It is that day of the month to honour the fallen, Derek ran out of his bedroom to feel the sunset through the tiny shield glasses of arakis spaceship, an habit that doesn't seem to grow old. Standing outside and watching the new day began the memories of the past brushed through his mind, It has been more than a decade since what is left of humanity is confined within the safe harbour El arakis ever since war broke out on earth about 48 years ago, ravaging every conner of the earth till there was no where safe for humans and the few survivals had to seek refuge with their alien neighbours in a different universe not known to mankind until now.
With many dead and few homeless were left to scavenge for scraps as the long cold war doesn't seem to leave anything behind apart from rotten corpses and shattered bricks. We hop around like kangaroos in games of hide and seek unable to tell the difference between the day and night due to smokes that originate from nuclear chemicals clouding the sky and making it difficult to breath.
The few survivals have become victims of plagues caused by chemical waste, leaving a piled up corpses of both adult and children for the vultures to feast upon, they never seem to run out of meal, There are no much animals left these days, gone are those days when animals where raised as pet but things have changed humans now hunt and kill any form of living object they could lay their hands on.
Every day seems the same, Derek and his family are always on the lookout. Taking turns in watching their neighbours who has suddenly grown apatite for human flesh as there was nothing left to eat. They patrol every walls from morning till night looking for any opportunity to steal from others loots, they go about with cutlass and knives knowing that no one would willingly give up their loots without a bloody fight.This act of endangering each others lives has further reduced the population of humans.
Few elite left have isolated themselves at the capital, a city barricaded with iron bars and electric fence, boldly written on it Do not touch, beware of electric fence few survivals who are incapable of tolerating their new found reality, have made their way to the electric fence to meet their end. Not like it matters to those who live within the protective walls, it is a source of entertainment to watch humans like them labelled as nomads roam about their perimeters in search for food.
Derek grew up without the ability to hear, he was born when the war just began, due to the sounds of the battling armoured tanks, cannons and high frequency nuclear weapons must have irritated his hearing or probably his mother inhaled some of the airborne chemicals, she wouldn't know for sure since there were no more doctors around to confirm the origin of his disability. Derek's Dad, Alejandro never allowed him go beyond the walls of their cave, he was terrified of their neighbours who would gladly prey on an innocent child for food.
They were days when Derek's curiosity of the world beyond clouds his judgement, he would secretly climb above the wall to watch the sunset but Alejandro's (Derek's father) voice would be the nicest thing he would hear following by lashes on his buttocks.
"Derek get over here, while I'm asking nicely", those were Alejandro's words never seem to change, it is like a signature tune of his.
He has never seen his father smile, his face has this elongated expression, his side eye is enough to send chills down Derek's throat. Alejandro was the giant of the family keeping their notorious neighbours at bay till he became ill, It got so bad that he was unable to move. The infamous giant slowly became a shadow of himself, Derek's older brothers had no choice but to step up and take over their father's duties it was hard at first but eventually they got better at it. There neighbours tried for awhile to take advantage of their situation but only few of them escaped alive to tell the tales.
Few months passed but Alejandro doesn't seem to be getting better. Their mum, Allen got worried despite being aware of the cure but the ingredients doesn't seem to come easy especially the most important one that can only be gotten from the capital, knowing the fate of anyone that tries to get close, Allen kept quiet about the cure, she wouldn't want to give anyone of her children the wrong idea. She was aware of their profound love for their father and they wouldn't mind getting electrocuted just to get their hands on the ingredients needed for the cure.
As Alejandro sickness worsen, Derek's hearing abilities began to return, first thing he heard was the sound of a cricket, it sounded so fainted but he was sure he heard it. Ran to Allen to inform her about his new found abilities, Derek was shocked when he noticed something on his mother's face, something he hasn't seen for years, it was a smile, she must have been so happy. His dad winked at him to acknowledge he heard the good news but he could barely say few words. Weeks got by and Derek's hearing improved greatly, with his disability gone, he can finally hunt with his siblings it was tough at first but the lessons from the hunt was worth it.
The silence remain, No one said anything about the cure, till one Faithful night. Derek heard his Mom and dad whispering, an habit they have gotten really good at but not a match for Derek's new found hearing ability. They discussed vividly about how good Derek has gotten in hunting and performing his responsibilities. He could hear allen whisper to his father "if only you weren't ill you could have taught him few survival skills".
Alejandro replied with a fainted smile and said, "that would only be possible if I could get my hands on the needed ingredients at the loading dock behind the capital".
Allen sighed with tears rolling down her chins "if only that were possible".
Derek couldn't wait till sunset before he made his way out of their cave and ran towards the capital like his life depended on it. It was easy for him to navigate through the waste land due to his limited height, how tall could a 14 years old boy be, just few feets from the ground. Finding his way into the capital by getting under a loading truck. "Oh, it was easier than I imagined, he complimented himself.
Navigated his way to the loading dock, stach the ingredients in his jacket and waited till night before he sort his way out. Immediately it was dark, Derek disguised himself as an officer made his way to the gate till he finally got out. That was easy till he was detected by the motion censors setting off the perimeter alarm and guns were set ablaze at his tail, Derek was shot at like an escaped convict and he ran like deer.
He could hear the guards screaming "the intruder has a sack of hibiscus flower in his jacket". Hibiscus!! He exclaimed, what the hell does that mean?
Derek made his way up to a hill, before a bullet greased his neck and he rolled down lifelessly down the hill. I was so close, at least a bullet is better than being electrocuted, those were Derek's last thought before his breath faded.
"You better keep those eyes open, how dare you steal from the capital alone", Derek jotted back to reality feeling all bruised up, he recognise that voice, it belongs to his old man Alejandro. This is definitely not heaven no Angel could sound so grumpy. "I guess they must have found me before the guards did", He whispered to himself.
Oh!! Hibiscus flower that is what the ingredient is called, thankfully it was worth it", he murmured. He faked being asleep, he couldn't afford to face his angry father who has finally gotten back on his feet due to Derek's heroic act, "it is comforting to know I'm grounded for life", he chuckled.
The war days are finally over, to honour the dead, a dry hibiscus flower is kept beside Derek's father photo frame,. Alejandro who died few years after they arrived in El arakis, till his last last days, he never stopped yearning for earth, the memories of the good old days must have been too painful to let go.
This write-up was inspired by dreemport challenge in collaboration with #ScholarandScribe community.
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