“How did you sleep, Luna?” Abigail asks as I emerge from the room she said was mine.

“I slept like I’ve never slept before. The sheets are so soft, and the pillow was perfectly fluffy.” I smile as I make my way over to her. “How often do the Elders come here?” I pull out the chair and sit opposite her.

“We don’t have Elders here. But, I think we need to get you up to speed with everything. If you have any questions for me, then you can ask.”

“You’ve not wed an Elder?” I scratch my head. “How did you not marry when you came of age?”

“We don’t have to marry anyone if we don’t want. Or, we can. The choice is ours, and ours alone.”

“Why are your eyes slanted and why is your skin a little bit yellow? You’re not like me.” I look to my skin, then hers. She’s not wearing the same clothes as yesterday, today she’s dressed in a pretty top with pants. She even gave me a t-shirt to wear to bed last night.

“I’m part Chinese. My mother is American but my father’s family came from China.”

“What’s China?”

“It’s a country. Just like ours. We live in America.”

I have so many questions, and I’m sure Abigail will answer them. My mind is racing, and I need to put all my questions in order of importance. But how do I know what’s important and what’s not? “And this is why your eyes are slanted?”

Abigail lets out a sweet little laugh as she picks her cup up and takes a sip. “I really like how you’re not embarrassed to ask questions. I’m making another coffee; would you like one?”

“A coffee?” I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know. Maybe. And why would I be embarrassed? Have I done something wrong?”

“Not at all. Come on, follow me into the kitchen and I’ll show you how to make a coffee.”

“I’m hungry. Where are the chickens so I can collect the eggs?”

“We buy the eggs from the store.” She points toward the fridge. “You know what a fridge is?” she asks.

“Yes, we had them in the main house where most of the cooking is done. It would keep the milk from the cows. Do you have cows?”

“We do have cows, but we don’t have them in every house. We buy milk from the store. Most of the things we eat and use are bought from the store.”

“I don’t know what a store is.”

Abigail plays with something on the counter. There are so many things in this kitchen I’ve never seen or even know what they are. There are a few box-looking things on the counter, varying in sizes and colors. I stare at them, completely unaware of what they do.

“A store is a place you go to, a huge room where all different food products are sold. There are stores to sell clothing, and food, and furniture.”

“Sell?”

“Yes, you use money to buy things.”

“Money?”

“Yes, I work. I’m paid money to be a police officer. My job is to make sure everyone is doing the right thing. I help people who need help. I put bad people in jail.”

“Jail?” I’m understanding, for the most part, but there are words that are completely strange to me.

She smiles again, and presses a button on the tall box thing on the counter. “I’ll explain that later. We’ll keep it easy for now.” I nod my head in agreement. “I get money for being a police officer. With that money, I pay my rent, which is what I pay to live here. And I pay for my food, and clothes, and whatever else I need.”

Crinkling my brows, I’m kind of beginning to understand. “You get money for working? And with that money you pay for this?” I gesture with a wave toward her apartment.

“Yes. That’s right.”

“What if you don’t get money?”

“If I don’t have a job, then I won’t get money. I couldn’t live here, and I couldn’t eat or buy clothes.”

“Where would you sleep?”

“I’m lucky. I’d be able to go back home to my parents. But many people don’t have that opportunity and they live on the streets. They’re called homeless people.”

“People who don’t have somewhere to live are called homeless?” She nods and hands me a cup. “Am I homeless because I don’t have somewhere to live?”

“You’re a bit different.”

“Can I get money so I can pay for this?” I gesture with my hands again.

“You need training.”

“What’s that?”

“Training is where you’re taught how to do something.”

“We were taught how to take care of the Elders. We have to cook, clean and look after them. I was never allowed to learn how to read. I’d like to learn.”

“I can teach you.”

“Cain tried, but they whipped me when Elder Steven found us.” I look down to the floor, and remember the way it made me feel. The pain, the blistering heat on my back; it was horrible. “It hurt so much.” Tears well in my eyes. I hated how Cain had to watch Elder Steven whipping me.

“You were punished because you were trying to learn?” I nod my head, too afraid to speak in case my voice cracks and I start to cry. I need to be strong, and hold back all the tears. “Who’s Cain?” Abigail asks in a smaller and more gentle voice.

“Cain’s my best friend. I love him,” I say, finally being able to break out of the sadness. I look up to see Abigail smiling at me.

“You love him?”

“Oh yes, so much.” My voice drops and my shoulders sink. “But I was to be taken as a bride for Elder Steven.”

“Come, sit.” Abigail makes her way past me, and sits in a room with a small sofa facing a big flat box on the wall.

I sit on the sofa, and she sits on the floor. Crossing her legs under her, she looks like she’s settling in to talk to me. I like Abigail, even though she has slanted eyes and yellowing skin, she’s really nice. I’m fairly certain I can trust her. She hasn’t done anything to prove otherwise. I don’t think I have to be careful of what I say to her. I think she’s got a kind heart.

“What’s that?” I ask as I point to the thin, big, black box on the wall.

“That?” She looks at it, leans over and picks a little black long object off the small table. “That is a TV.”

“A what?”

“It’s called a television. Most people call it a TV, which is short for television.” She points the small, thin black thing at the television, and it comes to life. I startle backward and clutch at my chest. It’s bright and loud and there are people talking.

“I don’t understand,” I say as I stand and walk over toward the black box. “How did the people get inside?” I look around the box and notice there’s nothing behind it except the wall.

“They’re actors. It’s their job to act. To pretend to be someone else.”

“They pretend?” She nods her head. “Why?”

Abigail shrugs, then smiles. “Because that’s what they want to be. Like I’m a police officer, they’re actors. They do it for entertainment.”

