Special

Two days before her Baptism the boy at the top of the wall convinced Selia to run away. No one ever left the Farm, but it wasn't because they couldn't. Everything a person could possibly want existed within a scant three square miles. Daily they ate Mana, exercised, read from the books in the library, and raised their large families in peace. The people of the Farm were special, and Selia just knew for sure the Gods loved her because of it.

 The Farm existed for those of common blood that held the potential to have special abilities. Every four months the children of a certain age partook in a baptism ceremony held by the Nobles beyond the wall. Two were selected to stay, and the rest were chosen to fulfill their divine purpose beyond the wall. Some became elite soldiers; others served in the Nobles' temple and channeled the divinity of the Gods. Every child that made it to their eighth birthday was destined for a special purpose.

Selia took the Noble boy's hand and allowed him to hoist her the rest of the way up the wall. From this vantage point she could see all of the Farm in one view. Below tiny houses clustered together reached from end to end while people bustled about completing their daily prescribed tasks. There had been no vegetation at the Farm in many generations, not like the lush green countryside of the Noble's land she had seen in books, but the Farm did not need such things. All the sustenance they could possibly want came in Mana supplied weekly by the Nobles.

On the opposite side of the wall a thick forest obscured the ground below. Seeing so much green in one place took her breath away. The Noble boy smiled and took her hand, leading her down a crude rope ladder that descended into the depths of the forest.

“What's your name?” the Noble boy asked. A light breeze cooled by the forest's shadows tousled his golden hair as he spoke.

“Selia. What's yours?”

“I'm Archduke Mandris of Canrelone, you can just call me Manny though, okay? Quick, put on this dress and don't let anyone see your mark. You don't want the other Nobles to know you're special just yet.” Manny had thought of everything!

 Selia marveled at the rich blue fabric in her hands. He politely turned around while she shimmed out of her shift and into the blue dress. She twirled in delight, watching as the blue shimmered in the shadows with each step. Manny carefully brushed her long tangled mane and worked it into one perfect plait.

“There, now you look just like a Noble too. Let's go play.” Manny dashed through the trees with his laughter echoing into the depths. 

Selia gave chase and found she was much faster than he was by far. By the time the forest path opened into the edges of the capitol city Manny stood doubled over trying to catch his breath.

“Why can't you run good?” Selia asked. She supported his weight and helped him sit to catch his breath.

“I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm not special. I don't have to exercise everyday like you do.” His words came in strangled gasps. She couldn't help but notice just how much smaller and thinner Manny was than her.

“How old are you?” Selia guessed he was maybe a year or so younger than her.

“I'll be 14 next week.”

“14!” Selia clamped her hands over her mouth in surprise. Manny was so tiny, almost a full head shorter than herself, but already so much older.

“Since I'm not special I don't get the Mana that makes you big and strong.”

“I wish you were special too so you could live on the Farm. When I get Baptized on Friday I really hope they choose me to stay. I think I will miss the Farm too much if I get sent to the Barracks or the Temple.”

Manny started to laugh. Selia wasn't really sure why any of that was funny, but maybe it was simply because Manny didn't understand how great the Farm was.

“I know I should be happy to be chosen. Everyone else is.”

“I think happy is not something anyone can control. You're happy because you know what you like. I'm happy because I know what I like too. Come on, I wanna show you something.” 

Manny grasped her hand again and pulled her deep into the Capitol. Nobles dressed in brightly colored fabrics bustled around a place filled with stalls of people shouting in front of different sized boxes and baskets.

“What is this place?”

“It's a market. This is where Nobles sell things to other Nobles for money.”

“Money?”

“Yeah, that's what you use to buy things. Special people don't need money though. They get whatever they want without it at the Farm. You're lucky.”

Selia's heart swelled. She really was so lucky to be from the Farm. She lost herself to the noise of the market, the scents of foods that smelled very different from Mana, almost savory in a way that Selia couldn't quite describe.

“High Quality Mana, buy it by the bushel!” someone shouted in the distance.

“Oh, Mana, let's get some. I'm hungry.” Selia tugged on Manny's shirt.

“No, Mana isn't for Nobles to eat. Wanna see how it's made though?”

She leapt at the chance to see something no one from the Farm had never seen before. The Mana stall was manned by a short, rotund fellow with a grizzled beard that hung well past his belt.

