English Short Story on Belonging
Refuge in Silence ‘Kel?’
It was Raoul, and I wished for him to go away. He knocked again then stuck his head around the door. ‘How are you?’ he asked with concern. Anger overcame me.
‘For god’s sakes, they can’t send me away because of a headache. But if you think I look suspicious why don’t you report me yourself, after all, you become their lackey more and more each day,’ I retorted, staring him down.
He paled, ‘Keep your voice down, people outside might hear’, he shut the door behind him and stepped in the room.
I tried to force myself to be calm. ‘What is it that you want?’ I asked him coldly. I knew I was over reacting but I didn’t care, he was the only one who I could take my anger out on, though by looking at his darkening expression I could see it was becoming increasingly dangerous to do so. I had a habit of pushing the people who tried to get close to me away. It started out as an accident but now I just generally didn’t want to talk to people, I avoided them as much as possible.
‘Maybe you don’t care about being taken but I do, caution is the only thing that has kept us safe thus far. No thanks to you,’ he added. ‘A headache is nothing, but you know how little things are blown out of proportion. It is a short step from a whisper of gossip to being sent to the government’s so called “refuge”.’
‘You have been made a supervisor’, I said flatly and now his face flushed. A look of pride mixed with shame passed across his face.
‘How could you’, I asked, hurt. I know that we had never been close since being taken but he was still my brother, but for some reason I couldn’t bring myself to tell him that I did love him in my own way. He must have assumed that I wanted nothing to do with him.
He raised his fist and shook it in my face, ‘you will not ruin this for me, you may be my sister but it is my obligation to this facility to denounce you.’
‘You wouldn’t dare denounce me.’ I said. ‘Your own fate would be ruined if it was known that you had a
It was Raoul, and I wished for him to go away. He knocked again then stuck his head around the door. ‘How are you?’ he asked with concern. Anger overcame me.
‘For god’s sakes, they can’t send me away because of a headache. But if you think I look suspicious why don’t you report me yourself, after all, you become their lackey more and more each day,’ I retorted, staring him down.
He paled, ‘Keep your voice down, people outside might hear’, he shut the door behind him and stepped in the room.
I tried to force myself to be calm. ‘What is it that you want?’ I asked him coldly. I knew I was over reacting but I didn’t care, he was the only one who I could take my anger out on, though by looking at his darkening expression I could see it was becoming increasingly dangerous to do so. I had a habit of pushing the people who tried to get close to me away. It started out as an accident but now I just generally didn’t want to talk to people, I avoided them as much as possible.
‘Maybe you don’t care about being taken but I do, caution is the only thing that has kept us safe thus far. No thanks to you,’ he added. ‘A headache is nothing, but you know how little things are blown out of proportion. It is a short step from a whisper of gossip to being sent to the government’s so called “refuge”.’
‘You have been made a supervisor’, I said flatly and now his face flushed. A look of pride mixed with shame passed across his face.
‘How could you’, I asked, hurt. I know that we had never been close since being taken but he was still my brother, but for some reason I couldn’t bring myself to tell him that I did love him in my own way. He must have assumed that I wanted nothing to do with him.
He raised his fist and shook it in my face, ‘you will not ruin this for me, you may be my sister but it is my obligation to this facility to denounce you.’
‘You wouldn’t dare denounce me.’ I said. ‘Your own fate would be ruined if it was known that you had a