“I can’t explain it!” Marsywa squirmed. “It’s the… The land! The ground! The soil! -Whatever! They accept any one, be it the person born on it or stranger. But the people…. The people…” She sighed. “You won’t understand. You don’t… See.”
“See what?” Broker was now even more confused. This classmate of his tried to explain how she tried to figure out something. Something about the land and people.
She shrugged. “The pain… Of feeling like you belong – and don’t, at the same time. I was trying to figure this feeling out. But it’s hard!”
Broker scratched his head. He never thought about those things. He got his parents, his siblings, his friends… Sometimes he gets into fights with them, but they always managed to talk things through in the end. Doesn’t Marsywa also have friends? Family?
The classmate frowned. “I sometimes feel like I don’t belong to them.”
“Like if you were an alien?”
She nodded. “Something like that. But the place is always welcoming. You can leave me alone somewhere, and I won’t feel scared at all because I know that the land greets and takes care of everyone equally everywhere. But the people…”
“People sometimes shun you if you don’t act like they do?” Broker started to gain confidence. Marsywa wasn’t that complicated after all: She only has some social problems!
“Yes,” she replied reluctantly. “I… I love my people. I love everyone, if I may say so. But I guess the sentiment towards my own folk is hurting me more than good.”
Broker tapped on his table. It is true that Marsywa has gotten into trouble with her kin. She claimed that she couldn’t get into the mind of “her people” anymore, but honestly he thinks that she never managed it in the first place. His classmate has a mind of her own, and the people who live in their area just happen to be more tolerable to that kind of individuality. “But maybe it’s just because they can’t keep up with you.”
Which is not something Marsywa wanted to hear. “You are saying they’re dumb?” She fell silent for a moment and sighed. It has been half an hour since they talked about it, and she began to realize how the agitation exhausted her. The girl decided to let herself sit down on the nearest chair before she continued:
“I am a child of this earth, no matter where I go, where I settle down, its land will take care of me. But the people… Not every civilization in every corner of the world will accept me for who I am.”
She sighed again.
“I guess, I just have to accept the fact that the people of the place I was born in also belong to the ones who would shun me.”
Broker still tapped the table. Looking at his classmate, he recalls all the complaints she had about people in general. Marsywa is a complainer alright, but seeing her complain about not belonging to “her people” does make it unsettling.
He had already told her many times that it were alright if she felt like she didn’t belong there. She could lead a happy life here, with people who enjoy her presence and are not bothered by her stubbornness and vocal attitude. Besides, Marsywa is more agreeable than annoying. She has helped her friends more than they together helped her. In short: Her existence here is not a bother, it’s a blessing.
“Just take a rest then Marsywa,” he then decided to say. “You have worked very hard in understanding ‘your people’, and they have disappointed you time and again. Why don’t you just take a break for now and enjoy being accepted? Maybe not by ‘your people’, but does it even matter?”
She hesitated, but shook her head afterall.
“Once you are not bitter about ‘your people’ anymore, maybe you can get a fresh start and eventually understand them. And maybe, you could finally even get along with them.” He paused to give her a chance to reply, but then continued when she only responded with silence. “As you said, sometimes it is necessary to take a step back in order to take ten forwards.”
Marsywa took a deep breath. Broker was right. Maybe she did need a break. It has all been too much for her, she has been hurt by ‘her people’ too many times. Communication is the key to any relationship, and she always gets into misunderstandings with them. Maybe a new perspective, a fresher look would help. But in order to do that, she would need a step back.
“You are right,” she then said. “The earth takes care of me, so I don’t have to worry it doing me harm. Now it is time for me to also enjoy the welcoming arms of people. Maybe not ‘my people’, but what does that even mean?” She paused for a moment. “Besides, if you guys take care of me like the earth does, doesn’t that mean that you are ‘my people’? They may be my kin, but you are the ones who keep me safe and receive me with open arms.”
Category: One-Sitting Stories
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-
“Today is the day,” Maurene has been restless throughout the morning. “I hope that we get accepted.” He bit his lips though, knowing full well that he himself does not have a good chance. The teachers were never impressed by his affinity of magic, and The Magic School of Ivanstya only accepts those with outstanding potential. In short, it is a school only for children highly gifted in magic.
“Hm, let’s just see,” Marquez knows how much his best friend likes to study magic, but it actually only goes as far as that. Maurene isn’t one you would expect trying out magic tricks. He is more who likes to share tips to his friends and let them execute his magic theories. The magic school he dreamt of going to might be actually torture for him in reality.
The education of the Magic School of Ivanstya relies heavily on on-the-field experiences. That is why only children with extraordinary affinities are selected. The teachers want to be as efficient as possible in the classes.
Marquez got the intel from Uncle Nomi. He has been hesitant in sharing that information to Maurene. Firstly, he does not want to break his heart – let the school do it for him. Secondly, it does not sit well to spread around such intel in general – he does not want to hurt Uncle Nomi’s trust.
“I don’t know,” mumbled Marquez again while doing the finishing touches of his craft.
“Hm, yeah… Let’s just see.” Maurene has not even started anything today. He just sat on the bench and fidgetted with his tools. But then he sat up. “I’ll go to Red. I need some distraction.”
“Okay.”
“What’s up, Maurene? Can’t concentrate?” Red knows that Maurene often struggles to sit still and focus on his work. He has gotten better at it over time, but the red phantom notices that today he is too restless to keep himself focused.
Maurene only nodded. “I’m so nervous about the letters.” He took a seat near Red. “I don’t know, Marquez seems to know something he doesn’t want me to know. Now I don’t know if I should wish to be accepted or not.”
“Why don’t you just ask him?”
“I think it’s some dirty secret from one of his relatives. He doesn’t like to talk about those.” The young boy scanned the table near him for something to fidget with. He then took a stick and spun it around.
Red has not much to do today, so he decided to stand up from his working station and prepare his student some tea. “Well, you can maybe make him talk about it, without him realizing he shares a state secret. I think you got the skills for it.”
Maurene frowns. “The skills, yea. The will, no. I might be called the Master Manipulator, or Skilled Tongue, but I would never use those skills against a friend.”
“Why though? Why do you treat your friends differently than strangers?”
