Parasite

Parasite

Chelsey Dalberry

04/17/2024

July 15th, 2100 was the day Willow Rey’s life changed forever. One of the very simple joys that existed in her community of Kendall Bay was the lottery that happened every ten years. It was the one joy that her father indulged in. He bought his ticket at the nearest bodega, wishing for the best but having no expectations. Willow had a humble upbringing growing up in district 1, Kendall Bay, and even though they knew they did not have much, they had enough. District 1 was the lower class, the ones shoved to the side. There were two other districts, Pinecrest Crease (middle class), which is where all Bay kids hope they end up, and Coral Gables (upper class) which is where the lucky ones got to reside. They were no 1% of the rich, but they sure were close enough to it and wore their wealth on their sleeves. She heard the scream from the house that evening in her rain boots watching the tadpoles swim in one of the bigger waterways near her house, the canals. The rain boots which were normal to wear day to day helped not having to worry about wet socks so much. Willow flipped her head back at the commotion at her house being held by up by a sediment mixture and bricks, and before she knew it her mama was screaming out the door, “Baby Rey! We’ve been blessed!”

The winning pot was 1.7 million dollars, and it belonged to her daddy, who knew nothing else but dirt in his nails and had nothing more than a plant shop to his name. They did not tell anyone they had won, but the news did that all for them, no matter how broke any house was, a television was in it. After the strenuous effort of the paperwork to be a millionaire June 4th was the day they were going to move to Coral Gables, a place Willow Rey before had only dreamed of vacationing in. Moving from one district to another was a long day, using the lifted truck and driving to the SOAR, a train that can withstand the 4 ft of water (after being built higher from the ground) of water it needs to push through. The truck drive is long, as the maintenance of the town was barely any, driving slow to not get stuck and taking intense back routes to get to the station at the one time the train was going to make its way to Kendall Bay, which once was every few weeks. Willow Rey could only describe the way she felt about the whole situation as a dream, she saw how happy it made her parents and being an only child whatever made them happy, kept her content, trying not to think of how jarring a new place can be. Kendall Bay is all her and her family had ever known. Deep down in Willow’s head this felt like a vacation, she had not quite reached the headspace of this being her life as she knows it now.

Willow had been up since 6 in the morning making her journey to Coral Gables when they finally arrived at their new home at 4 p.m. Coral Gables was a “sight for sore eyes” as Willow called it. She couldn't believe places looked like this, so clean, and dry. Conch homes lined the shoreline and in other parts it was house boats to fill up the land, the house boats rose and sunk as tide and as precipitation acted. Every house was modern clean colors like white, beige, or dimmed blues. Willow’s family moved into one of the Conch homes on the shore, these were homes held up by concrete stands and were high off the ground, you used stairs to get to the second floor in which your house began. Willow was sitting on the damp sand outside her house observing her new reality. The maintenance of this community was immaculate and used technology she could only dream of existing. Pumps regularly automatically got water out the way and drains were everywhere, everything seemed so high to the sky which how they built up on roads with materials that had high porosity and permeability to withstand the water. The SOAR was popular and took everyone everywhere; and if you did have a car, it was something with big wheels and you knew it could take the potential water rise. Only moisture they worried about was if it rained. While in deep thought she heard slamming doors and arguing from the house over. She pulled the ear buds engraved in her ears from her ride over to be nosy or what she called, curious.

“God, I knew you hated me, you were waiting for the day to do this to me!” She watched as girl with long, straight, box black dyed hair with eyeliner shooting to the skies and four piercings on her face that seemingly resembled a constellation if you connected the dots. Willow pretended to be distracted by the movers loading up the things into the house when she emerged but to no avail, their eyes locked and Willow scanned the duffel bag and ripped fishnets and watched as they stormed off in the opposite direction.

