The two girls looked out over the hills and clouds, the long shadows creeping over the grass. Evening was approaching.
“Have you ever tried to escape?” Sasha’s bright blue eyes were wide, innocent. She looked towards her older sister, her dark hair spilling over her shoulders.
Lina stood staring out at the horizon and said nothing. The moment her parents saw the wispy, white-blond curls sprouting from her scalp, they had shaved it all off. Likewise, her warm brown eyes were scorned among the community. Dark hair and light eyes were cherished, and Lina hadn’t been blessed with either. “Once,” she said, then bit her lower lip like she was afraid of elaborating.
Sasha’s eyes were soft but insistent. “What happened?”
Lina traced the long white scars that had wrapped around her scalp since childhood. “I didn’t make it,” she said bitterly.
She only grew aware of the tear on her cheek when Sasha brushed it away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry.” She was too sweet; it angered Lina, the way they would twist the sweetness, use it, turn it into something rotten.
Lina just shook her head, wiping at her eyes impatiently. “No,” she protested to her sister, her voice thick, “I’m stronger than this.” It wasn’t clear who she was talking to — Sasha, herself, or just to the soft breeze that swept through the…
