Not long after dinner, I go to the medical section for a checkup. In ten minutes, they conclude that all my vitals are OK, and I don’t need further supervision. My superficial wounds and scratches are quickly examined and treated. Then I drag my feet to the room they have given me for the duration of my staying here and collapse on the bed, exhausted.
The forty-one days in the wilderness took a toll on my body, as expected. I will remain in Lucero until the test ends and perhaps one or two weeks after that. I was kind of surprised to find out I’m the first person to become a master this year. Well, nine more days are left, and there are still eight people competing. Solis and Lila are out there, fighting against the Wilderness, trying to go beyond their own weaknesses. I hope they are doing well. It would be wonderful if we all ended up as masters after this test.
The fatigue hammers me down and out. My brain switches off immediately, and I fall asleep.
“I’ll see you this evening,” the supreme master said. A few seconds later, he was already out of my sight.
I half-opened the door and squeezed inside the house, trying to make as little noise as possible. Alas, as soon as I stepped in, I almost bumped into my mother. She was supposed to be at work, but perhaps she had taken a day off, still trying to find out what had happened to me.
“I’m home,” I murmured in a feeble voice.
“Where have you been?” my mother asked in a stern tone.
I had no more energy to talk, no strength to explain what had happened. So I took the letter from Anh from my pocket and gave it to her.
“What is this?” she demanded, her eyebrows descending in a frown.
“Please read it,” I pleaded. “It explains everything.”
My mother opened the envelope and pulled out a thin sheet of paper. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw the Aquatika seal at the bottom.
“Go and change your clothes, then come to the living room,” she said, sighing lightly.
Five minutes later, we were both seated on the couch, looking at each other in silence. A few tears trickled down my mother’s cheeks. My mother wiped her eyes with the back of her right hand and soon regained her composed expression.
“I suppose what master Anh suggests is the best course of action. In the meantime, I have called the police and told them all three of you are back home safe and sound. Perhaps the parents of your friends have done that, too. The police have stopped the search for you as missing persons. I will immediately call your father at work and ask him to come home at noon. Your sister will receive the news when she gets back from school.”
The hours flowed slowly. Then I finally saw from the front window my father getting off the bus. As soon as he stepped inside the house, he hugged me, then picked up the letter from Anh and read it carefully. My younger sister arrived about thirty minutes later. She also read the letter and began crying as soon as she finished it.
There were good things and bad things about my new situation. The best thing was that I was that they offered me an opportunity few teenagers ever got: to become an Aquatika master. However, the opportunity did not guarantee my success. I might fail again and again, and, in the end, I would have had to embrace a different career.
Perhaps I could be an engineer, like my father. Or a teacher, like my mother. Or I might even join the army. I realized I was already in high school, and yet I had never thought about what I wanted to do for a living.
Unlike me, Silvana, my younger sister, was ambitious and knew what she wanted. She had already set up her mind to become an airship pilot. Her grades were excellent, and she was working hard to achieve her goal.
As for me, I was a slacker and a procrastinator. This didn’t mean my grades were poor, but I was not exactly a top student in my class. Instead of spending the evenings studying hard, as Silvana did, I preferred to go swimming or read novels. I guess these habits were going to change for me, too, from now on.
“Well,” my father said. “This is a good opportunity for you to achieve something great in life. What pains us is just the fact that you have to leave on such short notice. On the other hand, it’s not like you can’t call us or write letters from Diana. And it’s not like we can’t visit you there. Sure, Sirenia is not exactly next-door, but we can save enough money to see you once a year.”
“Really?” Silvana asked, her face brightening. “Then I suppose we’ll manage somehow.”
We spent the afternoon together, making plans, thinking about how our lives were going to be years and years in the future after I’ve got my master badge. However, we all knew these were only dreams. Of course, I expected Anh to take special care of my training, given the circumstances.
Nevertheless, less than one percent of those admitted into the full Aquatika program managed to graduate as masters. About one in ten became instructors and stayed at this level for the rest of their lives, in most cases teaching the basics to the new generations of students. Those who failed to become instructors in five years were sent home. Which category was I going to be? And what about Solis and Lila? We were going to find out in a few years.
Perhaps Anh would send us back home in five years, as failed students. And maybe things would be quiet here by then.
At sunset, the phone rang, as expected. My father picked it up and only said:
“Yes. We’ll be ready in a minute.”
I gave a warm hug to my parents and sister. Then I left the house carrying my suitcase. The car was already waiting in front of the gate, with Anh behind the wheel. Lila and Solis were sitting on the backbench.