“Time for an adventure” whispered Willow to herself before she yelled to her ma she was going to explore the local area, and although weary at first, she let her go and told her to keep her head down. Willow had big frizzy brown curly hair with a single piece dyed blonde in the front, orange eyeliner, wearing her oversized clothing and rainboots, expecting a lot more puddles to go through which clearly, she misjudged. The districts were always small, but she could tell Coral Gables was an expanding place and a bit bigger than she imagined, making her way to a bodega, or here as it was called, a refresh station. The dark-lidded micro-banged girl was here talking to the cashier tech. Everything here you interact with a bot of some kind, the human only here for if it breaks. As soon as Willow opened the door, she shut it and stayed outside. She stood against the wall seemingly nervous as the people with bags worth a college education looked at her like she was deranged, snapped out of her thoughts when the ding of the door opened, the sharp blue eyes locked with her soft hazel eyes.

“I’m Solana. Walk with me.” It was said as a demand, and Willow listened. Solana walked with haste even though she had nowhere to be and had a duffle bag across her body.

“So, you're that lottery girl, I can tell.” She looked Willow up and down, insinuating that by her looks, she was not from here.

Willow was taken aback that it was that noticeable and connected the dots as to that was why everyone looked at her a little strange, disgusted even, everybody knew, and they had not even been in town 24 hours.

“Um, yeah I am, what gave it away?” Willow responded nervously, wanting answers.

“Your makeup and clothes, do I even have to point out the rubber boots, everyone here looks the same and you clearly have not got the memo.” Solana stated bluntly, still walking but now walking backwards, to be face to face with Willow, but still making haste.
Willow responded quickly, “I’m Willow by the way, Willow Rey, not just lottery girl. Where you takin’ me?”

Solana was taking her to the outskirts of the city; it looked like an abandoned construction site, and the water flow was higher than in the inner part of the town because of how well maintained it was in comparison. Climbed their way up to the second floor in which when going up, did not consider how to get down.

“This is where I'll be staying, parents kicked me out for not continuing school, might couch serf the music scene, band players you know? But I gotta wait to strike.” Solana said as the building echoed her every word, and she started lighting a cigarette.

Solana was textbook goth, which was strange in a city like this. Pale skin, dark hair but you can see her blonde natural roots growing in, a piercing on her right eyebrow, snakebites on her lips, and a septum. The cigarette was like the cherry on top of this persona, Willow had a feeling there was much more to her than this. Willow in comparison had big curly hair and chose electric colors for her makeup, she prioritized comfort, nothing too close to her skin.

“Why don’t you stay with me, maybe it is sudden, but I can’t stand the thought of you sleeping in a building with no walls.” Willow responded, shocking herself with the words coming out of her mouth, eyeing the smoke surrounding the air as Solana exhaled.
Solana smirked, “I wouldn’t want to impose, first day in the elite district, already doing charity work.”

Willow was an empathetic person, but most importantly naive.
“Of course not! How do we get down from here?”

Flash forward 2 months later. September 15th, 2100. Solana and Willow are inseparable, like sisters with a blood oath. Most people did not like Solana anyways since high school with her new rebellious look arising, and Willow knew by just being her no one would ever be able to look at her without rolling her eyes. Solana made Willow’s new life easier to cope with. Solana stays over most nights as Willow is left alone most of the time now with her dad becoming a prominent figure, making a name for himself as an advocate to get the maintenance of water that happens in the Gables, to the Bay. On the nights Solana is not there, Willow does not know where she goes, she will not say, but Willow knows it isn’t any good. Solana’s family broke no contact with her and while staying next door at Willow’s they catch glimpses of her, glimpses met with anger of a middle finger if she’s in a good mood. Solana has not been doing well, not having money is something she could not imagine happening, she owes a lot of people money, and many have cursed her off saying this district is not for her anymore. Willow is getting used to the change, and trying to figure out what she wants to do and has slowly been changing her wardrobe to match the greys and navy blues everyone else wears to create opportunities for herself, and debating if college is right for her, a luxury she did not even think of before. Willow has become interested in technology and has always been good at numbers, and with her having access to the advancements the world has made while she was out of the loop, the new ground for her is exciting.

Another night in Willow’s room when Solana barges in, something that is common now, when Solana crashes on the bed on top of her, “Willlowwww” she moans.

