The place: Karilub Training Center.
The date: June 12, year twenty-oh-seven.
The scene: Fifteen days. Two young warriors. A fortnight of intensive training. These two women have been spending days and nights in the enclosed chamber, training in the skills of swordfighting, shooting, and of course the martial arts. And now, the training was complete. It was almost time to release the two into the “real world”.
***
“Marishin, is everything okay…?”
“Yes, everything is perfectly fine, Li-anshe.”
Li-anshe paused. Everything did not seem to be perfectly fine. Marishin, who was usually so put together, was trembling. Her countenance revealed a look of fear. Her usually focused brown eyes were glazed over, wide, and filled with dread. The two had spent days training at the center, and now was the time to go home. It should have been a happy occassion. But here was Marishin, trembling with fear.
This is not right. Personality-wise Li-anshe was the melancholic and the glazed eyes were her trademark. Marishin was too much of a choleric to have the time for daydreaming… or fear.
“Marishin…”
“Don’t touch me.”
Li-anshe bit her lip. Marishin had been pretty hard to manage for the past year. She had the slight tendency to be dominating. Li-anshe could see it in Marishin’s academics. When things weren’t going well in a group, Marishin would always breathe out an exasperated sigh and say, “Okay, let’s get this done.” Often, she wouldn’t rest unless she got her way. It was a good thing that Li-anshe was always there to mellow things out when Marishin got too uptight. Having Li-anshe around always quieted and calmed Marishin down.
Li-anshe decided to try again. She grabbed Marishin’s shoulder and whirled her around to face her.
“Marishin, you have to tell me what’s wrong.” Marishin suddenly jerked her head away and stared at the ground, unable to look at her friend.
“What is it?”
“I’m scared.”
“You’re scared? Of what?”
“Look.”
Li-anshe gazed at a dark hole in front of them that was slowly increasing in circumference. It was a stark contrast to the white walls of the Karilub center.
“What is it?”
Marishin continued to stare at the ground. “It’s our passage way to our homeland.”
“Is that all it is…? Then why are you so scared…?”
Marishin lifted her eyes and looked at her friend in the eye. “Can’t you see? Training in this center has allowed us to feel as if only a short time has gone by… but the truth is… when we go back to the real world… well, before we even go back we have to pass through that hole and it leads to nothing but darkness. We have to go through a long long looong tunnel first before we could even reach home. And what do you suppose our home is like now…? Exactly as we left it? No. A lot of changes are taking place, even as we speak.”
Li-anshe suddenly couldn’t find the words to say. She understood Marishin’s fear. She’d been there. She knew how awful the feeling was of not knowing. And right now, she knew that the monster that Marishin was facing was that of uncertainty. Marishin always needed to be in control and her plans always had to be followed. But uncertainty would not guarantee that Marishin would get what she wanted.
“Marishin, I know how you feel. But cheer up. We can do this. Kami-sama will always be with us, no matter what. And as for that hole… You know that Kami-sama is our light, right?”
“I guess…”
“So let’s go. Let’s go back and face the real world.”
Marishin closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She willed all the images in her head concerning “what ifs” and “this could happen” to disappear. Slowly, she opened her eyes.
“Okay. Let’s go.”
For those who can’t get the drama that has just unfolded… well, it’s just a scene of my two personalities battling it out… choleric versus melancholic… It’s kind of funny seeing my choleric side having a moment of her own…
Anyway… Waa… I’m going back to elbi! And I have no idea what to expect. I guess I’ll just have to take it from Li-anshe. “The Lord is my Rock and my Salvation. I WILL NOT be afraid.”
scribbles and stories 