The Wish Game

The Meeting with Parents

The conference almost went uneventful after the announcement except for some incidents involving a rogue reporter. After the conference, we were guests at a party event celebrating our victory and survival.

The next day, we made the journey back to Choire. Out of the twenty-five carts that came to Solaris, only two made it back. Mineva and I had quite a chat over my decisions in the competition. Though she said she was happy that I wasn’t dumb anymore like I was before, I saw the glimpse of a proud smile.

We reached Choire by evening and were greeted by an overwhelming crowd of joyous people. It seemed like a rally, the crowd cheered as we passed through the streets and sloganeered in our support. Though I was quite tired due to the trip, the commotion incited me to try looking outside.

Mineva, though, stopped me, “You probably shouldn't do that. Or maybe I should put you to sleep.” I thought of opposing, but the latter part of the statement caused me to drop the idea. “You remember Mineva when you brought me back after the escape. There was a similar commotion.”

Mineva giggled, “Yeah, but there were a few differences. You were so gloomy back then, I was fearful that you might not be able to cope with the truth.” I stretched and smiled, “Yeah, that time was a bit depressing. And the crowd’s mood wasn’t this cheerful as well. I was afraid that the crowd would kill me before I even met the warden.”

She laughed at my comment, “Don’t you remember the first time you came here? If I am correct, you were escorted by two guards and the crowd was similarly cheerful.” I thought for a moment, going in the memories that I wanted to seal, “Actually, that was even more depressing.” I gave a small burst of laughter.

I looked at my right arm, still having the protective bandage, “I never thought I would ever be able to talk about those times so openly.” Mineva patted my shoulder and said, “You have bravely fought even darker times, so those moments feel light-hearted now.”

We reached the mansion in an hour and were greeted by a shower of flowers and a personal congratulation message from the warden himself. I had a touching reunion with Mira and Rita and had a chat that carried on till night.

Late at night, we finished our chat and I retired to bed. I almost fell asleep when someone knocked on the door. “Who’s it?” I asked as I got up from the bed yawning. “It’s me, Aadhya. Open up.” I got an answer and I opened the door to find Mineva.

I let her in and asked, “What happened at this hour?” Mineva had a letter in her hand and gave it to me. “The letter says that the committee has organized a meeting of the champions with their family members.” Mineva began as I opened the letter and sighed in disbelief.

I put the letter aside and for some time remained completely silent. The meeting was supposed to be held in the mayor’s manor. Mineva broke the silence, “The meeting is supposed to be tomorrow near mid-day. Be prepared.”

I murmured, “Is there any chance that I can skip this for any reason.” Mineva said with a grave tone, “No…at maximum, you can only postpone the meeting; unless you do something really drastic.” The last part was followed with a creepy smile.

I mumbled “I'd like to avoid that. But seriously, I don’t wanna go. I know that reunion won’t go well.” Mineva knew my family problems the most among the ones there. “I know that you have your differences, but there’s no other way. Just go through it, think of it as another challenge.”

Mineva got up and took the letter from the table. “I’ll inform the warden of your affirmative response.” She was about to leave when I asked, “Mineva…Can you be there with me please?” She stopped abruptly, “Huh…What?” She turned around and I said, “Please be with me in that meeting.”

She protested, “But that meeting’s for you and your family members. What would I do there?” I replied, “I fear that I might lose control over myself in that meeting. So, please be there to at least keep me under check.”

“Do you think that you might try to kill them?” Mineva asked me with a concerned face and I nodded in the affirmative, “That conversation I had, it isn’t easy to forget and it hurts worse than the feeling that my parents completely abandoned me.”

She gave a considerate nod but added, “That would require permission from the mayor as well…” I interrupted her, “Just be there in time, I’ll manage everything else.” I smiled and she left my room after agreeing to the idea.

The next day, I and Paras walked from the mansion to the mayor’s manor. There were two special rooms that were meant to facilitate our meetings. We were sitting outside the room and saw a lot of wizards guarding the rooms.

I waited for Mineva to arrive. Paras stood to get into his allotted room but I stayed behind. “Won’t you go?” He asked, turning around. I gave an uncomfortable smile, “Not Exactly!!! I am waiting for someone to show up. You should go…”

He nodded and smiled, before going into the room on my left. I waited for a few more minutes and finally saw her. Mineva came in with a paper and gave it to a wizard guarding the room. They had a little chat and then he nodded in agreement to something.

Mineva came back to me and said, “Well, your parents have not arrived. So, you have some time to kill.” We sat on the two chairs and waited for them to arrive. She asked after a pause of silence, “How and when did you manage to convince the mayor about this?”

