For a fact, I never got an answer for the exam matter. And I tried to ignore it and live a peaceful life, but my overthinking didn't help much, so yeah. After that day, I had a plainer life than usual. Now that no more language classes were there, my day was empty and boring. I rarely got to see anyone. Only Jolia from time to time, as I still live in the rescue cottage. I get up every day and find food and water at the door of the cottage at the same time every day.
I got up today, preparing myself for the same routine. But to my surprise, there was no food or water; it took me a minute to stand up and process that. It seemed that this day wouldn't be like the others—lucky me. Half a day passed, and no one came. I was hungry and thirsty, so I decided to go out. I would get someone to help me. While leaving the cottage, I saw the Chinese girl from the first day come towards me. She spoke the moment she reached me: "Hunger got you." I stayed silent, as I had no reply, but I cannot describe how happy I was to be able to understand what she said.
My stomach growled with an unexpected intensity, causing me to blush from embarrassment. She smiled and started to speak again: "Follow me; I will show you something. And call me Mei." As she started walking, I followed. We kept walking for 10 minutes before coming to a stop. The building we stood before was of gray stone, unlike most of the buildings here—or, to say, cottages here. She went in, and I followed. Inside, a counter was placed , and a lady stood there. She seemed to be in her early forties, with green eyes and light brown hair. She wore a summer dress. She greeted us with a smile, and Mei leaned on the counter before pointing at me and muttering, "You remember her, Auntie Anna?"
The old woman responded warmly, "I sure do." I stood still at the entrance as both of them stared at me. Mei moved, changing her posture before gently urging me, "Come, Yona, let me introduce you to Auntie Anna. She's the one who manages the food for the camp." I moved toward the counter and bowed lightly to the lady. She giggled in a sweet voice, "Darling, no need for such a formal act."she said, I looked at her and managed a smile before looking at Mei, who spoke again, "Yona, from now on, you should come every day and take your share of food from her." I said a low "okay" before they continued their conversation.
We talked a little bit with Auntie Anna before leaving. And it seemed that we were heading to another place. I was right, as we stopped in front of a small cottage. Mei turned to face me as she said, "This is your home from now on; it's tiny but livable." She said, and I didn't comment on that. As long as I got a roof over my head, I wouldn't complain.
We entered the cottage. It had a simple interior. A bed sat in the middle of the room. Two chairs stood close to the window. There were also two doors on the left side. One room had to be a bathroom—nothing fancy. She sat in a chair by the window. After a moment of silence in the cottage, she broke the calm. "As you know, you can't stay here for free. You need to earn your stay," she said calmly. I stayed quiet. She continued, "Is there anything you're good at?" I took a moment to think. My mind raced until I found an answer: "I'm good at sports." As soon as I said it, she smiled and stood up. "Take a good rest. Tomorrow, we start your training. Hunter," she said before shutting the cottage door behind her.
At dawn, a loud knock woke me. I quickly got up and rushed to the door. There stood Mei, grinning mischievously. Long story short, she dragged me to the edge of the camp, where a tall mountain loomed. Mei moved aside and began searching the mountain wall, as if looking for a handle. After a few minutes, she pressed something, and the wall slid open. I realized it revealed a training ground—or at least, that's what I thought.
The Chinese girl walked inside. I followed; the place was vast and somehow very well built. She stopped walking and looked at me. "Go ahead." I felt confused, so she added, "Show me your physical strength." I stood still for a moment. Then, I began to run back and forth to her, three or four times. "Nice, you're fast," she said. From that moment, hell opened for me. That girl tutored me hard. I spent the day exercising—running, jogging, jumping, and doing push-ups. No rest was allowed, so I felt like I was dying. We only stopped when she decided it, and it was late at night. I returned to my new cottage. I lay down in bed, and darkness quickly enveloped my tired body. I fell asleep.
&&&&&&&&&&&
Three weeks have gone by since training started. Each day, Mei seemed more like a demon than a human. She let me train all day, with a half-hour break to eat. Every day, the training grew tougher. I couldn't complain, though. A part of me insisted I shouldn't say anything because this peaceful life had its price.
My body is stronger now. At first, I was sore, but it's much better now. I feel more composed than ever. Also, Mei taught me some self-defense—at least, that's what she says.
I woke up early, as always, and went to the training cave. Mei was there, arms crossed. I must have been late. She stepped forward and said, "You're late, so double the training." Her smile was eerie. I looked down, accepting my fate. Then I heard Theadus's voice: "What an idiot. You can't even show up on time." I glared at him. Mei sighed as she left but paused at the entrance. "He will be training you today," she said. She left, and I felt like the heavens were against me. I saw him take off his hood, but to my surprise, his head and face were covered. How could he see and walk with his eyes covered? He came closer and said, "We'll learn combat today." He beat me hard. He was strong and clever, always seeing through me. I kept ending up on the ground. By the end of the day, I was hurt—just like I wanted to hurt him a month ago. Karam is a bitch. He put his hood back on and left me there, trying to catch my breath.
After a while, I finally stood up. I went home, sore and cursing that jerk. As my body suffered, I walked toward Auntie Anna. Getting my food and going home was the only thing I had in mind as I walked mindlessly inside the building. Bum, something bumped into me, making my body hurt more than it already did. Looking down, I locked eyes with a girl. She seemed barely ten years old, with blue sky eyes and bronze skin. Looking at me, her eyes wavered with fear. I don't know why, but I found myself kneeling down and petting her brown, yellowish hair—hopelessly calming her. To my surprise, that seemed to work. As she shifted her weight in a shy manner, she spoke: "Sorry." A smile crept to my face as I said, "It's okay, but you should be more careful." As a tiny smile found its way to her lips, she shook her head yes.
In the silence of the moment, another voice was heard. Looking to the side, I saw a kid barely four. Standing there, my eyes found their way to his hand. A bracelet made of white stones sat there. It looked glorious, shining under the sun of the afternoon. The girl moved in a hurry, and I noticed that she had the same bracelet. Holding the hand of the boy, they both left. I stood there in a daze for a moment before going , getting my food and heading to my sweet home—with those kids in mind .
&&&&&&&&&
Mei said I was ready after a month of training. She mentioned a gathering about this matter. That gathering is tonight, as the sun sets and the sky darkens. I left my cottage and went to the gathering building. At the entrance, I saw the hooded boy stand there. As I got to the entrance, he said, "Are you sure you can survive outside? You're a weakling. Can you even stand on your feet for a few minutes?" I smirked and replied, "Well, that's none of your business, is it?" and went inside.
The place was full of people, and again I was in the middle with hundreds of eyes on me. The leader stood mighty in her stance. To my surprise, that jerk sat in front of her but at a lower level—just like Mei and Yohan. Is he truly that important? She raised her hand, and silence filled the room. In a low voice, she said, "Today, we will decide on the supervisor for the new trainee hunter."
This time, I didn't hear Yohan's voice, as it wasn't needed. She talked for a bit about the traineeship. It will last a month. After that, they will meet to decide if I get the job. After a pause, she took a breath and said, "The supervisor will be Theadus." I hated that decision. But for a moment, I wanted to thank her. He kept looking at me with a smug smile. But that smile vanished when she said his name. He was taken aback. Still, a month with him was a terrible idea.