Date: 17.06
Year: 907
Time: 8:44 AM
Rue Everly
Nothing special. My routine consists of waking up every day at 8:30 and having scrambled eggs for breakfast.
The one making the eggs though is not me, instead it is my mom. It's become quite a habit for both of us to wake up at the same time but for different reasons.
Since it's an established convention that the breakfast is the most important meal of your day, I as many more people, force myself to wake up as early as that simply to full fill that first quest of the day. Something akin to also collecting a daily reward for cancelling my slumber like that. A reward granting extra boost in energy and stamina per say.
Otherwise, if I hadn't woken up that early, I wouldn't have time for the food stat boost and my ordinary girly morning routine, since my work starts at 10.
My mom on the contrary, does not have a job as she is in pension. Her previous one being a history teacher. With that, she does not need a reason to wake up as early, but does it seemingly out of motherly love, precious motherly love. Something which I've been told I should treasure as the most valuable loot found only seldom in scary and difficult dungeons. Actually more so, a loot you get at the start of your adventures, that is unobtainable forever afterwards.
There's another conventional saying that goes "No friends like your parents", and I can definitely relate to that statement, but only partly. Partly you see because one of the two friends had unfortunately or fortunately abandoned me at a young age.
"B..b...but, how can abandonment like that ever be g..good?" Ehhh
From what I've been told, he wasn't such a great guy, what a surprise I know. So maybe it was a gods given that he had abandoned me and possibly saved me years of domestic abuse.
"Well isn't that just grasping at straws hmm?" I mumbled to myself
And while I was eating my eggs and pondering over whether my childhood trauma was a blessing in disguise, my mind was abruptly stunned, flashbanged by the sudden increase in the TV volume.
"Moooom what are you-- DOING... CAN YOU TURN THE VOLUME DOWN!?"
As I was shouting from almost on top of my lungs near the end of the sentence, my mom gave absolutely not a single care as her gaze was locked onto the screen.
Naturally, following it, I was met with the news channel. Wow typical, boring things again. But considering the sheer loudness of the TV overwhelming my mind, I couldn't ignore the man speaking on it either.
And as I was putting the piece of the scrambled egg inside my mouth, I temporarily halted my previous array of thoughts and--
"A sudden bill was discussed in the court of law last night, coming to a conclusion and imposing an increase in tariffs with the bordering country Moacir... The increase will be an astounding 20% on all the exports of goods..."
"Dear... god..."
Before the man could finish that sentence, a slight murmur could be heard from my moms mouth as she lowered the volume of the TV and gazed downwards, with her hand covering her mouth. These older people really love to torture themselves with circumstances out of their controls. So what if some boring law has been imposed...
"Come on momw, isnt thhat a bit of an overreacshion even from you?"
"I'd certainly agree with you but this time, I..It's nothing like that..."
"Huh, wfhat do you meann?"
As I was talking, I was also spitting bits and pieces of the food still within my mouth. Remembering that that definitely doesn't fall under good manners, I quickly gulped the remaining food and--
"Oh Rue, have you not payed attention to your history class? Do you remember the Liberation Agreement made in 877?"
"To answer you question, nope I haven't. But I am familiar with that agreement at least on the surface level. At the end of the day It's just boring stuff that wannabe smart people came up with to further sophisticate simple things, like liberating a piece of land."
"You know things aren't that simple right? Our country Velmiria and the neighboring country Moacir were once united, certainly you know that much?"
"I do know that much..."
"The reason for their separation was internal conflict. Following from that, an instability had aroused so dividing the previous country into two was, what it was seemed at the time, a necessity..."
As my mom was explaining, an expression of both uneasiness and fright was visible on her face. Never have I seen her be hit with a political news this hard...
Maybe it was just me not taking serious things seriously enough.