“It’s not about friends or no,” the student explains, “it’s about trust. I wouldn’t manipulate someone whose trust I value. I value my friendship with Marquez, so I don’t want to manipulate him. I don’t want to turn his trust towards me against himself. That would be… cruel…”
Red has strong affinity with fire, so he could prepare the tea rather quickly. He handed a big cup of it to Maurene. “Talking from your own experience?”
The boy pressed his lips together. “Kind of,” he blew on the tea. It was still a little bit too hot for him. “I was arrogant about my charm and skills, thought I could handle everyone.” He sighed. “Guess what, I got backstabbed by someone I wouldn’t even thought of as a threat. The rat used me to get the bar keeper’s trust and stole his stuff. And who got blamed? Me.”
“Ah, I think I’ve heard of that. Was that the thing with Somber?”
Maurene only nodded. “His assistant beat me up. ‘Never should’ve trusted a rat like you,’ he said, without even listening to me. Well, the guy never liked me in the first place.” The tea got cool enough for him to take a short sip. “To be honest, I didn’t like him either. So that’s fair, I guess.”
Red chuckled. “Ah, that’s why. Somber and Giddle warned me about you when they knew I took you as a mentee. Their story makes sense, but I sensed that some information was missing.”
“Yea, the rat was really… Ratty. I often had the urge to just beat him up, but… Well, it won’t solve any problems. Sometimes I thought about how I could make him pay. I like Somber, and I want us to be friends again. I like the people in his bar, they were always so friendly. The rat took it all away.”
“Or not.”
“Hm, or not. It’s my fear and confusion that hinders me to go there. But how could I ever convince them that it wasn’t me? The rat made a really good job in framing me.”
Red got an idea. But he decided to keep it for himself. Maybe it’s a good surprise for this gloomy boy. “Well, you never told me about what really happened. I don’t know how I could help you if you don’t tell me the whole story.” Sometimes you just have to use someone’s weapon against themselves. For their own good.
And so, Maurene told Red everything about the friend who had backstabbed him. He finally got a distraction from the school’s announcement.
“Well, that just means that you got too much on your mind. Don’t you think you keep to much to yourself? Even I didn’t know the whole story about him before, and I think I would have never known if I didn’t decide to take a break right when you started telling it to Red.” Marquez tried to distract his friend. As expected from all of them, he got rejected from his dream school.
Maurene tried to defend himself. “But how, I can’t go around blabbering about people to everyone. And you certainly don’t want me to complain all the time about people, do you?”
The friend shrugged his shoulder. “You don’t have to tell anything to anyone. What I wanted to say is that you have to get things out of your system. Maybe write everything down, and then burn the paper, or I don’t know. And you don’t have to worry about me getting tired of you. I will listen if you need someone to talk thinks through.” He patted Maurene’s shoulder. “A Master Manipulator needs a clear mind to be successful. So don’t put too much stress on yourself, okay?”
The boy nodded. He felt tears fill up his eyes. But no, he does not want to show them. Maurene waited until they subsided and thanked Marquez. Though, there is one thing he needs help with. “Can you help me look for other magic schools or other alternatives? I have been into so much stress, I forgot to apply to any other school.”
Marquez is not surprised. “Of course, I still have some free time before the term starts. Let’s get yourself somewhere better than The Magic School of Ivanstya.”
-
“It has been a while,” I said to Tom. “Been a few years since we’ve seen each other. How are you doing? How has your life been?”
Tom took some time to answer. We were good friends when we parted ways. Now we are just not sure if things are still the same or whether time has indeed shifted our relationship. I understood his hesitation. “Good, I guess. Not much going on these past few years, to be honest. I’m just doing the same things I have done since the last time we met. How about you?”
Too cliché an answer, I thought. Anne told me that some things have happened to Tom. I guess that I should not push him about it, though. There are several things I would like to keep to myself too. “Not much either. I finished my degree, and now it is time to look for an occupation.”
“Is that why you came back?” Asked Tom. “I mean – you wouldn’t come back otherwise, would you? You said yourself that you do not intend to return.”
Busted. “Yea,” I answered, barely letting the word out. “Actually, I got called by my family. I still have permission to stay there for some months – they’re giving me some time to look for a job – but I really hope that everything can get wrapped up soon here.”
Tom nodded. It looked like he understood what was going on. There have been many of our friends who studied abroad and had no choice but to come back because they couldn’t find a job or other reason to prolong their stay. Some don’t seem to be bothered, and try to get by. It seems like Tom knows how hard it would be for me to stay here for the long-term.
“The old fried-chicken place is still there, if you happen to miss it. That place was your favourite, wasn’t it?” My old friend tried to break the ice. It has been awkward between us since we met after all those years. “Wanna go there? It’s already lunch-time, anyway.”
Like in the old days, I just nodded. Then we went to the street across our university, where all the food stalls are.
The person taking care of the Mighty Chicken hasn’t changed. It was still the auntie who recognized me like I was family to her. And now it seems like she still does. “My, my, you look so grown-up now,” she exclaimed.
I smiled. “Is it just me, or did you get younger since the last time we met?”
The old women laughed out loud. “So what would it be? We have some new things on the menu since the last time you came,” she handed me a menu.
It was not the dirty old one anymore, the one that was designed by someone who enjoys using word editor features a little bit too much. The menu card looks more professional, and one could see the effort taken to make the dishes look good in the photos.
She began to list all the new things to me. My old Super Mighty Chicken dish is now improved to a Super Gold Mighty Chicken. Well, the contents are still the same, but they made a cheaper version without the tofu and salad. Guess kids nowadays only want to eat meat.
Doing sales in my hometown is very interesting, compared to the place I intend to stay in: You make small talk while doing business. Hence, as she showed everything on the menu, we also caught up a little: I told her where I have been, and she told me about her son who just graduated High School.
Tom knew well that I always talk with the salespeople, so he went to the auntie’s employee and ordered some food ahead of me. We always did that back in the days, too. Unlike me, he is not someone who likes to do such small talk. I call it business talk, and it’s always good to have some business people know you.
I took my seat across Tom after I finished talking with the lovely lady. His food already got served while I still have to wait.
“So… 4 years?” Tom started the conversation.
I nodded. “Well, now it’s your turn. How was your life?”
He sighed. “As I said, nothing big.” But he noticed that I’m still expecting something, so he kept going. “I got to work in a start-up. The salary has been okay. And am also doing some sales for extra cash. With Mike and Tim, do you still remember them?”
“Of course! How are they?”