“What? Lana?” Willow responds in sort of a laugh, as Solana’s head is stuck in her arm, her groan vibrating her skin. No Response.

Willow pushed her head to the side and looked in her eyes, conscious, but no one was home. Solana only giggled. Willow was not dumb, she knew she was high, but chose to wrap Solana up in her bed and keep peace instead. ‘Nothing comes out of yelling’ is something Willow always believed. When Solana woke up it was 6 a.m. Willow was awake on her phone mindlessly scrolling, as she found comfort in the mornings, no matter how tired she was. The window was open, and you could hear the breeze.

“Willow?” Solana said groggily, “Are you mad at me?”

Willow did not know what to say but replied after a few moments, “No, Lana just get some sleep, everything is okay when the sun rises again, isn't it great we get to try again every time it rises again?”

Solana felt wide awake like espresso had entered her body and instead started conversation, that random conversation when it gets too late and decide to get deep with the people you love.

“Do you ever miss your district?”

Willow’s heart fluttered with the thought of home, that old house next to the canal will always be home. She thought she could smell the dew of home, only having it here at 6 a.m before the pumps turn on to drain the land for the district.

“I think the rise of the water is such an issue that we all live with, but I can’t help but have the moisture feel like home, and that is something you will never understand, Solana. Not that it is anyone’s fault. I like wearing my rain boots and miss the tadpoles from my front door, the swamp-like nature of my neighborhood, and I felt one with the world at my feet. But these are the forbidden feelings that I cannot have, going from district 1 to 3 is seemingly the best to happen to me, but was it worth it for me to not belong? Am I as lucky as I seem?”

Solana became quiet, playing with her septum piercing as she spoke, “Am I not good enough? I mean you’re the one who does not have to worry about money anymore, meanwhile I’m in debt to every so-called friend I have ever had right now.”

Willow responded annoyed, not feeling heard, having the conversation be flipped on her meeting the Solana that grew up with ceramic plates and Christmas, “Money is not happiness; it is just opportunity.” That is all Willow could say before shutting the phone off and watching her curtain blow back and forth, taking deep breaths before she drifted back to sleep.

A few weeks had passed since the conversation between the two girls, Solana had been away more nights going on benders with strangers but always ended up back at Willow’s, and Willow always had open arms for her. Willow’s parents had been home for the weekend, rare these days for the family as her dad would not give up his ambition no matter how bereding he was from the people and media. Solana did not talk much to her parents, and her parents did not say much to her, they liked Willow having company, and that was that.

Saturday Willow spent the day at home with her parents, cooking with her mom, and set up an ant farm with her dad in the window in the kitchen. Solana was asleep in the room when
Willow went to check on her.

“Hey, you want to come down, the food is almost ready, I want you to try it.” She said in a low tone, making sure not to startle her.

Solana was sitting on the bed raw faced with a red nose, biting the dead skin off her lip, and looked nervous. She quickly hid something behind her back that Willow chose to ignore. That choice would soon be one of Willow’s biggest regrets.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be down in a sec.” Solana responded looking down and shining a smile.

“Are you alright Lana? Need anything?” Willow stated.

“I’ll be down in a sec, I promise.” She stated, her smile fading.

Willow knew Solana, a second never meant a second, so she decided to hunt for ants outside for the ant farm, her dad thought it could be a silly thing to bond over. So here she was, crouched on the ground looking for ants.

Solana walked into the main living space in which the kitchen was connected, seeing Willow’s parents on the couch and the food simmering down, when she spotted two wine glasses, Willow’s parents preferred drink these days.

“All or nothing” Solana whispered before dropping in the little white pills into the drinks. Knowing if she used botanicals, Willow’s father would have sensed it with his background. She watched it simmer and sit and kept reminding her it was for the greater good but had the angel on her shoulder telling her to dump the drinks, drop them, drink them herself even.

“Where is Willow?” Said Solana to the room, before Willow’s mom turned back to Solana.

