FAMILY
My name is Kianna Kobayashi and I live in Japan. Of course, not the modern world, but the Sacred Coves of Rural Japan. This part of Japan is only known to our people and devoted priests of the modern world. When we try to tell others, they do not believe us. We dress as Japanese people did long ago- in kimonos and other clothing worn back then. We only dress in Western clothes when we venture into the modern world.
To distinguish which city we are in, there are different people or things in each one. I live in East City, where there are neither nobles nor slaves. It is in between both North City (nobles) and South City (slaves). We have only free people who work to earn money and play to have fun. Nobles get luxury and slaves only get work. We get both, which is why I like it here best. West City was destroyed long ago. It held mammals, birds, and fish. They say it used to be paradise, but now it is just a mound of ashes and dust. No one speaks of it anymore.
I have an older sister, Kimika, and a younger brother, Kan. I live in a hut with my siblings and parents. My father is a goldsmith, and my mother spins thread. Kimika dances and Kan is still too young for a job, as he is only seven years old. He goes to school with the other children. I am a mountain climber who looks into the modern world for food in times of need. I am thirteen years old, a lucky number in the Coves. Kimika is sixteen. I love my family.
Today there is going to be a big announcement for East City and South City from North City. As we gather near the loudspeakers with the others, I ask Kimika and Father if they know anything about the announcement. Father says that it is not going to be a joyful one. I turn grim like Father. Kan begs to know why the rest of us are not happy, and Father is fearful that he may cry, so he does not tell him. Mother quiets Kan by giving him chocolate. Kan will do anything for chocolate. It is his biggest weakness.
It is nearly time for the announcement. We inch closer to the loudspeakers. They are usually used for the daily news from other cities or special events coming up. They rarely use them for announcements like these. It must be urgent.
The speakers are turning on, along with a huge screen that I didn’t even notice was there. The earsplitting sound that the speakers emit deafens us for two seconds, but it slowly fades away. I now know the real power of the speakers, for I usually listen to the daily news from home or while I am on errands for my mother, usually a good distance away from the speakers. I back away from the speakers, toward Mother and Kan. Kan is still sucking on his chocolate. Chocoholic, I think.
A voice rumbles from the loudspeaker. It greets us, and then tells us some daily news. After that is over, the voice turns to the matter at hand, which the chief is going to tell us about. It is about the West City. That is all Kan and I understand. They talk in English, the modern language which is learnt only after the age of fifteen. My parents and Kimika’s faces tell me that something bad is happening there. Kan starts begging again now that his chocolate time is over. He is disrupting the announcement and people are staring. I find a small chocolate in my pocket and shove it into Kan’s mouth. He calms immediately.
We slowly walk home, Kan and I not sure why we are so silent. Kimika and my parents keep glancing at me. I suspect I am part of this. I quietly ask Mother what the announcement was about. When she doesn’t answer, I decide to ask Father when we arrive home. The closer we get to home, the more I feel like I am splitting in two. One part of me is itching to know what the loudspeakers said, while the other doesn’t really want to know. The West City is a dangerous place. What does the North City want with it? What if they are doing a bad thing? I realize that Father is wise, and he will know what to do. I start to feel a little less queasy.
When we get to our hut, Father calls a family meeting. He sits on his wooden stool while the rest of us slide onto straw mats on the floor. Father sits quietly for a moment, and then speaks. He tells us exactly what the speaker said, and then tells us the meaning. This is what it means: the West City is collecting ash and dust that is still falling from the volcano that erupted and destroyed everything ten years ago. If this keeps up for another three years, all the cities, including East City, will be covered in a thick layer of ash and dust. No one will be able to breathe, and the entire population of the Sacred Coves will be wiped out. I shudder at the thought of an empty and dirty Sacred Coves.
Somebody has to go and clean it up and dump everything into the ocean so it would sink to the bottom. Slaves were too weak to do it; I could understand that; but apparently, North City people were too perfect and important, so they can’t go to clean it up. That leaves East City people to do the job. Even better, thirteen year-olds have to do the job because they are the lucky number age. I’m thirteen.
I want to scream and run to North City and strangle the chief until he dies. I want to run down to South City and train them until they are strong enough to go with us. I want to do things that won’t isolate East City.
But I can’t do any of those things. So I cry. I weep. I sob. I bawl and wail. I yell and squawk at North City. I hope they hear it. I plead to South City. I beg to them as Kan begs for chocolate. I hope they hear it.
Kimika and Mother have to drag me to my bed and sing me to sleep. Father is left to console Kan, who is also crying. I hope he is okay when I wake up. I dream about North City while I sleep. I dream about the luxury and how they never have work to do. I dream about South City and how they always have work and no pleasure or luxury. I want to burst out crying again for them, but I resist.
When I wake up, Kan is coloring with crayons on parchment paper while Kimika is practicing her dancing. Mother and Father are pleasure reading. It is quiet except for Kan’s paper scratching and the occasional thump on the floor from Kimika.
When Kimika notices I have woken up, she comes over and sits next to me. Together we silently share a large bowl of nikujaga, meat and potatoes. It has the wonderful flavor I cherish when I am sick or sad. Mother rarely ever makes it. Then Kimika and I read comics and play a card game. It makes me feel much better.
I go over to Father and snuggle with him. He puts his arm around me. I accept the welcoming gesture and shuffle closer to him and his warmth. He soothes me, and then tells me that news had arrived while I was sleeping. I become alert and listen closely. Father says that I will have to go to West City the day after tomorrow. North City will provide masks, gloves, bags, and shovels, but we will have to do the dirty work. They will also provide food and water which we have to keep as clean as possible. We have to stay at West City for as long as needed with only one break if we are not done by one year.
Father says I should get plenty of rest because they only give us five hours of rest a day at West City. I go back to sleep.
It is time for me to leave on the train. Kan gives me a picture he had colored with crayons, and a chocolate; something he had never done before. We are all staring at him; he blushes. Kimika is putting on a little recital for me; it is wonderful. Mother hands me a suit she spun to wear at West City. It will help keep the dry air from getting to my skin. I hug her tightly. Then I turn to Father. He has nothing to give me except a small gold pin shaped like a heart that he had carved, and a giant hug. It turns into a family hug, with me in the middle. I pin the token Father gave me onto the suit Mother gave me. I give everybody one last hug and climb onto the train.
It is luxurious; North City is fattening us up like pigs before eating them. Many other thirteen year olds are on the train with me. But they will never be enough as my family.
I take one last look at my family and wave.
Family is love.
Family is power.
Family is what keeps me going.