"Rae, you be tucking shirt in! Ethan, you be standing up straight!", Mrs. Casey said in a panicked sort of voice. It was the evening after the elections, and, like promised, the Casey's were visiting the new neighbour. The moon peaked through the light, reminding them they had to be home in an hour. Assuming the new neighbour was rich, Mrs. Casey had made sure the family looked their best, even using water from her rations to shine up Rae's hair.

Rae pushed herself away from the rest of the family as Mrs. Casey lifted up a hand to knock. Almost immediately, the old lady hobbled over and opened the door. "Hello! You all made it! Come on in, come on in!"

Mrs. Casey smiled slightly and passed by the old lady into a brightly lit corridor. Rae was the last to slip in, and the lady winked when she saw her. "You can call me Lin, by the way."

Lin's house was unlike anything Rae had seen. Her walls were not white, but bright yellow. It was almost blinding, but also somehow comforting. Extravagant paintings hung in golden frames confirming that, if anything, Lin was rich. Feeling out of place in their ripped up shirts, the family followed down the corridor and stepped into the kitchen.

"Sit down, I'll get dinner.", Lin waved aimlessly towards the dining table, which was made out of glass, instead of the typical wood.

"We bringing our pills...", my mom said in a quiet voice.

"Oh no, please," she called from the kitchen, walking toward us with a plastic box, "There are plenty to go around. Here, ration it out, will you. I'll go make some tea."

"Some what?", Anna Casey asked, but Lin had already disappeared behind the counter, surprisingly fast for an old lady. The family shot each other questioning glances. No one simply gave out pills like that. But Mrs. Casey started splitting up the rations nonetheless.

To everyones shock, when Ethan was given his pill, his eyes went wide, and he swallowed it whole, without complaining once. It wasn't until Rae got her rations that she understood why. The pills sent a weird tingling on her tongue. It tasted... tart. It felt good.

"Ah, they be flavoured pills. I be telling you about them.", their father replied to their bewildered expressions.

"Yes, lemon favoured, in fact.", Lin had returned, this time carrying an even larger surprise. Rae's eyebrows flew upwards as she saw her balancing four cups of what looked like brown water, but had a heavenly smell.

"What be?", their mother looked as if she might faint.

"Just added some tea leaves."

"That be a plant!"

"Yes, I've been growing them this summer. They turned out lovely!"

"Growing them. Here?"

"Of course my dear, try some!"

At first, Rae was hesitant. After all, her family had never seen real food, much less real plants before. But when she took a sip, the sensation that filled her throat was truly out-of-the-world extraordinary. For the first time, she felt truly full— satisfied even, after dinner.

"You like it? Good, good.", Lin answered herself, as everyone else was too in shock to.

Rae, who had been quiet the whole evening, decided to take a risk and ask the question that had been on her mind, "When I be seeing you last week. I be seeing you reading book."

"Ah yes, one of my favourites. Give me a minute..."

She left again and did not return for several minutes. They could hear crashes and thumps coming from upstairs. Then finally, she returned with the book in her hand. Up close, it took Rae's breath away. The cover was delicately made, with types of colours that just no longer existed anymore. And it had a certain smell to it, like the smell of old paper, a comforting scent.

"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, it's called.", she flipped through the pages as Rae stared at her hypnotized. She noticed, "Do you want to borrow it?"

"I be never!"

"Please, I insist! Just be careful with it, that's all."

And before Rae knew it, she was holding the book, careful not to crease the edges, like a precious artifact. Speechless, she just bobbed her head up and down, like saying 'thank you'.

"Well," Mrs. Casey smiled, "we better be going now. The lights be switching off in a few minutes. Thanking you for inviting us over."

"Oh no problem. Come by anytime you wish."

As the family made their way out into the night, Mrs. Casey leaned over and whispered to Rae, "Looks like you be getting your birthday wish after all."

Rae could only smile.
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A.N: Thank you for reading! Leave feedback if you have some!
If anyone was wondering how to pronounce Rae's name.... I have no idea. I just thought it looked like a cool name, okay?

But how I say it:

That should clear things up...