Elenio

Gemma thought that in her life she would never go out while Elenio’s sky was still dark. But after she moved to Ayria, the capital of Elenio, she had that opportunity.

Even though it wasn’t completely dark when Gemma came out, she still felt a unique sensation. Gemma still remembers how her body welcomed her first experience back then. Her heart was beating wildly, her legs couldn’t stop shaking. The smell of the late morning air wafted through, caressing Gemma’s skin and hair. Cold, damp, and something Gemma could never imagine before made her whole body dissolve in a feeling that was… Magical.

“Why do you like making a fuss so much?”

Gemma snorted. Maya is still discussing it?

Who knew that rich man was a VIP guest at the nightclub?

“I didn’t start it,” Gemma replied. She was still looking out the car window, not wanting to miss the chance to see the color of the sky changing at dawn.

When she saw such beauty, Gemma momentarily forgot that the country she lived in, Elenio, was a cursed country, which made this country forbid its citizens to go out at night.

“Still, what you did earlier made the VIP guest angry at the club owner, and the club owner angry at us. You know what it means when the club owner is angry at us??”

That means they will cut Gemma’s pay, or she won’t get it at all. Gemma is more likely to experience the last one.

“At least nothing’s broken.”

If something breaks, it’s not Gemma who gets paid, but she has to pay for the club where she sings.

Gemma often experiences that too.

“Can’t you just act normal, like a singer? Just come, sing, and go home.”

“The problem is, I can’t go straight home after I finish singing.”

Gemma made Maya take a deep breath with her answer. Maya’s car turned a corner. They now approached the downtown.

The square right in the middle of the city always attracts Gemma’s attention, even if only for a moment. The green grass in the early morning looked wet and glistening with dew. There are no signs of humans who usually pass by there to just enjoy the outdoors amid an urban atmosphere.

Gemma glanced at her watch, half-past six in the morning. No humans have indeed come out yet. There was still half an hour until the curfew ended.

Even though the curfew ended at six, it was rare for residents to venture out at six in the morning. They waited until the night sky had completely disappeared.

The main government building located on the other side of the square, which was the largest and grandest building in Ayria, was towering and huge like a giant ruler of this country.

“How dare you pass through the downtown? What if we get caught by them?” Gemma turned to Maya, who still had an annoyed look on her face.

“Oh... You care if we get caught?”

Maya sounds cynical. She stepped deeper on the gas pedal.

Actually, no, Gemma didn’t care. They won’t be caught either. The patrol cars used to go through the same lane every day, and at this hour they didn’t pass through this road.

Gemma had never told Maya about it, and it seemed Maya thought that by going through the downtown like this someone would really catch them, and it would satisfy Maya to see Gemma in handcuffs. Even if it meant she would also be arrested.

Ayria at curfew is like a dead city that has been abandoned for a long time. There was no light other than the dim orange street lamps, and the faint rays of the sun peeking out from the east.

There are no signs of life that show that this city is a big city, apart from modern buildings, lined with ancient buildings that have typical European architecture, a sign that this country was once colonized.

Gemma knows Ayria’s asphalt roads. She passes every inch of it every day, on a different route. She knew that at the crossroads ahead, right around the corner, there was a bakery that opened at exactly seven o’clock, and they made the sandwiches that made up the breakfast menu for almost all the downtown workers.

Gemma turned to a small lane that passed quickly. Down the street was a shop that still sold cassettes and LPs from the big seventies and eighties singers and bands.

Maya’s car sped past a supermarket that had a small cafe with tables lined beside the sidewalk. That cafe is always full at lunchtime. Gemma used to sing there when she was just starting her career. Not much was paying attention to her at the time, which made Gemma almost throw a tantrum at feeling belittled. Fortunately, there was Maya, who swiftly calmed her down.

Maya...

Gemma glanced at her manager, who had nagged her all night. Not only because of the incident with the VIP guests, but also because Gemma is always making a fuss at her concert venue.

“If it weren’t for you, we’d be rich now. You don’t have to live in that library attic anymore. You can have a car too, so I don’t always have to pick you up.”

Gemma couldn’t reply to those words. Because Maya was right. The money Gemma makes always goes to compensate for the club’s repair costs because Gemma gets into fights almost every time.

Gemma couldn’t help but gulp while staring at the city of Ayria, which had always been a foreign land in Gemma’s eyes at times like this. Gemma didn’t even notice the swarm of stray cats that often roamed around during the day, from one trash can to another, hoping for food.

Gemma never went abroad, she could only see it on the internet. But it’s enough to give an idea that in other countries, they have nightlife. Gemma sometimes asked what the curse was that overshadowed Elenio.

The government does not allow their people to go out at night, because something will kill them. Some call it a monster. But the elders of this country have their own nicknames. Draconian.

When Gemma first heard the name, she imagined the blood-sucking vampire that appears in horror films. With pointed fangs and a pale face.

But no. Draconians are not such creatures.

They don’t need blood. What they take from humans is not just physical things.

Honestly, sometimes Gemma looked forward to seeing that figure as she rode with Maya at this hour of the night. No one has ever really been able to describe exactly what Draconian looks like. It is said that those who have met before, no longer live to tell. Because there was nothing that could save their life from that creature.

Except maybe the Archturians.

Gemma’s heart felt like it was stabbed every time she remembered Archturian.

“We’re here.”

Maya shifted gears and pulled the handbrake lever. They both turned their heads, looking at the two-story building that seemed to have been built during the colonial period two hundred years ago. Definitely older than the surrounding buildings. The manager of this place said this building used to be a meeting hall for Ayria residents, which was later closed because Ayria built a new, larger, and modern meeting hall. Then this building was bought by a rich man, and he converted the function of this building into a public library.

“Thank you,” said Gemma, she greeted before getting out of the car. Maya just nodded, already looking not so angry but also lazy to talk.

Maya’s car sped away as soon as Gemma closed the door.

Gemma stood for a moment on the sidewalk, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She just wanted to feel Ayria’s morning air that never disappoints her when she inhaled it.

Gemma turned around, looked up at the small window that showed where she lived. She squirmed at the thought of how comfortable it would be to be on the small bed that was right next to the window.

“Home sweet home,” Gemma muttered, climbing the steps and into the library.

*