sunday just as Lila was digging a grave on the edge of the field. He was silent as he came upon the scene. Nervous of what he was about to discover. Her mother’s body wrapped in a quilt beside the gravesite.

Lila was in tears as he approached her. “It’s my mom,” was all she could mutter.

Raze grabbed the shovel from her hands and helped. Lila picked some wildflowers from the field to place on her grave. Together they said a prayer over her body as she was laid to rest.

It was then that the Lila let go. Her mother was the rock that kept Lila grounded and now she was gone.

Raze lifted Lila and carried her into the barn. Both covered in filth. Neither one caring. He laid Lila on a stack of quilts on the floor. He propped on his elbows hovering over her. His lips resting on hers. Then finding their way to her entire body.

Raze was gentle, yet rough. It was painful, yet pleasant.

When Raze finished, the pair laid still. Heavy breath falls shared between them. The sunset leaking in through the cracks. Glistening off Razes’ perfect skin. He made promises of living off the land with her. Leaving the comfort of the metro. Being together forever.

Lila hated watching his figure disappear into the woods. Back towards his home. One day, we will never have to separate. Though she knew it was a foolish thought, she held onto hope.

I just need time to prepare. Raze kept telling Lila. Just give me time.

Lila had fallen asleep waiting for Raze. Hand still clutched over her belly. Protecting the precious contents within.

The summer song of the birds woke her. She jumped up. Did I miss him?

Lila arose from the pallet of quilts. The doors to the barn wide open. Just as she left them. No sign of Raze. She looked around the field only to come up empty handed. Nothing.

Maybe he’s not coming today. Six months and he had never missed a day. That was probably not the case.

What if something happened to him? What if he got attacked by something on his way over? Her mind was getting the best of her. Anxiety and fear were taking over.

Pacing back and forth she decided to do the unthinkable. Walk the path to his house.

Lila had followed Raze home once before. Just out of curiosity. Making sure she went unseen. Far enough away that he would not notice. Or security.

His apartment pod sat on the outskirts of the metro. It was almost dark. The bright lights were blinding. Lit up like daylight. Apartments pods were littered across the horizon. Circular and transparent. They bled into a magnificent city reaching high into the clouds.

Raze was there in his pod. He was sitting at his desk reading something. More beautiful in has natural habitat. In Lila’s world, he looked out of place. An eye sore. Just as she looked standing there. Looking onto the metro. Taking in all its man-made glory.

Another figure was in the kitchen. A woman cooking. His mother, perhaps? Raze is only 28. Not uncommon to still be living at home. Sister, maybe? A roommate?

Raze paused from his reading. He reached down towards the floor and picked something up. A small child. Maybe 1 or 2 years old. He lifted the boy high into the air and pulled him back in, close to his chest. Kissing the blond tuff of hair. Please be a brother. Or nephew.

The pair entered the kitchen where the woman was cooking. Raze leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. Then the lips. The three of them embraced. Pausing like time froze.

For Lila, it did. There was a feeling in her stomach. Not the pregnancy. Something else she had never felt before. Her heart hammered in her chest. Her face turned red. Rage. So much rage.

“No.” She whispered into the darkness. But no one was there to hear her. No one will ever hear her. For she is alone. All alone in the stillness of the night. All alone in a world of lies and synthetic promises.

Lila faded into the dark where she belonged. Unseen. Unheard. Unloved.

_________

From his bedroom window, Raze can see the flames reaching into the sky. Brilliantly contrasted against the night. The barn is on fire. Their barn.

For a fleeting moment, Raze wonders about the girl in the barn. I really should have asked her name, he thinks before turning off the light. He then lays in the bed beside his wife. Never thinking about the girl or the barn again.