The forty-one days in the wilderness took a toll on my body, as expected. I will remain in Lucero until the test ends and perhaps one or two weeks after that. I was kind of surprised to find out I’m the first person to become a master this year. Well, nine more days are left, and there are still eight people competing. Solis and Lila are out there, fighting against the Wilderness, trying to go beyond their own weaknesses. I hope they are doing well. It would be wonderful if we all ended up as masters after this test.
The fatigue hammers me down and out. My brain switches off immediately, and I fall asleep.
***
Anh dropped me in front of my home around eight-thirty. I was the last one to get off the car, as I lived a bit closer to Akonit than Lila and Solis.“I’ll see you this evening,” the supreme master said. A few seconds later, he was already out of my sight.
I half-opened the door and squeezed inside the house, trying to make as little noise as possible. Alas, as soon as I stepped in, I almost bumped into my mother. She was supposed to be at work, but perhaps she had taken a day off, still trying to find out what had happened to me.
“I’m home,” I murmured in a feeble voice.
“Where have you been?” my mother asked in a stern tone.
I had no more energy to talk, no strength to explain what had happened. So I took the letter from Anh from my pocket and gave it to her.
“What is this?” she demanded, her eyebrows descending in a frown.
“Please read it,” I pleaded. “It explains everything.”
My mother opened the envelope and pulled out a thin sheet of paper. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw the Aquatika seal at the bottom.
“Go and change your clothes, then come to the living room,” she said, sighing lightly.
Five minutes later, we were both seated on the couch, looking at each other in silence. A few tears trickled down my mother’s cheeks. My mother wiped her eyes with the back of her right hand and soon regained her composed expression.
“I suppose what master Anh suggests is the best course of action. In the meantime, I have called the police and told them all three of you are back home safe and sound. Perhaps the parents of your friends have done that, too. The police have stopped the search for you as missing persons. I will immediately call your father at work and ask him to come home at noon. Your sister will receive the news when she gets back from school.”
The hours flowed slowly. Then I finally saw from the front window my father getting off the bus. As soon as he stepped inside the house, he hugged me, then picked up the letter from Anh and read it carefully. My younger sister arrived about thirty minutes later. She also read the letter and began crying as soon as she finished it.
There were good things and bad things about my new situation. The best thing was that I was that they offered me an opportunity few teenagers ever got: to become an Aquatika master. However, the opportunity did not guarantee my success. I might fail again and again, and, in the end, I would have had to embrace a different career.
Perhaps I could be an engineer, like my father. Or a teacher, like my mother. Or I might even join the army. I realized I was already in high school, and yet I had never thought about what I wanted to do for a living.
Unlike me, Silvana, my younger sister, was ambitious and knew what she wanted. She had already set up her mind to become an airship pilot. Her grades were excellent, and she was working hard to achieve her goal.
As for me, I was a slacker and a procrastinator. This didn’t mean my grades were poor, but I was not exactly a top student in my class. Instead of spending the evenings studying hard, as Silvana did, I preferred to go swimming or read novels. I guess these habits were going to change for me, too, from now on.
“Well,” my father said. “This is a good opportunity for you to achieve something great in life. What pains us is just the fact that you have to leave on such short notice. On the other hand, it’s not like you can’t call us or write letters from Diana. And it’s not like we can’t visit you there. Sure, Sirenia is not exactly next-door, but we can save enough money to see you once a year.”
“Really?” Silvana asked, her face brightening. “Then I suppose we’ll manage somehow.”
We spent the afternoon together, making plans, thinking about how our lives were going to be years and years in the future after I’ve got my master badge. However, we all knew these were only dreams. Of course, I expected Anh to take special care of my training, given the circumstances.
Nevertheless, less than one percent of those admitted into the full Aquatika program managed to graduate as masters. About one in ten became instructors and stayed at this level for the rest of their lives, in most cases teaching the basics to the new generations of students. Those who failed to become instructors in five years were sent home. Which category was I going to be? And what about Solis and Lila? We were going to find out in a few years.
Perhaps Anh would send us back home in five years, as failed students. And maybe things would be quiet here by then.
At sunset, the phone rang, as expected. My father picked it up and only said:
“Yes. We’ll be ready in a minute.”
I gave a warm hug to my parents and sister. Then I left the house carrying my suitcase. The car was already waiting in front of the gate, with Anh behind the wheel. Lila and Solis were sitting on the backbench.
Books by Marian C. Ghilea:
BUTTERFLY'S DREAM: https://bit.ly/2PM63uU
TIDES OF AMBER: https://bit.ly/2HfcHVB
BUTTERFLY'S DREAM: https://bit.ly/2PM63uU
TIDES OF AMBER: https://bit.ly/2HfcHVB
Image source: Pixabay - https://pixabay.com/photos/car-1492333/
No comments:
Post a Comment