greater a woman than you think you are, Kama. Being the wife to the future Governor is beneath you.”
“How can you say such a thing? Being the Governor of Arcadia is the highest honor a man can have bestowed on him.”
“The highest honor for him, perhaps, but what honor comes to you? As wife to a governor, you have little say, you have little power and you have little, if no decision-making abilities. You are simply the wife of a powerful and important man in the eyes of his constituents. No more.”
My hand went to my heart, so scandalized was I by his remarks. All my life the Governor was a man to respect and admire. And his wife was the envy of the city. Every young girl in Arcadia dreamed of one day living in the great governor’s mansion. My dream had been within reach. Liam loved me and my place in the mansion was practically guaranteed. As a woman in Arcadia, marrying Liam would be the highest social achievement, unless I was to ever become Governor or become one of the high Committee worker.
“Turn around,” Torrid said, his voice gentle yet commanding.
My lips parted to question him, but I thought better of it and did as told.
His hands, large and powerful, brushed lightly over my eyes, bringing my lids to a fluttering close. His fingers worked their way over my temple and back through my hair where he released my ponytail and allowed my hair to waver in the wind.
I licked my lips, not because they were dry, but because of the intense desire I felt for him. His touch was electric, and he was standing so close to me, no matter how hard I tried to ignore it.
“The fact that you received a blank Life’s Plan is not the tragedy, Kama. It is a tragedy averted. Your life is to be as you want it to be. You now have the permission to live your life to your fullest potential. Don’t you see what this means?”
I was reluctant to shake my head. My whole life I’d been told to leave my destiny in the hands of the Committee. They knew what was best for me. They would carve out a path that most suited me.
How could I trust that I was now to make my own destiny?
“You don’t, do you?” he finally said.
I shook my head and his hands came back to cover my eyes. For a moment a strong sense of indomitable strength took over me. I could courageously face any foe and win any battle.
Accompanied with the new sense of power was an odd sense of belonging. Despite everything I’d lived through in Arcadia, even with Liam and Sarah in my life, I never truly felt I belonged, not as I did in that moment with Torrid.
“Do you see what you're capable of?”
A village of color, fragrance and pure joy unfolded before me. As perfect as I’d always thought Arcadia was, this little village far outshined what Arcadia could ever be. Fields overflowed with ripened crops and meadows brushed through the violet sky with a myriad of stunning colors. Every home overflowed with love and compassion.
Though every home was lovely, with hues that warmed the heart and intricate adornments that brought whimsy and fun, it was the emotions that rang from every home that made them so special.
Children played in the streets, games that had them floating through the air and disappearing only to reappear on the other side of the street. Their smiles were genuine and the love that emanated from them could be felt where I stood.
I wanted to reach out to them, to touch them and share in their joy.
My childhood was happy, I suddenly reminded myself. Why did I find myself envying these children who played so freely and without boundaries?
One of them looked at me, a little girl with a shock of black hair and violet eyes. She held her hand out to me, her palm up to the sky and an instant later a yellow and green bird appeared on her fingertips. A shy but knowing smile curved her lips as she reached her hand out to offer me her gift.
What is this? I thought.
This is the world I come from.
But it’s impossible, I thought. I came from a
“How can you say such a thing? Being the Governor of Arcadia is the highest honor a man can have bestowed on him.”
“The highest honor for him, perhaps, but what honor comes to you? As wife to a governor, you have little say, you have little power and you have little, if no decision-making abilities. You are simply the wife of a powerful and important man in the eyes of his constituents. No more.”
My hand went to my heart, so scandalized was I by his remarks. All my life the Governor was a man to respect and admire. And his wife was the envy of the city. Every young girl in Arcadia dreamed of one day living in the great governor’s mansion. My dream had been within reach. Liam loved me and my place in the mansion was practically guaranteed. As a woman in Arcadia, marrying Liam would be the highest social achievement, unless I was to ever become Governor or become one of the high Committee worker.
“Turn around,” Torrid said, his voice gentle yet commanding.
My lips parted to question him, but I thought better of it and did as told.
His hands, large and powerful, brushed lightly over my eyes, bringing my lids to a fluttering close. His fingers worked their way over my temple and back through my hair where he released my ponytail and allowed my hair to waver in the wind.
I licked my lips, not because they were dry, but because of the intense desire I felt for him. His touch was electric, and he was standing so close to me, no matter how hard I tried to ignore it.
“The fact that you received a blank Life’s Plan is not the tragedy, Kama. It is a tragedy averted. Your life is to be as you want it to be. You now have the permission to live your life to your fullest potential. Don’t you see what this means?”
I was reluctant to shake my head. My whole life I’d been told to leave my destiny in the hands of the Committee. They knew what was best for me. They would carve out a path that most suited me.
How could I trust that I was now to make my own destiny?
“You don’t, do you?” he finally said.
I shook my head and his hands came back to cover my eyes. For a moment a strong sense of indomitable strength took over me. I could courageously face any foe and win any battle.
Accompanied with the new sense of power was an odd sense of belonging. Despite everything I’d lived through in Arcadia, even with Liam and Sarah in my life, I never truly felt I belonged, not as I did in that moment with Torrid.
“Do you see what you're capable of?”
A village of color, fragrance and pure joy unfolded before me. As perfect as I’d always thought Arcadia was, this little village far outshined what Arcadia could ever be. Fields overflowed with ripened crops and meadows brushed through the violet sky with a myriad of stunning colors. Every home overflowed with love and compassion.
Though every home was lovely, with hues that warmed the heart and intricate adornments that brought whimsy and fun, it was the emotions that rang from every home that made them so special.
Children played in the streets, games that had them floating through the air and disappearing only to reappear on the other side of the street. Their smiles were genuine and the love that emanated from them could be felt where I stood.
I wanted to reach out to them, to touch them and share in their joy.
My childhood was happy, I suddenly reminded myself. Why did I find myself envying these children who played so freely and without boundaries?
One of them looked at me, a little girl with a shock of black hair and violet eyes. She held her hand out to me, her palm up to the sky and an instant later a yellow and green bird appeared on her fingertips. A shy but knowing smile curved her lips as she reached her hand out to offer me her gift.
What is this? I thought.
This is the world I come from.
But it’s impossible, I thought. I came from a
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