#2 Amity and Abnegation
~Updated Saturday, 13th June 2015.
This is another oneshot set in the first few chapters of Insurgent. A lot more philosophical than the first one, but then the Divergent books are often like that, too. I hope I did okay.
Tris
I look around, blinking a few times. I don't think I will ever get used to the bright colors of the Amity compound. All my life I have been surrounded by drab gray. Even at the Dauntless compound, everyone wore black. The yellows and reds here actually hurt my eyes.
I realise I've been so absorbed in my thoughts that I took I a wrong turn somewhere. Instead of arriving at the cafeteria, I find myself in an empty corridor. Voices and laughter issue from under a door nearby. Almost against my will, I cross the corridor and listen at the door.
I don't know why. It's not like there's anything worth listening to, but I feel an inexplicable pull to the Amity life here. I know I could never live it. Being so peaceful and always nice would drive me insane. And I know what they put in the bread here. But their companionship, their carefreeness, their laughter and friendships and easy smiles are intriguing despite what I tell myself about it being nothing but a result of the peace serum.
'So you put one of your hands under mine like this...' An Amity girl, Lily, I think her name is, says. She appears to be explaining a game to someone.
'...and you continue until only one person is left, the winner,' she concludes.
'But wouldn't that be selfish? For only one person to win?' Susan replies, her gentle Abnegation tone contrasting with Lily's vivid, animated one.
Leaning against the wall just outside, I grin. Trust Susan to ask something like that.
Lily's voice is mystified as she replies. 'Why would it be selfish? It's fun to play together. And having a winner doesn't necessarily mean one person is better than the rest or anything. It brightens the winner's day, and the others can be happy for him or her.'
There is a short silence after this pronouncement of Lily's, and I make a mental note not to ignore her like I do the rest of the Amity, but talk to her if I have the chance. If I'm not mistaken, I heard a little of the Erudite in her voice. But there is Amity there too.
Divergent.
'Okay, I'll play,' Susan finally agrees. I can tell she never thought of it that way. I peek through a crack in the door and watch as the game starts.
Soon, Susan's hair has tumbled out of her knot and is cascading down her shoulders. I notice, surprised, that her hair is thick, and that she is pretty when her cheeks bloom and her eyes sparkle as they do now. I can see what Caleb sees in her. As I hear her laugh, for the first time in years, I smile and step back from the wall, turning to find my way to the cafeteria.
The Abnegation life is a good way of living. But I understand more now of what Divergence means than I have ever understood. Just the Abnegation way isn't right. But if the Abnegation selflessness and the Amity spirit, or any other two or three or more factions' virtues combine, as I have just seen beginning to happen in Susan, we can create as close to a perfect way of living as anyone has ever done.
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top