“Have you ever been to Graceway before, Luke?” Kamrin asked as they set off toward the nearest open boundary toward Graceway—it was a familiar route for Luke as he used to take every opportunity to pass by that tempting boundary—and he answered, “No. Not when my brother was treated shamefully there. And how do you know my name?” In hopes of distracting her from what he’d just let slip.
“Oh, I heard the lady call you that. You have a brother?”
Choosing not to dwell on the “have”, Luke said distastefully, “He once went to Taurus borough looking for work, and returned with less than what he’d begun with. I learned that Graceway has a detestable way of treating people from the Purlieus.”
In silence they walked until they saw the grainy Purlieu sands scatter under a sharply cut, pale stone pavement. They had reached an entrance to a borough in northern Graceway, also known as the North division. Which borough, they could not tell, but soon they found the sign: Taurus borough. This was where Luke’s impulsive decisiveness wavered a little; stepping into Graceway for the first time was overwhelming. His eyes were accustomed to the dull landscape of old houses and fields, and his ears to the occasional children’s feet running past, dogs barking lazily, and the slow, droning bird sounds of the Purlieus.
Taurus borough was menacing, beautiful, and hostile. The pale paving beneath them was smoothly and precisely laid, and the buildings towered overhead, flashing their glass in the blinding white winter sky. The stores were bustling, people in dark, sleek coats entered and left briskly, and children in hats and coats splashed through an icy puddle.
Kamrin seemed equally fazed. Luke knew that she was likely no more used to the wintry environment of northern Graceway than he was. Rubbing his cold hands together, he asked Kamrin, “You said Graceway streetcars only travel clockwise. Is that true?”
Kamrin nodded. “Look.”
A sleek, fancy streetcar rushed past them on polished golden tracks.
“That must be going further into the North division, then,” Luke said, rotating his body left to watch the streetcar vanish from their sight with a speed he’d never seen in the Purlieus. “We could follow the tracks in the opposite direction to get from the North division to the West, eventually. Does that sound reasonable?”
Kamrin nodded. “We’re quite close to the boundary between the North and West division. It shouldn’t take us too long to get back to Savannah, which is also near the boundary,” she said with more optimism than Luke had expected from her. Being within Graceway City, despite the unfamiliar environment, seemed to have animated her. “It took me several hours to get here by streetcar. I don’t remember where I got off exactly, but it must have been near this place. Look! I remember seeing that silver tower.”
“Well, let’s get going,” Luke said abruptly, and they fell in step with the thick, gleaming metal tracks on the pavement, always stretching ahead of them, unending. Perhaps it was forming an enormous circle, he suddenly realized. “Do these tracks go around the entire city?” he asked in amazement.
Kamrin nodded proudly. “The streetcars follow it all the way around. For one streetcar to make an entire trip around Graceway, it would take about twenty-eight hours, I’ve been told. Of course,” she added, “there are many streetcars on the track, so it’s easy to take a streetcar, wherever you are.”
Feeling more relaxed now that they had a clear trail to follow, Luke began to appreciate the beauty of Taurus: the gleaming buildings, bright sky, and polished sounds of boots on the stone ground. However, as soon as he felt a twinge of envy, he immediately distracted himself by asking, “So, Kamrin, tell me; what made you run away—alone? Isn’t that a fearsome crime at Graceway?”
“What? Running away? I think it’s only a crime for adults,” Kamrin answered very seriously.
Luke couldn’t help smiling. “Why did you run away, then? Was Savannah borough horrible?”
Kamrin scowled at him. “No, I left home because my parents only loved my baby brother and didn’t care about me anymore.”
“Oh Lord, Kamrin,” Luke said, shaking his head, “aren’t you too old to run away because you’re jealous?”
“Too old? People much older than I am run away from Graceway every year, I learned at school,” Kamrin retorted, “I had money, so I just left and took the streetcar that came. I wanted to scare my parents.”
“You wanted to scare your parents,” Luke repeated, “How considerate. I wonder if they’re searching for you right now. What’s your family name?”
“Dalhaven. What’s yours?”
“Hawking. But no matter,” Luke said, regretful that she now knew one more thing about him. He changed the subject. “The streetcars,” he said, fixing his gaze on the golden tracks. “Why do they only travel clockwise? That’s inefficient.”
“It has to do with some old tradition,” Kamrin answered scornfully, “Graceway following the flow of time, or some rubbish like that…but the inefficiency doesn’t matter. People don’t leave their boroughs very often, and when they do it’s for tourism.”
“What made you get off at Taurus?”
“I was scared I’d come too far.”
“Well, you’re right,” Luke said, raising his eyebrows as they quickened their pace through the cold winter air. “Here, let’s go inside,” he said, noticing that Kamrin was shivering as he marched her into a store. He chastised himself inwardly as he realized how little prepared they were for walking through the northern boroughs: no coats or money. He shook his head; his aunt would be furious to hear that he’d undertaken a week-long journey on an impulse, with such little thought.
“It’s getting dark,” Kamrin said worriedly as they stepped inside the store.
Luke glanced apprehensively out the window. Kamrin was right: despite it being late afternoon, a blue darkness was settling over the snowy streets. Winter has short days and longer nights, he remembered learning in school. In the Purlieus, “winter” had seemed so fantastical.
