INTERLUDE: “EARTH STUDENT”
2069 Words
[SULIANA]
Fifteen years ago…
“I am hungry. Is it time to go home?”
Suliana’s teacher or a miram raised an eyebrow upon hearing what she said. “We are here for just twenty minutes and you want to rest already?”
“I’m hungry.”
Miram Julie pushed her eyeglasses to her nose then sighed. “Just try it one more time, okay? One more time.”
“Okay,” Suliana said, then held her breath. She focused on her surroundings. They were on a field. This was where students like her practice their magic. She belonged to the earth faction. She’s a student of magic who can absorb power from anything that sprouts from the earth--whether a tree, a flower, or grass. It was a good thing she doesn’t belong to the water faction or she’ll be practicing magic on a swamp.
She clenched her fist and breathed, placed her hand on the trunk of a big tree that shielded her and Miram Julie with its arms from the sun. She could feel its power beneath her hand, like a beat of a heart. She breathed deeply and then leafy vines began poking out of the short sleeve of her dress, slithering like a snake, covering her arms.
Soon the vines looked as if they were moving on their own and Suliana had to direct them to a rat placed inside a high glass container beside Miram Julie. The vines coming out of her arms crawled down the container and as soon as the rat looked up she imagined seizing the rat which the vines did for her, wrapping themselves on the small furry body of the vermin.
Suliana looked at the rat and she saw fear in its beady eyes. Its tail wagging in panic.
“Finish it,” Miram Julie said.
Suliana swallowed. “But he’s cute,” she said.
The rat was squeaking in fear.
“It’s not cute,” said Miram Julie. “Dogs are cute. Rats, they carry diseases.”
“I know. But… What about his family?” Suliana said. “His amir must be worried sick.”
Miram Julie put her hand on her forehead. “You don’t have to think of its family, Suliana. You just have to--”
Before her miram can finish that sentence, she let go of the rat, the vines quickly crawling back to her sleeves with a sound of ruffled leaves. The rat just stood there inside the cage, shivering.
“He’s traumatized,” said Suliana. “Look how helpless and cute he is.”
“Rats caused a pandemic that killed five million people a thousand years ago. Trust me, they are not cute,” said Miram Julie.
Perhaps she was right.
“Okay,” she said brightly. She hated hearing about depressing topics such as famine and poverty. “Can I eat now?”
Miram Julie sat on the chair beside the cage. She motioned her to sit on the grassy ground. Her face was devoid of emotion. Okay, time for her long boring sermons.
“You’re one of the most interesting students in the earth faction, Suliana. Do you know that?”
“Why? My classmate Jesnah eats her boogers. I think she’s more interesting than me.”
“That’s different, Suliana. That’s…” Miram Julie shook her head. “Different. Can you just listen to me?”
“Sorry, miram.”
Her miram ignored her and continued. “You see, students of earth faction can only sprout vines from their arms and hands once they reached baitang twelve.” She meant grade twelve. “You… you’re just in the ninth baitang, and you can do wonders. It’s as if the earth nature gods are fond of you.”
“Okay,” she answered so Miram Julie would think she was listening. But half of her mind wondered what food his father would cook and set on the table when she gets home.
“Suliana, here’s another astonishing thing. You can disarm people, hypnotize them, make them say yes to your whims. Remember that incident? The one where you asked Miram Ashmad to let you go home early?”
“Yes I do,” she said cause she did.
She was in the eighth baitang then. The students of the earth faction were on a flower farm. Miram Ashmad was teaching them how to absorb the scent of flowers so they’d smell good. She didn’t want to smell so sickly sweet so she didn’t try to absorb the power of flowers and just looked at them with appreciation. Miram Ashmad scolded her, even made fun of her with his silly jokes. That annoyed her--infuriated her that she asked him to let her go home. Miram Ashmad stared at her and said yes.
“You used the power of the flowers on Miram Ashmad, Suliana. With the power of flowers, you can captivate people. When you are young, the best you can do is absorb their scents. But when you become so powerful, you can use the power of flowers to entrance them, to hypnotize them, to make them say whatever you want to say.”
“You mean I am an advanced student?” she asked.
“What I mean is--”
“Can I graduate now?”
“What I mean is you are peculiar, Suliana.”
Suliana wanted to snort. Her teacher was talking to her as if she was the heroine of all those epic tales that were told to them by their mirams. There was always a peculiar one, a not like all the other girls or boys, a chosen one. She wasn’t like that. She didn’t want to be like that.
