I walk away from the stage with trembling hands.

"Yakivev, Samantha."

Sam winks to me and prances on stage.

She swears her oath. Sam is Tsar Joseph Maximoff's new secretary. Sam's spouse is a boy named Leopold Song.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Anastasia staring at the ground. Her red eyes locked to the ground.

The announcer calls over each new couple for a brief meeting.

"...Akthinsky and Olganev."

No time has really passed when I hear, "Greene and Viktorovskaya."

Then, "S. Yakivev and Song."

Sam waves to me and grabs Leo's hand and leads him to speak with the announcer.

I slowly look over to the side.

There's Gabriel, sitting all alone. He stares at the ground.

The council eyes him as if they're afraid he'll slaughter everyone there and then head to the Tsar's palace and overthrow him.

And then finally, "Volkov and O. Yakivev."

I take a deep breath.

Anastasia and I head toward the announcer.

She smiles. "Obsidian." She nods a bidding to me. "Anastasia." She's about to say more, but Anastasia cuts her off.

"Actually, I'd prefer it if you called me Ana."

The announcer nods. "Okay then, Ana. Your house will be in sector two, on New Minsk drive. The number will be 1134. It's a light gray house." Then she leans closer. "You two should really think about marriage and extending your family." Then, she waves us off.

Ana stalks off to talk to her family for a small bit.

I'm taken into an instant embrace from my father.

"You'll do great!" He then says, "And it looks like you made a score with Miss Volkov."

"Ew, father!" Sam exclaims. "Obsidian probably doesn't want you to say that about his future wife."

Future wife. The idea of these words hurt my head and give me a slight migraine.

Olislavia giggles.

My mother looks a bit uneasy.

I get closer to her. "Are you okay? Haven't you been in here quite a lot?"

My mother nods. She swallows before lowering her voice, trying to make sure the council doesn't hear her. "Yeah. But, I'm Jewish."

"Oh," I mouth.

Alongside those who identify as LGBTQ, religious minorities are oppressed in Daskanalasć--alongside racial minorities, neurodivergent and disabled people, and the working class.

The announcer steps onto the stage; she says, "Parents, thank you for your new holy children. They will serve our god well. Now, they must head to their houses with their new spouse."

My father pats me on the back. "Looks like you gotta go." He then places a stern hand on my back. "But, remember no messing around until after marriage."

My father was always old fashioned. It's honestly a wonder to me why he managed to make my mother like him.

I inhale. "I know."

Sam dashes right for Leo and she practically tackles him.

Leo looks like he was caught unaware. But, he's able to catch Sam on time.

"Onward my knight and shining armor!" Sam points to the exit.

Leo then carries Sam out into the night--though, he looks sort of inconvenienced since because he has to do so.

I take a breath. I head toward Ana. "Hey," I say.

"Yo," she says.

I sigh. "We should get going. The address is No. 1134, New Minsk Drive, Sector 2, Daskanalasć, right?"

Ana nods. "Yeah. I think so, dude."

There's something so familiar about Ana to me. I see myself in her, somewhat. She feels... She feels like me.

We head out the doors of the community center. It's in sector three.

In Daskanalasć, there is a total of seven sectors. My family lives in the sixth sector.

Outside, it starts to snow.

We walk down the streets and toward the sign that said 'sector three limits'. And then we see 'sector two welcomes you'.

In no time, we see a sign that says New Minsk drive.

We head toward a building that says 1134 on the door -- it's light gray.

We head inside.

Ana slams the door shut and drops her bag to the ground. She runs around the house, almost frantic. And after twelve minutes of this, she stops. Ana says, "First of all, we aren't getting married, Oscar."

"Obsidian," I correct her.

Ana rolls her red eyes. "I don't care." She sighs. "I'm not into you. No offense."

"None taken," I respond.

"I'm into girls. Only girls," Ana blurts out. "I'm a lesbian." She rubs her arm. "Hopefully, I didn't upset you or anything."

So, I was right. She is like me, I think to myself. I shake my head. "No. Not at all."

She looks at me, blinking a couple times.

"I'm gay," I tell her.

"Oh," She says. Ana then comments, "I should have known."

I cock my head to the side. "What do you mean by that?"

Ana says, "For at me at least, it's easy to tell."

My face burns. "Okay." But then I plead to her, "Don't tell anyone."

"Relax, Obsidian. I won't tell anyone as long as you don't rat me out," Ana says. She holds her hand out.

"Deal," I shake her hand.

Ana smiles, "Now how about we check the rest of this place?"