The boy with the light brown hair and the girl with the heavenly blonde waves walked down the silvery hall. Espoir was sure that everyone would be aware of her presence by the way her heart beat so loudly. Beat beat, beat beat, beat beat it sang in a rhythm that matched the clatter of her and Lynx’s feet.

Rhythms that Espoir knew would soon be stopped.

Breathe in, breathe out Espoir told herself. Because these were, after all, the last breaths she would ever take. Her eyes took in everything around her, she wanted to feel everything, she wanted to hear the sweet sound of soft music, she wanted to taste something, anything. Her senses longed to be used. Until there was no more use for them.

Until their master had left the world.

As time always goes when one does not want it to pass, before Espoir knew it she and Lynx had reached their execution room. Without even thinking, Espoir grasped Lynx’s hand. Not because they were in love. But because whatever was in that room, she didn’t want to face it alone. And from the way Lynx’s hand grabbed onto hers as if it was dear life, she could tell he thought the same.

A smiling secretary greeted Espoir and Lynx as they entered the room. The sight of her ignited a flame of anger and hatred in Espoir. You’re about to kill me, and yet you’re smiling at me like I’m the greatest thing you’ve ever seen. The cruelty of it made Espoir want to sprint away from the place and do whatever it took to start a revolution. But of course, she could not.

“Come, take a seat,” the secretary said in a sweet voice that Espoir knew was fake. But her temporary anger was dying, replaced by cold fear. Death was right around the corner. Oh, what she would give for just another week, another day, of sweet life! If only she were someone else. Someone who was not doomed.

Lynx and Espoir took their seats as they were commanded to do. The secretary sat down near them, smiling.

“You’re here for your execution, right? How splendid! Don’t worry, there’s nothing to be afraid of. It will all be over before you know it.”

You mean my life will be over before I know it.
--
“Now, we’re actually going to try something new and special on you. How does that sound?”

I’d rather you just did it quickly and painlessly. If I have to die, why do I have to die painfully? Espoir gave her answer in the only way she could. She glared.

The secretary responded by changing her tone of voice to a cold, monotone, robotic tone, which Espoir found much more comfortable than her fake sweetness.

“You will both be poisoned. Right here, right now. But you will not die today. The poison is slow-working. You will have about a week left before it infiltrates your crucial organs and kills you.”

“Why are you giving us more time to live? Oh. It’s going to be painful, isn’t it? A week of excruciating pain,” Lynx blurted out. Espoir was irritated that she hadn’t thought of the complications. A week to live was a miracle. But then...she would still die. She would still get poisoned. There was still fear.

“No. It should be, for the most part, painless. The idea is that knowing you are about to die will be torture enough in and of itself. And others will see you dying and know not to stand up against us. And don’t even try to go looking for an antidote, because to that stuff, there is none,” she said. Then a smile lit her face. “Besides, this poison is effective and cheap.”

Espoir felt sick. This was cruel. So unbearably cruel. She was about to be poisoned, and all her murderer cared about was the cost of the poison. This woman didn’t have any mercy. She wasn’t even human. But she was, of course, right. A week to live was no blessing. It was a week of worry, a week of fear. Perhaps it would be better just to commit suicide.

Espoir stared at Lynx to see how he was taking the news. He looked strong, confident, but slightly annoyed, like he had just been told he had to do a lot of homework. Not that he had just been told he had a week left to live. But then Espoir stared up at his eyes. Those eyes that were the same shade of dew-covered grass on a warm summer day. And what she found made her heart sink. Those eyes were not full on confidence. His warm eyes were filled with cold fear.

And if Lynx was afraid, then there was reason to be afraid.
--
They waited silently, each in their own personal bubble of fear, while the secretary went to go get the shots containing the poisons. Are secretaries usually the ones who carry out executions, or is this just a weird government? Espoir couldn’t help but ask.

“Well, I’m not giving up hope yet,” Lynx said, shocking Espoir.

“And why do you say that?” she responded coldly. The fact that Lynx was the only reason that she was not screaming in fear was no reason to not take out a little of her anger on the only living thing currently in the room.

“Because you’re here. And your name means hope,” he said. Maybe, if it had been some other time, Espoir would have giggled, happy and nervous, at what this cute boy had just said. But the glint in his eye was teasing, and this was not a happy stroll through the park.