I hesitated for a bit and answered, “Yesterday, after you gave me the news.” She gave a surprised look and guessed, “Did you sneak in here?” I was not expecting such a close guess but I promised her not to lie, so I couldn’t deny it.

“Yes, after you agreed yesterday and left the room. I snuck out of the mansion and went to the mayor’s residence to talk to him about this matter and he agreed soon enough.” I smiled and she sighed, “I ain’t getting a good feeling hearing that.”

“Anyways, why are those wizards here?” I asked and Mineva replied, “Oh, they are spatial wizards. Wizards who excel in spatial magic. They will isolate the room as soon as both parties enter it and won’t let anyone pass in or out unless by mutual consent.”

“That’s some pretty heavy preparations!!!” I commented and asked, “Well, it’s not really necessary to wait outside. We can wait inside as well.” Thinking for a while, I nodded in the affirmative as we went into the right room.

The room from the inside wasn’t much special. There were two chairs on our side and three chairs on the other side, separated by a table. We sat on the chairs and waited for my parents to arrive.

After about ten minutes of waiting, they finally showed up. My mother, father, and brother entered the room from the other side. “Took you long enough. I thought you wouldn’t show up at all.” I taunted them while adding, “It would’ve been better that way at least.”

All those bad memories came back flooding and I almost got up to leave but realized that Mineva was holding my arm down. “Calm down, you don’t need to give into a fit of rage. The barrier’s probably put up as well, so just go through this.” She whispered and I calmed down a bit.

I closed my eyes, trying to shut my thoughts out. Both sides remained silent for quite a while, my family members seemed at a loss for words. I finally asked “Why’d you come here? Are you disappointed that I am still alive?”

Mineva gave me a startled look, perhaps she was taken by surprise as well. But my family members were somewhat prepared for this, they showed no such reaction. Finally, my father defended with a calm tone, “Listen, it’s not like that. We celebrated your every victory at home.”

Mom added, “Listen, we know that we went a bit too harsh on you that time, but we always loved you. We saw you grow both as a warrior and a person. See for yourself, you evolved from that runaway brat to the fiercest and most well-disciplined warrior this nation has ever seen.”

I sighed irritatingly, “You don’t even know what you’re saying. Who gave you the script?” My hatred and resentment towards them began to show up. I was pretty sure that Mineva could sense that as well, but she stuck to her role that I don’t get overly aggressive to them.

My brother stepped in for the rescue, “Listen, sis, you don’t have to be so rough on us. What happened was wrong, but simply put no one’s responsible for that day. They gave a choice to them and mom and dad chose. You can’t go on resenting that your entire life.”

He pulled out a dagger and put it on the table. “You do have guts, trying to threaten me like that.” I laughed at him and he smiled, “Try to be positive a bit. Don’t take everything so pessimistically. Don’t you remember this dagger?”

I took a closer look at that dagger. It was the one Mineva (in disguise) gave me during my daring escape. “Yes, I gave it to you. So, what?” I clenched my fist under the table and waited for the next part. “I’ve kept it treasured from that day. Do you even know how much people cheered for you when they saw you in battle, using tactics and strategies that nail everyone out?”

He looked down and continued, “They always say that Mom and Dad made the right choice by sending you. You have a chance of winning the Wish Games as well. I neither have the battle intellect that you show nor the raw power like that in the c****x of the nationals.”

“Are you trying to flatter me?” I asked, enraged, and he nodded negatively. “No, it’s the truth. I would’ve died in that stronghold raid of yours. They chose you because they knew that you could come out alive.” The message was comforting, but for some reason, my anger refused to subside.

My father added, “You don’t know how proud you have made me…” I was fuming with anger and his empty words about family pride blew away the fuse. “Let me clear it first, I don’t care about you or your fame or your prestige. What I do here is of my own free will and for my survival.”

I slammed my palm on the wooden table right near the dagger, “Do you even know what I have been through? Look at me, every time I go into battle I get some scars in return to remind me that it was you who pushed me into this mess.”

I released the disappearing spell on the seals and made them reappear. I shouted, “Now what are you saying? My magic became so unstable because of all this that they had to put these seals on the majority of it so that I didn’t blow up because of the strain. You can claim all that you cared about me; I ain’t buying any of that crap.”

I stood up and went to the door; Mineva got up and tried to stop me. “I am outta here!!” I said and added, “I won’t ask you to come, though. If you want to talk to them, go on…” I walked and could feel the barrier at the door powered up.

An announcement was made inside, “The spatial barrier shall remain active until both sides unanimously decide to disengage. Please refrain from unilateral decisions.” Mineva told me earlier that the barrier was a spatial warping spell that should throw me back in if I try to get out.