“Well met, sir Archduke. Are you here to place an order?”

“Not today, Mr. Hallan. Today I just wanted to show my new friend around a little bit.”

The man Selia then knew as Mr. Hallan seemed visibly shaken by her sudden appearance.

“Oh, I see. Well-” Mr. Hallan hesitated. “Right this way.”

The Mana factory adjacent to the stall was a much larger building than the rest. Red bricks reached the heavens, ending in a series of smoke stacks belching blackness into the air. Inside smelled sour and slightly acrid.

“Here is where they get the base for the Mana.” Selia peered through a large window and watched as three men poured a vat of red sludge and bone into a smoldering cauldron. Mana didn't really seem quite so appetizing anymore.

“Is this really where Mana comes from? It stinks!”

“It does at first, but once it's cooked it smells wonderful. Come here, watch this.”

Manny urged her to follow faster. In another room a group of women carefully measured cups of powder from sacks and poured it into the Mana mixture. They worked the mixture with large wooden paddles until it formed a dough.

“What's that?”

“Oh, it's everything. Vitamins, antibiotics to keep the special people from getting sick, even some things in there to make them stronger, bulkier, and taller.”

“Wow, the Nobles take such good care of us!” Selia marveled.

She watched the dough pass through a machine that baked the mixture into perfect squares. The result at the other end was the Mana she had known all her life.

“It looks so gross at first, but so good at the end.”

Selia heard her stomach growl. This was a sound she had never heard her stomach make before. This was the first day in her entire life she did not eat at the prescribed feeding time. In the Farm there was no such thing as hunger.

“My stomach made a noise. Is there something wrong with me?”

“No” Manny laughed. “You're just hungry. Come on, let's get something to eat.” Selia followed him out of the factory, winding through a maze of different stalls selling everything from fabric and artwork, to glittering rocks made into the shapes of things she didn't recognize. She hesitated when a particular one made of clear pink stones caught her eye.

“Oh, that's a flower hair pin. Do you like it?”

Selia nodded. Manny fished a gold disc from his pocket and handed it to the woman in the stall and placed the hairpin in her hair. The disc must have been the money Manny talked about. Selia wished she could have taken it out of her hair to admire it, but she didn't dare move the gift from exactly where Manny put it.

“Thank you! I can't wait to show it to my sisters when I get back home.”

Manny grunted and urged her along. Rich aromas wafted in the smoky air, causing Selia's stomach to rumble even more. This must be the food of Nobles, she thought to herself. Manny instructed her to sit on a nearby bench while he traded a handful more coins for two sticks of food.

“Try this. You'll love it. It's usually only for special occasions. Today, though, I am celebrating meeting a new friend."

Selia smelled the food on the stick, tasted its newness. This was firmer and chewier than Mana, but had a similar smell as if maybe it was made from the same thing. After the first bite she was sold.

“This is SO good! What is it?”

Manny smiled widely. “You really like it? This is called Grade A. My birthday is coming up next week and my mother said I could have as much Grade A as I want for my party. I really hope you will be at my party too.”

“I wouldn't miss it for the world, but--” Selia stopped. She was supposed to be Baptized before then. “Maybe if I get sent to the temple when I'm Baptized they will let me come.”

“Oh, I have a feeling no matter what you'll be there.” Manny nodded and took another bite of his Grade A.

Selia ate until she couldn't fit in another bite. She wasn't about to let what remained on the stick go to waste though. She tucked the remainder in the belt of her dress carefully saving it to share with her brothers and sisters back home when she came back. With a full belly and the sun slowly sinking behind the buildings around her, Selia knew it was time to go back to the Farm.

“I think I need to go back home now, Manny. My parents are already going to be pretty cross with me for going missing all day.”

“Wait!” Manny clasped a hand around her wrist, holding it a little too hard. 

“No, Manny, I have to go home.” Selia tugged, but Manny wouldn't relinquish his grip.

“Please.”

Manny only tightened his grip, dragging her as best he could until they reached a dark corner of the market. Roughly Manny shoved her through an iron door and slammed it shut behind her.

“We’re being followed. Wait here for me. I will be back to save you.” Manny whispered through the door. “Just sit tight, okay?”

Selia nodded in the darkness, feeling her heart pounding against her chest. The hem of her beautiful blue dress soaked up water from the floor bringing a chill that roused gooseflesh across her arms. 