“Shut up,” she commanded, and he obeyed.

The secretary came back with the injections.

“Kiss you last hopes goodbye,” she whispered, and stuck the needle into Espoir’s arm.

Espoir’s first reaction was to say “ow.” The injection hurt, just like a vaccine would. But it was no vaccine. It wouldn’t save her life. It would destroy it.

Lynx was given the shot next. His face was stoical, impassive. He showed no reaction to the pain of the shot, but just sat, glaring.

“We’re going to keep you here for tonight so that we can make sure everything is going as planned,” the secretary said. Lynx and Espoir were moved to another room and put into beds.

I only have seven nights left, Espoir thought.

And tonight, I don’t even get to see the sunset.

Lynx and Espoir had left from the government building as soon as they could the next morning. They had made an unspoken agreement not to separate. Even though they had just met, even though Espoir wasn’t even sure if she liked Lynx, they were the only two people in their situation. They were the only ones who could understand exactly what the other was going through. And because of that, they needed each other.

Something about Lynx seemed off to Espoir. He didn’t seem afraid or nervous or even like he was dying. He seemed excited. Espoir could almost see the smoke coming out of his ears. Something was up with him.

Espoir, though disoriented, knew that she needed to do something with Lynx. She proposed that they go to the park.

“If we’re going to die in a week, we might as well get to enjoy some nature and beauty,” she explained. Lynx nodded his head, but it seemed like his mind was somewhere else.

The park was beautiful. It was autumn, and the trees were covered with gorgeous leaves. Bright red, vibrant yellow, lively green, dead brown, happy orange. Lush grass grew all over the park. The joyful cries of happy children pierced the crisp, wonderful air. It was a happy place.

In six days, I will be gone from this world.

Espoir wanted to cry. The joy of the park contrasted so sharply with the aching fear and pain and sadness that filled Espoir. She wanted to be held by someone, preferably her mother. But the only person she knew here was Lynx, and she did not want to be held by him.

For hours, Espoir and Lynx just strolled silently through the beautiful park. But Lynx still seemed on edge. Espoir decided to let him work out whatever he needed for himself. And sure enough, after a while he did.

“Espoir. I need to talk to you,” Lynx whispered.

“I’m right here,” she said lazily. Something about the park was calming her. Maybe spending her last days strolling around this nice park wouldn’t be so bad after all.

“I need to talk to you in private,” Lynx whispered again.

“Lead the way,” Espoir replied, annoyed that he was making her leave the peaceful beauty of the park.

Lynx did exactly as Espoir had said. He zigged and zagged straight out of the park and into the bustling city. Espoir had no idea why he was being so secretive or where they were going, but it wasn’t like she needed to be anywhere. With death on her doorstep, she had no obligations. She had already decided that seeing her family would be too painful for both them and her, so why bother? She wouldn’t work. Not on her last days. She just wanted to enjoy them as much as she possibly could. Was there anything wrong with that?
--
Eventually Lynx, after completely exhausting Espoir, stopped in the middle of an alley.

“Are you sure it’s safe here?” she asked skeptically.

“Well if it’s not, we’ll be dead in six days anyway,” Lynx replied, clearly out of breath as well.

“Why did you take me here?” Espoir demanded.

“I told you.”

“No you didn’t.”

“Yes I did. I said that I needed to talk to you.”

“Well then, get talking.”

“Espoir...I’ve been thinking. We’re basically dead right now, right?” he asked. There was a sort of desperation to him that let Espoir know this was no time for jokes.

“What do you mean by that?”

“There’s nothing anybody can do to us now. No one can hurt us anymore. The government doesn’t have anything they can take from us. They’ve already taken our lives. They can’t hurt us anymore. Right?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” For a second Espoir was worried about her family. But they were hidden and safe. If they could have been punished for Espoir’s actions, they would have been already. They were safe.

“Well....that means we’re invincible. And I think we should take advantage of that. I’m going to sound crazy, but I think we can and should start a revolution.”
--
The look in those green eyes let Espoir knew that Lynx was serious about this. And yet how could he be? His words were insanity.

“How the fudge are we supposed to start a revolution?”

