Construct Eleven was a large, circular building. The beings that occupied it resided in the upper thirty floors while they worked and played in the lower ten. The living arrangements of the residence floors were in four concentric circles with a hollow center, so that when a being stood on the tenth floor, they could look up and see the sky.
The living quarters themselves were arranged to use the space most efficiently. The two middle rings were backed against each other so the accommodation doors opened into one of two corridors, the inner and outer hallways. Those were connected by four short corridors evenly spaced around the Construct, where banks of elevators could be accessed.
Pausing before entering the inner hallway, Daniel leaned forward and quickly glanced down either side of the long hallway. There didn't seem to be any being coming from either direction. He strode across the hall in three giant steps, moving to his left toward Paul's accommodation.
Once he was across the hall, he restrained his steps to keep from rushing. He didn't want to be caught running in the corridors.
His caution proved to be warranted. As he passed the first door on his right, an invigilator appeared from around the bend in the hallway.
The sight of it made him freeze.
Keep your head down, he told himself. It’s just on patrol and you’re not doing anything wrong. Now walk.
It strolled toward him. Its white, leather boots creaked as it approached. The golden faceplate of its helmet followed Daniel as they passed by each other. He was fairly certain there was another being inside the white armor, but he wasn’t sure. He’d never seen a face or any amount of skin.
Daniel shifted his eyes to the floor as he took slow, plodding steps. He didn’t want to give the invigilator an opportunity to sting him. He'd never been stung before and he wanted to keep it that way. He had heard the stings and the resulting burns could be very painful.
The creaking of boots faded. Daniel glanced behind him to see an empty corridor. The invigilator must’ve turned by the elevators to patrol the outer ring. Daniel exhaled a sigh of relief and picked up his pace.
A few doors later, he stopped and knocked softly on room 4005.
The door opened a crack and a pair of eyes peeked through. They lit up with a smile just before the door opened, revealing the gray-haired Diana, Paul’s partner.
“Daniel, how nice to see you!” Diana exclaimed.
He couldn't hide his smile as he stepped through the door. “It’s pleasant to see you as well.”
“Come, give me a hug.”
Daniel bent over to embrace the small, elderly female. She patted his shoulders before releasing him. “I’ll get Paul. Make yourself at home.”
“Thank you, Diana,” Daniel said as she turned toward the sleeping rooms. He loved spending time with them. Diana was kind and gentle. She always seemed to have something positive to say. Paul always had interesting things to talk about, usually concerning how things used to be, or he had some old artifact to show Daniel.
Paul and Diana’s accommodation was identical to Daniel’s, and every other living arrangement in the Construct. Each one had a living area, usually furnished with couches and chairs, a small table and chair set, desks and bookshelves. There were always two sleeping rooms, one for the adult partners and one for the single offspring. Those rooms were separated by a small bathroom.
However, Paul and Diana had far more belongings in their accommodation than he did. The walls in Daniel’s living area were bare. The bookshelves held only the mandatory reading for the beings. There were no pictures or any other decorations to make it more interesting. Their accommodation was the very model of what the Correctness Guidelines required them to look like. Dan insisted on it.
That’s one of the many reasons Daniel enjoyed being in their living area. On the walls hung several paintings, some of the Outside. Even though Paul had explained them hundreds of times, they were still mysterious to Daniel. There were old pictures of beings Daniel didn’t know. Paul called them his family, but Daniel could never quite grasp the meaning of the word or how the beings were part of that. Small statues of animals Daniel was certain didn’t exist anymore populated the shelves along with a variety of books. He was sure most of them were forbidden. How Paul managed to keep them was puzzling.
There were overstuffed pillows and vibrant blankets everywhere. Every color existed in this one room and Daniel loved it. Their living area felt alive and inviting while his felt cold and sterile.
But what he loved most was the window. No other being that Daniel knew of had a window in their living area. It was enormous and constituted almost the entire Inner Wall. Paul once told Daniel the Leaders had built walls to cover all the windows when he was a small child. Somehow, Paul had managed to remove the wall and keep it a secret. He said he was able to keep the secret because no being ever came to visit him. Daniel suspected it had something to do with the large, dark blue blankets that would sometimes cover the window. Diana called them drapes and they seemed to melt into the rest of the unusual decorations of the room.
Since Paul’s window looked out into the hollow center of the Construct, there really wasn’t anything interesting to look at, just the other side of the building. Daniel could see the covered windows of the other rooms, black and lifeless. However, if he pressed his body up tight against the window and peered down just right, he could just barely see the Great Sky Area on the tenth floor.
What was most interesting about the window didn’t have anything to do with the Construct, but what was above it, the sky. On the rare occasion when Daniel could visit in the afternoon, he could see the yellow disk as it moved down. Beautiful colors would emerge as it disappeared behind the walls. Sometimes the colors were pale shades of blue and orange and at other times, when there were clouds, bright shades of red, pink, orange and yellow would materialize. A being might be able to see the clouds in those colors from the Great Sky Area, if they were lucky. But, that view could never compare to what could be seen from Paul's window.
Paul called it a sunset. Daniel had never heard any other being speak of it. He was so amazed when he first saw one, he had mentioned it to Dan, who didn’t seem to understand what Daniel was talking about. He was told never to speak of it again.
Daniel couldn’t understand how he could forget about something so beautiful. Paul told him it was more magnificent in the Outside, on the other side of the walls. But going into the Outside was forbidden, so seeing a sunset that way would be impossible for Daniel. Watching them from inside the Construct would have to suffice.
