SIXTY-TWO: MiJin

Arous banged on the door of the Mission. It was a large metal door with a bolt and no handle; it echoed like a gong through the alley.  The City only whispered back, a shush. 

She looked down the alley toward the street to see the lights reading “Rancho Regal” flicker and go out. She walked around the front and pulled on the glass doors; they were barred with iron and chained from the inside.  A slam came from the alley alongside the theatre. Arous turned and saw someone exit the alley.

She ran down the alley. This time she noticed a small doorbell in the wall sat below a sign that read “Ring bell for service.”

After a few minutes a rectangle piece in the upper part of the door slid back and part of a face with a couple of dark, lean eyes looked out at her.

“Can I help you?”

“I’m looking for Therese,” said Arous, stepping back so she could be eye to eye with the eyes that were asking questions.

“Who are you?”

“You’re the one hiding behind a large door, a slit I’m tiny not enough to fit through!” The eyes staring at Arous blinked.

“I’m Arous.  Therese doesn’t know me but I met some people who know her. Anyway, they gave me her name.”

“Breakfast is over and we don’t serve lunch here. You’ll have to comeback at dusk.”

“Wait! I don’t want to eat, I just want to talk to her.  I think she might be able to help me.”

I felt Edlawit wiggle her fingers under mine.

“Tell her you’re from Alippiana,” Edwi whispered

“I’m sorry.” The peep-hole started to close.

“I’m from Alippiana!”

“Alippiana?” asked the girl.

Arous heard a voice behind the girl and said louder:  “Yeah, the Bowl.”

The eyes vanished from the slit in the door for a few minutes. Arous waited. After a few minutes, the eyehole slammed and Arous heard a large bolt turning, scraping metal. The heavy door creaked open. A sweet clean smell hit Arous’ nose making her stomach rumble as she took a few steps up the ramp.

“I’ll get Therese,” she said and disappeared.

She wasn’t Amalgamese but she didn’t look exotic in the same way Arous did. Her skin was a bright gold and her eyes were dark and narrow. Her hair seemed a shade darker than Arous’ wavy locks; her’s were straight and shiny. She was shorter than Arous was expecting but then she saw the stool positioned by the door as the young woman let Arous into the back of the theater. Arous just saw enough of her facial features to think she looked familiar.

After a few minutes, she came out of the kitchen with a tray of tea and a few food items for Arous.

“Therese was just washing up when you came.  I heard your stomach rumble and thought I’d offer you a few leftovers. Therese is going to be awhile,” she said.  The girl didn’t look Arous in the eye but didn’t seem shy.  The girl seemed as if she was torn between dueling emotions: curiosity and fear.

“Do I know you? You look familiar.”

“My name is MiJin.”

“I’m Arous.”

“Yeah, you told me that, at the door.”

“Right,” said Arous.  She couldn’t think of anything else to say but the girl sat down anyway.  It didn’t make it any less awkward.

“Have you enjoyed being . . . here . . . in the City?”

“I guess,” said Arous. 

Edlawit whispered again, “I trust her. She’ll be one of us.”

Arous tapped her fingers on the table and then began to twirl her hair.

 “It’s a nice city. Clean, and very white and green. The capital building and the courthouse are nice to look at.  I think they’ve forgotten this part of the City.  It has a lot of potential, you can see what the buildings used to be,” MiJin looked Arous right in the eye, the continued. “The old buildings . . . There’s something majestic down here.  You know, they still keep old print copies of newspapers in the basement of the Archives? Weirdest thing. If nothing else, check-out the Archives, before you leave -”

“Who said I was leaving?” Arous snapped at her.  She could hear Edlawit in her head; the night without sleep left her defenseless against our seeing.

“Sorry, I, you just don’t look like someone who’d stay here.  I don’t know,” said MiJin and got up.

“I’m sorry,” said Arous. She looked at MiJin for the first time.

“You look familiar.”

“I couldn’t.  You’ve never seen me before.”

“You’re awfully confident of that,” Arous said.

“There are people here from all over.  City Canadí: the Melting Pot. We see kids here from every Pantaganent. Capitalism is King here, and each King has its Idelle Queen.  Kids come here thinking they’ll be the next famous Idelle for the next famous brand or MOTA or Cause. Dreams rarely come true, you know.”

“This is going to seem like a strange question but,” Arous paused.  “Have you ever seen anyone who looked like me?”

“Uh,” MiJin paused. “I don’t know. I -”

“I mean . . . I’m Lunese.  I’m the only one,” but Arous stopped herself, “I don’t have their honey skin, or their wavy, coarse, full hair or their copper eyes.”

“Neither do I,” said MiJin.

“I don’t know what I’m saying.”

“I do.  You and me, we’re different. It’s not popular to be different . . . to be a part of an odd, random, pure gene that happens to pop up. That’s what they say here, anyway. Pangaea Canadí, always proud of its melting pot but no room from the parts that don’t melt. My mom ran away from her family and brought me here.  She died here, I found Therese,” MiJin paused and smiled. “We’re different. And you still have a light about you, about your eyes, I noticed that the first time I saw-”

MiJin went pale; Arous started.

“The first time you saw?” asked Arous. “Who? Me?”

“MiJin!” Therese’s voice from the doorway.  “They’ve come with the corn. Please go help them unload it.”