The Rogue World Of Dostira

The Guardian

Audrey had never been so eager to start a day in her entire life, she woke at four in the morning after barely sleeping the entire night and was outside Charlie's house fifteen minutes early. She had packed all her clothing, pictures of her family, toiletries, makeup and her mother had left her enough money for books and other expenses.

She anxiously waited outside of Charlie's house playing with her fingers as her baggage lay beside her. Her head snapped up when she heard someone walking towards the door, it opened to reveal a very tired Charlie who looked surprised to see her waiting so prepared outside his door.

"Someone must be excited" he said as he lifted his large brown leather-worn bag and closed the door behind him.

"Well, this is all very new to me so, I'm ready to go!" Audrey said as she picked up her bags and walked towards a dusty navy coloured car that was parked outside of Charlie's house.

"Have you said bye to your mum yet?" Charlie asked as he unlocked the car and began opening the boot of the car.

"I slept beside her last night and gave her a kiss before I left the house" Audrey said as she lifted one of her bags with her arm slightly shaking from its weight.

Charlie looked at her and smiled, he was about to say something when the sound of a bell interrupted his thoughts. He looked up and saw a man in a bright coloured jacket and on a red bicycle, the post-man.

He looked young for a post-man and had dark coffee coloured skin with wide eyes, he looked around Charlie's age.

"Package for Liz Larson?" He said as she held out a brown box sealed together with thick brown tape.

"Oh that's for my mum, she was expecting it yesterday" Audrey said, reaching out to grab it.

As the post man smiled and began to move along to the next few houses, Audrey noticed a strange look on Charlie's face. Charlie was slightly pale and looked as if he was in a mild state of shock, Audrey chuckled lightly as she had only seen this look on Charlie's face once before; when Charlie was ten.

Young Charlie had received a pet bird for his tenth birthday, a saffron finch, and he would spend most of his days trying to teach the bird how to fly to him respond to his touch. One day his mother had called him to accompany her shopping and he didn't have time to properly close the latch to the bird's cage. He asked his father, Mr Binko, to do it for him before leaving and well one can say that Mr Binko had other things on his mind that day. When Charlie had arrived back home, he found the latch to the bird cage wide open and his beautiful finch had gone.

"Charlie? Are you okay, you look as if you've seen a ghost?" Audrey giggled as she picked up her other bag and placed it in the boot of the car with the others. Charlie's face remained pale as he watched the young post-man carefully.

"What, do you know him or something?" She said glancing at Charlie, then to the post man who was leaving the street on his bicycle.

"Well, I did" he said as he continued to watch the post-man who was leaving the street whistling a tune to himself.

"His name is Lucas, he was a caeli prodigy like me. We both wanted to go to Dostira, it was all we could think about after our parents had told us. Lucas was twelve and his powers were strong and stable, our parents told us because they never thought either of us would lose our powers and be wiped. Well, the next year on my thirteenth birthday I had received my letter because the regional overseers were sure my powers were secure but Lucas didn't get a letter. His powers began to fade a few months after his thirteenth birthday, and by the time he was fourteen the overseers visited him and his family with a Vingko brew."