(Viewpoint: Roum)
I'm staying here.
Even after she put her hand on my shoulder.
Even after the red of the sky had stabilized, it was as if the Dome had found a color that suited it better.
I'm not leaving.
I feel good here; I feel like I can make a place for myself.
That's new.
Usually, when something becomes too big, too heavy, too unclear… I step back. I disappear. I let the space close in without me.
Have I grown up?
The uniform reacts to my stillness. It relaxes slightly, as if it understands that I am no longer struggling. I feel the fabric mold to my breath.
"It's better now," Ela murmured.
I nod.
– I feel much lighter, a weight lifted from my shoulders
She doesn't answer right away.
His hand never leaves my shoulder, but its pressure changes. More protective. More present.
"You know," she finally said,
She pulled me close and hugged me tightly.
- stay
I let out a joyless laugh.
– I always thought running away was easier, but every time I wanted to take the plunge…courage was what I needed most
I look around me.
The figures are still there, scattered, floating, each enclosed in its own invisible bubble. No one really speaks. No one touches each other for long. The connections are short, fragile, temporary.
"They all look... lonely," I said.
Ela hugged me even tighter.
– Is that how you feel?
You worry too much about me, we have almost the same lifespan, you're acting like an adult
– It's going to be okay, I'm still here.
I swallow.
– I want to go home
She tilts her head slightly.
– no, stay
By squeezing me tighter
– Ouch! I just want to get off-
A movement catches my attention.
Further on, a figure stops abruptly as if observing us, frozen in mid-air. His uniform pulses briefly, then darkens.
"What's wrong with him?" I asked.
Ela looked away and frowned.
Nothing. We're going home.
I frown, confused.
– answer me properly
"We're not going," she said, her voice trembling.
I understand without her needing to clarify.
I'm clinging to her. Not to run away. I believe
The red of the sky reminds me of something.
Something I lost
I turn around.
Ela me tira. More seriously.
– don't look at him
"Because I am an anomaly," I said.
– do as I say
Silence
I'm thinking of Chetan.
To his calculating gaze.
In his way of always wanting to rise, surpass, crush.
- All right .
She approaches the platform.
She hesitates.
And she went down, no, she collapsed as if she could no longer stand on her feet, she was trembling so much
I close my eyes because of the pain of the shock.
"I don't want to hurt anyone," I murmured.
– Why are you saying that?
A silence falls between us.
Ela stood up, still holding my hand, and led me away from the square without even removing our uniforms.
I feel my stomach clench.
– Tell me what's going on?
- Not now .
A strange pressure is settling in my chest.
I really hate being anxious.
I place one hand on my chest.
"Listen to me carefully," Ela said quickly. "We must never look them in the eyes, or it's the end for us."
- For what ?
– Because it's like, she said, running faster.
It's coming back
The feeling of being useless.
Transparent.
To take up space without ever deserving it.
I'm wavering.
She catches up with me immediately.
– we must join the others first
I try to obey, but my breath catches in my throat.
"I don't want to... I'm tired," I murmured. "I don't want to feel this way anymore."
– don't stop
Silhouettes began to move again behind us; she was getting closer.
I can feel their presence.
Their attention.
"They're coming," I said.
- Yes.
- For what ?
Ela squeezes my arm a little tighter.
– Because we have red triangles on our identifiers in their vision.
- What ?
I open my eyes again.
– I'll explain later, they mustn't catch us.
The pressure is increasing.
I feel bad.
I let out a trembling breath.
– I'm scared.
- Me too.
Ela smiled gently.
– But that's funny, it reminds me of how we used to fight over the bread rolls
I watch the corridor disappear behind us.