Hi! I’m Ania, you MUST be new—well, of course you’re new—I KNOW EVERYONE in town.
I live in a sunny mountainside town overlooking the ocean, where kids play, adults harvest and sell their crops (oh yeah, they go out of town to trade, but they never tell us what they got, but ANYWAY), and clouds meet the sea.
I’m 12. My name is Ania, a name derived from the town’s old kids’ story called “Ani, Goddess of the Sea Where the Dark Reaches.” You should read it! My grandmother used to read it to me every night, doing different voices for the characters, though she stopped when the ocean got higher and some of the houses had to be rebuilt.
You should be fine, though. You’re not that close to the shore.
I live with my mom, dad, grandpa, grandma, AND my older brother (he’s 16... and kinda annoying, like when he takes my food—so annoying—and when he uses his height against me). But anyway, we have a big family and a house that somehow fits us all. Our home is the oldest house still standing in town! But it’s also the closest to the sea...
My mom says we should sell the house to get away from the ocean, but Grandma is against it and says, “Our people have had this house for generations. It keeps the dark at bay.” Everyone just shrugs it off with an excuse like, “She’s just getting old,” or, “Okay, Ma.” Then Grandma gets this look, almost sad with memories, but I’ve learned not to ask about it.
Our townspeople can always be told apart by the blue line on our forearms.
Well, I guess I’ve told you enough.
WELCOME TO OUR TOWN!
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