"What is it, Aletha?" Alai called, sprinting with Dina and Ubel toward the bell. "Found a way to pay off your debt?"
"Yeah!" Aletha grinned, pointing. "Over here, come on!"
Without hesitation, the group closely followed Aletha, weaving through the bustling city streets to the poster's location to see what she had found.
. . .
Alai and Ubel's eyes widened in shock at the number of people gathering around the poster.
"One million Gincoins!?" Alai exclaimed in shock, squinting to see if it was true. "That's plenty to pay for your debt!"
"And look at this!" Aletha pointed to the necklace. "First place gets another prize!"
As the crowd grew, Ubel gave the poster a suspicious look.
"Do you really think you can win? On foot?" Ubel asked, studying the poster. "There are a thousand entrants from all over the world. That's serious competition."
"Yes, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime moment!" Dina added as she heard sentences from others bandied from mouth to mouth. "If Aletha could win this race, perhaps she could… I don't know… do something more with her life; For me and the others. She wouldn't have to go to prison! And even get an extra two hundred thousand Gincoins to spend on herself."
"WE DID IT!" Aletha cheered as she raised her arm high over Alai's head.
"HECK YEAH, we did!" Alai added as she excitedly gave a high five, drawing people's attention.
As Alai and Aletha bounced in excitement, celebrating the possibility of success, Ubel stared intently at the poster before calling their attention with his calm, steady voice.
"The race starts Saturday," Ubel said as Alai and Aletha tried to contain their excitement.
After a thoughtful pause, Ubel slid his hooped earrings aside, fixed his messy silver hair, then drew Aletha, Alai, and Dina out of the crowd to allow others a better view of the poster and to speak to them privately, away from the noise.
"If we have six days, we can train Aletha," Ubel suggested, glancing at Alai and Aletha. Dina ignored him.
"Yeah, we've done endurance training before," Alai said, turning to Aletha. "Remember chasing that animal at Gushy Geysers?"
Holding a brief recollection of that tiring moment, Aletha's giddy attitude began to die back to normal, and she could hear them again.
"Yeah! That was tough, honestly. But if training saves my life and Drimi, I'm in!" Aletha replied, smiling.
A smile beamed on Alai's face.
"That's the spirit!" she said, offering another high-five.
As the group continued discussing their race plans, Aletha spotted some familiar faces approaching and gathering at the large poster.
"Phthonus?" Mumbled Aletha as she saw the young man bend over to the poster. "What is he doing here?"
Driven by curiosity, Aletha stood up, acknowledged Ubel and the others with a nod, and then approached the poster where the young man was.
"Hey! I'm heading to the poster," Aletha called back.
"Alright, we'll be here planning," Dina nodded.
"Go ahead. There's still work to do," Ubel said, grabbing a map. "I'll plan the training route. Do what you need to."
"Have fun!" Alai waved.
* * * * * * *
The sun neared the horizon, casting an amber glow over the skies. The crowd around the poster swelled. Voices echoed about the race. Aletha could not see where they came from, but she heard every discussion clearly.
"A million Gincoins?" said a gray-haired boy. "Big reward for Linuxinia, but Destia's economy is much bigger. What do you think, Jesica? Worth it?"
Standing at the side with her arms perched over her sides, the petite girl with long lavender hair and multi-colored eyes snarled and shook her head.
"No, not at all, my little rabbit." She replied as she hurriedly grabbed the boy's wrist. "That mere fraction of what I have is not even worth fighting over. Leave it to all the other rabbits to fight over for."
"Whatever you say, Jesica," he replied as they left.
As Aletha hurried to catch up, she saw the two riding away in a fancy horse carriage, scratched her head in mild frustration, and spoke to herself.
"Ugh, not her again. Glad she's not in the race," Aletha muttered.
Aletha still disliked the snobby girl, unsurprisingly given her wealth. If only Jesica were nicer, maybe Aletha could have borrowed money, but nothing comes free.
Standing at the roadside, Aletha felt uneasy seeing the city thriving as if a significant event had passed.
Suddenly, a dark recollection dawned on her.
Visions of a giant vortex tearing through Linuxinia City filled her mind. People watched in horror as leaders fled. A tsunami of beasts attacked, wreaking havoc. Thunder and lightning completed the disaster.
And yet, realizing that she presently stood at the center of where the events took place, she fell into utter disbelief, knowing now not a scratch was left on the city. It was as if the sabotage of The Ceremony were a nightmare —a dark, surreal event.