“Good, they have a small business running. I help out sometimes for some extra cash.”
“Hmm, that’s nice,” I smiled.
But both of us fell silent. We didn’t know what to say to each other afterwards. Luckily, the food gave us something to talk about, and we ended up reminiscing the old times.
It was nice to meet an old friend. Sadly, time decided to drift us apart. The thing with my family resolved quickly, and I went back soon after everyone in the family said we’re done.
I never really talked to Tom again since then. If time decides to drift two people apart, what can you do? The best is to hope that it will get them together again.
-
“Luck… Good luck, bad luck. Fortune, misfortune. Blessing, curse,” listed Yellow slowly. “I think it won’t do any good if you take those words too seriously. Things happen, whether for a reason or not. Things happen to everyone, often so the same ones. Labeling them as good – good luck, fortune, blessing – or bad – bad luck, misfortune, curse – makes you forget that fact: You start seeing everything being about you, when that is hardly ever the case with things that happen in the world.” They scanned the room and rested their eyes on Somber, the bar keeper. “What happened was unfortunate, sure. But you have to keep going. Things happen, good and bad, like it or not. The least we can do is learn from them.”
Somber, still sobbing, tried to answer. “Bad people are everywhere, aren’t they? The worst are the ones who manage to gain our trust.” He took a deep breath. “I trusted him, but what do I get? Broken flasks, stolen money, a burned bar.”
“It has been already a month, Somber. Let it go.” Giddle doesn’t like it when people complain too much. In addition to his low tolerance to complaints, this has tested his temper when Somber started venting his feelings everyday. “We fixed the bar, you got the same amount of money from everyone, and I managed to teach that rat a lesson. Sure, you lost some of the stuff you sell, but the girl – what was her name again? – managed to organise some new, better stuff for you. What else do you want? Besides, you have a better vendor now, and Yellow comes to visit everyday!”
The phantom only shrugged their shoulders. “It seems that I have been a lucrative attraction for your bar. Very smart of you, Giddle, to take an initiave and make people pay the bar keeper to talk to me.”
Somber flashed a smile. “There have been complaints though, saying we rip people off. ‘A phantom’s wisdom shouldn’t be fenced by money,’ and a fellow human’s business shouldn’t be taken advantage of.”
“Bah! Those are just dumb ones.” Called out Giddle while he began to sweep the floor. “They can ask Yellow if he’s not in the bar. We won’t ask money for that! And all we ask is just ‘accommodation money’ because people keep coming to talk the oh so wise phantom without buying anything. And they want to teach us about not ripping people off?”
“See, that is what we phantoms find so fascinating about humans,” added Yellow. “You are all unique, but also quite the same. Especially when it comes to the annoying things. The things Somber experienced over this month is the very reason why Violet always complains about your species.”
“Why, I thought Violet is the one who hardly ever talks to humans. – or is that Blue?” Giddle was never good at remembering names. Or distinguishing people in general. He stopped sweeping and stared at the floor.
“Well, as far I remember did Violet help out a lot in the magic school of Ivanstya. Then something happened a few years ago that made him retreat and disappear for good.” This is where Somber fills in for Giddle. He has trained himself to remember every gossip that is talked about in his bar: Active listening is always good for business, said an old friend.
Yellow sighed. The violet phantom really did stir up some trouble back when they were still in the city. It was Yellow who suggested Violet to retreat and limit their human contact. “In the end, phantoms can’t really get along with humans. Maybe with certain ones, but we usually end up fighting with the most of them.” The phantom sipped on their beer. “There are too many humans who are… Disconnected. I don’t know how to explain this. But to me, it seems like many are just empty shells.”
Somber smiled. “A lot of us humans are morons, yes. -Giddle, I think you meant Blue before. He is the one who hardly ever gets any human visiting him because of the blue snow. Now get back to sweeping the floor! It’s already late.”
“I’ll come back when I’m finished,” mumbled the assistant quickly, “else I’ll take too long”. There are still some other things to be done and he does not want to slow down his boss.
“I see that you’re more careful now, Boss,” remarked Yellow, “Giddle is a good boy, but I get why you don’t want to leave him alone in the bar. This late.”
“He spaces out too much, but once he puts his mind on something, he does it seriously. So yea,” Somber sighed, “I don’t want to risk him spacing out while locking up the bar.” The bar keeper decided to sit closer to Yellow. “Is that how it felt like when you first took me as your student?”
The phantom chuckled. “If we are talking about making people worry,” he said softly, “Giddle is nothing compared to you. But you have grown so much since then, and I see that you learn a lot from each other, so I’m glad that I took you in the other day.”
“You think Giddle can learn something as your student?”
“I think it would be more beneficial to the three of us if we keep it this way. You can pass down the things you learned from me to him. And that is actually why we phantoms only take in certain kinds of people:Those who we see could pass down our knowledge. But being a teacher also requires some training. I think Giddle is a good start for you. He’s smart and adores you – that’s all you need for a good student.”
Somber reflected on it for a while. “Hm, alright,” he then answered absent-mindedly, but then sat up again, “and do you actually have any students at the time? You visiting us almost everyday gives me the impression that you have a lot of time to kill.”
“Actually yes, but this one is a bit of a lone-wolf, so she needs more time alone and think about and implement my lessons than me blabbering her ears out. So I decided to go help out humans who need me more… urgently.”
“Aha…”
“And the bar is a good place to meet people and talk to them. So I told her that she can find me here if she needs anything.”
“Smart.”
“I’d rather call it being practical.”
“If she gives you so much free time, why don’t you consider taking up another student?” And Yellow rejected Giddle. There must be a reason.
But the phantom only shook their head. “Nah, I’m not like Rose and Red who like to take in multiple students. Or Violet who occasionally takes up a whole class before the conflict with the magic school. I’d like to focus on one student at a time, because I really care about their growth. Taking in another one would risk me neglecting this current student.” They stopped for a little while. “I think that would make me more like Green and Blue. They also only have one student at a time – often unintentionally. But I think it’s better that way.”
“Interesting,” mumbled Somber, “so there are some fundamental differences even between you phantoms. – What are you guys, actually? Why are you mentoring humans? And why-”
“Somber, I’m done, let’s go!” Giddle came out from nowhere and dragged the barkeeper out.
Yellow only followed them out and they parted ways soon after.
“Somber, you are not supposed to ask that! At least not directly to them!” Hissed Giddle when the phantom was out of sight.
