Sisters of the Shadows

25th of April in the year 2140

Hey, Clint. I’ve been busy with my studies and with looking after the kids. We now have thirty-three kids living in our complex. I never expected so many colonial kids to need the halfway house, but I’m happy to help. I’m not sure I’d be half as capable without my aura sight–speaking of which, I wanted to take a moment to jot down their progress while I had the chance. Most of the kids had a dark yellow aura with brown along the edges when they arrived, with only a few having dark green or cloudy red. I’m grateful that only one of them had dark pink, but we were able to get her to open up. No grey, full brown, or black auras, either.

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Allen, Luke – 10 years old
Cloudy green aura has lightened to a yellow-green, with tinges of light green. He likes painting.

Barrett, Dallas – 11 years old
Dark mustard aura has lightened and shifted to an orange-yellow, with tinges of mustard yellow. He likes taking apart electronics and putting them back together.

Bird, Briana – 10 years old
Murky mustard lightened to light green with lemon yellow tinges. She likes volunteering for gardening duties.

Bryant, Gianni – 11 years old
Cloudy green with dark blue tendrils has shifted to a soft sky blue with turquoise ends. They always offer to help others with their homework and want to become a field medic for scouts.

Chavez, Eliseo – 11 years old
Murky red has brightened to ruby red with tinges of red-orange. He’s always coming up with competitions and contests, and can turn any loss into a learning moment.

Chen, Aaliyah – 13 years old
Dark pink with cloudy red tendrils has lightened to soft pink with forest green spots. She loves cooking and baking, and she strives to make every plate look as good as it tastes.

Cox, Zara – 16 years old
Cloudy blue has lightened to sky blue and bright yellow ends. Pink appears whenever she sees or talks about Ruben.

Davis, Jayden – 14 years old
Cloudy mustard hasn’t changed too much, but the brown tinges have given way to orange-yellow. He enjoys learning about the world, particularly plants and animals.

Elliott, Kaine – 16 years old
Murky red has cleared up to dark maroon with bright orange stripes. He’s a bit of a gossip, but he always sticks by his friends.

Foster, Yahir – 14 years old
Dark mustard has lightened to lemon yellow with pale yellow ends. He eats regularly and has begun reaching out to others his age at his own pace.

Gardner, Kiley – 9 years old
Cloudy red has brightened to red-orange. She’s a little over-confident, but she’s stopped skipping class.

Goodman, Shayla – 16 years old
Dark blue has shifted with cloudy red with soft pink ends. She helps out with the younger kids, but I can tell she hasn’t let go of the past. It might take her a while.

Green, Harper – 15 years old
Mustard brown with tinges of red has become a blend of forest green and lime green. They’re another frequent helper in the garden, and they recently took up writing poetry.

Griffiths, Joyce – 15 years old
Dark green with tinges of murky red has lightened to bright chartreuse. She hasn’t had a panic attack in over a month, and she and Gabby are the shoulders the others seek out when things get stressful.

Hahn, Brook – 16 years old
Cloudy blue has become bright pink with tinges of brown. They’re frazzled easily, but have taken up an art style called “graffiti.” They’ve been creating a beautiful mural on the side of our main building.

Henderson, Arthur – 14 years old
Cloudy red with tinges of grey has shifted to a bright orange that has lightened to an almost yellow shade along the outer layer. He’s a model student but quiet.

Hill, Anthony – 15 years old
Cloudy red has lightened significantly to pale yellow. He’s been researching the angels and ancient religions as a hobby.

Knight, Ali – 15 years old
Dark yellow has shifted to bright orange. It was a challenge to get him to stick to schedules or attend school until we explained that, by living by our schedule and rules, he would have plenty of time to himself without getting in trouble. He skateboards almost everywhere.

Mitchell, Celeste – 12 years old
Dark blue with tinges of grey is now greenish-blue. She’s skilled in first aid and CPR, and studies anatomy and physiology for fun.

Moore, Gabriella – 14 years old
Greyish-blue has lessened, topped with a soft pink line and an outer layer of smooth violet; the edges are a soft shade of gold. She encourages her classmates and always sees the bright side.

