Solstice by Jane Redd Read Free Book Online Page B

for me—hidden it for years. I couldn’t dismiss that fact, and couldn’t ignore that my caretakers wanted me to read it, despite the costs.
    I stared at the book in Chalice’s hands. As much as Rose’s story repulsed and scared me, my curiosity was stronger than ever. “I’ll read a few pages,” I said, the words jarring in my throat.
    Chalice moved to the door and sat next to it, listening for anyone who might come along the corridor. I sat on the floor as well and leaned against my bed, deciding to read only a few pages. But I kept on turning them, one after another.
    There’s no one I can talk to anymore. Neighbors spy on each other. Best friends turn each other in. Parents testify against their own children. I don’t know if this journal will ever be read, or if it will be destroyed with everything else that seems to be attracting the zealots’ attention.
    I had heard of the zealots—the ones who were out of control. The government had to step in and save the people from them. I glanced at Chalice, my throat feeling thick. She nodded for me to continue, her back pressed against the door.
    Tens of thousands have died—not from the incessant flooding as I might have thought, but from diseases, starvation, and destruction through mudslides.
    Tens of thousands . . . later millions. I had never allowed myself to think of the deaths that must have occurred as the rain persisted and the earth underwent catastrophic changes. Sorrow came up from the hidden spaces in my soul, and my hands trembled as I turned the pages to read about the diseases. About the hunger and food rationing. But I needed to read this; needed to understand.
    The light in our room had dimmed as the afternoon faded to night outside.
    And then the first introduction to him.
    The new edict was delivered by a man wearing an official-looking uniform—that of the new regime, or the Legislature, as they are calling it.
    I discovered that I was holding my breath as I read.
    When I opened the door and let in the officer, I was surprised to see he was no older than me. Probably about nineteen or twenty. He had the look of someone who had to grow up too fast and taken on heavy responsibilities too soon. Like me. I barely heard what he said as he spoke, but I did catch his name, although I won’t write it here. I couldn’t help staring up at him. His shoulders were broad, his arms long. The overcoat he wore was a little short on his wrists, as if he’d had to dress in another man’s uniform. Or maybe there weren’t enough to go around, and they had to share when they went out on official business.
    Stop , I wanted to tell Rose. Stop and think . But there were still more pages to read. My heart rate quickened as Rose described their first touches, their first kiss, what they said to each other.
    We hid among the trees, eating apples. That’s when he leaned over and wiped the juice from my lips and kissed me.
    My face burned as I read. The emotions that Rose described were so close to the ones that I had worked to suppress. Emotions that I’d never let fully develop. But Rose hadn’t suppressed hers. She’d embraced them.
    Rose described how they met in secret, always hiding from others. Even though I blamed her for being so foolish for falling in love in the first place, I couldn’t stop reading. Until the next words came.
    I am pregnant.
    I stared at the word: pregnant .
    We’d been taught about the old ways of reproduction, when men and women produced children without regulation, without prefertilized eggs or controlling implantation. Children were conceived randomly, and there was no testing done after to gauge the best chances of survival and fitness. Infants who had disfigurements or other ailments weren’t Taken, but allowed to grow up among society.
    Reproduction and birthing were never discussed outside of class. We learned about it in twelfth year and left the rest of the details to the B Level. Women in the B Level were allowed to