With memories fading from her mind, Aletha rushed up to random strangers, urgently asking them if they'd seen the object she lost.
"Hey. Can you be so kind as to answer my question for me?"
Aletha approached an old lady with a wrinkled forehead and a nearly bald head. She wore a floral pattern on her clothes and had squinted eyes.
"Why, of course, dear." The lady replied. "Anything for the youth of today."
As she kept an unsure grin, Aletha asked the old woman immediately.
"Do you remember seeing a giant tornado and monsters invading the place?"
The old lady gave her a suspicious squint in reaction.
"What?! Can you say that louder, please?"
Aletha took a deep, impatient sigh and raised her voice.
"DO YOU remember seeing a vortex?"
"No," the lady said, confused. "Nothing like that. You young adults have wild imaginations. If only I still did."
Aletha jerked her head back in shock.
"What?" (Never mind. I shouldn't have even tried to ask.)
For several minutes, Aletha moved from person to person, persistently repeating the question she had asked earlier. Many did not respond or were distracted, paying more attention to her appearance than to what she asked.
Undeterred, she tried joining another group of people to find someone who would listen to her.
After questioning many people of all ages, Aletha concluded.
"So, it DID happen. But...the city healed itself, like it's alive. Is this magic?" she muttered, closing her eyes and sighing.
Standing with her feet rooted to the ground, in speculation, suddenly word came from afar that something horrible had brewed in Clearstar City. A blonde-haired man, drenched in sweat, wearing a dark coat and scars, raised his arm and alerted the people with a sharp tone.
"The Queen of Linuxinia." He paused and took short breaths, his fists trembling in fear. "In Clearstar, the Queen of Linuxina claimed that potency doesn't belong to triers! All magic in Linuxinia is gone except hers! The Sealed Beatific is doomed! Weakness is consuming all in this nation!"
"WHAT?!" Everyone said aloud.
After hearing that warning, people around the mob started to panic and shuffle, throwing their arms in the air.
"What? My magic—it's not working!" the man in the wizard cap yelled.
Then, another person shouted with an even more desperate scream.
"Why can't I conjure up my powers?!"
Curious blabbering transformed into panicked yells of horror as people continuously ran around, trying to summon their magic.
"No! Not my fire element!"
"Nothing's working!"
"No. No, this can't be true. It took me years to perfect my magic!"
With each cry from the people, a strand of dark mist seeped through the ground and rose like steam. Aletha flinched at the noises, and her heart sank upon the news.
(Wait… The Queen of Linuxinia stole all the magic?) She thought as she hurriedly raced to Alai and the others with panted breaths. (W… What could she possibly mean by potency not belonging to the triers?)
While thoughts flooded her mind, Aletha heard Alai's words trail off, tinged with disappointment.
"I guess... I'll have to tell my friends to cancel the training for Aletha... I knew something would go wrong. I was so focused on lesson one, now—I'm somewhere else. I can't use magic anymore," Alai mumbled, fists clenched as footsteps approached.
"ALAI!" Aletha gasped, her breath heavy, her eyes damp and overly bright. Alai flinched at her shout before turning over and locking her attention on Aletha.
"Yes?" She said, while masking her disappointment with a false smile.
Immediately, Aletha looked around and behind before informing Alai and the others about what was shared not too long ago.
"I… I heard something bad happened in Clearstar, and now everyone's magic doesn't work!" She informed Alai while holding onto her knees. "They said the Sealed Beatific is in danger, and Weakness is spreading into the nation!"
"Oh…?" Alai said with a half-wide glare in her shallow crimson eyes. "...so it wasn't just me who lost my magic."
Aletha hastily nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. It seems everyone in the nation is affected."
"And what do you want us to do about it?" Ubel harshly commented as he crossed his arms, squinting at Aletha. "If we don't have magic, what makes you think WE can fix the problem?"
With his reply, there was a long silence from Aletha. Ubel stepped in and continued.
"I say we should focus only on our current situation," He said as Dina and Alai nodded in understanding. "...Paying your debt. Perhaps after we have trained, and if you win the race —that is, if you win. Then I suppose we can try and find a way and figure out what happened to The Sealed Beatific and The Queen of Linuxinia."
A pause from Aletha slipped again after his sentence.
Now that she thought about it, it seemed selfish of her to think about another problem instead of focusing on the current situation her friends were trying to help her with. Dina, Ubel, and Alai had done so much for Aletha, saving her and escorting her to Linuxinia Hospital.
They didn't HAVE to do this for her.
