Huff... Huff... Huff...

  "I'm... I'm exhausted," the words slipped out as I collapsed under the banyan tree. My body felt like it had turned into jelly. I ran, I walked, I jumped, I pulled, I pushed; I practically wrestled with those sheep just to guide them in every direction possible.

  If someone made a heatmap of my movements today, the entire field would probably glow bright red. I’ve been everywhere. Every patch of grass, every stupid little hill.

  At this point, I could probably recognize each of the hundred sheep individually. Maybe I should name them next time. Yeah… that sounds like a good idea.

  Sheph told me to head home for the day as he’d handle the rest of the shepherding. But I couldn’t even move. My stamina bar hit zero. So here I am, resting under this tree while Sheph, that annoying old man, walks among the sheep.

  He isn’t running around like I was. Just walking. Casually. Watching. Sometimes he pauses and just looks at them like he’s trying to read their thoughts. Maybe he’s checking how they’re doing? Or maybe there’s more to this whole shepherding thing than I thought. I don’t know.

  Watching Sheph being ignored by the sheep reminded me of something I hadn’t thought about in years. My parents.

  They were always working on their projects, constantly buried in research or whatever it was they did. Whenever I spoke to them or just hung around, they’d nod absentmindedly with eyes still fixed on their work. It felt... a lot like this. Like how Sheph moves among the sheep. Quiet and unnoticed. Almost invisible to those he’s tending to.

  My parents also ignored me like the sheep are ignoring Sheph. It’s not like they hated me or anything. I don’t even remember them that well. They died when I was barely six. But some memories stuck around. Memories that are faint, it echoes of a past forgotten.

  We used to visit the sea sometimes. My parents called it vacation. I remember the smell of salt in the air, the wind that always made me squint, and the blue that stretched farther than I could see.

  Now that I think about it... they always got permission to go near the sea without any restraints. Normally, everyone has to wear a watch issued by the seaside guards; the SS Guards, as we call them. It tracks your movements. If you try anything illegal, like swimming too far or diving past the line, you’re thrown into prison for three years with labor.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  But... my parents never wore those. Not once. I wonder why…

  I’ll ask Steve if he knows anything about my parents when he’s back. When will he be back anyway?

  Well, whatever. I should head home for now.

  I slowly got up. My legs, stomach, shoulders, basically every part of me hurt like I’d fallen straight from a third floor flat. Which, thinking back, I actually did once when I was chasing a robber who robbed our shop. It hurt bad then and it hurts just as bad now.

  Maybe not as bad as then as I was almost close to breaking my bones. It wasn’t that bad since I at least snatched the necklace back from the robber before he jumped off to the next building. I got scolded by my Yasmin when I went back to work failing to catch the robber. She said I was a fool to chase him but I knew that necklace meant the world to her as it was given by her dying father. It was worth the pain back then.

  I started limping my way home, half walking, half dragging myself along. I can’t say if this pain right now is worth it or not. But I’ll do what I am required to do in order to rid the world of this government. I kept on thinking about stuff and by the time I reached home, I could barely keep my eyes open. I went straight to bed.

  Man, I’m so sleepy. I’ll nap a little till afternoon, then bathe and get ready for the next round of training.

  Off to bed I go.

  It’s 5:13 in the afternoon. My muscles are sore. So sore that when I tried to get up from bed, my body immediately rejected the idea and threw me right back onto the sheets. This time, I somehow managed to get up with a weird mix of bending and twisting that avoided stressing too many spots at once. It still hurt, but at least I was standing.

  I grabbed the towel Mason gave me and stepped out of my room into the dining-drawing combined space; which, from now on, I’ll just call the living room. Sitting on the sofa was Steve. He looked deep in thought, leaning forward with his elbows on his thighs and his hands holding up his head.

  Wait… Steve came back? When?

  “You look like someone who just had a fight in the muds,” he said, glancing up at me. He was gone for a day and back again, and still is the same shittalker.

  “I’m going to take a bath and be back,” I replied, ignoring him and heading outside toward the bathing area.

  Before that, I knocked on Mason’s door and asked if he had another set of clothes I could borrow. He disappeared inside for a moment and returned with the exact same outfit as I am wearing now. I was a little stumped out but… I guess that’s just how things are around here.

  I finished bathing in about fifteen minutes. Didn’t even bother washing my dirty clothes. My body felt like it was decaying from soreness. I left the used ones in the first stall and changed into the fresh set.

  The sun was barely up now. Probably fifteen minutes are left till sundown. The air feels cool and fresh right now. The wind is blowing at a medium pace. I hung the towel in the courtyard to dry and headed back home.

  I need some answers from Steve.