A relaxing feeling spread through him as he got closer to the window. The sky was a brilliant, soft blue this morning. Light, puffy clouds skirted the edge of his view. It was strange, it almost seemed too bright. Daniel wasn't sure why, but things seemed clearer lately, like he had just woken up from a deep sleep. He couldn't explain it.
A hand touched Daniel’s shoulder, startling him. “Daniel, I’m glad….”
“Paul!” Daniel breathed as he turned to face the elderly male. He recovered quickly and flashed him a wide grin.
Paul’s cheeks were ruddy and round. His brown eyes glistened behind his circular glasses. The overhead light reflected off his bald head. “It seems you were lost in thought.”
“Oh, yes. I was thinking about the sunset. I wish I could see it every evening.”
Paul sat in the oversized easy chair to the right of Daniel. “Yes, it's nice to see. What brings you around these parts today?”
Daniel stepped to the couch and sat on the edge, leaning forward onto his knees. “I had another dream this morning.”
“Oh, I see.” Paul gave him a knowing smile. “Was it in color again?”
“Yes.”
“I find it amazing that you have these colorful dreams. They seem to be increasing in frequency. Refresh my memory about how long you've been having them.”
Daniel thought for a moment. “Well, I’ve been having these dreams for over three cycles now, but they’ve picked up in the last four weeks or so.”
“And your dream was of the Outside?”
“Yes. It was very strange. I was there, in the Outside, and there were several brown buildings around me. Far away, the golden-haired female stood, watching me. Behind me were some of the male Sixteens. I heard someone yelling for Molly… I think that's her name. And then there was a really loud sound and the ground began shaking. Some being pulled on my arm and told me to run. As I started running, a building between me and the golden-haired female fell."
Paul blinked a few times as he took in the information. “That’s impressive. You think the female is named Molly?"
Daniel hesitated. He knew what Paul would say about her. “Yes. I don't know a Molly, so it makes sense."
A quizzical look washed over Paul’s face. "If you don't know a Molly, where do you think you'd meet one?"
Daniel shrugged. "I don't know."
"I don't either."
"So, you still think that the female in my dreams is your female caretaker.”
Paul turned his head to look at the picture on the wall. Daniel followed his eyes. Paul had told him several times who the beings in the picture were: his caretakers, Catie and Joey. They both lived in the Outside before the Construct was founded. She had golden, curly hair, just like the female in Daniel’s dreams.
“Yes, I do think it’s her. I think she’s trying to give you a message.”
Daniel shook his head in frustration. He wasn't as certain. “What message?”
"That’s what you have to figure out.”
“But I’ve never seen the face of the female in my dream. How do I know it’s her?” Daniel said as he pointed to the picture on the wall.
“Do you know any other females with that color of hair?”
He hated arguing with Paul. “No.”
Diana emerged from one of the sleeping rooms. “I hate to interrupt your conversation, but it's almost seven. Daniel will be late for morning ration if he doesn’t get going.”
“Thank you, Diana.” Paul pulled back on the arms of the chair and hoisted his body. “Daniel, please come back tomorrow.”
Surprised, Daniel said, “But tomorrow’s Age Change Day. I don’t know if I can.”
“Yes, I know. I’ll work something out with Dan. Please come around four.”
“Can I come tonight?”
“No, Diana and I will be spending tonight alone.”
“Oh.” Daniel tried to hide his disappointment. He wanted to see another sunset.
Diana smiled as she reached out to hug Daniel. “How old will you be tomorrow, Daniel?”
He leaned in and gave her a small hug. “I’ll be a Seventeen.”
“OH!” she exclaimed as she patted his shoulder. She pulled back and grinned. “You’ll be old enough to court!”
Paul gave him a smile. “Be careful, Daniel. You never know who the Council will pick for you.”
Diana giggled, “Shame on you, Paul!” She gave him a playful smack on his shoulder.
Paul winked at her. "I'm just saying, if he doesn't get his choice…." He turned his attention back to Daniel, extending his hand. “Tomorrow, then?”
He grimaced. He couldn’t let Paul down. “Of course.”
As they shook hands, Daniel thought about this simple act. Other than Dan, there were no other beings in the Construct he shook hands with. Somehow, it meant more with Paul.
Diana opened the door for him. “See you soon, dear.”
***
Paul watched Daniel as he disappeared around the corner
toward the elevators.
“Do you really want to put him through this?” Diana was standing just inside the
accommodation.“No. But he has a gift, Di. He’s special.”
“It will change him.”
Paul shifted his gaze to the floor. “I don’t see any other way.”
Silence fell between the pair for a moment.
“Do you think Dan will allow it?” Diana asked.
A grunt escaped Paul’s throat. “He has to. He promised.”
"Paul, please don't tell Daniel."
"Tell him what?"
"Who we are."
Paul glanced over at his partner. He knew the look on her face—she was troubled. Paul felt powerless, there was nothing he could do to help her feel better. It was this place they lived in, this place they couldn’t escape. "I won't," he said. "I can't do that to him."
“I just worry about him,” Diana said, her voice full of emotion.
Reaching for her hand, he said in a low voice, “I know. I do too. But this is too important.”
Paul lifted his head and was about to go back through the door when movement caught his eye. For a moment, he thought Daniel was coming back. But it wasn’t him, it was the courier from the office.
He approached Paul right away. “Paul?”
“Yes?”
“Here are your papers.” He handed Paul two pieces of white paper, one for him and one for Diana.
“Thank you,” Paul murmured. The gratitude didn’t matter, though, the courier was off to his next delivery.
Paul read the words and squeezed Diana’s hand. “We have to do it Di, we have to do it for him.”
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