“Rey’s outside looking for ants, we brought an ant farm back from Pinecrest Crease in an old shop. Thought it would be fun.” She replied and without missing a beat said, “Do you mind bringing us the two glasses next to you? Forgetful me meant to bring it over. Food is hot on the stove whenever you’re ready to dig in.”

Solana looked at the glasses, grabbed them and started walking, feeling like someone had put bricks on her feet. Stumbled her way towards them and handed them over, before heading outside the door. Once out the door, she took a deep breath and tried to cherish these last moments watching Willow innocently kneeled on the ground, focused on seeing if there were any ant piles or straggler's walking around. She had a cup in her hand with three trapped inside the sealed lid. Solana walks down the white stairs if the conch house.

“Willow what are you doing down there, I heard you got an ant farm, which is the most random hobby ever.” Solana chuckled as she headed towards her before kneeling beside her, Willow looking at her and smiling.

“I think I might have found my calling Lana! God knows I've been trying to figure it out since I've been here.” She jokes.

“There.” She points. “Ant pile has been spotted, let me let my dad know. Have you eaten?” Willow is getting up and wiping her knees before walking backwards fast towards the stairs of the house.

Solana nods her head yes, so she does not have to witness what she has done. Watching Willow with a smile on her face as she rushes to wards to house. Up the stairs. Clicking the door open. She swears she can hear her saying “Dad!” before the door is crushed closed by the wind. All Solana could do was look at the palm of her hand, wondering if it is written in the ‘life line’ in the center of her hand that this is who she is, if it was imbedded in her since birth.

3 Seconds pass by before she hears the scream.

Solana had chosen greed when she heard the scream, knowing this was so she could retain more control of Willow’s parents’ money one way or another. She knows Willow is all she has, and Solana has made it that way.

Solana rushes inside, cueing her acting debut. Putting her hand over her mouth rushing to Willow’s side as she is frantically trying to make sense of the scene before her eyes. Willow screams, “Call 911! Call someone! Mama! Mama please!”


It had been 24 hours since the incident. Willow stayed in her room and Solana was silent. They called Willow about her inheritance, and then she got the autopsy report. Once Willow heard that her parents were drugged, and this was intentional. Her eyes welled up searching the room before realizing the only person who could've done this was Solana. What she hid behind her back and knew her connections. Willow had lost it before storming in the kitchen and putting her head under the cold water and letting it run, letting herself think. Before Solana, who grabbed Willow from underneath, Willow’s first instinct steeped in. She slaps Solana, and then hits her, and then hits her harder. Solana is on the ground before she can think and starts to fight back.

“WHY?” Willow began to repeat. Without it being spoken, Willow knew, and Solana knew Willow knew.

Solana on her nights away from Willow’s house ended in acquiring debts with people from every aspect of her life. But unexpectedly she began a big drug debt with one dealer who was starting to get angsty about getting paid. Solana knew Willow did not get any of the money her parents gained and needed to quicken the pace of getting that money, which she had been leeching off since Willow arrived in the town. It started by using her for her home, her bed, her life, keeping her wrapped around her finger. Until it all came crashing now.

Instead, all Solana could get out was, “I wanted you to have it all, the money, for us, for us Willow.”

All action stopped as Willow’s rage fueled.

How could I be so stupid. I hate you. I have never hated anyone. I thought you were my friend but you were just a parasite. Is all Willow could think of before getting up grabbing the pot of food her mama made the night before, and pushing it off the counter, when it hit Solana’s head who was still on the ground. The cold rice all over the ground. Unconscious. Willow paused as she watched the skull crack start the waterfall of blood, through her tears, not knowing what to do, this wasn't like her at all. Instead, she sat and called the cops, told them it was an accident and that it was self-defense. She was questioned before she was left inside the empty house. All she had were her thoughts, and 1.2-million-dollar inheritance. Looking up to the ceiling and deciding to finish what her parents started.

5 years later. July 15th 2105. Willow Rey had funded the first wave of regular maintenance and pumping of Kendall Bay, which soon sparked the local government to listen to her advocacy for basic needs of district 1. Her home.

Money was never her happiness, but it was her opportunity.