“But that’s not even the most peculiar thing, Suliana. That’s not even the most interesting fact about you. You see Suliana when you do your magic, I can feel the change in the wind. It’s colder, or denser. And that is peculiar because you have no control over the wind, Suliana. You’re not from the sky faction--”
The low sound of the bell was heard. The class ended. Suliana stood from the grassy ground. “Miram, I’m sorry I have to go home now. I’m hungry.”
Miram Julie looked as if she wanted to say more but she nodded. She followed her and the other students from the earth faction as they went back to the classroom. Suliana grabbed her bag made of sheep wool and as she walked towards the door Miram Julie grabbed her arm.
She stopped and looked at Miram Julie. She saw fear in her eyes that it stunned her, that the noises of her classmate dissolved to a buzz to her ears.
“Later this week, the new king will be announced,” Miram Julie said. “And I have a bad feeling about it, Suliana. Dark times are coming. I dream of that every night. Dark times are coming.”
Suliana pulled her hand away from her. She blinked. She didn’t understand what she was saying but the fear in her eyes was enough to make her heart beat fast.
“We need people like you, Suliana. You need to be trained. Cause we might need you... This new king, he’s evil, Suliana. He’s evil.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, then shook her head. Before her miram could speak again, she apologized and stormed out of the room.
***
Of course like any other young people, what Suliana couldn’t make sense of, she instantly forgets. She went home, decided to walk on the shortcut in the woods. She tried to keep her miram out of her mind and just admired the large trees and inhaled their earthy scent.
Until someone stopped her in her tracks. Jessnah, her classmate. She came out behind a huge arinillo tree. She was with her friend, Ashiyah, who was from the sky faction. Sky students usually practice or study magic while in a high place, like the roof. They can control the wind and the weather.
“Why fancy to see you here, you brown-nosing brat,” said Jessnah.
“Oh, c’mon,” Suliana said, then rolled her eyes. She knew Jessnah was aware she liked this shortcut which means this was planned.
And bullies? It’s as cliche as those stories told to them by their mirams.
“I heard you’re the one spreading rumors about me eating…” Jessnah couldn’t even finish the sentence.
“Well, you do eat your…” Suliana also couldn’t finish the sentence now. “So why so mad?”
Jessnah’s face turned red. “It’s not just about that. You, who is so lazy to study the books can perform magic that can only be done by students in baitang twelve? You are a cheater.”
“Right, a cheater,” agreed Ashiyah.
“I’m not a cheater.”
“Then how come you can do advance magic? Your akir can’t teach you advanced magic. Men have no ability to absorb magic. Who is teaching you advanced magic, cheater? Who’s teaching you huh?”
“Probably your mom,” Suliana said with a smirk. “While she’s teaching you to eat boogers, she’s teaching me advanced magic.”
Jessnah’s face contorted with anger. She pushed Suliana against a tree then put both of her hands on her sides like she’s caging her. Jessnah’s eyes were red and huge with hatred. She was panting, her garbage-smelling breath fanning on her face.
“What did you say?” Jessnah screamed at her face, her spit flying off her mouth and landed on her cheek. “Say it again. Say it again so I can make you bleed, say it again you brat.”
Ashiyah looked alarmed. She held her Jessnah’s arm. “Jessnah, calm down--”
“Give me the dagger,” Jessnah said.
“No. No, Jessnah.”
“Give me the dagger, Ashiyah!”
“You said we’re just going to scare her. You can’t hold a dagger when you’re that angry. Jessnah, let’s just leave. This no longer feels like a practical joke--”
“Cause it never was, you fool,” Jessnah said. Suliana noticed as Jessnah gritted her teeth. She could hear the sounds of her teeth clashing. Jessnah kept looking at her with fury that she was stunned when she grinned.
What a sick, twisted f**k.
“Give me the dagger,” Jessnah said, grinning now.
Suliana looked around, and only saw trees. She regretted the decision of taking the shortcut. The back of her dress was damp now with cold sweat.
“I can carve, you know. I look at a block of wood and can carve art out of it,” said Jessnah. “Now I’d do the same with your face. Give me the dagger Ashiyah. Give it to me now.”
Ashiyah was pale and obviously scared. Suliana saw Ashiyah pull a dagger out of her sheep wool bag, the blade was long and shiny and sharp.
“I’ll make you a living art,” Jessnah said and before she can even reach for the dagger on Ashiya’s hands, a rock suddenly hit her on the side of the face. She gasped and then another huge rock hit her hand. Ashiyah dropped the dagger on the ground. And before Suliana can even react, more rocks began to hit Jessnah and Ashiyah.
As she looked in the direction of where the rocks are coming from, she saw two teenagers sitting on a thick branch of an arinillo tree. They both have slingshots and they’re the ones attacking Jessnah.
It was the day Suliana met Camia and Gon.
- Writer
