The 21st Century, a night... In a western-style building in the Fulton market, Oscar Clara is lying in her bed, breaking into a cold sweat, her brows knitted tightly.
The customized, expensive bed seems to provide no comfort at this moment.
The figures appearing in her dream shares uncanny resemblance to her father, Oscar Zachary, and her mother, Zane Gillian, both of whom had passed away years ago; even their names matched perfectly.
The girl in the dream looks exactly like herself as a child, albeit there was a difference. The girl bore the youthful innocence of childhood, a stark contrast to her current, mature visage. She was now twenty-eight, graced with a prominent set of features and a chiseled face.
Their hometown in the dreamscape is Edinburgh city, nestled into a small lane called ‘Unity Lane’. Everyone in this stony lane, including passersby, wear dull-colored clothes. Most of their clothes were patched up with seven or eight patches. Some even had more than a dozen.
The only inconsistency was that she was an only child in the 21st Century, while in her dream, it was a different scenario. Throughout her life, she adored families with siblings. After her birth, mother Zane had damaging complications with her health. It worsened due to her grandmother's poor confinement period, resulting in her long-term fraility.
However, Oscar Zachary and his wife never mistreated her because she was a girl. On the contrary, they wished they could give her the best of all worlds—their precious darling.
In her dream, she had three siblings, her older brother Oscar Blake, her second brother Oscar Zane, and a younger brother, Oscar Heng.
Observing through his dreams, it wasn't hard to notice that their clothes were neither very new nor very old, but generally patched up here and there.
In an era where food and clothing were obtained through rations, the clothes worn by his family members were much better than what most people wore.
This was because his father served as the director of the production department in a steel factory and his mother worked as an accountant in a textile factory.
His eldest brother served in the military in H Province and was now the commander of the Iron-blood Camp in H Province, a rank he'd achieved at the mere age of 24.
His elder brother in the dream was a child both Oscar parents were incredibly proud of.
In Unity Alley, Elder brother Oscar's achievement was second to none among his peers.
His second elder brother, Oscar Zane, was 22 years old and was a technical worker at the steel mill. His youngest brother, Oscar Heng, was 13 years old,
and his sister, Oscar Clara, was studying in the junior and senior sections of the Second Middle School of Rosemont at the fictitious age of 18.
The girl who looked exactly like him in the dream was still in high school. The whole country was now implementing the policy
'responding positively to the call of the state,
every family in the city must have one person going to the countryside to sweat and experience the hardship of growing food'
.
In a few months, high school graduates would be leaving school. Aside from those who had connections and had already made arrangements to start work right after graduation,
most people, who were from big families with four to five children, struggled because job positions were scant and large factories and employers seldom had openings.
Unless they took over their parents' jobs, deciding who to give the job to among so many children presented a huge dilemma in these households.
After all, they were all children of the same mother. It wouldn't be fair to give a position to one and leave out the others who were still waiting to be fed. It was hard to find a job in the city.
If you were jobless, the neighborhood office would encourage you to go to the countryside. They even have a slogan for it:
'It's an honor to go to the countryside. If you don't go, you're exploiting the wool of socialism'
.
At this point, the scene in the dream changed again, my father was reported by someone.
As dusk just fell, a large crowd, wearing 'H' armbands, knocked on the Thompson family's door with a "pang, pang, pang".
The visitors ransacked the house the moment they stepped through the door, not caring about the reason.
Caught off guard by the sudden change, the family stood together in fear and confusion, my father could only deal with the leader,
Trying to glean some information, "Comrade, is there any misunderstanding, what on earth has happened?
I, Thompson Zachary, am a fair and square person, we can't allow a malicious report from someone to wreck my home, can we?"
The visitor was straightforward, "This is the Thompson household, right? Someone reported that you have overseas connections,
Over the years, under the guise of 'contacts', you have been leaking our country's secrets, and there are foreign letters and books hidden in your house."
Hearing these words, all the family looked surprised, Thompson Zachary objected loudly, "How is that possible, I don't even know anybody overseas,
How could I have contacted them, isn't this nonsense? This is absolute nonsense, I demand a thorough investigation of the reporter,
It must be someone trying to frame me maliciously."
Such people are too familiar to him, is the truth that important? He values evidence more, the man leading the charge smirked at his words,
He did not hide the indifference in his eyes, his disdainful gaze swept over the Thompson family, "Whether you are innocent or not, we will have to determine that after our search,
We speak on the basis of evidence, we won't wrong a good person, but we will never let go,
Anyone who betrays our country."
