Alma Rossa // District II // wip

Alma Rossa stands at the foot of the Career centre, her gaze fixated on the front door as the sun set below the outline of distant buildings and mining machines, columns of smoke rising against the golden sky like scratchings of charcol. She barely spares a gaze at the setting sun, she is waiting for someone and has no time to think trivial thoughts about the sunset, think how beautiful it was; she was waiting and had been for a very long time.

Her parents had seen her birth in the flames, and perhaps their parents had seen it too. They had seen that their child would be special, the fire had talked to them and said that their child would bring them great pride; they would do something great and best of all, they would have the gift but the lord of light did not promise them a girl. When they found they were expecting, and they looked upon the flames, the lord of light neither promised them girl or boy, but deep down, both thought those messages were boy and so when Alma came into the world, screaming, they were, disapointed.

They knew that a girl would not succeed as a son would have. A son would have provided more food on the table, a son would have proved a sutible career and a son would have meant an heir to carry their name and their legacy; not that their legacy was a legacy at all but the lord of light had promised them a great one and so they believed only a son would bring them that and so they were half tempted to cast her aside to natures way or to the flames to spare her from the night.