They did this of their own choice.
So when she immediately switched her worries to another problem, she thought it was a slap in the face for her friends to do it.
After a few seconds, Aletha's panic subsided, and her emotions returned to normal. She took a deep breath for four seconds and exhaled for another four, calming her mind and relieving her of stress, much like pulling a splinter from her skin.
With the others staring at her, waiting for an answer, Aletha squeezed her eyes shut and said humbly.
"I agree." She said calmly. "It's… selfish of me to think of another problem instead of focusing on the one now. Please, forgive me."
While all their eyes were anchored at Aletha's desperate bow, Alai shook her head and lightly chuckled. She answered Aletha with a roll of her eyes.
"Oh, come on now. Of course, we forgive you, Aletha!" She said as her ponytail flew in the wind. "If it weren't for your strength, we would have never survived that encounter with the Wrailezan Soldiers!"
"Indeed." Said Ubel with a relieving gesture. "We only want you to succeed as you want us to succeed. As long as we are with you, then there's no doubt that your conflicts will be resolved."
Tapping Aletha's loose fist against her heart, she gave a grateful grin and shook Ubel's hand. She strengthened her grip tightly and nodded, replying to Ubel as her eyes looked at Alai and the others.
"Okay. As long as we are all together, then nothing is impossible."
"There you go!" Dina said as she rubbed her hand against Aletha's head. "Believe in us! Well…. Actually…. believe in the girl and the young man more. I might have to go to Obrus after this."
Upon that sudden revelation from Dina, Ubel, Alai, and Aletha were shocked into silence.
"Huh? You're leaving? Already?!" Aletha stammered, confused.
"Yes. Got to go back home and accompany the settlers in my village and find my big bird." Dina said, fidgeting with her long gray hair. "But don't worry! We'll meet again someday! If you visit my village in Obrus, I'll be sure to give you and your other friends a welcome!"
"Strange. We have just met… but…" Ubel said as he closed his eyes, turning his head away from Dina. "If it is 'home' you want, go right ahead. No one is stopping you."
"It was nice to meet you!" Alai said as she shook Dina's hand, smiling despite all the rude things the crazy gray-haired girl did to her.
"It was nice to meet you as well, princess." She replied as she parted from her grasp.
As Aletha, Alai, and Ubel watched, Dina slowly parted from the border of Linuxinia City. She quickly waved and yelled to Aletha as the commotion around the poster ceased.
"We had a good run, Aletha! If you want to visit, I live in Spreljnkin Jungle in the Nation of Obrus. You will know it when you see the village! Alright!?"
Laying her hand against her heart, Aletha nodded slowly and gave a thumbs-up to Dina.
"Okay! See you soon!"
Just before her silhouette vanished into the distant green mountains, she was seen running back to the group, tears streaming down her face. Aletha was caught in Dina's tight embrace, nearly falling over from the force of the impact.
As Aletha closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Dina's, remembering every mischievous act she did in Gushy Geysers, Aletha heard the girl whisper to her.
"Thank you. Thank you so much for all of this." She said as she squeezed Aletha's body. "Before I met you, my big bird was the only friend I had. I couldn't make friends because… I was too afraid. I never learned to speak to people until I was slightly older."
Sniffling, Dina lessened her grip on Aletha and continued as she wiped a tear from her face.
"I'm sorry again for crushing you with my big bird when you were standing in that pond. I should have known better."
"It's okay," Aletha said calmly and gently. "As long as you're sorry, I'm okay. Thank you so much for making my life a lot more entertaining."
After hearing Aletha, Dina took one last second for her embrace before she parted away from them for good. But just before she left, she waved at them one last time, screaming at the top of her lungs from the distant hill.
"BYE!"
Waving back, Ubel, Aletha, and Alai yelled back at Dina in unison.
"Bye!"
And so, those who were left for Aletha were Alai and Ubel.
When Dina said her last goodbyes, the three left Linuxinia City, hiking along paths into the wilderness as they finally began their short journey to pay off Aletha's excessive debt.
With each step, Aletha felt a mix of relief and anticipation. The vast wilderness seemed to echo her thoughts, whispering possibilities and uncertainties.
An idea took root in her mind, teasing the edges of awareness.
What was beyond this debt, she wondered, beyond the shadow of her past choices? These thoughts swirled inside her as they moved farther into the wild.
Her determination solidified; she knew she must find a way to adapt in this uncertain world. And perhaps, somewhere on the horizon, lay a new beginning.