Entry 1
Summary - Ava finds three eggs on her balcony, and takes them in to look after and learn about.
The elevator was crowded. Everyone stunk of sweat and smoke and we all were packed close together and I could hardly drag needed air into my lungs. But, my stop was floor 8. I would be back into (somewhat) fresh air soon enough. After only two more stops. And then I could unwind after the day. Or, so I thought. The low class area of the town offered the most laborious jobs, so I was lucky to be stuck with something as easy as stocking shelves.
I gave my watch a quick glance. 6:32 PM, It read. Two minutes late for the new episode of Bartholomew Crescent (Which I totally don’t watch… pfft, no.) I found myself tapping my foot impatiently as we reached floor 7, a few people scrambling out of the lift in a hurry. I ached all over. My shoulders heavy, legs weak, head pounding and wings stiff, nothing sounded better than being able to stretch out after the torture of today.
As soon as the familiar ‘Ping!’ of the elevator sounded, I was out the door, one hand raking through my dark brown satchel for the keycard which controlled my entire identity. The key to my assigned apartment, where all my money was contained, the only way I could pay for things or get on public transport, and all my identity details. Losing this would be catastrophic. I let out a sigh of relief as it brushed against my fingers, whipping it out of my bag and taking it in my mechanical arm. I broke into a half-walk, half-jog thing, until I came to apartment 426. With a quick movement, I flashed the card in front of a sensor. Then, a green light flashed and I opened the door.
My home wasn’t as clean as it should be. But, not necessarily messy. Due to extremely high population in this city, we were only given small rooms. The kitchen, bedroom and living room were all contained in a room. The bathrooms were public, and there were three per floor. On each floor were 50 rooms. One bathroom was female only, one male only, and the last one unisex. This made mornings extremely hectic. But, now, that was not of concern. All that was on my mind was lazing across the mattress and putting what I hadn’t missed of Bartholomew Crescent on TV.
So, I walked into the room and took off my tight shoes, hanging up my satchel and jacket on a hook beside the door, and dusting off my white vest. I walked to one corner of the room, which was where my fridge, cookers, sink and counters were kept. I swung open the white door and looked at the food inside the fridge. I wasn’t really hungry, and couldn’t be bothered to cook just yet, so pulled out some cola and closed the door behind me. Desperate for a drink, I glugged down about half the can before setting it on the counter and stretching my arms, back and neck. This didn’t solve the ache in my wings though. And there wasn’t enough room in my home to stretch without knocking something. So, I’d have to go onto the balcony.
There was a glass door leading onto the small balcony. The rooms only began getting balconies on floor 7, since avians needed them. That was why almost the entirety of the population of floor 6 and 7 were winged. Above that was where the richer members of the city lived. Well, not really rich. But they had enough money to buy a flat above all the smoke from all the workers who were on the ground.
When I approached the door, I noticed something outside. A basket… filled with something. It was hard to see from inside, but it sparked my curiosity. So, I opened the door in a swift motion and tried to get a better look at the basket. Inside it was three eggs and a rolled up piece of paper, tied with light red ribbon. The basket was decorated with the same ribbon, and small pearls. One egg was a light cream colour, an orange sun design on the front. Another, a vibrant green with three yellow circles on the bottom left corner. And the last one was an extremely dark grey colour, with lines of red crossing over it. It resembled magma running between rocks. My hand instinctively reached for the handle and pulled it close to me, before going back inside my flat. Within seconds, I was sat cross-legged on the bed, the basket in front of me.
Gingerly I emptied the basket. The cream egg and the green egg were warm, but the dark grey and red one was hot. It was probably what was keeping the other two alive. I set all of them down together, and draped my fluffiest blanket over them, tucking them into it. It seemed like something you’d do to an egg. Then, when I was sure they were okay, I pulled out the letter. The ribbon came off with easy, and I unrolled it in my hands, before beginning to read it.
Dear Ava Spruce
You have been entrusted with three Yogpet eggs. You do not need to keep these creatures in your possession, but please do not leave them in the wilderness. If you cannot look after the pets, or do not want to, you can leave them at an adoption centre.
You have been gifted with a Solar Egg, a Huge Egg and a Hot Egg. Please look after them. They will hatch in their own time. You can look into Yogpets more online if you must. You may come across other Yognau(gh)ts who have creatures like yours. I trust you to be able to give these creatures a good life. Good Luck.
~Lalna
The first thing I gathered from reading that was that it was evident more and more of these pets were being abandoned. Of course I wouldn’t get rid of them. I had never had a pet before, and these creatures were bound to be interesting. Almost instantly I put the letter back in the basket and pulled up my laptop, searching for things related to ‘Yogpets’ so I could be educated enough to look after my new family members. Great things would come from this, I just knew it.