“How about we ask to stay at a house for the evening?” Luke suggested, pausing under the rude glances of the customers. “Did you say they’d provide us with food?”
Kamrin nodded. “And a place to sleep. Graceway’s known for hospitality, especially in the north where many travellers aren’t used to the cold.”
The two of them knocked at the door of the nearest house, where the lady immediately ushered them both inside. It was in the warmly lit entrance, with the front door shut, that the lady’s gaze travelled over Luke.
“And where might you be from?”
“The Purlieus,” Luke answered, bringing himself back to the unpleasant reality.
“And I’m from Savannah borough. He’s taking me back there,” Kamrin added.
“I see.” The woman turned and walked into the kitchen.
The next few hours darkened the world silently and quickly, with hardly even a sunset. During the meal, which was in no way lacking, Luke felt his cheeks warm unpleasantly. To be sure, the lady, who was likely in her fifties and lived alone, did not seem to grudge them shelter for the night, but did not restrain herself in uttering insults toward the Purlieus, either.
“It’s where the greedy, ignorant people of Graceway go, isn’t it?” she asked Kamrin, in a tone that clearly expected her to agree.
“Greedy?” Kamrin repeated in bewilderment. “It’s where the people who want to farm go.”
“Exactly, there they cultivate their own crops in their own land,” Luke addressed the lady directly, who had never once met his eyes.
“Foolish notions, those so-called pioneers who leave the city to seek more land for themselves,” the lady said disapprovingly. Perhaps she’d never considered the concept of being born where your ancestors had settled, many generations ago, Luke thought scornfully. The lady looked at Kamrin. “I hope school teaches you to do better than that. How old are you?”
It was altogether an unpleasant supper, and although Luke knew he was in no position to complain and that he was receiving the treatment other Purlieu people had in Graceway, it did not lessen his humiliation. The lady took Kamrin upstairs, and Luke was told to sleep in a room on the first floor, where the bed was directly against the wall, through which the unfamiliar, merciless cold of a Taurus night streamed in. The high ceiling was shadowy and lofty. So were the expressions of every Taurus citizen he’d seen that day. The brief fire that had been rekindled inside Luke was now scattered in cold, fine ashes.
_________________
The second day at Taurus borough of Graceway dawned coolly. As soon as the icy white sunlight nudged him awake, Luke roused himself and wrenched open the door impatiently. The feeling of being indebted to a lady who treated him in such a way was unbearable—her comments had stung him all night. Perhaps it was the cold room, or the odd electric shocks he received when he walked across the carpet, that caused a strange and unfamiliar feeling which prevented him from eating enough breakfast, which consisted of foods foreign to him anyway.
“Thank you for your hospitality, ma’am,” Kamrin said politely as the two of them stepped out into the clear, frosty morning.
“Thank you,” Luke said reluctantly also. The lady nodded at Kamrin and ignored him completely as she whirled around and shut the door. Luke saw her sharply draw all the curtains shut as well.
Hurt pride prevented him from saying anything to Kamrin as they found the golden tracks again and resumed their walk. Kamrin walked beside him in silence as well, her eyes fixed on the tracks, only occasionally moving up to his face anxiously. Luke ignored her steadily, inwardly berating himself for being such a fool as to expect treatment any better than this at Graceway, to have allowed himself to be excited again. Had he not learned his bitter lesson at the Purlieus? He reminded himself about his brother’s flushed cheeks and insulted, aggressive eyes the day he returned home. Luke had promised himself then to one day become respectable enough for Graceway citizens to treat him as one of their own, once he entered their city. And now, to receive this treatment from a clearly wealthy and respected lady, was deeply embittering.
Kamrin’s scream reached his ears, but his mind, filled with dark thoughts, reacted a moment too late: by the time he saw Kamrin grabbed by a man in a ragged hat and coat, someone else had him in a chokehold.
“What’s he got?” the man holding Kamrin asked hoarsely.
“Let’s see,” the man holding him kept his elbow around Luke’s throat, and Luke felt him open his pack and rummage through the water bottles inside. “…there’s…”
Luke realized that they’d been forced into an alley. It was strangely quiet around them; he’d led Kamrin into a relatively deserted area. Never would he have believed Graceway to be a place with thieves, but seeing them for himself further shattered his image of the city. This made him realize how ignorant and unprepared he had been, and this, in turn, enraged him.
“Come on, what’s in his pack?”
“He’s got water bottles…” the man grumbled, rummaging harder.
Now hyper-aware of the situation, Luke felt the man’s arm loosen slightly from his throat, focused on the contents of his backpack. Slowly Luke raised his right foot and slammed his heel against the man’s shin.
As soon as he felt the man recoil, Luke ducked out of his grasp. The water bottles tumbled out of his open backpack. One broke open and spilled its contents onto the cobblestones. Luke grabbed the other and, using all his arm strength, swung it at his captor’s head. He howled and stumbled back as the water bottle slammed into his nose.
“Run, Kamrin!” Luke shouted. Kamrin had already escaped from her distracted captor and was running out of the alley. Seeing the other man run after Kamrin, Luke leapt forward and hurled the water bottle. By the time the bottle crashed into the man’s head, Luke had caught up with Kamrin and they were both running toward the safety of the open Taurus street.
