Acropolis 17 (3)

Mi later learned that if any border guard was attacked by the Shari or died in a storm, his family would receive a gold coin as compensation, which would reduce the chance of his family having to serve at the border.

"I heard that a very important person passed by and gave it to them." Mi didn't want to say that she was the one who gave the gold coins, leaving the matter vague and implying that it was from someone else.

“I knew this kid was destined for greatness,” Mrs. Cruz said, taking a bite of the gold coin, then flicking it with her finger and listening to the buzzing sound it made. “Ah, this is a real gold coin, really.” Mrs. Cruz stroked the coin almost obsessively. “My Cruz has been clever and resourceful since he was little. All the adults in town like him.”

Mrs. Krus warmly invited Mi to stay at her house. She cleaned and tidied the previously empty room on the second floor, laying out brand new mattresses and blankets, and fluffing up the feather-filled pillows until they were soft and fluffy. Looking at the red sun outside the window, Mi said she wanted to explore the Acropolis some more. She had never been to the Acropolis before and was full of curiosity about it.

Mrs. Krus took off her apron and led Mi on a tour of the Acropolis 17. Mrs. Krus lived on Klin Street, a street lined with houses owned by women surnamed Krus. It was then that Mi realized the Acropolis 17 resembled a matriarchal society, where children took their mothers' surnames, and all the men in the household—or rather, all the adult men—were in the military; no man in the Acropolis 17 had a second profession.

“These are all the old K family’s houses,” Mrs. Krus said, pointing to a house with pink paint on the outside. “That’s my sister Claire’s house.” Mrs. Krus stood at the gate of the yard and looked around for a few moments, then called out twice, “Claire, Claire.” No one answered Mrs. Krus’s calls, so she turned around and continued walking. “She must be at the nursery. I’ll take you there; it’s the lovely place in the whole Acropolis.”

The nursery consisted of several interconnected bungalows. The walls were painted with bright colors, and the floors were covered with babies a few months old, crawling around in leather jackets, occasionally grabbing an adult's leg and calling "Mama, Mama." Mi had never seen so many children before, all plump and chubby, incredibly cute.

Krus's mother was grabbed by the hem of her skirt by a child. She picked up the child and glanced at her, saying, "Oh, little Dale, where are you going?" She kissed the child on the cheek. Then another child grabbed her. Krus's mother handed little Dale to Mi and picked up another child at her feet.

Suddenly, a soft child was placed in Mi's arms. Little Dai'er had never seen Mi before. She reached out and poked Mi's cheek with her finger, then leaned forward and kissed Mi on the cheek. Then she wrapped her arms around Mi's neck and called out, "Mommy, Mommy."

Mi was startled. She hugged the child tightly and followed Krus's mother inside. Little Deer was in her arms, her warm breath tickling Mi's neck. How could this child be so soft? Mi held little Deer and looked down at the little girl in her arms. Her skin was pink and chubby, her soft curly hair clung to her scalp, and her round eyes were fixed on Mi. When she saw Mi looking at her, she looked up, smiled, and kissed Mi again. Mi felt like she was melting.

Mrs. Cruz led Mi to a table and sat down. Just then, Mi noticed that Cruz's sister and her two best friends were also there. They would pick up a child from the floor, then put a struggling baby down to crawl on the floor. The three of them huddled together, heads close together, whispering secrets. When Carrie saw Mrs. Cruz and Mi come in, she nudged Cruz's sister with her elbow, pointed at Mi, and they smiled and greeted her.

“That’s Little Dai’er. Little Dai’er likes her.” Carrie stood up and placed a bowl of milk in front of Mi. “Little Dai’er wants to drink milk.”

Mi gently placed little Dai'er on her lap, then picked up the bowl to feed her. Little Dai'er grabbed Mi's wrist, almost burying her face in the bowl, gulping down the milk. Just as she was about to finish half the bowl, Mi moved the bowl away slightly, letting Dai'er pause to catch her breath. Little Dai'er grabbed Mi's wrist, calling "Mama, Mama," and pulled the bowl closer to her mouth, burying her head in the milk again.

"Where is the child's mother?" Mi asked Carrie, who was standing to the side.

"Mom went to collect supplies; today is the day to collect supplies." Carrie reached out to take Little Dai'er away. "Little Dai'er is my little sister."

Little Dai'er clung to Mi's neck, refusing to leave. Mi let her rest her head on his shoulder and gently stroked and patted her back. Soon, Little Dai'er let out a burp, a milk bubble appearing at the corner of her mouth, and smiled at Mi and Carrie.

"Your little sister is so cute, she calls everyone 'Mom'."

Carrie sat down next to Mi, holding a comb in her hand: "The women in the city are all our mothers; we all grew up here."

It turns out that all the children in the Acropolis 17 stayed in a nursery until they were three years old, cared for by all the women in the city. After the age of three, if a child wanted to go home and live with her mother, she could go home; if she didn't want to go home, she could ask for a bed in the nursery and continue living there with her best friend until she was twelve years old, at which point she would go home with her mother. These girls all had two homes.

Carrie pulled Cruz's sister over and combed her hair with the comb in her hand. As she combed her hair, she stroked Cruz's sister's back. Cruz's sister finally stopped having a dark look on her face and showed a shy smile that belonged only to a young girl.

