Zara wiped her eye as the ship sailed away from a harbor she fell in love with only to lose it forever in a day, such an emotionally perfect ending for the first chapter of her life. It was so exciting to be on the ship at last, to feel the
sensations of the fresh ocean air blowing her hair all wild, she felt free, grown up, a new sort of alive. The sparkling
carpet of sunlight dancing on the waves made her smile, never had she imagined such
a magical feeling could arise from leaving all that she knew behind, the world she was about to discover was already beautiful in her mind, beyond
any imagination.
Yet smattered amongst the wonderful feelings, pangs of reality perforated her thoughts. She would lose some of her friends after the Graduation, perhaps
never see them again, it was a heavy reality to face, one she hadn't prepared
for, she had been so consumed with the loss of Culloom. Who would she see again was a tough question, no one was asking, most had their own ideas. Zara figured she would probably never
see Mata again, or Nel, since Nel was being sent away for the Oracle program… No one would ever see
Zoran again.
Even though it was the highest honour to be selected as the
Graduation Offering to the great Creator god Medel, Zara was secretly sad for
Zoran. They had all learned about sacrifice and how important it was in their textbooks and she had yet to
attend a real one, part of her wanted to go and a part of her didn't. Her
thoughts and feelings were suddenly troubled now, she was supposed to look
forward to it, to love and enjoy it, but secretly she was sad and terrified
inside.
She could see Zoran sitting alone on one of the benches on the deck,
fiddling anxiously with his Lei. He looked sad and terrified himself, he
was supposed to be happier than any of them, too. Sacrificial Placement
was the Greatest Honor of all, it meant he was the best gen, Gen of the Year no less,
so why did it feel so sad and terrifying?
Zara closed her eyes and repeated one of Hedena's affirmations with a deep breath. "I will not allow sadness to poison my
thoughts..." As the ocean air filled her lungs, she turned her face into
the wind and visualized the wind blowing her sadness away, as Hedena had taught her to do....
Relief that the story was true; she was finally graduating from
Culloom, and would never have to go back. Culloom had such a prestigious
reputation, everyone said how great it was, she was proud of her education and it was home until today, but
secretly she had longed for the day she could escape the rigid
discipline of the classroom, to walk freely without being followed by prefects, to see the big city and experience life beyond the imagined, textbook versions that she knew.
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