Lewis laid in his large bed, staring at the blank ceiling. Through a tall window, stray beams of sun filled the room with a warm glow. As the light rolled across his eyes, Lewis sighed and sat up. He dropped his head in his hands and groaned before looking out the bright window. His eyes re-focused on the barren sky that faded into view. He turned his attention to the wall-clock opposite to the window. Noticing the time Lewis jumped up and rushed to change into a casual brown suit before and running out of the bedroom.
Lewis quickly descended down the grand set of stairs, entering the front entrance of the manor. Below, a few of his family’s servants were waiting for him. Lewis’s personal butler, Claude, stepped forward.
“Master Lewis, might I ask, are you positive you’d like to come along to the Vie district? Though it’s not as filthy as Mort, there are still many peasants. I’m sure your parents would prefer you not associate with them.” Lewis stepped off the stairs, slinging a cracked leather coat over his shoulder. He rolled his eyes, letting out a huff of amusement.
“I’m tired of being cooped up here.” Lewis groaned as he walked passed the group of maids. “I’m twenty. Soon, I’m going to inherit this manor, and I don’t know what I’m going to do with my life.” Claude quickly stepped forward to open the door for Lewis as he exited. Outside, a large clockwork operated carriage was waiting for them. The butler opened the carriage door as Lewis climbed inside.  Claude followed after with the four maids. The carriage puffed to life, and rolled out of the driveway.
Lewis watched the district of Paradis pass by outside of the circular window. The grand, white manors with their gold colored roofs, the fancy street lamps that lined the driveways. He sighed and turned his attention to the Paradis wall, which they slowly approached. Lewis’s jaw slacked as he gazed in awe at the concrete and stone structure, which seemed to grow taller, the closer their carriage drove. 
At the gate, Claude stuck his head out the window to pay a toll and give ID. As they passed through the wall’s twenty foot wide tunnel, the golden glow of Paradis faded and they entered the middle district of Isolé. Lewis’s interest spiked, and his eyes were now glued to the city outside his tiny window. Some of the maids giggled at his excitement, but he ignored it. The buildings were so much simpler here. There were no marble pillars or statues.
“Claude, is this where you came from?” Lewis said, his eyes still glued to the window.
Claude chuckled.“Well it’s certainly not as fancy as Paradis.”
“Oh, but it’s so quaint and simple.”
Claude raised an eyebrow at his master’s remark.
The carriage came to a stop when they reached the heart of Vie’s district. The maids exited first and all went different directions with their baskets to collect the shopping. Lewis was ready to leave when Claude’s voice stopped him.
“Young Master, please stay close to me while-”
“Claude, I’m an adult.” Lewis interrupted as he hopped out of the carriage. “I don’t need a babysitter.” He walked away without turning back to his worried butler.
“No, Master, please-” Claude spoke quickly, slightly panicked. “Ugh, at least return here by noon!” He sighed.
Lewis dismissively waved a hand in the air as he disappeared in the crowd. He casually walked around, visiting different shops. Every time one of the shop keepers found out he was a visiting Paradisian, they seemed to become either exited or amazed. At one of the shops, Lewis came across  an odd object, which the seller called a mono-goggle. Appearing to be a mesh between goggles and an eyepatch, Lewis asked what the purpose of this product was. The man said it was to enhance vision at night. Lewis didn’t buy the story, but he bought the mono-goggle, simply fascinated with its design. The morning grew longer and noon was around the corner. Lewis was walking down the street, heading back to where he was supposed to meet back with Claude, but a crowd caught his attention. Through the ominous silence of the bystanders, inaudible yelling and screaming rose. As Lewis walked closer, he could hear a raspy voice.
“Please! Don’t take me to that death city!”
Lewis pushed his way through the frightened crowd. In the small clearing, he watched as two masked men in uniform dragged an older man away. Lewis easily recognized the two as the police that stopped by his manor once every week. The enforcers of Isolé, the Watchers. Ever since he was a child, these ‘men’ always struck some fear in him.
“How awful,” a woman whispered next to him.
Lewis turned to her. She watched the scene, she rested her chin on her balled fist. Concern washed over her features.
“What’s going on here?” Lewis asked.
Without turning towards him, the women said, “When you’re homeless, you’re thrown into Mort. It doesn't happen to often, but when it does-”
The old man getting dragged away, now much further, yelled once more for help before they disappeared behind the crowd.
“It’s just terrible to watch.” The women turned and briskly walked in the other direction.
Lewis couldn’t take his eyes off where the scene had taken place. Slowly, he reached into his pocket to feel the remaining gold coins.
The sun was now suspended near the middle of the sky. Lewis walked aimlessly around the city, looking for his carriage. The streets grew busier, so he wound up trying to cut through the labyrinth of alleyways. His annoyance grew after what seemed like hours, and he slammed a fist on the side of one of the brick buildings.
“Damn it!” he cursed, letting his head drop in frustration.
“Well, you look like crap,” A female voice caught his attention. He snapped his head around as he looked for her.
“Can you help me? I’ve lost my way.” His eyes landed on the shadow of a figure, sitting further down the alley. He slowly made his way towards her. The girl laughed as she came into view. Her ragged clothes and dirty face were what made Lewis stop.
“You’re a homeless…” Lewis looked down at the girl, his eyes wide with shock. He took a step back, as if trying to form a barrier between them. She tisked and spat to the side.“You must be from Paradis then,” Her voice was low and harsh, filled with discontent.
Lewis’s hand twitched and tightened into a ball.
“I heard that Paradis kids usually don’t get to leave their district until they’re over thirty. Why the hell are you here?” She chuckled.
