Truancy Origins

by Isamu Fukui

  “We got what you asked for, Zyid,” Amal said as he entered the shop and held out a large rolled-up paper.

  Zen smiled. The new name that he had picked for himself didn’t sound normal to him yet, but he didn’t mind the novelty of it. Besides, he was certain that in time his invented name would feel more natural than his given one.

  “Excellent,” Zen said, taking the paper and unfurling it. “How did you manage to obtain it?”

  “We marched right into City Hall and said we were doing research for a school project,” Amal said. “It’s not like they had any reason not to believe us.”

  “You’ve done very well,” Zen said, placing the paper down onto a table. “Take the rest of the day off. I’ll need to see you here tomorrow at eight for another assignment.”

  Amal bowed out of the shop, and as he left Gabriel slipped in through the door to give his first regular report on Enforcer movements. As he approached Zen, his eyes caught the paper that the Truancy leader was inspecting. Gabriel forgot what he was there to do as recognition struck.

  “Say, aren’t those—”

  “The blueprints for our good old District 1 School?” Zen finished without turning around. “Yes, yes they are.”

  “What are they for?”

  “All in good time,” Zen said, rolling the blueprints up again. “These will not be put to use until our friend Rothenberg is removed from the picture.”

  “You’re planning to go after him soon?” Gabriel raised his eyebrows.

  “Oh no.” Zen shook his head. “If my guess is correct and the Mayor has set Rothenberg a deadline, we will not have to. As soon as that deadline expires, or the Mayor loses his patience, Rothenberg will be removed from power, and then the Mayor will finally discover the extent of what he’s been covering up. That’s when our struggle begins in earnest.”

  “What’s Rothenberg been covering up?”

  Zen turned around and cocked his head at Gabriel.

  “The existence of the Truancy, of course. If you were in Rothenberg’s position, would you want the Mayor to know what we’ve been up to?”

  Gabriel knew that the question was rhetorical, and saw no need to answer it. Instead he asked a different one.

  “What do we do until Rothenberg is gone?”

  “We continue to fight him,” Zen replied. “I expect that as he grows increasingly desperate, Rothenberg’s attacks will become more dangerous and reckless. We will make as big a dent in the Enforcers as possible so that they will already have a healthy respect for us when the Mayor inevitably takes over.” Gabriel nodded at that. “Now, I believe you were here to update me about the Enforcers’ daily movements?”

  “Thought you’d never ask. It looks like they’re going to move in numerical order. A massive task force swept District 8 about an hour ago, but our guys got out in time and we didn’t lose anyone,” Gabriel said. “However, some of our patrols in the inhabited districts are reporting that a smaller task force is heading elsewhere, and Frank can’t understand it because it’s not even a district that he expected them to search. We haven’t laid any mines there.”

  “I need to stop putting off that visit to Frank,” Zen muttered. “Which district was he referring to?”

  “District 19.”

  There was a brief moment of silence, and then Zen’s eyes glinted as he barely held back a smile.

  “District 19?” Zen repeated. “I wonder what mad whim sent Rothenberg there. He can search that district all he wants, he won’t find anything. Not even a vagrant would live in that forsaken place.”

  Well, that certainly looks like trouble,” Umasi observed.

  “I wonder why they’re here,” the nameless girl mused. “Do you think they’re after you?”

  Umasi wondered the same thing himself. The two children were crouching atop a District 19 rooftop, looking down at the streets below. Several blocks away they could see a large procession of patrol cars traveling from block to block, with dozens of uniformed Enforcers scrambling around like blue ants. Umasi silently thanked the bright sun for melting the snow that would’ve otherwise left tracks.

  Umasi had only recently been allowed out of bed. For a few days his companion had gently but firmly insisted that he rest, feeding him herself at every meal. Umasi had been somewhat baffled by her kind treatment, but he was grateful and hadn’t thought to protest. He still wondered exactly how much of what he remembered from those delirious days had been real and what hadn’t. Some of it certainly seemed too unlikely to be true.

