Chapter 1: Welcome to Calanathe
I've been running for what feels like centuries. The air I once knew as familiar and calming now had an anger I had never known. It whipped against my face with such fury, I felt as if with one wrong step I might be blown away. Everything I knew was a lie, and I had no choice but to flee as the world that once gifted me with a sense of belonging was exposed as the emotional mousetrap that it is.
But we're getting ahead of ourselves here. Let me start from the beginning.
My name is Aster Orlioa, I'm 15, and I live in the small kingdom of Calanathe. I would say I'm your average teen, but I am absolutely not. You see, Calanathe has a completely different lifestyle than that of any other "normal" country. Here, everything in your life is chosen for you, and what the Calanathian government says goes.
There are rules that are the same for everyone, such as getting your soulmate assigned to you at birth with a marking special only to you two, or having to get your first job at 12. However, women have much more detailed and strict rules.
For example, women are not allowed to work in any kind of field that requires hard labor, like construction or any sort of heavy lifting job. Women are allowed to be either maids, personal chefs, nannies, teachers, or entertainers. That is of course until they turn 21. When a woman in my kingdom turns 21, they are expected to find their soulmate. By 28, they are expected to settle down and get married on or before their 32nd birthday.
Women do not get the option of adoption or not having children. All women are required to have at least one child by the time they turn 35, as to not mess up the "natural order" of the kingdom. Women who choose not to have children are exiled, and women who are infertile are either kept for extra work purposes, or exiled. If 3 or more of the kingdom rules is broken, "He who disobeys direct orders shall be executed."according to the kingdom rule book.
I currently work as a maid, and next year I will begin my educator training, to become a teacher by 17. I do attend high school just like any other teen, but the schooling here is much shorter in comparison to regular schools. Instead of having to attend extra schooling for what career you desire, high school is split into 5 years. The first 2 are spent learning basic subjects such as geometry and chemistry, whereas the last 3 years are catered towards the career path you decide on.
Calanathians can choose to do the law program for those years, or you may choose to do law or even medical. If you decide to do a trade as your career, you only need 2 years of that program, so you graduate high school a year early.
We don't have colleges in Calanathe, for it is believed to be a "waste of talent and time" so no one bothers asking what university their friends are going to. Speaking of friends, I don't have any. Not that I'm not allowed to, I just don't have the time.
I normally spend all day working, and the free time I do have is spent painting, or practicing archery. I do archery in secret, because if even a soul were to find out, that would be one strike toward me getting executed.
I would like to have a friend however; it does get quite boring being alone all the time. It is said that misery loves company, but I've gotten quite used to the empty feeling it brings, so I often allow myself to be seated right next to that miserable feeling. At least this way I will not be entirely alone.
I live with my mother and sister, my father died when I was 8. I have a generally standard life despite the circumstances.
Our house is by a small field of wildflowers, and I enjoy spending time there to think. "About what?" you may be wondering. And to that I say, I'm not entirely sure. Sometimes the thoughts in my head get a bit overwhelming, so I use the field as an outlet to recharge my mind.
This may come off as a bit selfish, but a part of me feels as though I don't belong here. I feel empty, my entire life is just a loop of numbers and rules, birth and death.
Honestly I've grown tired of it all, and as I lay here in my abnormally cold room, with the winter colored walls I've known since birth, I struggle to grasp the hands of sleep as I lie awake wondering if there is something more out there for me, something better.
I finally drift off to sleep, unable to cease the abundance of thoughts racing in my mind, but something tells me that's a good thing.
───── ❝ author's note❞ ─────
thank you so much for reading the first part of my new story :) i really appreciate it! if you have any thoughts, feel free to leave a comment and i will try my best to reply to everyone! to anyone reading this, you are important, you are loved, and you are valid <3