“You look to be younger than I am. The question is mutual.” He said, crossing his arms with a satisfied smirk.
The girl rolled her eyes. “I’m here because some of us don’t have a choice!” She snapped, jumping to her feet. “You Paradisians get everything from the moment you’re born, while some are stuck with the struggle of trying to maintain a good life for ourselves, you know? All the while, we’re also working to provide for the first class just because you’re higher than we are!”
Lewis gulped, nervously staring down at the surprisingly short rag-doll of a girl; her eyes were wide with rage, but tears had formed as well. The girl sighed, breaking her eyes away from his. She sat back down on her flattened box pile and covered her knees with the ripped blanket.
Lewis gulped down the shock in his throat, and decided to change the subject. “What’s your name?”
“Callie.”
Lewis looked around before reaching in his pocket. He pulled out three gold coins and dropped in her pan.
She looked at them, shocked.“Dude, isn’t it illegal?”
Lewis lowered his head. “My inheritance ceremony is in a few weeks anyways.”
Callie chuckled, picking up one of the coins to examine its shiny surface. “That’s a hell of a risk, you know?”
Lewis cringed at her words.“Must you use such fowl language all the time?”
“Must you sound so posh?” She said, mocking Lewis’s Paradisian accent.
Lewis opened his mouth.
“You said you were lost, yeah?”
Lewis nodded. “I believe my carriage was parked in ‘Main Square’.”
“Ah, the Main is actually just ahead. Go straight and take a right.” Callie said with a smirk.
Lewis thanked her and briskly walked away.

Lewis sighed, relieved when he saw the carriage ahead, but his relief drained when he saw an angry Claude standing next to it, impatiently tapping his foot.
“Sorry Claude. I found myself a bit lost.”
Claude sighed, opening the door for Lewis.“It’s fine, young Master. I’ve sent the maids out about fourty minutes ago to search for you. They should be back in twenty.”  Claude shut the door. As he did, one of the maids approached with a slightly scared look of concern.
“Um, Claude…” Her voice was quiet.
“What is it?” She gestured for him to bend down, and she whispered something in his ear.
Claude gasped. “Really?”
She nodded. Claude’s eyes flicked back at the carriage where Lewis sat inside. “I’ll inform the higher Masters upon our return.”
    As the carriage pulled into the driveway,  Lewis couldn't get his mind off of Callie or the homeless man getting dragged away. When Claude opened the carriage door, Lewis stepped down and walked past the butler without a second glance.
    The next day, Lewis was up early once again. The maids were getting ready for their trip to the Vie district. Lewis wanted to go along, and this time, his pockets were filled with even more gold. As he headed to the door, his father blocked the path.
    “Morning, father.” Lewis tried to step around the larger man. His father blocked the path again. Lewis looked pasted and saw the carriage pulling away. His fingers twitched and tightened into a fist.
    “Where do you think you’re off to, so early?” Lewis’s father stepped out of the doorframe for Claude to close the doors.
    “I wanted to go with the maids to the Vie district,”
    “Why?”
Lewis nervously slipped his hands in the pockets of his coat. The cold feeling of the small gold coins shifted. “It’s fascinating, all the different houses and people-”
His father lunged forward, grabbing Lewis’s wrist.  He yanked it out of the coat, causing a few of the gold coins to fly out and tumble onto the marble floor. Lewis’s eyes widened, and he flicked his worried gaze up at his enraged father.“This is far more than your monthly allowance. Where did you get this‽”
Lewis didn’t say anything. A bead of sweat dripped down his forehead. His father’s face reddened, and the iron grip on his wrist slowly became sore.
    “Lew,” A sweet voice said from behind him. Lewis snapped his head around to see his mother, picking up the fallen gold coins.
“What were you thinking...” she said quietly.
Lewis felt his heart skip a beat. “W-wait a minute.”
Hearing the tremble in his son’s voice, Lewis’s father sighed and turned towards Claude. “Call the watchers.”
As the butler started walking away, Lewis’s mother stopped him.“No. Don’t call them... They’ll just take him outside the walls.”
Lewis’ father shot her a glare. “Well, then what do you suggest we do, women?”
A silence fell over the room. The world felt as though it stood still that moment.
“Let him work his way back up the ladder,” She finally said.
Confused, Lewis looked at his father, then back at his mother, hoping for an answer.
His father dropped Lewis’ wrist and held out a hand. “Give me all your gold.”
Lewis reluctantly began emptying his pockets.
“Our hard earned fortune is not to be shared with such low classes.”
Lewis’s fist tensed and he slammed the gold down in his father’s hand. A few more coins fell to the floor.
“You inherited your fortune, Father. Stop pretending you’re such a hard worker!”
His father straightened his back, towering over the younger man. “Silence, you ignorant child! Return once you've learned to appreciate what you have!” His father grabbed the collar of Lewis’s coat and dragged him to the door.
Claude quickly jumped forward, opening the door for the enraged man.
    “Lew!-” His mother’s voice was cut off when his father slammed the door behind them and pushed Lewis onto the pavement.
“Go join the people you want to ‘help’ so badly. You’ll be crawling back within a week once you’ve learned to appreciate the life you had. Until then, you are no longer a part of this family.” His father crossed his arms as Lewis stood up. He dusted the gravel from his clothes, glaring at his father who disappeared back into the house. Slowly, Lewis turned and walked down the driveway towards the shining, open gates. Gears churned as the gate began to close when he passed through. Lewis stopped to look back at the manor just as the golden bars snapped shut.