"It might sound simple but a lot of things have to be taken into consideration. One of those is obviously, land. The previous united country was filled with natural riches, separating it and choosing land had to be done in an agreement while paying respects to the origins and the history of the land itself. With that, our country through the Liberation Agreement, was settled with most of the natural riches. To compensate, all the manufactured goods and those natural resources themselves were to be exported under low tariffs, lower than what you would see in the relations of every other country.
As my mom was elucidating and exercising her knowledge of history, my brain only naturally put two and two together and...
"So you're saying, the bill imposed had violated a 30 year old agreement?!"
Maybe my previous remark on myself had not been so far off and perhaps I did take the situation frivolously.
Usually if an agreement of that importance was broken in novels and fictions, it would give rise to a new arc, a new set of events to unfold. Usually following with war and so on...
If we take into account that this is real life, and that I'm not a protagonist of a novel or a fiction movie, such national wide news would definitely hold some form of consequences, and it was not too far fetched to conclude innocent people, like me, would find themselves in the middle of them.
Things like wars, conflicts, violence. It's one thing when reading and playing video games, but another thing when it involves reality. And a completely different thing when such violence is directed towards you.
And while I was still shocked by that conclusion, It was only natural to start forming a survival plan...
"So, should we start planning on moving out? I mean, not like neither of us is capable of fighting a war or something if it breaks out..."
"Hahahahah Rue, and you told me I was overreacting?"
As if my comment had soothed her previously visible unease and fright, with a long and genuine laugh, my mom threw those words at me.
I might've overreacted... maybe.
Ugh damnit, I either underreact or overreact...
"Things like war are the solutions found at the end of the bookshelf, firstly, all other books should be read before reading and engaging in the final one. That was definitely a hasty conclusion Rue, but I can't blame you, war is no joke for sure."
"You're right you're right yeah, I overreacted, but even then, what's gonna happen now? Some consequences are certain to occur. Maybe my over exaggerated conclusion is not one of them, still, how do they proceed now??"
With the sudden and temporary fright within my heart slowly vanishing, It was only natural I propose that question. If war is far from happening, how would they solve the violation of the agreement? Maybe something akin to a meeting--
"Well most likely it would lead to a meeting. The witnesses of the agreement 30 years ago, more precisely the "United Countries of the Continent Velasia", would conduct an emergency discussion...-"
"-As to discuss the consequences of the sudden violation..."
Before my mom could finish her sentence, I interrupted with the conclusion.
It's certainly true that would be the natural progress of the events. The consequences being war was surely a hasty conclusion from my part. Either something like the revision of the agreement, or undoing the tariff change in the first place...
"That's right, and considering the very importance of that agreement, it was rather very vague, no not vague, rather incomprehensible why our president would pass that bill at all. The consequences could be too many, and..."
As my mom was saying that very last part, a slight anxiety could be seen in her eyes again and definitely heard through her voice.
Even being someone frivolous as I am, I could feel the weight of those news crushing her heart. In the end, such happenings do in one way or another affect us, and all the residents living in both countries. Even though we brushed aside "war" as the last domino, the possibility was still present. Though worrying about that now is-
"I'm sure it'll be fine mom, there's no use stressing over that. I'm positive they'll conduct some meeting as you've said and come to some agreement in the end."
Getting up from my seat, I sat next to my mom on the sofa and slightly tapped her shoulders.
Poor woman, if such news could startle me, they were definitely violently striking her. Sooner or later, more reports would be released regarding the situation giving birth to possibly positive news.
"Well, I'll be late to work so I better finish my breakfast and head there. Unfortunately I still haven't saved up enough for a car so a bus it is..."
"Mhm you better finish those eggs I've made you..."
As we were exchanging these words, she gently pulled my head towards her lips, giving me a soft kiss on the forehead.
************************************************************************
About 30 minutes had passed after our conversation.
During that period, I had finished breakfast, brushed my teeth, did my makeup, fixed my hair and dressed cutely.
What is awaiting me is an excruciating ride towards my job's building. The reason for it being "excruciating" has to do with how crowded busses can get in the morning...