![]() For some reason, Luke has a feeling that something bad is going to happen. Luke’s mother hugs him and reminds him that it could always be worse. His mother comes in and apologizes for the fact that she and Luke’s father have to be so strict. He isn’t sure if his parents will try to block that up if they know he can look out. Luke hears his mother’s voice and moves away from the vent. ![]() That man was the only person he had ever seen other than his immediate family, but now Luke was able to look at all the construction workers. Like had hidden as his mother had instructed, but he peeked out to look at the man. Once, when Luke was very young, a homeless person had come to the house asking for food. The area is buzzing with activity construction workers are plowing the land and readying the foundation for a new building. He looks out through the other vent and can see the area where the woods used to be. He is excited, but he quickly decides that he doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life watching corn grow. He realizes he can see the road and the field below. Luke realizes that there are open vents at either end of the roof, and he looks out through one of them. His parents and brothers sometimes leave the house all at once, and he wonders what would happen to him if they never returned. He has a collection of toy cars, but he’s never seen a real one. ![]() Luke snaps at his brother to leave him alone. Mark asks Luke if he’d like to play checkers, and Luke immediately asks if their mother told him to do this. Mark immediately goes back to teasing Luke about playing with “baby” toys, referencing the train. In a rare moment of seriousness, Mark reminds Luke that neither he, nor Matthew, nor their parents have ever told anyone about Luke, so he’s safe. Luke lives in an attic, which he doesn’t mind except for the fact that it has no windows. Luke wonders again what would happen if the real Population Police found him. There’s a loud knock on Luke’s door and a cry of “Population Police!” However, it’s only Luke’s brother, Mark. He hasn’t been outside for a week, and he is now not even allowed in a room with an uncovered window - his father yelled at him the last time he did that. Luke accepted this strange and difficult situation, but when his parents sold the woods - which meant he couldn’t go outside anymore - the situation became much more difficult. When the Law not only remained but alo became more stringently enforced, she and the rest of the family realized that they needed to keep Luke in hiding. When he asks his mother, she explains that she kept her pregnancy a secret and gave birth to him because she thought the Population Law would quickly be repealed. Luke had never gone further than his yard, knew no one other than his immediate family, and had never made a friend. Luke had hoped that all small children needed to hide, and that when he was as a big as his two older brothers he wouldn’t need to hide anymore. He learns that there is a law stating that families can only have two children, and because he is a third child, his existence must remain a secret. When Luke was six years old, he had asked his mother why he had to hide. Luke rushes to hide and his mother clears away his table and chair before opening the door to a visiting salesman. The argument is interrupted by the sound of wheels on the gravel driveway. Luke’s brother Mark complains that this means Luke won’t be able to do his share of the outside household chores. ![]() Luke is not sure what will happen to him if anyone outside of the family learns of his existence, but he doesn’t want to find out. His father tells him that he should be staying away from the windows already. The Government will probably build houses on this plot of land, so Luke asks if this means he should stay away from the windows. Raising Luke was the family’s only act of defiance. Luke’s father explains that the Government wanted the woods, and the family had no choice but to sell them. Luke hesitates because he may never be allowed outside again.Īt dinner last night, Luke asks his parents why they sold the woods. ![]() Luke is watching a tree fall in the distance when he hears his mother call him to come inside. ![]()
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