"Hey brother, have ya noticed that each one of us seems to have less food nowadays," I said, gazing up at the orange ceiling.

My brother, Satsuya, nodded in agreement as he finished combing his orange hair which reached to the bottom of his neck. It made him look like someone pulled directly from the past. 

Setsuna turned away from the seven-foot mirror and glanced up at the ceiling too. "I have noticed. I feel that things will get worse before they begin to get better. It doesn't seem like we will have much food this year either. The crop season is behind track no thanks to that hellish frost we had back in March."

"I feel the same way." I nodded in agreement, touching my own stomach. That's why I'd been thinking of going to the city to earn us some extra income.

I stood up and navigated past the two beds and a crib, which were spread out to different corners of the small room I shared with my two brothers. Golden orange flakes dotted the walls of our room as paint continued to peel off. Next to the doorway was a leak that needed sealing. 

"We also gotta fix this place before it comes crashing down on us," I added.

"So, you plan to go to da big city?" my brother asked, looking up at me. I gave him a smile full of amazement, he had read my mind. "Are you sure you want to leave home at age sixteen?"

I placed my hand over our formerly white door, now a yellowish vanilla color due to age. Actually, the last time it was white was probably when our father was our age. 

"If it's to feed ya and make this place better for all of ya then duh, of course, I will."

Brother grinned as he got up from the brown carpeted floor. "In that case, I support ya decision. Just be careful, there're a lot of hooligans and corrupt police roaming its streets."

I snickered. "Don't ya worry! I know how to defend myself. Alright, I'm going to go ask Ma and Pa what they think about it."

I opened the door carefully in order to avoid the dripping water. The two of us walked into the kitchen hall where my parents and my sister, along with my baby siblings were washing their hands to eat. Our kitchen was the largest room in the building but was still too small, especially for a room meant to seat seven people and all of our cooking machines.

"Hey, Mama, Papa. I have a request," I said with a stern voice.

Pa took a small drink of freshly squeezed apple juice before turning those kind orange eyes of his to me.

"What is it, Sora?" he said. "Is something wrong?"

I took the seat across from his. "I've been thinking as of late...we need some additional income. I don't want to beat around the bush; I want to go to Ame city to earn us some extra money."

Pa crossed his fingers in the way he usually did when he planned to quiz us. "How do you plan to make money? You have no job experience other than farming. Also, you're sixteen, while it's possible to find a job, you're likely to encounter several cases of abuse."

The reflection in his eyes was of me in a literal sense, but I could also see something else reflected, something that was not necessarily physical. Pa's warnings, the way he said them...

"Uh, Pa, have you ever-"

He narrowed his eyes. "This is about you son, not me. Now tell me, how do you plan to make it in the city? Rent there has likely gone up since the days your mother and I were in college."

College? So that's where they had gone to college. Not that it even mattered. What good was it for them to have even gone to college if they were still stuck farming? Not that I didn't like farming, it was just that it was reasonable to expect those with a degree to have a job in that field. "I plan to gain some experience as a salesman. I'll sell fruit and other stuff. With some of the money I earn from that, I'll stay there for one night, and head back here."

"So you'll be commuting? That'll be tiresome. If you're going to go to the city, it'll be best to stay there for at least a month. I'll lend you some money to start off first, and head from there if you still want to go. You can also take the wagon and Reyner and Truth with you."

Reyner and Truth were our horses. We used them whenever we needed to go somewhere and couldn't take the truck.

"Please don't go," my ma said, shaking her head. Her yellow citrine eyes were filled with worry. "I...I don't want you to face what we faced in the city."

"Please, Ma," I said. "This isn't for me. This is for the family."

She closed her eyes and furrowed her brow. "I know but I didn't ask you to do this for us. Stay here, Sora. You may want to see the outside world now but it's a dangerous place."

"Let him go," Pa said, grabbing mother's pale hands. "You know as well as I do, we can't keep him from the outside world forever. Those things you fear, they will come to him one way or the other."

She lowered her head. "Sou..."

Father leaned in close and gave her a kiss on the lips which made all of us siblings look away. "Calm down, Ava." He caressed her face, wiping away her tears.

