Impurities 〈SIMPLE – 2024〉

"You're terrified of a little bit of color," Kael said, noticing her frantic attempts to hide her wrist. He held up a piece of steel. It was rough and dull, but when he struck it with a hammer, it didn't shatter like the city's perfect glass. "Pure iron is soft, Elara. It’s the carbon—the 'impurity'—that makes it steel. It’s what gives it the strength to hold up the world."

and what actually happens to those the city rejects. Impurities

Elara was a Weaver of the High Glass, responsible for maintaining the crystalline facades that gave the city its shimmer. She was the most meticulous of all, her record spotless for twenty years. But one Tuesday, Elara found the smudge. It wasn't on a building; it was on her own wrist—a small, jagged birthmark that had suddenly darkened, as if a drop of ink had bloomed beneath her skin. "You're terrified of a little bit of color,"

There, she found a man named Kael. He was covered in what the city called "Impurities"—scars, tattoos, and the messy, colorful stains of oil and paint. He didn't look erased; he looked alive. "Pure iron is soft, Elara