I smiled and defied the warning. I walked straight through the barrier, using my magic resistance to tear through the barrier. The wizards gave a surprised look as I said, “Next time, put a stronger barrier.”

I walked away from the building, totally forgetting in rage that those seals were still visible. I walked out of the city and went to the same grass patch where I first met Mineva. I had tears in my eyes, but strangely, though they weren’t from rage or grief.

I sat down on the patch and wondered, “Why does it have to be like this? Why can’t I live like anyone else?” I jammed my hand into the pocket of my coat and pulled out a special receiving crystal. “Good thing, I always leave a transmission crystal in such important places.”

I activated the receiving crystal and began listening to the conversation that was happening in the room between Mineva and my parents. The first voice that came was my father's.

“I hope that Aadhya doesn’t trouble you much.”

“No, she is very diligent and intelligent. Never in this eight-month mentorship did I face any difficulty with her.”

“We cannot thank you enough for taking such good care of our daughter.”

“Um…Miss Mineva, can you tell me how sis crossed that barrier without even flinching?”

“So, you didn’t watch any of her battles. Did you?”

“No, we didn’t. As her family members, how can we watch her struggle for her life?”

“She’s right. Dad usually takes some highlights of the battle from our neighbor and tells us something remarkable or memorable.”

“Like the human spear attack?”

“Yes, I usually ask Mr. Gusting for all this information.”

“Okay. Anyways, Aadhya uses Magic Resistance and Magic Absorption to go through any magic spell.”

“Sis is really gifted…”

“…No, she is not gifted in any sense. Perhaps except for her determination. She trains heavily every day in a single art until she’s mastered it completely.”

“I was well aware of her capability and skills when she managed to escape back home without being detected.”

“I actually thought that our daughter would be executed for that.”

“Whoa…Who told you that?”

“Well, that was the image that came into our mind when the village was put in lockdown because of her. We thought that after her capture, she’d be executed…”

“No, that was never the case. This wasn’t the first time someone tried to escape. But she was actually the first who made out of the city. And like most other runaways, she was only reprimanded and grounded.”

There was laughter and a silence ensued. ‘Wow, they are really getting familiar. But…’ My thought was interrupted when Mineva started the conversation again.

“Anyways, it was really nice to meet you. If you agree…”

“There is something I wanted to ask Miss Mineva about sis.”

“What is it?”

“Is she really so angry with everyone around?”

“Well kid, it’s a bit difficult to explain. The things she has gone through…I mean, the selection, then the escape, the conversation, and all the other stuff, has left her quite traumatized and perhaps affected her response to crowd and maybe people in general.”

“So she has been going through a lot of tough times?”

“Unfortunately, yes, every time she fights she has to push past her limits and that has left her scarred, physically, socially, and emotionally. Her companions hated her, refusing to see the hard work she does to emerge on top and seeing her only like you said – a gifted spoilt child.”

The conversation stopped and, after a long pause, I could hear footsteps. ‘So, it has ended. Thank God, I had Mineva with me.’ I thought, and suddenly an arm popped on my shoulder. “What are you doing here?”

I turned around alarmed and found Paras standing behind me with an elderly couple. “You? And they’re your…” I said, and he added, “Oh, they’re my parents. After the meeting, the mayor allowed us to stay together for the day.”

I panicked, “Wait, does that mean…” He smiled, “No, I asked the mayor beforehand about this. I see your meeting ended too.” He tried to add something but his mother added before him, “What are those marks on your face…”

“Huh…my face!!!” I touched my face and accidentally saw the seal marks on the back of my hand in the process. “Oh, they’re…” I thought of some elaborate excuse when his father said, “They’re some cultural marks, right?”

The three remaining people looked in shock, but I nodded anxiously, “Yeah, now excuse me.” I walked away while removing the seals from my body. “I almost forgot that I had those visible,” I mumbled as I gained some distance from them.

I walked back to the mansion and found Mineva, Mira, and Rita waiting for me. “Where were you?” Rita asked. I was expecting a full-blown sermon from the trio, but what came was a complete surprise. Mineva simply smiled and flung the miniature transmission crystal towards me.

“I am your mentor. I passed this stage, years ago.” She smiled and I asked, “You knew about this?” “Well, I would love to say yes, but that’s not the full truth. I had the idea that you’d place it somewhere but never thought you’d put this on me.” She complained and I giggled.

I had placed the transmission crystal on Mineva’s dress when I walked out in a fit of rage. Someone must’ve later pointed it out to her. “Actually, I am sorry that I went away from the meeting in such a way.”

However, Mineva didn’t seem to be angry. She gave a warm hug and said, “I know what you’ve been through and what you did was perhaps the best thing you could’ve done there.”