INITIATION ULTIMATE, Chapter 10.2: Narrated by Saphara

Time for the Initiations!!!

Even after midnight and through the next night, the New Years celebrations do not end.  For many, this holiday signifies a time to start over.  For others, it signals the next phase of life, and for some, it's a time of memories.

Drunk old Grandpop, our great grandfather, sits across the table, a beer in his hand.  His scraggly white whiskers curl over his mouth as if he's some kind of fish, and his old eyes look us over.  His hands are spread as he tells us a story, and the candlelight in the dark kitchen highlights each and every one of his wrinkles.  Beside me, 382 is barely hiding her laughs, cheeks puffed up at the scary sight of our grandfather.  I'm having a hard time trying not to laugh, as well.  Poor old Grandpop doesn't notice any of it; mother says he had lost his mind a long time ago.  But we love him!

"And she said, 'Well, Billy!  Put down yer beer!'  When she said that, I thought her brains had gotten loose or something.  Maybe it's another man she's thinkin' of, instead of me!  So I asked 'er, 'Well, darlin' who's Billy?'  And guess what yer great grandmama said?  She said, 'You, my crazy dear!  Shave those whiskers on yer chin!  Yer lookin' like a billy goat!"  He slams his fist on the table, and 382 jumps back, laughing hysterically.

"He does look like a billy goat," she whispers between laughter.  "Look at him!  Look at his goat eyes!"

"Your great grandmama was the craziest thing," Grandpop continues.  "I remember the first time I brought home that wall thingamajig.  The thing where light shoots out of the wall, and you can touch it!  I put it right next to her pots and pans, right where she'd touch it by accident.  An' I gave yer granddad," he gives both 382 and I a long, pointed look, "instructions to put a 3D mouse as the screensaver!  When she touched the thing, she went AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Almost everyone in the room screams as Grandpop shouts at the top of his lungs.  He doesn't scream too loud, he just doesn't have the lung capacity for it.  So it's not the reedy voice that scares most of us, it's Grandpop's eyes.  They bulge out of his head, I swear they do!  382 clings on to me, a fearful grin from cheek to cheek.

As Handal would say, good times.

___

It's after the various celebrations end when my mind returns to the present.  The house has been messed up a little, and with all the noise gone, it now feels quite lonely.  382 has wiped out on the couch, curled up like a little kitten.  The shower runs upstairs as my mom cleans herself.  

Resting my hands on the top of a chair, I accidentally catch sight of the scar on my arm.  It healed fast, incredibly fast and clean, without much pain at all.  Whatever they did during the Naming Ceremony, they must have did with a salve's help.  The neat scar definitely stands out for one that had healed so quickly.  I don't quite like the look of it, but seeing it reassures me that I'm on my way.

After getting ready for bed, I crawl beneath the covers, thoughts swirling in my mind.  How long will I be in the Initiations, sleeping on the ground instead of a bed, and eating berries instead of meals?  How long will I decide to stay in the Initiations, away from my family?  What compelled Talaimai to stay for long instead of coming back home with us?  It must be either really bad or really good over there for him to stay.

The next few days I have with my family seem to go by so slowly, but so fast at the same time.  One morning, 382 wakes me up, telling me it's time to go back to the Honor Court, not for the Naming Ceremony, but for the Initiations.  "It's time to go," she whispers, pulling me by my arm.  "C...C'mon, Saph.  It's time to go."  Her little voice breaks, and I turn on my own light this time, blinking.  

When my eyes clear, I can see 382 in front of me, eyes filled with tears.  Her chin is trembling, as if she'll cry any minute.  An image flashes up from my memory: the day before the Naming Ceremony, when I would be gone for a few hours, if I survived.  Her sad face, me waving through the hovercar door.   Another memory comes to mind, my reaction after Private Bradshaw had given us Handal's news, and we watched him fly away in his hovercar.  I know the feeling quite well.  And in that moment, I can't decide whether the Initiations tears families and friends apart more often, or brings them closer together.

"It's... it's time to go," she repeats.  "Mommy says you have to come."

"We have a second," I whisper.  "Come here."  I open my arms, and she collapses into them.

"I'm going to miss you so much," she mumbles through tears.

"I'll think about you every day," I tell her, and help her to her feet.  "And I'll be so happy when I see you again.  Let's go."

Author's Note

So, does the Initiations tear families or friends apart or bring them closer together?