  “I doubt they know I’m here for sure, but they probably are looking for me or my brother,” Umasi said. “And even if they aren’t, they would love to arrest me anyway . . . unless my father’s given them permission to shoot me on sight.”

  “He might permit it, but I won’t,” his companion said, her crimson gaze fixed on the Enforcers. “We should leave while we can. It looks like they are trying to surround the district.”

  “I’d like to be able to come back when this is all over,” Umasi said uncertainly. “They’re still pretty far from the lemonade stand. We have a good chance of hiding it before they get there.”

  As soon as he suggested it, Umasi felt bad about fussing over such a minor thing when both their lives could be at stake. Still, the stand was precious to him, it was home, and he was sure they could save it in time. Umasi glanced at his companion, who was frowning slightly, but not objecting. Her next word surprised him.

  “Okay,” she said reluctantly.

  Knowing that there was precious little time to waste, the two of them scrambled over to the edge of the building, jumping down onto a series of rusty fire escapes. They ran down the steps and climbed down the metal ladder at the bottom to reach the ground. They then made their way back to the lemonade stand as swiftly as they could.

  Umasi was relieved that he hadn’t made any lemonade for the day, for it took only a quick trip in and out of the apartment to stuff all the paper cups and the pitcher itself into a garbage bag, which he then tossed into a nearby alley where it wouldn’t look out of place. He thought he might’ve heard something crack as he placed the bag down, but now wasn’t the time to make a fuss. The lemonade taken care of, Umasi scrambled to deal with the stand itself.

  Meanwhile, his companion had vanished into the apartment, and by the time he entered to check up on her, he found that any evidence that someone had lived there recently had already been dragged off into the basement or tossed into more garbage bags, which joined the others in the alley. Umasi was glad that he had not bought any furniture for the rickety apartment. All in all, it had taken them less than five frantic minutes to finish the job.

  “They’re almost here,” the albino said, glancing at the end of the street. “Maybe two, three blocks away.”

  “How do you know?” Umasi asked.

  “You just have to listen.”

  Umasi blinked at that, then he paused and allowed his frenzied pulse to steady, shutting his eyes as he strained his ears. To his surprise he found that she was right: there were clearly voices, footsteps, and the low hum of a car engine headed their way.

  “Guess we can’t go back that way,” Umasi muttered. “It’s probably too risky to try to going around them as well. We’ll just have to go the opposite way.”

  “That will take us to District 20.”

  “Yeah,” Umasi nodded. “But I don’t care what district we end up in as long as we get out of here safely.”

  “Well said,” his companion murmured.

  Their minds made up, the two children darted down the street, around the block, and made straight for the nearest barrier separating Districts 19 and 20. Umasi glanced at his companion, who was proving to be a very fast runner, barely breathing hard as her sweater fluttered behind her. It didn’t take them long to reach the wooden barrier, still with no sign of Enforcers in sight. They skidded to a halt just before it, slightly out of breath. They could now hear honking and rumbling and all the other typical sounds of
the City, but none close enough to have come from directly behind the fence. Nonetheless, the nameless girl still eyed the wooden barrier warily.

  “Someone might spot us going over,” she said. “It’s early morning. Students are heading to school now.”

  “That street is never very busy, there probably won’t be anyone around,” Umasi said. “In any case, we have no other—”

  “Shh!” The girl pressed a finger to his lips.

  Umasi was confused for a moment, but then he heard it as well: two voices on the other side of the fence, rapidly approaching. Umasi felt another surge of appreciation for his companion; if he had climbed over, he might’ve dropped right on top of their heads. Umasi was now so intent on listening that as the unseen pedestrians passed by them he caught a snippet of their conversation.

  “ . . . I still don’t get why you’re walking me to school, Dad.”

  “You may be used to going by yourself, but you’re still only thirteen years old. It’s perfectly normal for parents to walk their children at your age.”