The boss only stared confused at his assistant.
But Giddle hesitated. He shook his head and and fidgetted. The boss won’t let him go, he would have to tell him the secret. Or not. Maybe a hint would be an answer enough.
So he collected himself and tried to explain as short and calmly as possible: “Because they themselves don’t know the answer.”
-
“I am very sorry Green, but I can’t accept a new student right now,” Violet said, trying to be as polite as they could. It is hard not to hurt other people’s feelings, especially Green’s. “There is this student I want to focus on. She’s got potential, but I need to dedicate some extra time until she can finally grow on her own.”
Phantoms do not have pupils, but you can still read their emotions from their eyes. Green’s eyes flickered. “I didn’t know you accept students on your own.”
“Well, it is more that I got accepted as a teacher.” Violet shrugged. “I rejected her at first, but she knows how to taunt people. Crazy human would then attempt magic in front of my hut, just to get on my nerves.”
“Is she also stubborn? Jacob is sometimes very frustrating to teach: He comes to complain about his failures, but then forgets to report any good progress. I figured that I have to come visit him occasionally so that I really know where he stands now.”
“Hm,” Violet took their time to think. “Well, she is persistent; never giving up on what she wants and cherishes – which sometimes leads her to act stubbornly. She would not burn a tree – for example – saying ‘that the poor tree didn’t deserve it’. Or that one time where she kept failing to cast a certain spell and wouldn’t sleep attempting to get it right. I told her to move to another, simpler one, but in the end she would always go back to the difficult one.”
Green looked blank trying to imagine it. But suddenly they sat up. “She somehow sounds familiar, I think Jacob had a neighbor or something who was crazy persistent, but she moved away some time ago. What was her name?”
The other phantom sighed and plucked at their sleeves. “I don’t know.” They shook their head when they perceived Green’s stare. “Some call her Anya, some Monique, some Gilda. When you ask her what her real name is, she would just say ‘they all are!’ And she always takes her time if she introduces herself to people. ‘Some call me Anya, some Moni or Monique, some Gilly or Gilda, but you can call me An from Anya.’ would she then say. I decided to just call her Nona : No Name.”
“Huh,” Green tilted their head. “Maybe that’s not Jacob’s old neighbor, I wouldn’t imagine her to be that crazy. And she doesn’t mind you calling her Nona?”
Violet chuckled. “Not at all. ‘A name is just a part of us, we shouldn’t identify ourselves with what others identify us with. So I don’t care what name you call me with, as long as we are friendly to each other and I know who you are referring to.’”
“That is a unique human you have there. I don’t often encounter a human who is that detached to their names.”
“Me neither. But she is a good student. Her persistence leads to more good than bad, although it sometimes takes a toll on her. -Say, does your human also have this ‘feeling’ thing?”
The green phantom scratched their head. “Hm, what do you mean by that?”
“Nona sometimes refuses to do something on some days, saying ‘I have a feeling that today is not a good day for it’, for example. Then a sudden thunderstorm comes some hours later. I also had some people who wanted me to take them as a student, and she warned me that she had a feeling that ‘those would only have your knowledge for their own gain’. I took my time to think about the matter and some days later it turned out that those people were pirates who got stranded and tried to get away from the law.
I asked her what those ‘feelings’ are, as they seem psychic, but aren’t magical. She also couldn’t explain it. She told me that female humans usually have this ‘feeling’ thing, but that doesn’t exclude male humans from having it too. And not every female human has it.”
“Huh, that’s crazy.” Green took their time to think about something similar to his student. “I think Jacob has it too, but not as crazy as Nona. He sometimes says ‘I have a bad feeling about this’ and refuses to do anything. Then he would say ‘see, I was right, if I did it, it would be a mess now’. So I think she was right that it’s not exclusive to female humans. Maybe it is only for humans who are stubborn…”
But the magic phantom shook their head. “I don’t think so, as a magic teacher I have encountered a lot of stubborn students. I rarely hear them talking about ‘bad feelings’.”
“Maybe they just don’t talk about it while Jacob and Nona are open about what they think?”
“That can be, yes. I don’t know, I don’t really pay attention to humans. They are more often a pain than good company. But your Jacob sounds interesting, to say the least, I might take a look at him and his magical affinity after I’m done with Nona. -which might take a while. But I’m not sure I would be happy to handle his lack of communication. Nona would report back to me every day no matter what happened.”
Green nodded in approval. “I think something like that can be learned. I will train him to build a habit like your student and regularly report his progress in the meantime. He’ll be a good candidate for you to assess and teach.”
Violet stretched out his hand. “Deal.” And they shook hands to seal it. “By the way, wasn’t this Jacob originally Blue’s apprentice? I think I have heard about him before you came to me today.”
“Yes, but he caught the Blue Cold so I took him. He has talent with plants, which is fortunate. How about Nona?”
“She wanted to learn with Blue, but fell ill and Yellow took her. It went well but I think Yellow expected a little bit more from her than what she wanted to achieve. Nona is a good student though; I see how she applies what she learned from Yellow when learning with me. If I am not mistaken, she also went to Rose and Red for a little while, but they couldn’t teach her much.”
The guest phantom nodded slowly. “Very diligent, as if she has nothing better to do than bother phantoms all around Iluskia.”
The host shrugged. “She has her own means of income. People ask her to teach them things, and she has a wide skill-set. It is easy for her to get some money every now and then to get by. And I think she likes to live like that; doing different kinds of things for people. When I asked her what her dream is, she would always say ‘I want to learn everything I can!’ Funny human, but fun to talk to.”
“Very interesting indeed.” Green rose from their seat. “The moon is coming out, which means I have to get back.” They took their hat. “Thank you very much for receiving me, Violet, and your willingness to take a look at my student. If the wind allows, maybe we can trade our pupils. I would like to get acquainted to Nona.”
Violet bowed a little. “Always glad to have a friend come over. I will tell you when I am done teaching her. Your student sounds a little bit annoying though, I don’t know if I could handle him.” The phantom grinned to hint that they didn’t mean it all seriously. “Anyways, send my regards to Blue and tell them that I would like to visit, when the blue snow and Iluskian wind allows.”
Green nodded. “Good-bye, Violet.”
“Good-bye, Green.”