Knowing that further speeches would be in vain, Oscar Zachary could only cease his futile endeavors. Soon after, the search was conducted and completed. Among the inquisition, a man wearing a red armband held a small pile of items, stating, "We discovered both letters and American books under the corner of the backyard wall and below the rice vat in the kitchen."
Upon seeing the actual evidence brought out, Oscar Zachary's eyes instantly filled with despair. He exclaimed in disbelief, "Impossible, impossible, how could this be possible? I have no knowledge of these items existing in my home. Who could be so wicked as to frame us?"
Upon seeing Oscar Zachary's incredulity, another man with a red armband chided sternly, "The evidence lies right before you. What else could you possibly say? Take them all away. Once we reach the Revolution Committee, I don't believe they'll persist with their obstinacy."
Things soon concluded, with the entire family being exiled. The day before the family was exiled to the N field, Oscar's eldest uncle managed to meet with the family through his connections. During their days of detainment, Oscar's father had been in deep thought and realized he cannot continue putting the family in danger.
He urgently advised, "Brother, you should go back immediately and have our family publicly announce their disassociation with us in the newspapers. Redmond should also cut ties with us. Reach out to him and explain the situation. Tell him not to try to contact us or find us. He should stay in the army peacefully. Redmond is the only family left, he absolutely mustn't get into trouble."
Seeing his only younger brother, Oscar's eldest uncle's eyes welled up with a mix of sorrow and pain. He assured him, "Don't worry. We will take good care of our parents. It's unknown when we'll meet again once you depart. You all need to take care of yourselves as well. We'll await your return at home."
Several days passed in the blink of an eye, and the whole family was sent to the northernmost, most grueling farm. Only Oscar, the eldest brother, was better off in the military. However, he had been stripped of his position as the camp leader and demoted to an ordinary soldier. This sudden disaster not only wasted all the merit that Oscar Bo had risked his life for over the years but also led his family to the brink of destruction. Jingle, jingle...a ringing bell woke the person in bed. Oscar Clara sat up from her bed, glanced at the cell phone screen showing it was 9:21, and saw a call from her best friend, Quinton Hugo.
As soon as the call was connected, Quinton Hugo's cheerful voice came through, "Clara Clara, are you awake? My new car has arrived. The 4S shop just told me I can pick it up at 11 o'clock. Can you come with me? We can test out my new wheels, I'll take you for a ride."
Oscar Clara rubbed her swollen temples, "Sure, I'll pick you up at 10:30, I need to wash up first."
After putting down the phone, she didn't get out of bed, but disappeared into a space. What she saw was a vibrant, green world. Yes, she had a space, a mysterious one that belonged only to her and resided in her mind. Even now, it still didn't seem quite real. The original container of this space was a pendant, a gift from her father that he got from an auction. Though the space was still a bit empty, she was still in the exploration phase. However, a faint voice kept telling her that she could use her intention to control entry into the space, and once she left, she would gradually forget about the spaceship. Of course, she could decide how long it took to forget. It wasn't like in the stories where one would be able to silence the space. But so far, only she could enter the space, so she had no subjects to experiment on. Oscar Clara thought, the most suitable candidate was her best friend, Quinton Hugo.
However, the dream just now was too strange. Woodcroft Yasmine had a hunch in her heart that she needed to do something.
After taking another breath of fresh air, she wielded her mind to manifest her spatial abilities. Woodcroft Yasmine got out of bed and quickly took a shower in the bathroom.
After putting on a robe, the young girl walked to the vanity. Looking into the mirror, she saw a radiant white complexion, exuding a distinct sense of coldness and sternness.
Her pitch-black eyes shimmered with a captivating color, and her thick eyebrows, erect nose, and beautiful lips all exuded nobility and elegance.
After some basic skincare, her exquisite face needed no further adornment, just a touch of lipstick to bring out its charm.
She then walked into her walk-in wardrobe. The first thing that caught her eye were rows of beige European-style wardrobes filled with neatly arranged hangers, holding various types of clothing in different colors and styles.
The floor was wooden with a soft rug covering it, lending a warm and cozy feel to the space.
The wardrobe had a large skylight at the top, allowing sunlight to pour freely into the room.
Woodcroft Yasmine changed into a soft yellow custom-made outfit, the color accentuated the girl in front of the mirror, making her skin glow like hibiscus petals,
making her appear even more youthful and full of vitality.