“We talk to people. Tell them our story. Tell them what’s going on. Tell them why they need to fight. Espoir, can’t you see it? We’re living martyrs! People will fight for martyrs. People will die for martyrs. And for their cause. For their future. They have a future, even if we don’t. And we can help give that to them. People will listen to us and respect us because we gave our lives for our cause. No other martyr before has had this power. We can motivate the people to overthrow the government! We can do so much good for so many people! This is our chance to really make our lives, and our deaths, worth it. I don’t know about you, but I think I’m willing to die if it means I can have this much influence to lead people to do this much good.”

The green eyes were digging into her. Challenging her. Seeing if she understood.

But this wasn’t what she had expected. Not in the slightest.

“I don’t see why we can’t just spend our last days enjoying the wonders of life,” she said nervously. Somehow, she knew deep down that what she had just said was a selfish thing to do, but wasn’t giving her life to the cause a selfless enough thing to make up for most other selfish things she could do?

Anger and frustration blazed in Lynx’s eyes.

“Espoir, don’t you understand? We can make such a difference! We can overthrow the government! We can avenge our deaths! We can give these people a future! We can change the face of history! Isn’t that worth a couple precious days to you?”

He was smoldering. No longer happy and full of jokes, criticism and, above all, frustration emanated from him.

“Alright, fine, Lynx. We can do this. If you really want to.”

“You can’t do it unless your heart is in it. This isn’t a game. This isn’t even a rescue mission. This is a matter of life or death. You do realize that we could easily be shot for doing this. People will die for this. The only reasons this isn’t insanity is that you and I are going to die anyway, and that the other people who would die for this are doing it for their families and the futures of their loved ones. But you have to truly believe in this if we’re going to do it.”

Lynx’s fiery energy seemed depleted, and he looked suddenly exhausted. He sat down on top of a trash bin, his head in his hands. And Espoir knew how much he wanted this. How much he was willing to put at stake for this. How much this meant for him.

“I’ll come with you Lynx. Maybe this is the right thing. Maybe we should do this,” she said softly. He nodded and took his head out of his hands, but he still looked completely drained.