-
“It was Jacob again,” reported Green when they welcomed Blue to their small hut. “Said the seedlings failed him again. I told him that he could save up a lot of money if he took his time instead of buying random bags of seeds.” They sigh. The little phantom does not like it if their advice gets ignored.
“Humans are so weird.” They continued. “It’s like they use their weaknesses to their own advantage: If they don’t feel like it, they will beg for help and act so pitiful you can’t help but help them. But once you give them just a tiny bit of reassurance, or something else they deeply needed, they’ll scurry off acting like they own the world.” Green accidentally spilled the tea they wanted to serve Blue.
Blue was always one quick to act. They grabbed some towels and helped their host clean up the temporary mess. “I think he’s just stubborn,” they remarked after making sure that Green had nothing else to say. “I mean – he has always been kind to us, even if he didn’t need help. -Or he’s just too preoccupied with this dream tree. People are not really that pleasant if they’re obsessed with something.”
“You’re right. He has always been a good student; constantly searching for rooms of improvement and striving for perfection. You’ve seen his flower field, haven’t you? Without his diligence, he won’t be able to make such a big business only selling flowers.”
Blue nodded. “And he has talent, yes. Maybe that’s the very reason why he now shifts his focus on trees: He might feel like he can’t improve anything about flower-growing anymore. Well, you know better about plants.”
With the spilled tea and all the following mess cleaned up, Green served the cake. “Being talented can make you dumb, right.” A loud clicking noise came out when Green cut their cake with too much force. They put the cutlery aside and sighed. “The thing is, Blue, before you transition to trees, you should at least have an idea about bushes. Or spider plants. Trees should be the last goal, not the second goal. But no! Almighty Jacob knows so much after he now has a steady means of income from flower-growing and -harvesting.” Without even realizing it, Green grabbed into the cake and bit into it. “Hmmmmmpff!”
“Hm, yea. Humans are weird in that regard. Always rushing when it comes to knowledge. I think only the wisest know not to hurry.” Blue sipped their tea. “Don’t be mad at Jacob, just be honest with him, and he’ll realize that he’s being dumb.”
“Honest at what? I always tell him everything!”
“That you’re tired of repeating the same thing over and over again and that he shouldn’t see you if he doesn’t have anything new to report other than that his new random bags of seeds failed him again. I’m sure he doesn’t know you freak out so much because of his dumbness.” Blue does not know the man as well as Green, but Jacob has visited them several times in the past for borrowing some books in their library. The place where the snow is blue is not a friendly place for humans though, and Jacob couldn’t visit them since the day he got the “blue cold” for visiting the place too often. But the little phantom likes him. He might be a bit quirky, but Blue knows that he is a good person.
Green, on the other hand, almost meets the man everyday. He first came to the phantom with little coin to his name and offered to help in the fields for some money. Green always wanted to help people, so they accepted, and also made sure Jacob has a means to survive by himself. They first taught him how to grow vegetables, then flowers. The man learned fast, and in a matter of months he already had the king request his harvest for big feasts. Now he focuses on flowers which people might process into perfumes, food, or simply arrange as decoration.
“Now he wants to grow fruits and spices, but you know the soil of this place. It’s almost impossible to grow something aside from oranges and apples. He wants bananas and mangos! And cinnamon!” Green squished their cake. Now there’s another mess.
“What about berries?”
“Well, he said they’re boring and not as profitable.”
“Then he has to infuse the seeds with magic?”
Green gulped down their tea. “That could be an alternative. Or infuse the soil with magic. Or the water. Or building a greenhouse with magic. -But he can’t do magic!!”
“Ah… No one to teach him?”
“Exactly. Magic is a weird thing for humans. They might have a strong affinity for magic, but they need a teacher in order to learn it effectively.”
Blue scratched their head. The closest magic school is about two days away where Green and Jacob live, so signing him up would be bad for his business unless he can entrust it to someone else. But that would not be a good idea if you were still short on people you can trust.
“What about Violet? Violet should be able to help him.” Although Blue finds them arrogant, Violet is very good with magic and spends most of their time doing and teaching magic for humans.
“Why are we trying to solve someone else’s problem!” Green almost screamed in frustration. “Why can’t I stop helping humans!”
“Well, as for me,” Blue sipped their tea, “I find humans fascinating, so I always wonder how someone would be, if they reached their full potential. Besides, Jacob is your friend, of course you want to help him. And I think you just like watching things grow in general. That is why you like your field so much, isn’t it?”
Green sighed. “You’re right. We could maybe summon Violet. But I don’t know if Jacob wants to learn magic at all.”
Blue shrugged. “Just ask him.”
That afternoon, the two little phantoms decided to come over to Jacob the Flower Grower to tell him about their idea with Violet.
“Well, that is a very generous offer, you both,” Jacob then said after they tried their best to be as persuasive as possible, “I can consider it. But before that, I want to show you something.”
He took Blue and Green to a small house in their garden. There were rows of small palettes, pots. “Green, I am very sorry that I was not being specific enough. Some seeds did grow into seedlings; what I meant by ‘failed’ was that only at most 5 of them turn out to be like this.” He brought them closer to the pots. There were indeed sprouts in them.
“I also found a method to pick out the good seeds quickly; that way I can recycle the bad ones to something else. Some even want to buy it for spices or something.” He turned to Green. For him, the phantom is just the size of a big dog. “Magic lessons would definitely help me out. I am sure that knowing magic can be of much benefit to me.”
“Huh, so you’re not that dumb!” Pouted Green. “Alright, that’s good. I thought you were just blindly throwing the seeds to the field and complained why you haven’t got a tree. But this is good progress, better than I expected from you.” Green showed some sign of relief. It is true that they have not paid much attention to their pupil for the past few months.
The man just laughed. “I did try that at first, and some even started to grow. But then I was being dumb and forgot that I planted some seeds in the first place. And sometimes I give the sprouts too much water or something. So, I am still dumb to a certain degree.” Jacob then turned to the blue phantom. “Blue, I think you need to lend me some more books about plants. Trial-and-error is getting exhausting.”
Blue also lit up. They always get happy when someone acknowledges their book collection. “Of course, I’ll bring them the next time I come to visit.”
Because the time has come for Blue to go back home. It is about time they went back to the place where the snow is blue and take care of the blue tree that stands in the middle of it. A visit to Green always gives them a new perspective, a new insight. It does good to go out and see the world of a friend. It does better to experience it with them.