Mi looked around. There were many adult women in the nursery, mostly huddled together, chatting while holding their children. There were also little girls around ten years old, like Jiali. They gathered together, combing each other's hair and braiding it into different patterns, while discussing the lace on their skirts and the boys on the playground. There weren't many toys in the nursery, so the adults played with the children, and the little girls played with the children too. Almost everyone had a comb, either combing their friends' hair or braiding their children's heads full of braids.

Next to the nursery was a courtyard where most of the seven- or eight-year-old girls lived. Their mothers either looked after the younger children or chatted with their friends. Their older sisters thought they were childish and didn't want to play with them. The little girls played house in the courtyard, with one playing the mother and the other the sister. Soon, a group of adults gathered around, and the mothers watched and gave the little girls pointers, their laughter ringing out one after another.

The children crawling on the ground included both boys and girls, and there were also a few little boys in the house-playing yard, but no older boys. Mi asked Carrie, "Where are the boys?"

“They’ve gone to the city lord’s mansion for training,” Jiali told Mi. “All the boys in the city’s 17th grade have to go to the city lord’s mansion when they turn eight. They train during the day and go home to their mothers’ homes at night. They will no longer stay in the nursery.”

Mi spent the afternoon at the daycare, and then Krus's mom and sister accompanied her home. Krus's mom was a really good cook; dinner included meat, pies, and two different sauces, all of which tasted delicious.

"My mom makes the best sauce." Crouch's sister took a bowl and ladled half a bowl of each sauce into it. Her good friend, Donna, took the sauce from the doorway and ran off.

"Your mother is such a good cook, she could open a restaurant!" Mi said approvingly while enjoying her meal.

Krus's sister glanced at Mi twice but didn't say anything more. Krus's mother remained very enthusiastic, and Mi soon learned that Krus had three younger brothers and a younger sister, all of them tall and strong, completely different from the thin and tall Krus from the border. After hearing that Krus was safe, Krus's mother didn't ask anything more about him. Throughout dinner, she kept praising her beautiful little daughter and the three sons of the city lord's mansion. Krus's sister quickly blushed and saw Mi, who had finished eating, upstairs: "That's just how my mother is; in her eyes, no one can compare to me and my brothers."

Mi smiled and looked at her: "All mothers think this way. I agree with your mother. You are both the best children in the world."

“Yes, my mother is the best mother in the world.” Krus put the lampstand on the table. “We in Acropolis 17 have the best mother in the world.”

Krus's sister sat opposite Mi, looking him over and asking, "Were you also sent to the Acropolis?" She raised her hands and shook them. "Don't be afraid. The people of the Acropolis are very kind. As long as you don't think about running away, you'll be fine." She opened her mouth, wanting to say something more, but then closed it again, feeling helpless.

“I’m here on your brother’s behalf to deliver a gift to your mother,” Mi thought for a moment and told her. “I’m on my way to Sun City, but I’m just passing through here.”

"You're going to Sun City? You won't be staying here?" Krus's sister looked up in surprise. She glanced quickly at Mi and then looked down again. Soon she stood up and left the room. Mi noticed that her eyes were red and glistening with tears.

Mi watched the little girl's frightened figure disappear, wondering what she had said wrong to make her so upset. She extended her consciousness and followed the little girl. The little girl ran into a gray room, threw herself onto the bed, grabbed a pillow, hugged it tightly, and sobbed. After a long while, she calmed down, wiped away her tears, and sat motionless in the darkness.

Mi saw Krus's mother standing at her daughter's door, listening to the sounds coming from inside until her little girl had completely calmed down before turning to leave. A moment later, Krus's mother came up with hot water. She wiped her daughter's face, then held her in her arms, gently stroking her back until her stiff body relaxed.

Late at night, Mi overheard Krus's mother and youngest daughter discussing which son should be exempted from military service. The youngest daughter said, "Second brother, he's the eldest brother's younger brother."

"But your two younger brothers—"

"Who cares if they die?" The little girl was furious, completely unlike her arrogant and indifferent self during the day, and no longer the obedient and well-behaved girl she was at the nursery.

"Don't be like this, they are still your own brothers," Krus's mother said helplessly. Both of Krus's mother's husbands had died in battle, and she hadn't had children for several years. Now she was looking for a third husband. Before finding a husband for herself, she wanted to choose a good one for her daughter, preferably from a family that had always stayed in the guard and didn't go to the border posts.

"Mom, why do we have to live like this?" The little girl's voice was full of exhaustion.

"My dear girl, it's all fate, it's just destiny."

"Why isn't that rice her fate?" the younger daughter said in a low voice, almost shouting. "During the day, I saw how clueless she was. I just don't understand how someone so old can be so stupid?"

“Silly girl, she came back from abroad,” Krus’s mother’s voice was filled with a mixture of fear and something else. “That country is the domain of the Shari people. I don’t know how she survived.”

"At least she doesn't have to keep having children?"

“Look at her, she’s so old, and she doesn’t have a child by her side,” Krus’s mother paused for a while before continuing, “What mother doesn’t have children by her side? My dear daughter, don’t say things like that again.”

“Mom,” Krus’s little sister sobbed softly, “I want to leave too.”

“At least Mom still has you by her side,” Krus’s mother’s voice rang out again after a long while. “Now, Mom just prays that you can have a daughter first. It’s good to have a daughter, because a daughter can always stay with Mom. Don’t have a son, because sons will take Mom away one by one.”