January 1, 2000 — Outskirts of Eva — Zone 47.
"The turn of the millennium! Will the future finally touch our society with force? A society with more freedom to enjoy N2 and its derivatives? Or perhaps even new technologies based on the already well-known cores of magical stones coming from the most distant mysterious corners and deadly dungeons. Evolution, ladies and gentlemen, knocks on the door of our borders, in the hands of those same ones who not long ago were our executioners!"
A presenter on television takes a deep breath with a distant gaze and soon resumes after running his hand over his scarce hair marked by receding lines on the sides.
"Rumors that circulate in the peripheral zone of Eva speak of a prophecy about the fall of the wall of the oppressed, and finally... our freedom. All this, and more! You follow now, on Morning with Greg."
Then he cues the commercials.
Sitting on the sofa, Sarah downs the last sip of coffee that remained in the small yellow cup, which has a mouthless grimace drawn on its side. She stands up and turns off the TV while chewing the last piece of bread of this morning.
For several months, this routine of quietness stretches as if it were the only natural thing that exists.
April 8, 2000.
The icy air touches the discolored trees. Subtly, with this cue, some leaves throw themselves toward the ground in search of fulfilling their final role in the endless cycle of life.
Sarah decides not to go to class today, as on many other days. From the street a motorized noise arises, which seems to park there nearby for a few seconds. Casting a glance through the window, something long wrapped in transparent plastic was left on the sidewalk. With slow steps, she goes down to the door and to the yard. Upon grabbing the plastic, she returns inside, casting one last look under the blue sky.
She wears a gray tank top that outlines her body. The loose sweatpants in a deep black tone are cut by a red lateral line that runs from top to bottom. Her bare feet touch the cold floor with a soft naturalness.
Another cup of coffee is served while she sits at the table. Then she unwraps the plastic, which now reveals more clearly a newspaper with the title "Periphery Today."
Weather, politics, celebrities, occurrences, nothing new. Flipping through the Hunters' Guild section, she notices descriptions of objects and their prices, the more expensive, the rarer. There the hunters who earned the most in the month are also ranked. As always, the Shadow Hunters are the ones who profit the most. However, it is on the last page that something catches her attention.
"The newest dance club will open this Saturday."
Right after, it is described that in order to enter, it is necessary to pay an advance opening ticket, which is only sold at the same place. At first she does not care much and places the newspaper on the table for her father to find.
Upon arriving in her room, she crouches near a black radio she recently received. Listening to news and a bit of music helps her not wander too much in thoughts. After checking that the blue core is well fitted in the back part, she puts the cover back and presses one of its buttons. She heads to the balcony door and opens it completely.
The air that before only touched the leaves now floods the environment. Sarah finds a corner outside and sits, leaning against the wall while looking at the colorless landscape of the street and surroundings.
The first thing that is heard is a song, different from the few she has already heard, this one does not have many words, but the beats... Her heart seems to be tuning itself to them, her feet without her permission begin to move following the rhythm. She closes her eyes and starts to move her head a little.
After a few minutes the music ceases and a male voice announces:
"This song was in honor of the new dance club that promises to make zone 47 shake, now we go to more police occurrences from last night."
Sarah stands up and runs toward her father's room.
"Dad... dad..." She shakes him without stopping.
"Hmm? What is it?" With a sleepy voice, he murmurs while rubbing one of his eyes.
"Buy a ticket for me? For the dance club!"
"Dance club? What is that?"
"It will open tomorrow and plays music."
He observes something in her eyes that had been absent in these last months.
"All right! I will see at lunch if I can get it."
Sarah gives him a kiss on the face as a form of thanks.
"By the way... coffee is ready!"
After a long time, she feels again an intrinsic desire to do something. She barely knows how a dance club works, only one thing is certain, if that music is going to play there, that is where she wants to be.
The morning passes more slowly than usual. The afternoon even slower. When Júlio returns from work, she definitely cannot hold herself, he barely enters the house and there she is.