  “But why aren’t you at work?”

  There was an uncomfortable pause.

  “The Mayor himself has recently given me a special assignment. I don’t follow a strict schedule anymore.”

  “You mean you got suspended?”

  “No, I did not get suspended,” the voice snapped. “Stop changing the subject. Even if I were not an Educator I would still be your father, and I can walk you to school whether you like it or not.”

  “So are you going to walk Suzie to school too?”

  “She’s still young enough to take the bus, and I think that’s quite enough questions from you for one morning. But since we’re answering questions now, I have a few to ask about your last report card . . . .”

  By this point the voices had already grown so faint that Umasi had to strain to hear them, and their footsteps had also seemed to have faded. His companion, however, remained wary for a few more seconds before finally giving him a nod of approval. Umasi scrambled over to the wooden barrier, using the boards jutting out from it as footholds as he climbed over. He was relieved to land on his feet, and even more relieved to find that the street was indeed empty of people. A moment later, the nameless girl gracefully slid over as well, joining him at his side.

  “We made it,” Umasi said, relieved. “Where do we go now?”

  “I know a place where we can stay,” the pale girl said.

  “You do?” Umasi blinked.

  “Yes,” she said, looking away as though fighting a battle with herself. “This is an odd request, but could you wear both pairs of sunglasses while I lead you?”

  “Both sunglasses?” Umasi repeated.

  “It’ll work like a blindfold, but won’t look so odd.” The albino turned to look at him again. “The place that I’ll be taking you . . . I’ve never shown anyone before.”

  Umasi hesitated, but only for a moment. The request was odd, but he could see that this place, wherever it was, was very important to her. He trusted this girl implicitly, and she hadn’t asked any questions when he wanted to hide his stand. The least he could do was grant her wish for secrecy.

  “All right,” Umasi said, fishing his sunglasses out of his pocket. “Let’s go.”

  His companion’s ruby eyes sparkled as she handed him her pair of sunglasses, which he awkwardly doubled up with his own and slipped onto his face. He soon found that the effect left him nearly blind, though he could vaguely make out the faintest outline of the world around him. He was sure that there was no way he could find his way back even if he tried. The pale girl slid her hand in his and tugged, leading him along.

  The trip through the noisy, live district wasn’t as uncomfortable as it might’ve been, as the albino proved to be a careful and considerate guide. Still, Umasi did manage to bump into things a few times and nearly tripped on the edge of the sidewalk once. He also had the nagging feeling that people around him were staring, even though he couldn’t see them. Eventually, the noises of the City seemed to die away, and Umasi had the feeling that they were now in another abandoned district, though he couldn’t be sure.

  Finally, the girl released his hand, prompting Umasi to reach up and slide both sunglasses off of his face and into his pocket. He found himself looking up at a dirty, run-down brownstone with another rusted fire escape. He glanced at his companion, who merely smiled back and began climbing the metal ladder. Umasi followed suit, thinking that they were headed for the roof. But at the third floor, the girl stepped in through a shattered window. Umasi followed and found himself in a dark room with only faint light from the broken windows to illuminate the rubble strewn about the floor. Umasi felt as though he was traveling through a cave as he followed his guide, who led him over to another window, this one with a rope ladder leading down.

  His guide gracefully descended the ladder, and Umasi followed, not fully paying attention to where he was climbing. But as he hit the ground, he froze, awestruck. They now stood atop the roof of a small building wedged between two taller ones, giving the peculiar impression that he was at the bottom of a valley, with small mountains to each side. All around there were flowerpots filled with soil, and dead vines scaled the walls to either side. Umasi could see the wilted remains of plants that would bloom again in the spring. A few skeletal trees had caught some unmelted snow, which glittered in the pale sunlight.