“Come on Lynx. Let’s find a place to sleep.”
~~~

The sun set as Lynx and Espoir searched for a place to spend the night. Despite being distracted by Lynx’s moodiness, Espoir couldn’t help but enjoy the brilliant colors of the sunset. Soft reds, bright oranges, brilliant yellow, fading into deep pinks and purples before going black. It was a comforting thing, an essential part of life, a magnificent beauty that even the park couldn’t provide.

The park had called to Espoir early in the morning. She convinced Lynx to come with her there to make their plans for a rallying speech that they would hopefully be able to give later that day. At first, Espoir had been skeptical of the rush, but they did, after all, only have five days left to start a revolution.

Something about the park cause Espoir to feel at peace. If death is anything like this park, then maybe dying isn’t such a bad thing after all, Espoir caught herself thinking. But Lynx was not interested in enjoying the peaceful beauty of the park. His energy and zeal restored, he wasted no time in prepping for the beginning of what would hopefully be the beginning of the revolution. The plan was that Lynx and Espoir would head to the hang out place of a bunch of Lynx’s friends, who would then be sent to find as many people as they could. Lynx and Espoir would then give a speech about how they were dying for the cause and the how people should fight for their future....

“....and blah blah blah blah blah,” Espoir joked, but for once Lynx seemed too focused to care. He was running the plan over and over again in his head, making sure that the risks were not too great and would not stop the possible benefits.

“Lynx, in your own words we’re invincible. I don’t see why you’re so worried,” Espoir said after a while.

“Well, the chances of this being successful are pretty low if we’re shot before we have a chance to really begin. And I don’t particularly want any of my friends to share our fate, if you know what I mean,” Lynx snapped, shutting Espoir up.

It was the middle of the afternoon when Lynx eventually agreed he felt comfortable enough (but still edgy) about carrying out the plan. Again he zig-zagged Espoir through the city streets. Espoir had to be convinced this time that any quicker way of getting where they were going was completely and totally unsafe. After what Espoir was sure had to be at least an hour, they reached their destination.

It was a grungy alley again, but a different one than where Lynx had taken her the day before. In the middle of the alley was a dirty black door. It would have been hard to see if Lynx hadn’t known what he was looking for. Lynx knocked and waited.
--
“What’s the password?” a gruff voice asked. Espoir had to breathe in and out to stop herself from freaking out. She had never particularly liked places that she wasn’t used to and were quite ugly.

“Cat food,” Lynx whispered, and the door creaked open just enough for Lynx and Espoir to enter.

They were in a dark, dirty little basement filled with people sitting on little folding chairs. Something in there smelled bad, and Espoir did not like the place at all. Suddenly a hush filled the room as people realized who had just entered.

“Is it...could it be...Lynx?” a voice whispered. Lynx nodded. Espoir could sense the happiness he felt to be with these people.

Cheers erupted in the room, and suddenly people were clambering around Lynx. Patting him on the back, sobbing, hugging him. Espoir didn’t know what to think, so she backed off. It made sense that Lynx was so popular, being witty and funny and cute and cool as he was. It was just...Espoir had never considered the fact that Lynx knew any other human beings but her. She had only met him two days ago, and yet the agony, the doom that they shared somehow made her seem like she knew him so well. The illusion was now destroyed.

“We were so worried that you would be dead, Lynx!” a skinny red-haired girl sobbed, her arms wrapped around him. Something stirred in Espoir. She wasn’t exactly sure how she felt.

“It’s OK Somali, I’m fine. Hush your tears. Hush your tears,” Lynx whispered, stroking her hair.

“Guys, I need you to bring everyone you can trust here. I have a lot of important things to say. If they need to know why I want them, tell them I’m ready to get this thing started. For real,” Lynx commanded, and immediately people slipped out to obey him.

It was several hours before Lynx was willing to start the speech, no matter how much Espoir nagged him that they had enough people and that if they brought any more she would get stage fright.

“We’re going to need people if we’re going to have a revolution, Espoir,” he told her. But something in that room was putting Espoir on edge. And she had a feeling that something might be called Somali.
--
Eventually Lynx agreed that they needed to get going. The plan was for him to start. The next day, Espoir would tell her story and they would hopefully have more people. The day after that, Lynx would tell his story. On the following day, Lynx and Espoir would do everything they could to get the revolution going. And the day after that....there was probably nothing else that Lynx and Espoir would be able to do for those still on Earth.

“Friends and strangers, as some of you may know, I was recently caught by our cruel government.” Boos filled the room. “While there, I met this girl. Her name is Espoir. And we were both marked for execution.

“You are probably thinking that we escaped. But that’s not really true. They let us go.

“Because we didn’t escape at all. They injected us both with slow-working poison. In a few days, we will be dead.”

A cold, angry, shocked silence filled the room. Unsurprisingly, Somali burst into tears.

Lynx continued cleverly with his speech, with Espoir adding bits and pieces when she needed to. It was obvious that they had their audience’s attention. And not only their attention, but their hearts. Which was exactly what they needed.

By the time that the speech was finished, the crowd looked angry and agitated. But not only that. They looked ready to fight. They were told to bring everyone that they could trust to a new location tomorrow to hear the story of the pretty little girl, Espoir. The little lamb that was giving her life to the cause.

Whether Espoir liked being a lamb or not, the plan was working.
~~~
Espoir again stared at the beauty of the setting sun as she walked back to the park, where she and Lynx had found a place to sleep. The sun was so peaceful and yet so fiery, so beautiful and yet so fierce, so calm and yet so deadly. Just like me. Only not just like me, it will live for eternity. In a few days, I’ll be dead.

Espoir woke to the lovely chirping of birds in the park. And for the first time since she had been given the poison, she felt truly happy and excited for the day. Since she and Lynx would not be speaking until the early evening, she would have most of the day to enjoy in the park.

She refused to think of the fact that this peaceful day would be one of her last days. Ever.

She left Lynx, who was still sleeping, to enjoy the early park morning. Dew was still wet on the grass. The chirping of the birds was accompanied by the soft croaks of crickets. Nature seemed to be waking up, getting ready for another happy day. She felt almost like an angel, walking alone among the waking of the morning.

Of course, in a few days, she might actually be an angel.

She returned to Lynx soon before he woke up. They then spent the morning strolling together, enjoying the peaceful quiet of an undisturbed world.

A world so unlike their own.