-
I am the amazing kid. At least, that’s what everyone around me says. They say I have extraordinary vision, though I never really understood what they mean. On the contrary, I just think everyone is blind.
People say I can see the unseeable; only a handful of people know that Enuma’s aura is actually a special blessing from the High Goddess above. Everyone says that this kid’s aura is frightening, too big, malicious, or whatever such nonsense. I scold them whenever I see them treating him badly because of that.
Enuma’s aura is shining, emanating a power with no equal. Well, there is that kid with the white hair that could probably rival him. But I prefer Enuma’s aura. And personality.
That kid is not very talkative, but that’s not very surprising if people always avoid you because of something you are born with. And can’t change. He was shy, but he did warm up after I started trying to talk to him. He’s been helping me with magic stuff, though it did take me a week of prodding at him with little to no words in response. I was always too impatient with that kind of stuff, I like it better to just heat and hit. Like how my father does it. He’s the most popular blacksmith in Invastya.
But everyone says that I’m too good for smithing, since I have this extraordinary vision. And my teachers also said that I actually have great talent for magic, though I was always too lazy to work on my potential. Heck, who wants to sit all day reading abstract stuff that is only useful in battle? I don’t want to encourage a world full of wars and battles. If magic disappeared people would have a harder time killing each other, so I want to contribute to that future instead.
Whatever, I can’t think too much about the future if my homework is eating me up like this. Enuma is very kind and helps me out doing all the magic things. You know, those professors always speak an obscure language that I just can’t understand. Enuma understands them, and understands me, so now he’s being a translator between me and my teachers. They don’t understand me either, by the way.
“Carle, can you please stop thinking out loud? You also don’t have to mention every second that you’re the amazing kid!”
Ah, damn Sil, she’s always so sensitive to noise. No wonder she always hangs out with Enuma, because he hardly ever speaks. She doesn’t get along with the other girls too because they are “too loud”, so she claimed. I just think she’s a nerd. Girls hate nerds more than fellow girls.
“Yea, yea. I’m tired Sil, let’s go out and play something!” Going out and getting on my feet always refreshes me. But apparently not Sil.
Sil only sighs. Enuma understands my speech that deviates so much from all the magic people, Sil only got used to it. She’s very tolerant. “Playing ball with you is tiring you know, you always run so fast and hit the ball so hard. Go play with the others, I’ll sit on the bench if you still want my company.”
Which means she wants to keep reading this thick book she is reading right now. Well, I can’t blame her. That is what you get when you grow up in a village where books determine your social status. And in that regard are her parents amazingly rich.
“Alright, let’s go!” I packed my stuff and went. Enuma never wants to hang out with the other kids – for obvious reasons – so I usually leave my stuff to him. He doesn’t mind. We have an understanding. That deep is our friendship. Sil is really a third wheel but acts like I’m the odd one out. Pfft.
“Who wants to play with the amazing Carle!” I screamed my lungs out at the playing ground near the boys’ dormitory. This of course violates the rule because we’re supposed to be quiet. Dumb adults. How should you then communicate when you’re far-away or want things to be heard by several people?
Swisssh – I suddenly hear a thump and my vision went black. There’s distant screaming and some uproar. Is that Sil screaming? I can’t feel anything, but things don’t feel right. Is Sil really screaming? She sounds really agitated. What happened?
I passed out for some months. When I woke up, everything changed so much. No one avoids Enuma anymore, and he became more… powerful? He also talks a lot more now. As for Sil, she’s now the silent one – not like she was very talkative to begin with. She also turned kind of gloomy.
“What exactly happened back then? I can’t remember anything.” I asked them when we three were sitting near my hospital bed.
Sil and Enuma looked at me with wide eyes. “The school got attacked. When you called the others to play, they shot your eyes and proceeded to attack the dorms and other buildings. Enuma ran out to check out the commotion and got really angry when he saw you lying on the ground. He ended up chasing every single one of them away. I was in too much shock to do anything at all and only tried to treat you.” Sil stopped as if expecting an answer from me. “You – you…”
“So I’m supposed to be blind?” It was the dumbest question that I ever asked in my life since then. I always ask dumb questions, but nothing rivals that one until this day.
I reached out to my eyes, but what I felt was bandages. “Ah,” now I understand. “No wonder things look so different.” The dumbfounded faces of the two made things clearer for me. “You’re not supposed to see at all when you’re blind, are you? Nothing?”
They shook their heads.
“Interesting.” That needed to sink in. It took a long time to understand everything.
They called me Amazing Kid; they said I could see what others could not. But I never understood what they meant until I lost my real eyes. Colors are distorted for me now, and I see even more things others can’t see. It is sometimes satisfying but more often disturbing. I understood even more why people said I had a high magical affinity because the only thing that allows me to see now is the magic inside me.
It is funny that you have to lose things forever to understand something that you never understood. And if you begin to understand, the loss suddenly becomes a gain. I then started to take magic seriously and managed to better my vision. After some years I managed to use them to help Enuma save the world. Isn’t that amazing?
Only now I really acknowledge my title, Amazing Carle. Isn’t it funny that you sometimes must lose something in order to cherish what you already have?
-
2580. That is the year he said we are in. The Great Collapse three hundred years ago almost caused the loss of human civilization. That is, not only did so many people get killed by the sudden massive earthquakes, but infrastructures also got destroyed. If it were not for the clique of my husband who were frantically writing down things on paper and stored physical books – and also developing a new method of preserving information, all the survivors would have to rebuild everything from scratch. They would have to rebuild not only the people, but also re-establish the buildings, technology, knowledge that has been accumulated for thousands of years before.
People talk about The Great Collapse as if it were a thing from the past. Well, it is – in a way: It happened on 2250. But to me, it still feels like something from the distant future. In fact, this seems to be just a dream. Yesterday was still May 2063. Now it is August 2580. Am I in the future? Or has the future become present?
Jourdan looked worried. He was, in fact, worried: This was the third time he came home to pick up something he has forgotten. Jourdan would never do that if he weren’t worried. Was it my fault? Was he worried about me?
My coughs were getting worse, and I started having high fever at random times. I didn’t eat for days because I knew everything would jump out again. Jourdan started buying all different kind of things to find out what would be so kind and settle long enough for me to digest. And get strength from.
