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*slides in* Gonna throw one more bit in here lol

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Kiet leapt out of the way as a boy with strawberry-blond hair zipped past at lightning speed. Then he pinned himself back against the wall of a nearby building as several officials raced past, shouting, “Stop that boy!”

Kiet’s stomach tightened.  Relax, he reminded himself. It’s not like those things that happened in your dream. He shook his head.  If it was a dream. It was so real. . .

Gripping the paper in his hand tighter, he took a deep breath and continued weaving his way through the rubble to the apothecary’s. He wasn’t sure what to expect when he walked in. To his surprise, the man simply handed him his apron and went about business as usual.

As Kiet ground herbs, he cast surreptitious glances towards the apothecary. <i>When is he going to mention</i> it? he wondered. The man picked up a vial and passed behind him.

“Did you read it?”

Kiet jumped and started pounding the mortar harder. “Yes,” he whispered.

“And?”

For several minutes, Kiet didn’t respond. Long after the herbs had turned to powder, he kept grinding.

“There’s a meeting tonight,” the man said. Kiet shot him a quick glance. Their eyes met. “Kiet, can’t you see? This city’s in shards. And you know it well enough. You’ve experienced both the poverty and the crime yourself.”

Kiet’s eyebrows shot up. “How do you–”

He waved his hand. “I see more than you think I do. But listen, kid–” He stared the boy intently in the eye. “It doesn’t have to be like that, you know. Think about it. What if someday you could go home–really home, not that sorry excuse you call one–without wondering if you’ll lose your pay to thieves again? Wouldn’t that be heaven?”

Kiet turned away abruptly and kept pounding the mortar with a vengeance. The man sighed. “Like I said yesterday, you’re a good kid. I know you don’t want to go rebelling for no good reason. But think about it this way–you’re not the only kid hurt by this. That girl you sent here yesterday? If this government were any good, she might not have gotten ill in the first place. These people need change. They need it if they’re going to live, Kiet. Will you join us?”

Kiet stared at the powder in the bowl. Something about this felt familiar. What was it. . . ? Then, with a jolt, he remembered. It was something in that dream of his. Something like this. . .

And he knew which side he’d chosen then.

He set down the mortar. “When is the meeting tonight?”

“Two hours past midnight.”

Kiet winced. “I don’t know if I want to do this. But. . . I’ll at least find out.”

“I’ll pick you up quarter till.”

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You guys can feel free to do what you want with the meeting, and can use the apothecary freely in your own snippets if you want. He’s not one of my WIP characters or anything. 😉 (Also thanks for the dream idea, @esmeralda-gramilton ! Because my charries are influenced by backstory too XD)