Soon they could hear the happy screeches of the children as strolled together, enjoying the fact that they were alive. A fact that so many took for granted, and yet one that they would never take for granted again.

The day passed ever too quickly into afternoon, the afternoon ever too quickly into evening. Before Espoir even knew it, Lynx was zig-zagging her through this city back to the little dark basement.

Espoir was not particularly looking forward to going to the basement. First of all, it would be her turn to tell her story. And her story was painful and she didn’t like it and she was trying to forget about it and she didn’t really want to talk in front of a huge mass of people so why did she even have to do it in the first place? Well she had to do it because Lynx was doing it the next day and because she had said she would put her heart in the cause and blah blah blah.

The second thing that Espoir was not looking forward to was seeing Somali. And that was simply because something about that girl irked her. She could not discover- or maybe it was simply that she would not admit- what.

But despite Espoir’s fears, soon enough they were in the basement and people were being gathered. But the reaction to Lynx and Espoir’s entrance was very different than when they had done it the day before. They were not joyously greeted, but treated solemnly. They were respected now, perhaps even revered. Even Somali kept her composure.

By the time Lynx had approved starting the speech, the basement was filled nearly to the brim with people. If there are more of them tomorrow, how in the world are all of them going to fit in this tiny space? Maybe it is better that I’m going today. There will probably be more people to hear me fail this tomorrow.

“Hello. If you weren’t here yesterday, my name is Lynx and this is Espoir. Both of us were recently captured by the government and sentenced to execution. And no, despite the fact that we are standing here before you today, we did not escape. We were injected with poison. At this point, we each have about three days left to live.

“Yesterday I gave an introduction to our story and encouraged you all to stand up against the evil of our government. Today I would like to welcome our beautiful young lamb Espoir to tell us her story. You will see how our government destroys even the lives of beautiful girls like Espoir.”

The crowd applauded. Espoir felt like she had a frog in her throat and butterflies in her stomach. She did not know how she could possibly do this. But she had to. For these people’s futures. For Lynx.

For the sake of showing Somali who she was and what she could do.
--
“Hi. My name, as Lynx said, is Espoir. I’m sixteen years old. And I want to tell you my story.

“I was born in France, but because there was a famine when I was very little my family moved here, to Cenizas. For a long time we were silent about the crimes of the government because we were poor immigrants and we didn’t want to be hurt. But my older sister Amour decided that she couldn’t put up with these evils. She joined a small army whose goal was to fight the leaders of Cenizas.

“The army was clever and cunning and did a great job of fighting the government. But they too were cunning. They threatened that if the rebels did another attack, they would kill a group of 100 children that they had captured. In that group was my little sister Joie. There was a stalemate. The rebels would not surrender, but they could not attack.

“Then the rebels learned that the government was soon planning a deal that unless the rebels surrendered completely, the children would all be killed. So they did the only smart thing to do. They devised a plan to free the children.

“But they needed a civilian for their plan. So Amour volunteered me. I was more than happy to do it; I wasn’t going to let these children die, or the rebellion fall, if I could stop it. I wasn’t going to risk Joie’s life. Her name means Joy, and that’s what she brought all of us.

“The plan was going well. And it would have worked. It was so close. So very close. But then the unthinkable happened. My boyfriend—I told him about the plan. And he betrayed me. I don’t know exactly why he did it. Maybe for money, or for power, or for safety, or maybe he was sick enough to think that it was the right thing to do. But anyway, we were in trouble.

“By a series of miracles all of the children escaped. I think that watching them get free was the happiest feeling I ever felt. But I couldn’t escape in time. I was caught red-handed. And I was condemned.

“I met Lynx on an elevator on my way to what I thought was execution. I have to admit, I wasn’t the sunniest person to meet then. But somehow, Lynx and I gave each other strength. Strength even when we were told that our lives were being cut to seven days.

“All I can say is that you have to stop them. I wish I could. But I don’t have enough time. And you will need time. If you fight, you’re not fighting for me. You’re fighting for the future of you and your family. You need to fight. You need to make sure that kids like Joie aren’t killed, that they have a future. You need to. You need to.”

The crowd roared with applause so loud that Lynx had to quiet them down for fear of being heard.

How did I do that? How in the world did I just do that?