“It’s cold, don’t be too long.” she spoke in a forced whisper.

She didn’t want to give away her hiding spot to whomever was following her. The world outside of the Farm was a dangerous place for the special ones like her. Her mind tumbled, imagining all the evil sorts of things a person might do to someone with abilities. She waited for Manny’s response but was met with only the heavy thudding of her heart roaring in her ears. 

Selia had no idea how much time passed in the dark room. Her eyes adjusted to the lack of light only enough to see the sliver of sunlight rise and fall past the crack of the iron door. Somewhere in the room water dripped against the brick floor, slapping at irregular intervals. The sound of water was the only thing that broke the silence of the room.

At times she passed her fingertips over the hairpin still affixed to her disheveled braid.

Feeling Manny’s gift eased the panic that welled up inside her. Manny would be back soon. She just had to wait patiently for him to save her. 

Sometimes she spoke the incantations calling forth her hidden abilities. "I'm special, I just know I'm special." She had always imagined when her abilities came she would feel the electrical call of the Divinity washing over her. She felt something, but it certainly wasn’t Divinity. Instead Selia felt the edges of panic spreading through her, a tingling heat that began in the pit of her stomach and wound through her sweating palms. What if she was defective? What if the Gods did not think she was special enough to serve Them?

Suddenly she heard the sounds of wailing outside the iron door. A flood of light burst through, blinding her. She felt bodies forced in all around her. The door shut again which only amplified the frightened cries of children that now joined her.

“Selia? Is that you?” someone sniffled in the darkness.

She turned around and found herself face to face with one of her sisters from the Farm dressed in the white muslin gown of Baptism.

“Lissa? Is this everyone from the Farm?” Selia tried to make sense of the chaos.

She could make out more familiar faces, all children dressed in Baptism gowns from the Farm.

“Why aren't you at the barracks, or the Temple?”

“I don't know. We walked through the gates and were immediately tied together and made to walk here. No one knows what's going on.” Lissa's voice cracked. 

Over time the crying quieted to the occasional sniffle and the children huddled together in the darkness for the barest semblance of comfort. Selia heard a boy that used to live two houses down crying in hunger and offered him the very last of the Grade A she had been rationing. He greedily snatched it from her hands and disappeared into the darkness.

The light from the bottom of the door had just begun to fade when Selia heard a familiar voice outside. A panel slid across the top of the iron door, letting in just enough light to see the room from wall to wall, but not enough to see any detail. Manny's face peered in through the door and smiled before Mr. Hallan joined him

“As you can see, your Farm really does produce the best Grade A livestock. Have you decided which one you would like to have for your birthday celebration, Archduke sir?”

“The one in the blue dress.” Manny pointed at her through the panel and smiled.

“Oh, dear, Archbishop. I see you have been playing with your food again. That is terribly impolite.”

“It's just livestock. They're stupid anyway. You know those fools actually believe they're special? I guess whatever keeps the beasts from running away, right? But yes, I want that one. Have her processed immediately, and

donate the waste to the Mana factory.”

“Your benevolence will be greatly rewarded in heaven, good sir.” Mr. Hallan replied gently.

Selia tore the hairpin gift from her hair and threw it to her feet. Tiny pink stones skittered across the brick like falling stars reflecting the barest hints of light. 

“Let me out of here or I will call the Divinity of the Gods down on you!” she shouted over the rising cries of the children around her. Manny gave a toothy smile, wide, too wide, and laughed over the shrieking.

“Do it, call to your so-called Gods. If you are as special as you claim to be I will let you all go free.”

He motioned to Mr. Hallan and the large man made his way into the room toward Selia. Never in her life had she ever doubted the Gods, or that she was special, until that very moment. 

“No, Manny, help! I thought we were friends!”

Tears welled in her eyes, making it difficult to see anything around her. Mr. Hallan’s shadow passed over her as she shrank against the wall and crumpled to the wet brick floor. Selia closed her eyes and made one last prayer to the Gods with her hands outstretched to the unseen heavens beyond her fingertips.

The greatest lie was not that Manny was her friend, or even that the Nobles took care of the people from the Farm out of generosity. The greatest lie of all was the belief that she was special and the Gods loved her. 

“Gods? Do you hear me?” she pleaded.

The silence gave her all the answers she needed in her final moments.