Chapter 82: Denise’s Story
Eight years earlier. Denise was a very shy girl. She rarely spoke to anyone outside her family. She was invisible to almost all the other students at the school; this included her classmate Darius. This prevented her from making friends. This caused her to feel lonely and sad, which caused her to be even less willing to communicate with others.
There was a boy who was two years older than Denise. His name was David. David was a little shy, and he struggled to make friends because he was considered less intelligent than other students of his age. He took much longer to understand topics in school, and in some cases, not at all. His speech was also slurred, and he often struggled to articulate what he wanted to communicate. Other children made fun of him and often treated him quite badly.
Denise noticed David’s struggles. She found she could relate to him and his problems. One day, she built up the courage to introduce herself to him. David was delighted that she wanted to talk to him. David dominated many of their early conversations, but as Denise became more comfortable talking to him, she became more vocal. David was impressed with Denise’s intelligence. It was not obvious to many that Denise was very intelligent. They judged her too quickly based on her shyness.
David asked Denise to help him with his studies. Denise was delighted to help him. She would visit him at his grandma’s house several times a week to either tutor him or study with him. His grandma was kind but also quite sickly. She was unable to work the same hours that she did when she was younger. She was becoming more reliant on just ‘rights’.
David would help his grandma pick and collect fruit in the Agriculture Zone. This is where David would get to meet Sapes. He enjoyed spending time with the Sapes. They were friendly, funny, and, most importantly, not judgmental of him. He became particularly close with one little Sape, 4891. It was like the little Sape’s grunts and onks were responses to things he said. David introduced Denise to the Sapes. They surprised her. She found them fun and engaging. However, this did not last. Once the Sapes reached a certain age or size, they were killed and sold to restaurants. Only a handful of major food companies owned all the restaurants in Adoy. Restaurant managers would choose the Sapes they wanted. They were normally sold every two weeks at the Sape markets. David hated seeing his friends slaughtered.
Denise suggested to David that he should use his tokens to buy a Sape. He could then choose for that Sape not to be killed. David liked the idea. He had accumulated many tokens from collecting and picking fruit. These tokens were going to expire soon. It made sense for him to use them to help someone he cared about.
David inquired when the Sape 4891 would be sold. He was told that would be in three weeks’ time. He asked if he could buy this Sape. A market employee told him he had to wait to make a bid on the day itself. The market sales were usually run like auctions. Sapes were sold to the highest bidder. Based on David’s research, Sapes were normally sold for less than what he had saved. He felt confident that he would be able to rescue Sape 4891.
Three weeks later, Denise accompanied David to the Sape markets. They watched as several were sold and then slaughtered. It was very difficult for both of them to watch, but they needed to be there for Sape 4891.
It was time for Sape 4891 to be sold. She had grown bigger than most. This was concerning for Denise and David, as she would most likely be sold at a higher price.
The bidding began. Two restaurant managers immediately bid for her. Soon, one of them dropped out. The price of 4891 was still within David’s budget. David made a bid. The restaurant manager responded by outbidding him. David responded with another bid. The restaurant manager outbid him again. The price had gone over David’s budget. He felt devastated.
Denise told him to keep bidding. He said he could not. She told him that she would pay the difference with her tokens. David bid again. The restaurant manager outbid him yet again. Denise urged David to continue. David bid once again. The restaurant manager dropped out. David had won. He now owned Sape 4891. Denise hugged David.
Three market staff grabbed Sape 4891. They placed her on a butchering table.
David screamed, ‘No, don’t kill her. I bought her to be alive.’
‘That’s not how it works,’ shouted the auctioneer as the butcher approached the table.
Denise climbed over the railings and jumped down to the auction floor. She ran over to 4891 and threw herself on top of her so that the butcher could not kill her.
The butcher shouted at her, ‘Get off, or I’ll cut you in half.’
Denise rolled on her back while still shielding the Sape. ‘If you are going to kill her, you’ll have to kill me first,’ Denise shouted back at him.
David was shocked. He had never seen Denise talk so confidently. David climbed over the railings to join her. The market staff grabbed Denise to pull her off, but Denise grabbed the table. Sape 4891 panicked, causing the table to fall over. They both fell to the ground. Sape 4891 ran to the side of the floor in fear. Denise and David ran over to continue to shield her from the staff. The struggle continued as the staff dragged both Denise and David by the feet.
‘Stop this at once,’ shouted a voice from the crowd. It was Genève from the House of Divine Knowledge. ‘We do not treat our children in this manner.’
‘They are interfering with our auction,’ shouted the auctioneer.
‘I was under the impression they were participating in the auction,’ said Genève. ‘They bid for this Sape and they won.’
‘Yeah, but they are stopping us from chopping it up,’ shouted the auctioneer.
‘They clearly don’t want you doing that,’ said Genève. ‘As they are the new owners of that Sape, you should respect that decision.’
Genève turned to David and Denise. ‘What you two did today was very silly but also incredibly brave and compassionate.’
Both David and Denise smiled in acknowledgment.
‘Now that you are a Sape owner, where do you intend to keep this Sape?’ asked Genève.
‘She can live here, and we can visit her,’ replied David.
‘Sweet idea, but this is not your property,’ said Genève.
‘Keep it here, and I’ll sell it again,’ shouted the auctioneer.
Genève looked at the auctioneer in disgust.
‘It might be good for the House of Divine Knowledge to own some of the Agriculture Zone,’ said Genève.
‘We ain’t selling a single yard of it to you,’ said the auctioneer as he spat on the ground.
‘We’ll give you a good price. If that doesn’t satisfy you, I’ll get the enforcers to confiscate it,’ said Genève firmly.
‘You holy types have too much power. One day this’ll change,’ said the auctioneer as he called for the next Sape to be sold.
A few days later, the House of Divine Knowledge confirmed the purchase of a small part of the Agriculture Zone. Sape 4891 could not be touched in this area. Both Denise and David were grateful to Genève. They even occasionally attended some of the sessions she presented.
In the newly acquired section of the Agriculture Zone, Denise and David built a little house for their Sape.
‘This area is big enough to turn into a little Hamlet for rescued Sapes,’ said Denise.
‘I like the name “Hamlet”,’ said David.
‘It’s just the name for a small village,’ replied Denise.
‘What’s a village?’ asked David.
‘According to some philosophers, before we had regions, we had villages,’ replied Denise. ‘They are small population centres, and Hamlets are smaller versions of them.’
‘Hahaha, sure,’ laughed David.
They both laughed.
‘I want to call Sape 4891, Hamlet,’ said David proudly.
‘Sure, why not? A number sounds way too Orwellian,’ chuckled Denise.
They both laughed.
Hamlet grunted loudly. Then she walked off to do some rooting.
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