Espoir felt numb as Lynx finished up the speech. She didn’t know what to do. Laugh, cry, start going insane. She decided, after a few minutes, that her strongest feeling was exhaustion. She wanted to go home and go to bed.

But, of course, she didn’t have a home or a bed.

By the time she and Lynx finally got out of there, the sunset had already passed. Perhaps it was because she was so emotional already, but this made Espoir very sad. She only had so many sunsets left, and she had just wasted one of them. Or had she? Maybe what she had done was worth missing a sunset.

It was the middle of the night, and Espoir couldn’t sleep for one simple reason. Lynx was tossing and turning like crazy. Occasionally he would scream something, a cry of pain or a sob. Espoir didn’t know how to help him. After many futile attempts, she simply stroked his hair and hoped against hope that he would fall back asleep.

Before Espoir knew it, morning had come, and Lynx was lying fast asleep. She decided to be an angel of the morning again, for that had been extraordinarily pleasant.

And besides, it wasn’t like she had a lot of mornings left.

Including this one, she would probably have only three.

She forgot to head back to Lynx before he woke up, and by the time he found her he had an insane look on his face, which, as he saw her, melted into relief.

“Don’t go wandering off like that! You scared me to death!”

“I’m sorry if it bothers you, Lynx, but I’m just trying to enjoy one of my last mornings!” she said, and stomped off.

Suddenly, Espoir felt like crying. She didn’t like fighting with Lynx. She didn’t know why she had snapped at him. She would have probably reacted just as he did if he had wandered off. Maybe it was because she was tired. Maybe it was because she was scared.

Maybe it was because she just wanted some other life.

She spent the rest of the morning alone in a foresty part of the park. It was the saddest morning she had had at the park. Probably because she missed Lynx. And this frustrated her, because she knew so well that her mornings were numbered.