Water does not suffice. Neither anything mixed with too much water. But it was the only thing that I would not throw up again, so I tried to get by until we find something for me. Maybe we will find a cure to this strange disease even the best doctors don’t have the name of, or maybe just something that I might nibble on slowly. I said we, because we are in this together. At least you said so. Right, Jourdan?
The next few days were too blurry to me. I remember feeling weak and worried about him. Because he was worried. About me. He even said it out loud. Right, he said it when I wouldn’t even take a bite on this burger. What was it called? Captain Max’s? Jourdan said I should give it a try, maybe it will stay now. But I shook my head, too afraid of the risk of it coming out, even if I nibble on it.
Now I remember Jourdan talking about an alternative. He said he might not be able to cure my body, but he might give preserving everything else a try. Right, my husband has been working on this device for years. It was supposed to copy every information about us such that someday – when technology allows it – we might be redownloaded to the world. Jourdan’s invention is something dangerous if misused, so I would always talk about it in a lightly manner to relief him from all the stress caused by it. We were in this together, so I would never leave him alone in all the tumult between researchers and politicians. Never.
That was how I said my last “yes” to him. I will let myself be uploaded so that in the distant future, I can be redownloaded to another body. I didn’t like the thought of possessing another human being, so told him that I would be happy living in a machine, as long as I could move around like a human. As long as I don’t take over someone else’s body. I heard that even clones have their mind and souls of their owns. Maybe another genius will find something out. I think Jourdan has already done enough.
We had always joked that I better belong to the future. My own research has been too unorthodox and there was no technology that could support my theories. There were no tools to prove them. Some have tried to bridge the current knowledge to them, but all those people could do was saying that I was right. My theories were sound, but too “distant”.
The Upload was then serving me in the sense that I could hopefully make better use of my intellect instead of deteriorating in an era that was not ready for me and serving Jourdan in his research. There will be two versions of me until the first one meets its end, but they won’t get into conflict as the second will be tucked away in a cold chamber for…
517 years. That is how much I leapt. Jourdan kept his word and ensured that my wish to not possess another human can still be accessed by the people who have redownloaded me. The people have carefully designed my vessel as to make me feel like a human but remind me that I am not borrowing another body at the same time. As a result, I am still shaped the way I was just before I fell ill, but in a different, nonhuman colour. They gave me a crystal-blue like shade and I like how the designer of my new vessel chose the colour in such a way that it flatters my shape, make it not look too uncanny, but still different than a human being at the same time. If he only could see how much humanity evolved despite being setback by the Great Collapse.
Yes, the Great Collapse which caused several volcanoes in the south-east to erupt and cause years of drastic climate change along with other disasters such as tsunamis and extreme cold winters, killing millions of people in such a short time, destroying supply chains and important information networks. The Great Collapse which could only almost eradicate humanity. Almost, because some still survived and those who didn’t managed to record their wisdom in a variety of ways. The Great Collapse didn’t stop the population from evolving.
I did not expect to be redownloaded a little more than half a millennium. Neither did Jourdan. But here I am: Awed by how much the living learned from the dead, and how they now achieved the common wisdom that allows everyone to make a great step towards knowledge.
Humanity finally integrated with nature. They have developed borderless communities – not in a human-centered way – where they build things which have the ability to adapt to nature. Trees are not merely decorations anymore; they make up part of the room – of the building – I am in. I can see wild squirrels scurrying along the corridor but stay away from the lab; they somehow know which areas they may visit. This kind of world has always been something I dreamed of.
At first, I was disappointed that the Great Collapse caused a major setback to the development of things. Humanity had to take hundred steps back. But they also took it as an opportunity to not repeat the past mistakes of my previous generations. They reassessed every existing system and reused them in a way such that they will not get destroyed by natural disasters anymore.
Jourdan and I always joked that I belong better to the future. Maybe I am. I now have the opportunity to find out. Maybe I can refine my theories in this era. Maybe technology finally allows them to take shape.
As for my husband? There were no records of him after some years since my upload. It was said that the first me died some weeks after the upload due to my illness. Jourdan changed since then, but he kept working: Articles about him and his works still occur decades after his departure. Some said he died of an accident, some of sadness. Some said he found a way to transport his body to a different time-space.
No one really knew Jourdan, neither do I. But I may be the one person who knows him best, but he still proved to be a mystery sometimes. That is why I was not surprised when I heard that there was not an upload of him. Everyone believed that he was a self-centered human being, just because he was too often caught up in his own logic. But I know better: He never really joked when he said I better belong in the future. As for him, I think he thought that he better not belong here in 2580.
But he still is here. Through his work. The Great Collapse would cause a much greater loss if he didn’t gather and encourage people to preserve important things outside the Internet, outside of classic storages. After uploading me, he focused on information preservation such that everything important can be accessed even if humanity forgot its language and technology. Is such a person really self-centered?
Thinking about this, I smiled looking at my new wrist. I felt my pulse, which is no different than the pulse I had in my previous life. We have always been in this together, right, Jourdan?
-
Gilbert has been looking for some time. He struggled on getting the requested ring for the day Mr. Ransack will be announced High Wizard. A magic ring which can keep its owner warm in colder days and help them regulate their temperature in warmer ones: Such was the priest’s request.
Mr. Ransack was never the fittest one among the crowd although he has been one of the lucky children who made it so far in life. Gilbert does not like how the soon-to-be High Wizard neglects his own health for the sake of… For the sake of what? He has barely been alive for four decades, but already complains daily about his back, having blue hands in a mild winter, and heat strokes when even the elders could still run about under the sun. That was why the priest specifically requested a special ring for his new position: However inhumanely this sounds, the authorities always want to make sure that the higher-ups stay as long as time allows them to be up there. Like other things, time can be bribed with money. Or so do many people think once they are beyond the clouds.
“Yes, my money,” sighed Gilbert as he finally found an artist who is also able to infuse the requested kind of magic in any ring with a sufficient quality, not for a cheap price though. The priest said the church will reimburse the expenses for the ring – a statement he knew could not be relied on. The administration also said that the papers for the purchase can only be done after the inauguration of the High Wizard. And he, Gilbert, would need to request a reimbursement.
The magic jeweler pressed together her lips and took a deep breath as Gilbert told her about his situation. “Damn church,” she finally whispered, more to herself than anyone else. “They will most likely not reimburse you, but you can’t go up and saying that you don’t wanna buy them the ring, either. They’ll haunt you for life.” She paced up and down.
