OBTICEO

Chapter 20: HIS STORY

Tomorrow is the day, yesterday and the day before yesterday, Gio taught me how to kick, he showed me the different ways to kick. Today, Caligo advised us to let our body rest so it will be in its best condition for tomorrow's exam. I'm really nervous, so nervous that I want to vomit so here I am, laying on my bed while Gio is sitting at the edge of my bed on the bottom left facing towards his bed.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" our eyes met. I can see a hint of worry in his eyes.

"Of course not but I don't have a choice. Even if I'm not ready, I still have to do it" I'm not sure if I could really stand a chance against them. My nervousness worsened.

"We always have a choice, there's always two or more sides of the story" of course he would say that. He always thinks that we have a choice. For him, it's either this or that. "Yeah! Yeah! It's either I pass or fail, right? You have said that earlier this week" I remembered his words.

"No, that's not the option this time. Your choices are to do your best or not. The results will vary from that" do my best? Sure I would but the question is not about me giving all I got. The real question is 'Is my best, good enough?'.

"No, I don't think so. The exam is a one on one physical battle, the result will vary from your skills and experience. Even if I work really hard, seven days will never be the same as months of training. Get me?" I said starting a little argument with Gio. Well, it's not new, we argue almost every day.

" I still do believe that we have always had a choice. Always" him and his beliefs. Sometimes I do believe in him but there are times I don't, just like this one.

"No! Look at me. My father got falsely accused of killing the king and since I am the only family he has, I was sent here, to this island. Look at me and tell me if I had a choice. Look at me and look at yourself, is this our choice? Or rather, did we have a choice? I don't think so" My emotions are rising up that it was visible to my tone. But I calmed myself.

"And for the record, the first time I borrowed clothes from you, you also said 'Do I have a choice?'. See? Choices aren't always there. Sometimes we are left to do only one thing that leaves us with no choice" I continued when he did not respond to me. So what now huh?

"Okay, okay! You win today" he surrendered.

"Is this your way of resting? Lay down on your bed all day?" he asked after a couple of minutes of silence.

"No, I plan to walk around after lunch" I plan to roam around. I just hope that I won't get lost.

"Okay, make sure to find your way home" well, there is no way out of this place besides the portal anyway. I can always find my cell, although I'm not sure how long it will take me.

"You're here again?" someone spoke behind me. Based on the tone and what he said, I knew it was Khael. He was the one I met the last time I went here to the borders. My feet brought me to this place again.

"I heard that your exam is tomorrow. Are you ready?" Of course, he would know, Caligo is a blabbermouth. I shook my head in response to his question.

"Thought so" he commented

"Do you work on the castle?" I asked since I kept seeing him near the castle.

"I work everywhere on the island. It depends on where the problem is" I wonder what needs to be fixed in the castle. I actually wanted to ask him about it since he knew things about my work, well I'm still not working yet, but I figured to keep my questions to myself. I remembered Caligo told me to keep my nose off of somebody else's business.

"I want to ask you a question but I'm afraid that I would open an old wound" I tried opening a topic.

"Is it about the reason that sent me here? If that's it, it's fine by me" he's quick. Well, its fine right? He knows the reason why I was sent here, it's only fair that I know his story too. It's a little invasion of privacy but he also invaded my privacy at least I asked for his permission.

"Yeah, I wanted to ask what brought you here"

"Well, it's because my grandfathers from both sides harmed someone from a wealthy family" grandfathers? I remembered mine, the truth is I never met them. I don't even know if they are still alive.

"Harmed?" What did he mean by harm? Like pushing someone to the ground? If that's the reason, I don't know what to think of the Sesgados anymore. Well, the law stated any wrongdoings will be punished.

"By harmed, I meant killed. They killed someone, they killed a woman" Oh! Killed. That made more sense. It is a sin if they really did it. False accusation is a different story.

"Why? Did that woman do something bad to your grandparents" I guess it is still reasonable if they killed a wicked woman. Killing is wrong no matter what the reason is, but if the person is rotten to the core, I may think differently. Only if the person is rotten to the core but killing is still wrong.

"No, as far as I know, that woman is really nice" Why did they kill her if she was nice? Are his grandfather's the one is actually rotten to the core?

"Then why did they kill her?" I asked. I just have to, before I judge them. It is not like my judgment is important. Well, we all judge someone sometimes in our life.

"Someone paid them to do it. We don't know why but the Sesgados find out about it. Kavan guards aren't allowed to kill anyone, even criminals unless it was a chase" So the one who paid them to kill the women is the one who is rotten to the core. I hope, if ever, just if I pass the exam, after training and after passing the final exam and become a Kavan guard, I hope no one makes me kill someone.

"Kavan guards? Both your grandfathers are Kavan guards?"

"Yes, they are. Just the regular Kavan guards that roamed around Elletra"

"How about your parents? What happened to them?" Because if the one who made the crime is his grandfather, it's more likely that his parents would take the punishment unless of course if they are dead or someone in his family also made a mistake that lead him to take the punishment.

"They are both dead"

"That's why you were sent here instead of them" it's clear to me now. What a sad story.

"No," he said after hearing my conclusion. What did he mean by that?

"No?"

"Both my parents were sent here. Mom and dad didn't know each other until both their fathers were summoned to the court. When the Sesgados stated that they were guilty, they were sent here. They got close and tried to escape when I was young. They died during the chase and I survived. I was so little, they lifted my punishment" what a great coincidence. They must have felt comfortable with each other's presence since their fathers did the same crime. But if that's what happens, then...

"You were born here?" I asked after thinking about the story.

"Yeah, me and my--"

"You have never been on Elletra?" I did not let him finish. I never realized there were people who haven't even seen the sun.

"How would I when I'm stuck here?" I mean, shouldn't they send him to Elletra since he isn't taking punishment for someone's crime? I wanted to say it but him being here means they did not let him.

"That's so sad" His parents must have been really desperate to get him out of here that's why they tried to escape but unfortunately, they did not make it. It's funny how the law states that Kavan guards aren't allowed to kill anyone, even criminals unless they were chasing them. That's literally a free pass for them.

"Nah! The place is just the same. Both islands are prisons so I'm not a bit interested in it" I had an idea that he thinks like that since he was not fond of the idea of escaping Erebus the first time we talked here at the borders.

"But how about your grandparents? You aren't interested in them? Don't you want to know how they are doing? Or your grandmothers? Not even a bit?" Surely he is curious about them too, I mean they are family after all. I bet his grandfathers didn't even know about his parents' relationship. It would be big news for them.

"All I feel is anger. Everything that has happened to my family is because of them" and that anger is visible in his tone.

"If they didn't do that, your parents wouldn't even meet you probably won't even exist if they didn't do what they did" I tried explaining. He did not answer so I said something that I remembered with my little debate with Gio earlier.

"Maybe they did that because like everybody else, they didn't have a choice"