"Did you get it????????" She questions him with a hopeful gaze.
"Calm... calm." He walks to the living room and sits on the sofa.
Like a blur she sits beside him.
"Was this what you wanted?" He presents a small white envelope.
"Is it the ticket?" She practically snatches it from his hand.
"It was difficult, only adults can enter. Minors only accompanied by a guardian." Júlio's speech comes out with a tone of certainty.
"And what else?"
"The owner of the place is a friend of mine, I talked to him and arranged a way for you to enter there. But listen! When you arrive at the entrance, there will be a guard, you just need to say your name to him and show this ticket that they will give you access to the entire establishment."
"Reaaally?" She jumps and hugs him from the side. "Thank you dad!"
She stands up and starts going toward the stairs that lead to the second floor, makes a brief pause and turns her eyes to her father who is already standing.
"Dad, tomorrow morning I will stop by the store to buy some clothes, okay?"
"Feel free, if you need anything just tell me."
After nodding, Sarah resumes her path to the room.
Night soon falls and the owl stealthily assumes its post on the wall lying in wait for the next victim. And there it stays for the entire night, until the first rays of sunlight collide with the treetops. Soon it takes flight toward its burrow.
Who also gets up is Sarah, who quickly takes a shower and dresses in jeans and a tight black shirt. When business hours arrive, she does not take long to go shopping, thus the morning soon passes like lunch. The afternoon comes and what seemed like it would take an eternity finally knocks at the door.
The sun that reigned all day begins to say goodbye. The sky that was painted with an intense blue tone now has orange on the horizon signaling the arrival of twilight. On the other side, the dark blue begins to contaminate the horizon, and after a few minutes it already spreads through more than half of the entire immensity of the sky.
The last rays of sun say goodbye to their subjects, just as the day comes, the night also makes itself present. And with it, the stars of the show position themselves to shine and of course, the main star of this night is already beginning to show itself.
More resplendent than usual.
Something special seems to have been reserved for this night.
The line builds up, one by one, all go entering.
Vibrations take over the cold air of the night and spread all around.
And there she is.
Finishing talking to the guard.
After passing a small flashlight of purple light over the ticket and seeing that it glowed in the same color, he lets her pass.
Her gaze even shines with the scene.
In front of her, a small dark corridor with blue neon lights leads her toward colorful lights.
Each step and the vibrations increase.
At the end, there is a large hall with people jumping and moving in a way that seems random.
With each step the sensation of losing control of her own movements begins to appear.
Her head starts to shake slightly and the shyness disappears.
With each meter walked, a part of her body is infected.
Without knowing exactly why.
She lets herself be carried by the rhythm, the beats, the vibe.
Her hair is loose, she wears a black top, a gray denim jacket tied at the waist over black jeans that go to the calf. And she wears low sneakers with white soles and black socks up to the ankle.
With each minute, her movements become more and more fluid and synchronized with the music that echoes in every muscle fiber of her body.
A marked abdomen with slight divisions, defined arms that expose under the pale skin the muscles with each movement. Shaped back and broad shoulders.
Her closed-mouth smile speaks without words.
The world does not exist outside there.
Only she exists, the vibrations, the sound and the uncontrollable desire to dance.
To the eyes of those who observe her, a professional dancer, her movements enchant and captivate everyone. Those who feel the vibe emanating from her surrender and move without stopping.
On a wall of the city, an owl lies in wait observing every inch of the place in search of the next meal.
It watches a young woman coming in its direction.
Different from the last times, she seems lively, performing movements abnormal to the rest of her species.
After a few seconds she disappears behind the door of a house.
A few hours pass since then, and a rat ventures in the attempt to reach a new ground to explore. It seems to fear something, threatens to leave a small hole in the wall twice, but retreats cautiously.
On the third attempt it does not hesitate and advances fully, exploring the vast sidewalk with long jumps.
Then a wind comes from behind.
Its fur stands on end.
The cold wind brings with it the owner of life.
With its dazzling wings.
For some it represents freedom, for others it represents the end.