  While no flowers remained, dozens and dozens of icicles glistened instead, hanging from windowsills above, from tree branches, from every ledge imaginable. These glittering prisms were still in the process of melting, their droplets catching the light like a sparkling rain. Over to one side, a pipe had been broken, the frozen water that had once spewed from it still unmelted, leaving a frothy cascade suspended in the air.

  It was a small slice of paradise in the midst of a City where too much was ugly. But Umasi couldn’t stop himself, despite strenuous effort, from thinking that the most beautiful thing in the garden was the pale girl that stood beside him, outshining all the radiant white around her. With difficulty, Umasi shook himself from his stupor and gave his surroundings a closer inspection, the cold turning his cheeks red.

  He realized that this garden had obviously been used as a dwelling for some time. Rusty pots and pans were stacked among some flowerpots in one corner, and near the broken pipe Umasi could see a washcloth and a bar of soap. Before it had frozen, it had been a shower. Umasi noted that that must be why the pale vagrant had seemed so clean. A bundle of blankets in a corner indicated a bed to him, and though he wasn’t sure where she slept when it rained he guessed that it would be somewhere in the cavernous building that they had passed through.

  “Is this where you’ve lived all these years?” Umasi asked at last.

  “It’s as close a thing to home as I’ll ever have.” The girl nodded. “You’re the first person I’ve ever shown it to.”

  “I’m honored, milady.”

  The albino turned her head to look at Umasi again. She spent several long moments just looking at him, to the point that Umasi began to feel embarrassed. Then a soft breeze flitted through the brick canyon, blowing a few strands of dark hair into Umasi’s eyes.

  “Your hair is getting longer,” she observed.

  “Yeah,” Umasi agreed, flicking the rebellious strands away with one finger. “I haven’t gotten it cut in a while. It’s getting a bit annoying, actually. My brother is the one who likes it long.”

  “If you want, I can cut it for you.”

  “You can?” Umasi asked, looking over at his companion in surprise.

  “I’ve had to cut my own for most of my life,” she reminded him. “A simple bowl cut would work for you, I think, and that wouldn’t be hard to do at all.”

  “How’s that work?”

  “Just as it sounds. May I try it?”

  “Anything you want, milady,” Umasi said, and meant it from the bottom of his heart.

  She smiled at him, and Umasi thought that there was a kn
owing look in her eyes, as though she understood just how deeply he meant what he’d said. Then she was off, rummaging through the neatly arranged pile of old pots and pans until she found one that met her approval. It was a fairly deep pot, and slightly rusty, though it fit Umasi’s head perfectly. Before placing it there, however, the girl first produced a comb and a pair of scissors, and then gently parted Umasi’s hair down the middle so that it framed his face. Then the pot went on, and Umasi soon felt a snipping sensation.

  The girl gently cut off all the hair that protruded from beneath the pot. The dark, severed hairs fell onto Umasi’s shoulders and lap, some even sticking uncomfortably to his neck. By the time the pot was lifted and a small, cracked mirror placed before his eyes, Umasi noted that he had a neat and precise appearance about him that he’d never had before.

  “How do you like it?” she asked, helping him brush off some excess hair from his neck—a simple gesture that sent goose bumps down his body.

  “Much better, thank you,” Umasi said. He stood up to shake the remaining hair from his shoulders.

  “Good.” The girl stretched as she lay down on the bare ground. “Running from the Enforcers made me a bit tired. Take a nap.”

  Umasi hesitated for a moment, then joined her on the ground as bidden. It occurred to him that his spotless clothing might get dirty, but he hadn’t forgotten his days as a vagrant and knew that a little soot wouldn’t do him any harm. Staring up from within the brick canyon, he realized that the sun’s light had already begun to fade; it was neither light nor dark now, but a lukewarm blue. A soft hand sought his, and together the two of them lay there in perfect peace until the light finally vanished, giving way to darkness.

  Only then did Umasi return to his senses, and his hand released its grip as he sat up abruptly.

  “The Enforcers are probably gone by now,” Umasi said. “I wonder if we should go back.”