Only by observing her store could Gilbert see that the woman was a friendly shopkeeper, skilled craftsman, and reliable business partner. Certificates and pictures indicating cooperation with all kinds of institutions, even those far in the northwest, jewelry for all kinds of occasions and customers, and the various visitors show that she sees every business opportunity as an opportunity towards growth and virtue instead of more money. She kept her store humble enough as not to scare away the less wealthy ones but also clean and elegant to also attract ones with more gold in their bags.
“How about this,” the businesswoman then said after brooding over the problem for some time. “You don’t have to pay the full price, only the third of it up-front. I’ll give you a letter to the church saying that the church loans me the rest and I won’t start working on the ring if I don’t see a proof that you have got reimbursed for the third part in at most two weeks. Later than that, I won’t be able to finish it on time, and good luck finding another one who can craft a high-quality ring and infuse such complicated magic with the same price and working time – if there is even any. You must’ve been searching for quite some time, haven’t you?”
Gilbert nodded. “They either said that they needed more time than 10 weeks, demand sometimes more than thrice your price, or admit that they are not able to do it at all. I think I could go on searching the whole continent with no better results.” He glanced toward the letter the shopkeeper was writing for the church. “Are you sure that would work?”
“It better does. I have worked with the church for a few times. They like to send out rich younglings, using virtue to press them buying expensive things to never reimburse them. They were mostly snobby kids though, thinking that you can do anything if you have money, so I never bothered to help them.” She looked up to Gilbert and handed the already sealed envelope. “You seem more conscious of what you have, so I’m willing to help.”
He thanked the kind woman and went back to the church. Some employees on the administrative side scolded him for handing such a disrespectful letter, but their tumult called in the bishop who seemed to recognize the seal.
“Just do what has been told in the letter. She is a fair businesswoman and the finest jeweler you could ever get in this continent – or even the world. Do not mix up your faith with business,” said the well-respected man after reading what the shopkeeper has written and gave the letter back to the employee who held it. He then proceeded to go back to what he initially intended to do but abruptly turned back and thanked Gilbert for all the hassle he had gone through.
The young man only nodded, not knowing how else to respond. The bishop might not be as bad as the people who serve under him, but all the pressure of getting the perfect ring for a deteriorating man who does not know how to take care of himself, then getting scolded just for defending his own position was enough. He has been mistreated before, also involving money. All the stress they let him go through suddenly struck him to a realization: The only reason the faithful has been so kind to him was because he inherited tons of golds from his departed parents. They did not want Gilbert as the person he was: They only wanted his gold.
-
This girl. First, she refused to dance along in the party, saying that it won’t make any changes either way; now she tries to challenge Big Boss to do the dance move only girls are supposed to do.
“I don’t see why the dance move is exclusive to women; it’s not like it depends on anything of the woman body. Don’t get started on breasts and hips: Yours are bigger than mine and some other girls in the club! The art of seduction, you say? Why, it would be nice to have men do it for a change!”
Great Velociraptor, I must get her out of that room! Or him, it doesn’t matter.
I walked in as calmly as I could and announced that Ms. Heavendrop is expected in the garden. That should do it. Now I only have to guide her to the place and try to talk some sense to her – or not. This girl… If this goes on, Big Boss might butcher her alive.
“I want out from here, Fredrik! This place stinks!”
“Well, I suppose this might be a good opportunity to leave, Miss.” I wasn’t mistaken, there was no one else in the garden, and I could have just said that she ran away with a lover or something similar. Those things happen all the time, and are never my fault.
“Do you really think it would be that easy to leave? You don’t understand!”
“Do you think it would make it easier for you to stay? I might not understand the problems you might have to face if you left, but I do know the consequences if you stayed here any longer.” I look into her eyes. This Fredrik she currently faces might seem to be a simple butler, but I had my own, unique past, just like everyone else. Now is the time to use one of those tools I have gathered over my youth. I walk up closer, raise my head just enough for her to realize how much small she is to me, and looked down on her eyes. “Big Boss will kill you sooner or later. I don’t need to list down the possible reasons for that.” State it slowly, and let silence help it sink in.
My old techniques still seem to work on people. She turned pale. Maybe it was less because of my words but more because there was finally someone who said the same thing as the little voice in her that she tried to shut up all this time. Out loud. See, that is why I left my previous life: It’s disgusting to see how people can so easily be moved and stirred.
Heavendrop doesn’t say nor do anything. She just stands there, in silence. This is enough, though, a little bit more, and she won’t leave this place. I decide to break the silence. “You have to leave on your own, though. As much as I wish to accompany you on your journey, I can’t afford to raise suspicion.”
The girl just looked up. Questions. But I don’t answer unasked questions.
Before she could even ask the first one, I shood her off. “Go, now! Run, you know where to!”
She complied, at first hesitant. But when she repeatedly saw my shooing gesture as she turned around, she finally went full power with her legs. I stayed there until I was sure that she was really gone from the complex of Big Boss. Through the woods, of course.
That girl is a smart one, she will know the next thing to do. People always stress out how much of a benefit a girl’s beauty can be, but more often I find myself disagreeing with them. Beauty is plastic: One day you have it, one day you don’t; one day you’re the goddess from Heaven, one day you’re the ugliest devil from Hell. The greatest gifts for a girl may not be beauty and elegance, but just the things that would be the greatest gifts for a boy: Intelligence, persistence, and determination.
Why are you doing this, Fredrik? I am sure that girl is dying to know the answer of it. Well, to tell you the truth, it is my very mission. Big Boss likes to exploit girls, sometimes even boys, and I like to set them free. Have you heard of the famous mechanic or the legendary female carpenter? Without me to tell them to run away from this place, you would have never known about them.
Of course, I do all of this carefully, with varying methods. I use the tools I gathered in my youth. A knife can be used to kill, or to cook, it depends on who holds it. Being a sneaky, manipulative schemer doesn’t have to mean that you are destined to be a devil’s accomplice. While others rather use their weapons to cut their own path, I use them to cut the path for others. At least the first steps of it.
But no one will know this little secret of mine. Little Miss Heavendrop is not an exception. No one may know, so I can execute my mission as effectively as possible. This girl did leave some mess though, it might be a challenge to clean things up for her. Well, I’ll manage, just like I always had. Big Boss won’t be pleased, but that’s the very reason why I stay.
Story Piles 