WARNING!: Mentions of death and blood                

                Fairness my , Ten thought.

                He walked quietly through the starlit night gazing at the daily forum from his Ipad, a gift from his sister for his birthday. On days where the schoolwork from his private tutor from London were overwhelming, he liked to stroll through the overgrown garden in his backyard with an occasional sugar glider of his landing on his shoulder seeking pets of acknowledgement before flying back into the family’s bamboo forest.

                Ten and his family did not exist however. His home on the outskirts of Bangkok hidden by the extensive foliage was the only protection they had asides from the advanced hacking a close friend had offered them on their identification profiles before fleeing China from the former government officials.

                Finding the bench by the pond that derived from the sea, the bioluminescent plankton lit up greeting Ten; he smiled in return and greeted back while eagerly sitting down cross-legged to begin drawing on his Ipad with his glasses perched on his nose. Even though the humidity was apparent—as most nights and days were--Ten didn’t mind sweating if it meant he could be with his friends and draw in peace.

                On the blank canvas, he drew lightly, sketching a world where people of different colors of skin, facial markings, and hair danced in the streets at night. The bright, warm colors and atmosphere making it evident of its falsehood in reality. Oh, how he wished he was able to comfortably go out at night without the impeding curfew. He knew from the many news articles he read that every Sunday was a reward for all NCTzens to express themselves creatively with their fashion choice and to have their curfew extended to 10 PM instead of 9 PM. But it wasn’t enough for Ten.

               But Ten had seen what real, true creation and freedom was during his time hiding underground as a child. Wearing different colored uniforms on a Sunday until 10 PM was not freedom of expression, but oppression.

               Men smoked and drank, celebrating their privilege of being an outcast and deviant. Women were often seen with an array of various colors in their hair and wore whatever they pleased—clothing that covered their body and sometimes barely.

               There were even street races of beautiful, imported cars from all over the world painted in all sorts of exotic colors during his time underground. How the government didn’t hear the obnoxious and modified exhaust systems was beyond Ten. He mainly walked and took pictures of such beauty to draw later in his sketchbook underneath one of the bridges in the mustard yellow light. Little Ten would then return home late at night, sometimes at 3 AM worrying his parents to death that he was already in SM’s possession.

                He began to bear harshly on the pen, gritting his teeth in anger at the thought of such restriction. Realizing such carelessness in his artwork, he closed the Ipad momentarily and leaned back, blonde streaked bangs falling backwards from his face.

                The cocking of a gun was heard by the side of his face. With his eyes still closed, he knew it was only a matter of time before they found him and punished his family for hiding in secret.

               “So what are you gonna do, kill me?” Ten mocked, opening his eyes and stared back at the eye through the scope.

                No response.

                He glanced around him and saw that he was surrounded. Standing up with his Ipad in hand, arms outstretched, he surrendered before his arms were shoved behind his back. Like the many times Ten left the pond, both he and the bioluminescent plankton always said their farewells.

                But this night was different—the plankton were aware of the military’s presence and did not flash their light of beauty in fear of being removed from their home if the government discovered them. Goodbye, I love you. Ten seemed to say in his mind to his beloved family and friends. There was a tiny glimmer of soft blue in the pond, though, that Ten was able to see out of the corner of his eye as the plankton’s final farewell. The family of sugar gliders silently huddled together chirping amongst themselves, watching the scene take place before them, upset their master had be