The Guardians of Light

The Double Life

The muffled cries sounded like they were coming from the above room. I slowly moved forward to climb the staircase.

The faint cries grew louder as I moved forward. I headed in the direction from where the sound appeared to be coming. I touched the doorknob and unlocked it very slowly with my shivering hands.

I opened the door and with the help of the flashlight, I saw the room starting from the corner and then moved across the room.

There I found Mia sitting on the ground beside her bed and crying.

' Oh, my God. What happened to you, Mia? '

I went and sat beside her. She kept on weeping and didn't reply to any of my questions. I started to assume something terrible had happened.

Her mascara withered because of the tears dripping from her eyes. The tears fell from her chin and drenched her shirt.

She looked pathetic. After seeing her like that, I'd assume she had been crying for hours.

I held her head with my hands.

' Look at me, Mia. Why are you crying? '

' I.. don't kno...w, Ryan. ' She stammered.

' Did anyone try to harm you? '

' No.... '

' Is this because of the divorce? '

She cried even harder after listening to that question.

' I know that this is tough for you, but you are the strongest person I know, Mia. I can't believe my eyes. '

' That is why I didn't answer your calls, Ryan.  I didn't want you to see me like this. I don't want you to think of me as weak. '

' There's not a chance in hell that I would think you to be weak. In fact, I am proud of you, Mia. '

' Really? '

' Yeah. It is the tears that can keep a soul alive in the furnace of pain. They may not extinguish the agony but helps you go through it till the point that it gets erased from your brain. I didn't cry when I was in pain, which turned me into an undesirable person. Thank your tears cause that is what can save you from becoming a monster, indifferent to suffering and sorrow. From my experience, I'd say crying is the smartest thing to do. Process your feelings right then and let it all out because I know the anguish of unprocessed pain. They sometimes haunt me even now. '

' Oh, psycho. '

She listened to me with such sheer concentration that she forgot that she was crying. I couldn't believe I made her stop crying. I didn't know I was capable of consoling anyone.

It was at that moment I realised I was good at persuading people.

I brought her some water to drink and wiped her tears.

' I am going to cook you some scrambled eggs. Now get up and sit in the hall while I cook. '

She got up as I asked, and we came downstairs. I switched on the television, hoping it would catch her attention and provides a deviation from her thoughts.

Fortunately, the performance of a stand-up comedian was running. I went to the kitchen, and with the help of the internet, I made scrambled eggs.

' The most delicious scrambled eggs are finally ready. Come on, quickly taste them, and tell me how it is. '

She took a bite.

' They are good, but my mom makes better ones. '

' It tastes good though, right? It's my first time. '

' Your first attempt is a success then. '

' Want to eat anything more? '

' No. Just sit here and talk with me. What happened with the therapist? '

' It's all about you right now. We'll talk later about me once after we sort out everything that's going on in your life. '

' Come on, Ryan. I need a break from my life. I want to forget what's going on in my life for a while and lead a peaceful and happy life. ' 

' I have an idea. '

' What? '

' I would only say it if you promise me that you'll agree. '

' OK, fine. I promise. '

' Come with me and live in my house. '

' Are you insane? '

' No, I'm serious. You are free to leave whenever you want to. Please just come. '

After a few minutes of requesting, Mia finally agreed to come over.

We came outside her house, and she saw my bicycle.

' Don't tell me that this is our ride. '

' I'm afraid it is. '

' I'm better off crying in my room. '

' Just try it once. I won't give you a ride even if you beg me later. '

' I highly doubt I'm gonna be begging for this classic vehicle. '

' You can mock all you want, but it's the best. '

She got on my bicycle, and we finally started. In the beginning, it didn't feel that comfortable, but as we drove, it turned out great.

The gentle icy breeze, the empty roads, the sound of crickets, it felt like a dream.

' How about now, Mia? Does it still suck? '

' I love this, Ryan. I want to go on like this forever. I wish we get trapped in this moment, the unending loop of happiness. '

' There are a lot of beautiful things in the world, Mia. We just need to be willing to go and find them. These are your words only. '

' Using my words against me, huh. '

I rode my bicycle very slow, so it took an hour and a half for us to reach home. I took her inside.

