There are small mercies in the world. The fact that his family found a community to settle into during a time of chaos and wreckage. The fact that they have access to food and water and a place to live. It’s hard to find it in himself to be ungrateful and complain when he gets to live another day with his family and a roof over his head. However, when said roof is about to overflow from the amount of people stuffed in there, a positive outlook becomes a little harder to achieve. When there are people living in the same community that think they’re better than you, that they deserve more than you, it gets a little harder to bear. When there are people who have more than you and won’t share with you, when they tout their hospitality and benevolence, it makes Brennan grip onto something until his knuckles turn white.
Brennan takes increasingly aggressive bites out of his dinner and finishes his meal in record time. Too much time spent stuffed in a coop isn’t good for the temper. He makes his way back outside to breathe in some fresh air. He settles down on the uncovered porch of the Lodge. Rain comes down in heavy droplets and creates a wash of white noise that drowns out his thoughts.
He looks out over the rocky beach out into the sea. Dark gray clouds blanket the sky, blocking out the sunset he likes to enjoy every evening. There is something refreshing about the damp air that enters his lungs though. It seems like the day is reflecting his mood, or maybe his mood is being affected by the darkness in the air. Maybe the day is mocking him. The rain seems to be coming down even harder now.
Brennan allows himself to feel the sorrow deep in his bones. The boiling anger from the morning that has fizzled out into a tiredness that settles right next to the constant aches and pains in his body. Tired from the world seemingly rooting against him. Tired from the labor he’s told to do day in and day out without a second to rest. Tired from the gap between the Lodge and the Mansion that seems to grow larger and larger with every passing day.
He’s thought about making a real change, that fire inside of him begging for some sort of righteous action. About standing up and demanding the bare minimum basic equality that every man deserves. For once in their lifetimes, these Mansion dwelling louts get up and work for once. The people living in the Lodge outnumber the Locals living in the Mansion, but not by enough. But the status quo is stifling, quelling the rumblings of discontent. People like Henry who have become numb to the sensations of injustice. Maybe they’re too old; maybe they’re too tired. It seems like the only one who has that spark on this god forsaken beach is Brennan and Brennan alone.