Lydia Dubrien: A Short Story

“Life can’t possibly be like this,” Lydia thought

Lydia Brien’s life was surrounded by containment, metal walls and strict obligations to her home called Polis. In space. Polis was her home. Earth had been radiated by a nuclear war 85 years ago, and all of mankind that was left was Polis a sanctuary in space.

Lydia’s life was filled with nothing but working for rations to support her and her sick Father. She felt trapped and felt no sort of freedom. The ministry in Polis had strict rules. No more than one child to preserve oxygen, if you were to need something you would have to work for it, rations were hard to get, never talk back to the guards, if you were over 18 and committed a crime you would be executed, if you were under 18 you would

She sat beside her Father and helped him, opening the cap, passing him a pill, than the water bottle. Making sure he took it accordingly. He hated taking pills. It made him feel like he was dying, he was. Though he never accepted it. He didn't want to accept it. He was afraid of the unknown, what would happen after he was gone, what would happen to me? “I could never repay you, Lydia. Thank you,” Her Father said after taking the pill “I won’t be sick forever, I’ll fix this” “Dad, there's just some things you can't fix”

“I’ll fix this, Im not leaving you anytime soon” Lydia gave her Dad a reassuring smile. Lydia knew that one day, her Father will be gone and she wont have any family left. It was her worst fear. She mentally prepared herself for that day, therefore it wouldn't hurt as much. The thought of him leaving already breaks her. He’s leaving a little every day.

“I’m going to head off to the food lounge, their properly serving dinner, want anything?”

“No sweetie, I’m just going to head off to

They both took a step outside, it was unreal. The limited oxygen they had was 5 minutes, therefore they took their time, acknowledging everything they saw. It was a unbelievable scene, shocking. Lydia’s mind was set in a reeling, unable to comprehend what she was seeing or what she was doing.

“C’mon we have to go back we only have a minute left,” Stiles said

“Stiles” Lydia paused “Thank You”

They both headed back into Polis, back to their awful reality and constant working. Though Lydia was no longer worried, it was like all her worries were gone. She felt alive. She felt hope like a bright star in a hopeless dark universe. Once they entered Polis, a couple minutes went by, they were dressed and were ready to head back to their bunkers, as they were about to exit two guards walked in. Lydia and Stiles paused in their footsteps, speechless.

“We knew there were no repairs to be made, especially during this time. Put your hands on you’re head” The guards took a step towards Stiles and Lydia, and they took a step back. Stile stepped forward

“It was just me, she had nothing to do with it. I took her Dad’s access card, she was just trying to get it back,” Lydia couldn’t believe what she was