Espoir found a mossy log that looked comfortable to sit on. It was natural and nice and smooth. Slowly, Espoir cried herself to sleep.
--
~~~
Espoir was woken by a gentle shaking. She looked up to find Lynx staring at her.

“We need to go. To give the speech. We only have two more. That’s all we’ll have time for,” he whispered. She nodded, and let him pull her up.

His words were so very sickly sadly true.

For the third time, Lynx dragged her back to the basement, which was fuller than it had ever been upon arrival before. Either because Espoir had done a great job talking or because people were excited to hear Lynx’s story, they were coming.

To Espoir’s great annoyance, Somali came strolling up to Lynx and started stroking his arm.

“I’m going to miss you. So bad. And after Bengal....I’ll find a way to cope. I’ll have to. I just wish I knew how I could do it. And I just wish you could stay. Oh Lynx, I wish it so bad. Now I’m the only one left.”

“It’s OK, Somali, it’s OK. When I’m gone, don’t mope around or cry your eyes out or something. It’s not going to be like Bengal. I know what’s going to happen. And I’m getting ready. Somali, you have to make sure you do everything you can to start and support the revolution. They’re going to need you, Somali.”

The look of pain in Lynx’s green eyes as he talked to Somali couldn’t help but make Espoir wonder if she had judged the girl too soon. But she disposed of the thought immediately, for Somali was someone onto which she could privately vent frustration and she did not like thinking that Somali had reasons for doing what she did.

It seemed to take a much shorter time than the previous nights for Lynx to approve the meeting to start. If Espoir wasn’t wrong, Lynx seemed nervous, just like she had the night before.

Lynx started as he usually did, with the summary of what had happened to Espoir and Lynx and why they were going to be dead in about two days. But as Espoir had heard this speech twice before, her attention was drawn to Somali. The girl looked like she was valiantly trying to hold back tears and stay strong for Lynx but was on the verge of failing. Espoir wanted to snort. Somali was so weak.

It was only when Lynx started to tell his story that Espoir’s attention was distracted from the red-haired girl.
--
“As some of you probably already know, I was born here in Cenizas. As a boy, I always liked playing war games. I had no idea of how much of my destiny these would become.

“As I grew older, I began to realize more and more the cruel crimes of our government. But I was just a boy. It seemed like just stories. Even less believable was the idea that I could help stop it.

“But soon, they started taking rights away. They would prejudice people against each other. By doing nothing, I was supporting them. And there was no way I would continue supporting them. I started fighting, but for partly for the wrong reasons. I wanted toys. But even more, I wanted honor and glory. I wanted to be the hero who did what was right. I wanted to be the one that would be remembered as great. I had no idea what that could cost me.

“It was my older sister, Bengal, who helped me change the reasons I was fighting to the right ones. She taught me to fight for equality and for rights, for liberty and justice for all. Bengal too was a rebel. But not only was she a rebel. She was a leader.

“And because of that, she was specifically targeted and killed. She knew how likely it was to happen, but she couldn’t see it coming.

“Her death broke my entire family’s heart. My younger sister would cry for days. She and Bengal were even closer to each other than I was with Bengal, if that was even possible. Bengal was such an amazing woman.

“Even though we lost Bengal, my family didn’t stop fighting. My sister, in fact, took her place as a rebel. In fact, she’s here right now. Somali, will you please stand up!”

Somali rose and took a little bow.

Somali is your sister? I should have known. Gosh, am I the stupidest person in the world!

Shock and guilt flooded Espoir so much that she missed the next part of Lynx’s speech. All this time she had been jealous of Somali, and yet she had had not reason to be. And it made sense why the girl cried so much, too. She had lost her sister, who was her best friend, and now she’s losing her brother? It just didn’t seem like life was treating her fairly. Of course, it wasn’t really treating Espoir fairly either.

All of Espoir’s sympathy went to the girl that she had once envied. That’s what you get when you judge a book by its cover.

“They caught me when I trying to save Somali. I shouldn’t have split up with her, even if it seemed to make sense at the time. Thank goodness Somali escaped. Even if it costs me everything, I don’t regret saving her. As long as she is fighting and making her life worthwhile, I consider my sacrifice to be worth it.

“As Espoir was saying yesterday, you have to keep fighting. You have to revolt. For your good and your future. You can make your own world. A fair world. An equal world. A better world.”

The cheers were as loud as a rock concert. People were going insane. There is no possible way that they’re not going to revolt.

Espoir ducked out as soon as she could, partly because she was too embarrassed to face Somali, partly because she desperately wanted to see the sunset. But once again, she had missed it. She had been too enchanted by Lynx’s story to catch the setting sun.

Espoir couldn’t help but wonder if this was the last morning. It very well could be. There were no promises that she would make it to tomorrow.

To her surprise, Lynx was already up, walking around the garden. And Espoir knew that she had to make amends.

Before it was too late.

“I’m sorry I snapped at you yesterday. I guess I was just tired and scared. I didn’t really mean it. And I’m sorry if I was mean at all to your sister. I just didn’t know that she was your sister.”

He nodded and smiled a sad smile.

“I forgive you. I know it’s hard. We just have to hang in one more day.”

One. More. Day.

“Then it will all before over. No more worries. No more pain. No more hardship.”

“Maybe you’ll even get to see Bengal again.”

“Maybe I will.”

He laughed a sweet laugh. Yes, it was loaded with the hardships of life, but yet its sweetness persisted, conquering the bitterness.

And suddenly Espoir was joining in. And they were laughing together, two dying people laughing at their hardships and that they were friends and the simple pleasures of life which they would so soon be robbed of.

“I just have one request today,” Espoir said, still giggling like a baby.

“Yes, my lady,” Lynx replied, and bowed a mock bow.

“I want to see the sunset tonight.”

For a moment they both were serious. For they both knew it was probably their last sunset.

Then Lynx laughed and bowed again.

“Your wish is my command.”
--
~~~
They spent the rest of the morning laughing and talking merrily in the park. Staring at them, one would have thought that they were simply a couple in love, not two broken spirits on the last day of their lives.

They headed early to the basement. Lynx had decided that if they wanted to be out in time to see the sunset, they had better get an earlier start, and Espoir agreed, giggling happily. For one day she got to steal a happy girl’s life. The life of a girl who had not a care in the world, who was free and unburdened and giggly. The life of a girl who was exactly not what Espoir usually was.

The basement was packed again, but that was hardly a surprise. After both Espoir’s and Linx’s stories, it would almost be more surprising if people didn’t come. Forgetting to be solemn and the fact that she was going to die the next day, Espoir talked happily with the crowd. It almost seemed like she could be at a wedding. She wore a loose, free dress, and Lynx had strung flowers through her hair at the park. It seemed quite unrealistic that she was heading to her grave when she was acting so much more like Joie than herself.

