A mysterious past, an unrequited love, and a desperate need to find himself, fifteen-year-old Kalyn has enough to occupy him without being on the verge of a massive societal upheaval. Join Kalyn and his friends as they explore what it means to come...
There is a chill in the air as I find my way to the clearing. Darkness has settled, and the trees seem to loom over all, casting the village into shadows. After the hustle of the day, this hush is even more eerie.
I follow the sound of voices and the flickering of firelight until I meet a throng of people, entirely out of place in this dense section of forest. There is a shifting of bodies as attention finds me. A parting appears, and I rush through it to the center. At least with my back to the crowd, I can focus.
"Ah, now that we have all finally arrived..." Elder Pashal starts with a meaningful clearing of his throat. I am suddenly possessed with self-consciousness. Weren't we supposed to meet at sunset? I did admittedly lose my way once or twice, but I hadn't thought I was that late.
I cast furtive glances around the group at my fellows and am further devastated to find that they have packs and bundles under their arms. I, once again, feel utterly unprepared and out of place. The fire roars with life and color as salts are tossed into it by the circle of hooded tribesmen. I shove my hands into my pockets as if to hide their emptiness and watch as if my life depends on it, fully aware that it actually might.
"Tonight is the night," Elder resumes, his voice rising easily over the dying clamor. All fall silent at his address. "The night that our children leave us to return as men and women. Tomorrow our tribe will have its reunions, but we must never forget the dangers that await outside our borders. This forest is our lifeblood. We offer to it our future so that we might continue to have one. I ask each of you to kneel as I bless our young ones with a spell of protection."
"Köv," he begins with tenderness. "My dearest grandson. Close your eyes." More salts are cast onto the fire as Elder Pashal murmurs. He stays with Köv for several minutes, undoubtedly uttering words of advice and protection, before moving onto the next in line. For each inductee, there rises a chant. It grows until I can feel it reverberating in my chest. By the time, Elder Pashal reaches me, he is visibly weakened. The night always takes a lot out of him. A slight smile touches his lips as he regards me.
"It's worth a shot for you, isn't it, young Kalyn?" The words are anticlimactic. I wonder what he has said to the others. More than this, surely.
I feel somewhat robbed of meaning as Elder Pashal turns to the crowd and announces that he is off to his rest. Fortunately, there is no time to linger on this loss, on his meaning, his underestimation of me. No time to worry if it is an underestimation.
This is it. It is time to depart. My destiny awaits.
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