"Fine," Ma said. Ma's face had become as red as a ripe tomato. "Sora, you can go. However, if you are heading to Ame to sell things, you should take some of my clothes and sell them there." She wiped away more tears and grabbed a plate of sweet potatoes and placed them at the center of the table.

"That's one of the things I was planning on selling, along with the fruit," I said, smiling. "So, can I really go?"

Pa and Ma tried their best to smile. "Alright," Ma and Pa said.

I stood up and hugged my ma tightly. "Thanks, Mama, Papa."

"When are you going to come back?" Satsuya said as he looked up at me.

I let go of my ma. "I'm going to come back as soon as I finish selling the goods I plan on taking."

"Ya promise ya will be back soon?" my baby brother, Alan, said. His little orange beady eyes were looking straight into mine. Saying bye to the three-year-old was going to be the hardest.

"Of course I do, and ya know me, I always keep my promises," I said as I picked him up from his seat.

Alan giggled. "Ya better keep this one then!"

"Don't worry I will," I said while patting his little head.

"Well Sora, you have to walk all the way there by foot as the truck isn't fixed yet," Earia said. She was the oldest of my sisters. "Plus we'll need the horses to get around too."

Walking would be troublesome, but it was better than staying here, watching ourselves wither away as hunger gripped the town. "Then I will need a small cart and a backpack to carry my goods to town."

"Well I can get you those things," Ma said. "My dad is a cart maker after all."

"Thanks again, Ma. I don't know what I would do without ya help."

Ma held her hands against her eyes, trying to prevent her tears from streaming across her face. "I can't believe that my oldest son is going to go on a journey already."

"As I said before, I'm going to come back."

"Are you all done?" my baby sister, Alana, said. Her tiny stomach grumbled. "I'm hungry."

"Alright then let's dig in," Pa said as he grabbed a spoon and began to serve us.

The rest of my day was spent talking about my childhood and getting my trip ready. It was actually quite fun. I would miss them, but I knew that someday I would be back. I didn't think that anyone could've predicted what was to come, though...

The following day, I departed from home while the sun was barely rising with a bag full of clothes, and a wheel barrel full of fruits from our harvest. To get to Ame city I had to walk down a dusty old road. Even with my goggles on, the dust still managed to get into my eyes. I stopped on the side of the road to wipe off the dust from my eyes.

"Hey Sora," a familiar voice called from behind.

"Is that you, Tsukyo?" I said as I turned around and saw a blue-eyed boy with white hair. "It is you!"

"'Where are you heading, Sora?" Tsukyo said.

I rubbed some more sand from my eyes. "I'm heading towards Ame city."

His blue eyes sparkled. "Ame city? Though, what are you doing traveling with all this stuff? You need a better vehicle, you're not some mule you know, even if you do have the force of a beast."

I chuckled. "I'm not a beast."

"I know what can help you. Wait here!" Tsukyo said as he ran towards his little blue house.

I'd known Tsukyo Yukino since I was two. He shared the same birthday but was two years older than me. He always loved to travel, so he often knew what was needed on a journey, unlike me...

"I'm back." Tsukuyo came running toward me while waving his hands as if I couldn't see him. The dust was crummy, but not that crummy.

"Wow, that sure took you long," I said jokingly.

"Yeah right, I can outrun you even without that backpack on." He took out a black scarf from his jean pocket. "Wrap this around your head, it should help you keep some of the dust away.

"Thanks, I'll pay you back someday," I said as I put it around my neck and head.

He chuckled. "No need. What are friends for then?"

"May the gods bless you. I'll talk to you when I return! I have to go now before it gets too hot.

"Oh yeah, Sora! Have you heard about "The Grand Sale"?" Tsukyo yelled out.

"What's that?" I yelled back.

"It's a giant shopping holiday, it lasts three days."

"Oh and now you tell me?"

"Silly Sora, you are still too naïve about the world."

"Hey, I heard that!"

"Hahaha. You were supposed to!" Tsukyo yelled back with a chuckle.

Stupid Tsukyo, always messing with me just because he was more knowledgeable about the world than I was... Though he was right, I truly was naïve. Not only about the world but also about my own family... about who I was, about the hardships my parents went through, and about my own pre-destined path.

**Solar Note: What did you think of the Citrine family? Please leave your thoughts in the comments and don't forget to vote if you enjoyed ^+^**