Soon Lynx started to talk. His words flowed smooth and clever and irresistible. The people were stirred and getting ready to fight. He gave them final motivation, final advice. And there were many tears. For in that one day, people had begun to love Espoir, and so many of them had already loved Lynx for many years. Some shouted that Lynx should propose to Espoir, but neither thought that was a good idea. They were at the end of their lives. Marriage was for the living, not the dead soon to be buried.

The session ended ever too quickly, and Espoir was forced to say goodbye to all of the people she had begun to quite like, and them to her. And it was not one of those “farewell” goodbyes, but a final, absolute, “I am about to die and will never see you again” goodbye. Everyone knew it, and everyone was crying. Everyone, that was, except Somali, who was for once succeeding in holding her tears in.

Espoir knew it was her duty to say goodbye to Somali, and she knew it was her last chance. She waited until the end, but she knew she had to do it.

She walked up to the red-haired girl, took a deep breath, and began.

“I have to say I misjudged you. And for that, I am truly, truly sorry. After I heard Lynx’s story, I began to realize what a courageous girl you are. And I’m trusting you to lead the revolution, and lead it well.”

“You are the bravest girl I have ever known. I don’t know how I would survive the week that you just did. And I really, really would have liked to have gotten to know you. I think we would have been friends. I want to say that I really admire you.”

And suddenly, both the blonde-haired girl and the red-haired one were sobbing, and hugging each other for all they were worth. And maybe their friendship was ending where it began, but for its brief time it was a truly close one.

But eventually Espoir had to let go and say her final goodbye.

She was going to see the sunset.

They sat on a hill in their beloved park, covered in the golden sunlight. Brilliant shades of red, pink, orange, yellow and purple illuminated the soon-to-be night. At the center of it was the blinding golden sun, rapidly heading down beneath the hills.

Just like their lives.

“Lynx, the sun sets every night, and it rises every morning, right?”

“Of course it does, Espoir.”

“Well, our lives are setting now. Do you think...do you think the sunrise is real?”

“If the sunset is real, then the sunrise has to be real too, doesn’t it, Hope?”

“Yeah.”

For a few minutes they sat in silence, wrapped in each others’ arms. They both knew they were not in love. Perhaps, had they each had a full life, they would have been. But as they were both destined to die, love wasn’t a part of their lives.

“Lynx...do you think it will hurt?”

“Do you want the honest answer?”

“Of course.”

“Yes. But we’ll go through it together.”

“Together.”

“Together.”

The golden light was sinking behind the hills, into the trees.

The last sunset was almost over.

I couldn’t believe it. We had won. We had finally won.

After all those years, all those casualties, all that fighting, we had finally won. Justice had prevailed.

But not without a cost.

Today would be the long awaited memorial. We had waited to bury our symbols, our martyrs, until victory day because until we achieved our goal, we needed them.

Their symbol, the lynx wearing the beret, was our symbol. The lynx, of course, was for Lynx. The beret, a purple one, was for Espoir. She was French, therefore a beret. And a purple beret is a symbol of revolution, which of course she helped start.

There was someone I had to find before the memorial started.

Ah. There she was. In her favorite hiding place.

A supply closet.

“You can come out, Joie. It’s just me. Somali. I’m here to go to the memorial with you.”

Joie was mature, but tiny for her age. She was, however, incredibly courageous.

When she didn’t give in to her feelings.

She was my best friend, even though she was small. Both our siblings had been lost to the same cause, at the same time. We were both the sisters left to fight for their cause.

I picked up Joie, and carried her to the memorial.

They were already outside, in their coffins, waiting to be buried. The sun was just beginning to set.

They had to be buried at sunset on victory day. They just had to be.

I could hear Joie crying on my soldier. I couldn’t stop the tears from trickling down my face myself. But I had to speak at the memorial. For Lynx.

Life is hard. But we can be strong. Sometimes life is unfair. Sometimes we have to die for what we believe in. Sometimes it takes a sacrifice to start a revolution.

The sun will always set. But it will always be followed by sunrise.