Story 1; Chapter 1

About hundred and sixty children were gathered in two lines and they moved in silence, not daring to make a single sound.

The sun glared mercilessly onto the ground, scorching the children’s skin. They were hungry, tired, and afraid. Some children, especially the younger, weaker ones, were too exhausted that they collapsed, but the guards ignored them and simply moved on. It was until when the sun completely disappeared from the skyline then the guards decided to stop for the night.

It was in the middle of nowhere. They just haphazardly laid some mats on the ground for the children to sleep on, and provided some stale bread for them to last them for the next day.

This went on for a few days. It was to filter out the best and the strongest, the guards claimed. Because only the best can have the privilege to enter the palace.

There was a severe drought in this area, and it affected several villages at one go. Many died because of the food shortage. All this children whose parents have died were collected by the guards to bring back to the palace. It was a long walk, probably a few hundred kilometres and many children have gotten ill and passed out along the way. Those who fell behind were left behind. The others initially tried to help, but eventually realised that there was no point helping anymore. If they fall behind, the remaining ones would get more resources.

It was a cruel fight to survive.

By the seventh day, less than a hundred was left. They stopped for the night by a river. There was about a day’s walk left to the palace, so the guards slackened a little. They were kinder to the children now. They gave them a little more food and were less harsh towards them.

The guards gathered around a little bonfire they made and chatted around the area. One of them noticed a ten-year-old girl (Jihyo) wandering off beyond her area and ushered her back in. His tone was kind, but she obeyed immediately for fear of being beaten.

But before long, she sneaked off again, this time, unnoticed by the guards. She went towards the river for a sip of water and bumped into a boy (Gary), about two years older than her.

They studied each other for a moment. Gary spoke first. “You are the physician’s daughter, right?”

Jihyo nodded. “You are the hunter’s son,” she replied.

He smiled and she smiled back. It was the longest time either of them had seen a smile; ever since the dry spell started, everyone wore a frown on their faces all day.

Even though they were from separate villages, their villages were just separated by a 5m wide river. Jihyo’s father was the only physician in the two villages, so he travelled between them a lot. And naturally, she tagged along. As for Gary’s father, he was frequently injured while hunting, so he visited the doctor quite a number of times. They weren’t close friends, but they met each other often enough for the children to recognise each other.

“Your parents…” he asked, but trailed off. After a moment of silence, he said, “mine too.”

“The drought killed many people,” she sighed.

Gary sighed as he walked towards the river and she followed. He sat down on the bank, letting the river water flow over his feet. She hesitated, but did the same.

They stayed like this for a while, letting themselves immerse in the serenity. There was silence, apart from the gentle flow of the river.

After a while, Gary broke the silence. “Why did you come out?” he asked her.

She thought for a moment, before softly replying, “the river.”

Gary nodded sadly. “Me too.”

There was no need to elaborate; they knew what each other meant. The river that was shared between their villages was the life and soul of the people there. It provided them with food, water, fun memories. It pained them, seeing the water depleting day by day, until nothing was left but an empty river bed.

“I miss home,” Jihyo said. “I don’t want to go to the palace…”

Gary kept quiet because he didn’t know what to say to comfort her.

She continued. “If the guards are like this now… I can’t imagine what life will be like in the palace,” she started to sob. “I want to run away…”

Gary watched her little shoulde