The moment we entered, I saw my father. I didn't expect him home. I was afraid if he would say anything that might upset Mia.

' Hello, child. Feel free and treat it as your home. '

He went inside afterwards. I was shocked to hear such sweet words coming from his mouth.

My mother was also standing with a welcoming smile.

' I already cleaned the guest room and kept it ready. ' said my mother.

Everyone was behaving so nicely that I wondered if I were in an actual dream. Anyway, we were tired from our journey, and also Mia needed a sound sleep after what she has been through, so we headed to our respective rooms and called it a night.

' You don't need to worry about your father. I have already talked to him and he is not going to say or do anything that might hurt your friend. '

' Thank you so much for this. It means a lot. ' 

I had to go to Orpheus, so I tried to sleep as soon as possible.

                                                                            -----*-----

I still had 10 minutes of time left for the combat class. I thought its better to be early rather than being late. So, I went to the combat class right away.

We took our pills just like every day, and the Asian girl didn't, which by the way, also happens every day.

Master:  I'm going to show you some of the deadliest moves today. They are called "Long knee" and "Up knee." 

I have already seen them in the Knowledge Room and also practised a few times. So I felt like I was one step ahead of the whole class.

Master looked at everyone, and he picked me as a volunteer.

I went to the dais as a subject on whom the Master is going to try out his moves. Since I already knew about the move and how to block it, I couldn't help but blocked the master's move.

Everyone was awestruck by my defence. Even Master was also astounded, but he managed to maintain a poker face.

' How? ' He asked.

' I have read about these moves the previous day in the Knowledge Room. A book that was written by yourself, Master. '

He asked me to stay still this time and showed every student how it's done.

I thought, after this moment, the Asian girl would speak to me, but she didn't.

We relentlessly trained that day, and when it was completed, I headed to the Knowledge room to do some research about "Crusader" before attending the Innovate One's class.

After the research, I headed to the class. We were shown various videos and crime scene pictures and things that were related to Kent.

After the slide show, Phillip asked us to give our opinion.

I sat silently and let everyone give their opinions. I did it because I didn't want anyone to interrupt my flow of speech.

Many students gave their opinions, and when it was finally silent, I stood up to speak. 

' Well, Mr. Gloom. What do you got? '

' First of all, he believes in God in his twisted way. He calls himself "Crusader" because he believes that he is a messenger, who is doing god's work by cleansing the world of evil people. Well, according to him, rebelling against something illicit is immoral. All the five victims that he chose was because they were a part of something that fought for the good. He believed that he had a small role in God's plan, and he executed it by murdering many good and innocent people. He handed himself over because he considers his work done. Knowing that he would be executed, the only reason he turned himself in is because of his belief that he found salvation. '

' That's one hell of a summary, Mr. Gloom. Good work. '

                                                                              -----*------

Just like that, one week passed away. I managed the double life I was living by giving enough time to both of my lives. I haven't seen my shrink in 7 days.

Mia gradually changed back into the joyous and love spreading girl that she is, an obnoxious Pollyanna.

My parents and Mia still don't believe in Orpheus, and they still feel I am fantasising, so I gave up convincing them.

Sometimes I wonder if my father even knows about me having these problems. On the other hand, my relationship with my mother grew better, like a bud blossoming into a flower.

My performance in the Innovative One's became top-notch. I rocked in almost every class. I became friends with two of the IO class's students, Josh and Steven. Few others resented me for my exceptional insights.

My combat class performance was great too, but there were many students who excelled in combat training. Although we never faced each other in combat, it was evident that there were more skilled fighters than I, or maybe I was exaggerating.

I met Evelyn every now and then but only for a few minutes.

The only disappointment I had was I still wasn't friends with the Asian girl. It bugged me. One whole week of silent training between us and nothing happened.

We got a notice in Orpheus that based on the previous week's performance, a few Level-0 students will be picked and are assigned with an assignment. The students who accomplish the task will be promoted to Level-1(L1).

They didn't give an exact number about how many people were they recruiting, so I was concerned whether I would get picked or not. I decided to keep giving my best and not bothering about the results.