“They get money for becoming small and going into the box?”

Abigail chuckles. “They’re not in the television. They’re normal sized people, like you and me. They go to a film studio and there are cameras that film them acting.”

I rub at my temples, trying to relieve the building pressure. “I don’t understand.”

“How about I take you to a film studio, so you can see how it works and I can explain it better to you?”

She wants to show me? “I’m allowed?” I ask, suddenly smiling. Abigail nods her head. “Really?” She nods again. “Thank you.” I’m actually going to be shown something. I can’t believe it. Someone is willing to show me something other than cooking, cleaning and taking care of the Elders.

“Tell me about Elder Steven,” she asks and sips on her coffee. I take a sip of mine, and spit it out. It’s horrible. “You don’t like it?”

“No, it’s disgusting. I’d like some milk though, please.”

“I’ll show you where everything is and you can get it yourself.” She hops up, and I follow her to the kitchen. Once she’s shown me where the glasses are, I pour milk into one and head back into the room with the television on the wall. I sit again, and Abigail retakes her seat on the floor. It takes a few heartbeats before she brings up the same question. “Tell me about Elder Steven.”

“He’s mean.” I sip my milk. It tastes funny. Different from the milk at home.

“How is he mean?”

“He’s cruel. He likes to hurt me.”

“How would he hurt you?”

“He likes to whip me. And he told me if I told anyone about the outside, that he’d hurt Cain.”

She takes another sip, and nods. “So you’ve been outside before?”

“I dug a hole under the fence, and I walked until I found people. There were so many of them, and a man told me he was going to get his supervisor ‒ I didn’t know what that was ‒ but Elder Steven found me.”

“Do you remember where those people were?”

“Outside the wall.”

“Do you know how long ago that happened?”

“How long?”

“Time…” she pauses and scratches her chin. “…that’s okay, we’re still getting a handle on time. How would you measure time between events?”

“Sunrises and sunsets. Elder Steven was going to take me as a bride on the next full moon. I would’ve been his.” I scrunch my nose. “He would’ve pushed his penis inside of me while Elder William watched.” A shiver runs up my spine and the mere thought of that happening.

“Who’s Elder William?” She takes another sip.

“Elder William is…” I shudder just thinking about him. “…wrinkly. Sister Rachel told me when we wed an Elder, Elder William will stay in the room until the Elder has filled the girl with his seed. That sounds disgusting to me. He also checks to make sure the girl bleeds when the Elder pushes his penis into her vagina.” I scrunch my nose and downturn my mouth. “I was wanted by many Elders. It’s supposed to be an honor. I didn’t want any of them to want me.”

“Did you have to marry someone?”

I nod. “I had to marry the Elder who wanted me most when I came of age. But because I’d gotten out of there once, they were going to marry me to Elder Steven before I came of age.”

“So, you haven’t come of age yet?”

“No, not yet.”

“Do you know when you’d come of age?”

“I have many full moons left before I’m of age. They’d tell us when it was time.”

“Would that make you about fifteen then?” she mumbles more to herself than to me.

“Fifteen?”

“It’s an age. Your age is calculated from the day you’re born. The legal age for sex is sixteen in this state, so I’m assuming you’re about fifteen. I also assume you don’t know when your birthday is?” I shake my head. I’m not even sure what a birthday is. I won’t tell her though. I’ll just listen and try to work it out for myself. I feel stupid enough for not knowing what a lot of things are, I don’t want to sound stupid too. “Tell me more.”

“About what?” I ask.

“Anything you want to tell me. Who cooks?” She smiles at me.

“All the girls have a share in it. We wait for Momma Kim or Momma Edith to tell us what we have to do. The Elders like me serving them in the dining room. Elder Steven likes me cleaning his bathroom, too. He’d stand at the door and watch as I scrubbed the floor. He’d make groaning noises when I had to get down on my knees to get in behind the toilet. I’ve never liked him; he’s always been mean.” I shake my head trying to dislodge the image of the preditory gleam in his eyes as he was dunking my head in the water. Or the happiness as he hit me when I was chained to the wall. Those are things I’d rather forget. A tear slips from my eyes, and I quickly wipe it away before Abigail notices.

But she’s sharp and sees everything. “Are you okay?” she asks while she leans over and gives me a box with tissues inside.

I take one and wipe at my eyes. Staring at the box, I can’t help but wonder why I’ve never questioned these before. “You buy these at the store?” I ask.

“The tissues? Yes, why?”

“I never questioned them before. Ever. There’s a room outside the main house, a storage room. We’re not allowed in there, but I’ve seen Momma Edith go into it, and saw these stacked high, along with toilet paper. I never questioned where they came from, I just thought they had always been there. The more I look back at my life in God’s Haven, the more I see the things they were hiding from us. Obvious things, like these.” I tap on the tissues.

“I suspect whoever created God’s Haven made sure that whoever’s born there is kept uneducated so they don’t ask questions. That means their secrets won’t be discovered.”

“I asked questions.”

“And what would happen when you asked?”

I turn away from Abigail and stare at an invisible spot on the sofa. The more I think about it, the more I see she’s right. “They’d beat me,” I say.

“Because you were a danger to them. You didn’t take what they said as truth.”

“I wanted to see the outside for myself. Not because I didn’t believe them, but because I wanted to understand. But now, I know my life behind the wall was just a lie.”

“Not everything. I’m sure the relationship you have with Cain is real.”

“How can it be?” Tears spring to my eyes. “How can it be, when we’ve been living a lie? Out here, beyond the wall, maybe we wouldn’t be… us.” My heart hurts. Taking a deep breath, I look at Abigail. “They took our choices away.”

I hate them.

All of the Elders.