Sort of how I envision the setting ^

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Outside the rain drummed against the window whilst inside the fluorescent light flickered intermittently creating a small symphony of sounds. Across the wooden table, one on each side, sat a family member busily absorbed in the act of eating yet also fully aware of the adjacent beings. She'd taken in the news a few minutes ago, she had been dreading this moment for weeks but did nothing but hope. Hope for the best, for what else could she do.

Everyone ate their small meal in silence and occasionally a pair of eyes would dart across the room to catch somebodies gaze, however, when a connection was made it was quickly averted followed by a slow yet subtle shake of a head as if apologizing for what happened. It was an act of guilt or sympathy manufactured for a moment but she didn't buy it as genuine.

"It couldn't be helped." They all said.
"I'm truly sorry." They apologized.
"Maybe next time?" They offered.

But there wouldn't be a next time. There never was and there never will be.

The light flickered again then suddenly everything went pitch black. Outside the rain continued to fall, the wind continued to howl and it seemed like it would never stop, however, Mikyla knew different. Everything came to an end, no matter if it was bad or good, nothing lasted forever. And then the lights turned on again.

"I take it that you too understand then?" Mrs. Weyn said breaking the strangling silence.

She drank the remainder of her water and placed her utensils neatly upon her plate. Mrs. Weyn then proceeded to stand up torpidly before grabbing her napkin in an attempt to wipe her hands. Nothing could be considered strange about these actions but the fact was; Mrs. Weyn's hands were always clean. She always used proper etiquette and the only thing she touched between washing her hands and eating was a knife, fork, glass and napkin, so why was she wiping her hands? Or rather it could even be said that she was feverishly trying to scrub something off. To Mrs. Weyn this was somewhat of a ritual and her excuse was that a woman should have good hygiene. For a long time Mikyla believed this and always scrutinized her mother's hand for any sign of dirt but as she grew older Mikyla learned that the only place that her mother tried to wipe clean was the back of her hand. The back of her hand that had a circle carved into it and dyed with a fluorescent green color for everyone to see.

The Verdant Mark.

This wasn't the first time she'd seen one, of course but it was only up till recently that she had begun to notice it. All the women in Mikyla's community had the Verdant Mark inscribed obviously into the back of both hands and upon closer inspection the men had it too but a much smaller one and in a more obscure place, just slightly behind the ears. Even though everyone in Mikyla's community had them, the reason  she hadn't noticed them until recently was because they were always hidden as much as possible. Whilst outside all the women wore gloves of some sort and all men had big bushy sideburns but if you looked closely enough you could sometimes see a glove slightly lower than it should be or the odd bald spot on aging men. Wherever she went, Mikyla always looked out for the Verdant Mark for it fascinated her. How bizzare it was to be branded like cattle on a farm, didn't anybody mind that they could be counted as property of somebody else?

Unaware of Mikyla's intense gaze of her mother's hand, Mrs. Weyn pushed her chair under the table and picked up her plate and cup before leaving towards the kitchen, still making more excuses. Outside the rain slowly dimmed and the faint patter on the window dulled to a small trickle. Mikyla watched the water race down the small glass pane and then blinked hard. Her mother had returned and stopped talking and now was looking directly at Mikyla.

"Sorry." Mikyla mumbled.

"Excuse me dear, you're going to have to speak up a bit." Mrs. Weyn interjected.

"Sorry." Mikyla mumbled only a bit louder.

"I'll take it that you understand then." Her father spoke up.

Mikyla nodded. Mikyla understood for years. How long was it since that abhorrent news entered her ears. A few decades, a millennium, maybe even more. To Mikyla it seemed like an eternity but in reality it was hardly even an hour.

"Mikyla... Mikyla..." A faint voice rumbled in her ears like stormy clouds hovering over a mountain.

"Mikyla!" Mr. Weyn yelled causing Mikyla to jolt up.

"Umm, yes dad?"

"Kids these days..." Mr. Weyn muttered under his breath before looking up at Mikyla, "We were asking you if you could wash the dishes, please."

Mikyla tensed up but slowly relaxed her shoulders as if pondering what the meaning of life was. All she wanted to be was alone, to go somewhere where she could be herself, let out her emotions without being bothered by anyone else, nevertheless, that was hoping for too much. She would be lucky if she even found a room with nobody in it. She couldn't even go to the local bathroom for there always was a massive queue waiting for their turn. Mikyla then realized that there was no privacy here, at least not in her community. Before she knew it a silent tear ran down her face and she wasn't quick enough to wipe it away.

"Mikyla, are you al-"

Mikyla held out her hand to stop her mother, "It's fine, I'll do the dishes."

"If you want I can do them." Her mother offered.

"No it's fine, really." Mikyla said putting on a half smile.

"Alright then, if you say so," Her mother sighed in defeat, "But we have also all run out of water so could you also please refill it at the well?"

Mikyla nodded before heading into the kitchen to retrieve the giant, rusted old bucket. Paint was starting to flake off of the sides and mildew clung to the bottom desperately.

With a heave Mikyla lifted it with both hands and walked a few steps to the front door of the house. As she passed her family on the way out she couldn't help but stare at them but out of what she didn't know. One side of her wanted to pity them and the other envied them as they continued to laugh and talk as if nothing happened.

Closing the front door behind her, Mikyla turned the giant bucket upside down and proceeded to sit on it while leaning on the door lightly. Endless chatter flooded the house now that dinner was over and she could hear her parents mollycoddling her younger brother as usual. Why was he always treated better than her, why was it that he always seemed to get everything? As Mikyla continued to question herself and her family she subconsciously leaned harder on the door behind her and it swung open causing her to tumble backwards into the hall with a loud crash.

"Mikyla! Are you alright?" Mrs. Weyn asked, rushing towards her child inspecting for any injuries.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said forcefully in order to suppress a cringe.

"Thank goodness," Mrs. Weyn heaved, "But what were you doing sitting outside the door anyway?"

Mikyla looked around as if searching for an excuse, "I was waiting for the rain to stop?"

Mrs. Weyn looked at her daughter suspiciously, "The rain stopped a little while ago, so why don't you tell me what you were really do-"

"How do you like the Verdant Mark?" Mikyla suddenly blurted out.

Mrs. Weyn was taken aback. She didn't expect her daughter to suddenly bring up that topic, "You mean the one on my hand?"

Mikyla nodded puzzling her mother before her face relaxed into a small smile, "It's useful I suppose. If I ever got lost they would know what community I belonged to and-"

"Then why is dad's harder to find and wouldn't your i.d. be able to provide that information as well?" Mikyla persisted.

Mrs. Weyn chewed her bottom lip lightly not knowing how to respond. Mikyla stared at her awaiting her answer but she couldn't tell her daughter. She was too young to be burdened with that type of information.

"Just as I thought." Mikyla said before lowering her head and picking up the bucket again.

"Wait!" Mrs. Weyn called after her daughter, "Mikyla wait!"

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Word Count for Chapter 1: 1433
Total Word Count: 1433

Authors note:

So here's the first UNEDITED chapter re-uploaded. Don't forget to press on those magical stars to light up Mikyla's future path and leave a comment telling me what you like so far or what you don't like. Thanks for reading so far.

Happy reading
~ Dracollavenore