Moore, Gavin – 16 years old
Murky red with hints of smoky grey has brightened to a soft gold. He’s smarter than he lets on and learns quickly, whether you’re showing him how to play a video game or how to throw a knife. He and Gabby have taken on the roles of peacemakers within the complex.

Moss, Tyler – 16 years old
Cloudy red has lightened to bright orange with tinges of ruby red. He was prone to violence when he first arrived and even ended up in a fistfight with Kaine. Kaine fought back, so the two were going at it by the time Gavin and I broke them up. Tyler has since apologized to Kaine and has focused his energy into skateboarding and playing guitar. The two are now good friends.

Murray, Alden – 13 years old
Dark yellow with tinges of brown has shifted to bright pink. Volunteers to help Aaliyah and Mona in the kitchen very often. He also likes to snap photos of their completed dishes.

Osborn, Casey – 11 years old
Deep, cloudy mustard is now a royal blue with pale green ends. He’s constantly switching up his volunteer roles, and says he likes the variety. He’s a sweet, sensitive soul.

Pearce, Jude – 11 years old
Cloudy blue has shifted to a smooth violet with yellow-green ends. He collects disks and cassettes containing films, watches them regularly, and volunteers for school plays every chance he gets.

Perkins, Ewan – 14 years old
Cloudy red has shifted to yellow-green. He looks up to Gavin, Kaine, and Tyler, and he’s overprotective of his little brother. He has a wonderful singing voice.

Perkins, Kohen – 10 years old
Dark green first shifted to dark blue, but is now a brilliant yellow. He’s a sweet, playful kid.

Richards, Aubrey – 12 years old
Cloudy blue is now half bright yellow and half bright orange. She’s another active kid, skilled with both skateboards and surfboards.

Roth, Calvin – 9 years old
Cloudy green has lightened to a paler shade. A little quiet, but he’s known for breaking the silence with blunt responses or intrusive questions. He means no harm by it.

Russo, Reed – 13 years old
Dark blue has become forest green, though the green is tinged with turquoise. He’s another green thumb; between him, Briana, and Harper, our vegetable garden has doubled in size.

Vega, Angel – 14 years old
Cloudy blue is now a bright orange. He and twin sister Freya were inseparable when they first arrived, but have been taking strides to be independent. He’s taken up skateboarding.

Vega, Freya – 14 years old
Cloudy blue is now a brilliant violet. She’s what we call a floater–she hasn’t found a single clique to join, but instead switches every week or so. She’s pretty good at most anything she tries, but hasn’t found a full-time hobby yet.

Vega, Ruben – 17 years old
Dark green is now a brilliant red. He’s Freya and Angel’s older brother, and he’s protective of them but supportive of their recent efforts for independence. His aura has a significant amount of pink whenever he sees or talks about Zara.

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They’re all great kids, and each has made significant progress. Mona and I have encouraged solidarity among the kids at the complex, but we also make sure they know not to abandon their friends from school. We’ve heard varied experiences, but some of the kids have reported that their friends abandoned them once they started living at the halfway house. It would explain why some decide to stick around and volunteer for chores or hone their hobbies instead of seeking entertainment elsewhere. Others have friends who are allowed to come by, but have to be out by 21:00 so they can make it home in time to abide by the colony’s curfew.

Benji and Kent visit us often. Marilyn has stopped by at least once every few weeks. Monty has been too busy to visit more than once every couple of weeks, but other angels–like Cienna, Natalie, and Cassidy–swing by on Saturdays with a few of the guys. I think their presence has helped with the transition, with the message I’ve been trying to get across to these kids: we matter. They matter.

The weekend-long event that we’ve been planning for the colony to see how well we’ve been managing takes place the Saturday after next, and I’m a little nervous. What if some parents come to try to mess with their kids? What if we make all these preparations–the café, the skate ramp, the scavenger hunt–and no one shows up?

I don’t have any answers, but the best thing I can do is keep thinking positively. These kids look up to me–looking on the bright side is the least I could do.

‘Til next time, Clint. I hope you’re doing alright.

Photo by fotografierende on Unsplash

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