The house was quiet at four in the morning. Yet despite the intense quiet all around him, Jackson's thoughts were extremely loud.
There were so many things he'd heard and seen that night, and he couldn't contain his excitement. His heart was racing to the point he could feel a pulse in his fingers.
Was this really going to be his life from now on? His secret life. It almost made everything better, since now he would always have something to look forward to everyday.
Surely, life in The Interim would be more exciting than here… He was going to learn magic! He couldn't wait to get started; he just wanted the day to pass already.
What day was it anyway? Jackson tried to remember what day of the week he was suspended. That was Wednesday. Which meant today was Friday, and he would be home alone all day again.
He still had a pile of homework to catch up on. He wondered if he should even bother. He found a better life now; he didn't want to keep doing homework and stuff. But maybe it wasn't so simple.
If he was going to have a secret life, then he would need to do better. It was essential to keep on living as if nothing was going on. At least, until he could move out… though that wouldn't be for a long time.
. . .
When the alarm rang, it was no big surprise. Jackson had gotten up several times to check the hour on Mark's tablet, and he knew it was coming.
Not long after that, he heard the shuffles of his mother getting ready for the day; next to follow was Sophie. The women of the house always took a little longer to get ready than the boys, so Mark wouldn't get up for another twenty minutes at least.
Jackson didn't see any point in getting out of bed, either. He had nowhere to be today since he was still grounded, and it would still be a while before breakfast.
Listening to other people getting ready did make the time go by faster, though. Before Jackson knew it, it was time to get up and get ready. Mark just got out of the bathroom and Jackson went in next, he took a quick shower and brushed his teeth, then went back to his room and put on some clothes for the day.
After that, he went to the kitchen and grabbed a couple pieces of toast, slathering each with cream cheese. No one was talkative—just like any other morning.
However, Jackson no longer got the feeling that his mom was angry with him, or at least that her fury had died down a bit. Maybe she was thinking about the conversation yesterday on the phone. Jackson was still nervous about what she was planning for him.
After breakfast, Jackson's family left in a rush, and he found himself alone. He sat down at his desk and looked at the pile of homework he still had to do. He let out a sigh. This wasn't going to be easy.
His mind was already distracted by the other world in his dreams, and now he couldn't stop thinking about what his mother had in mind for him, or what she would do when she found his phone.
It was obvious at this point that he knew where she hid it. Now the thing was broken. She would be extra mad. He tried to shake the thought from his head and get to work.
Jackson opened a literature book and ran through some vocabulary words. He figured he would start with his English class before moving on to Spanish. His Spanish class didn't give out very much homework, but there were still some worksheets that needed to be filled out.
Jackson read through the literature book chapter as fast as he could and found at the end that he didn't retain any of the information. So he flipped back to the beginning of the chapter, frustrated with himself, and started over.
. . .
Hours went by before Jackson had finished all his homework. He had lunch in the middle of the day, doing his homework while he ate. His brain was fried, but his spirits were lifted, knowing he had just accomplished an amazing feat.
Two months' worth of homework done in two days? He hoped all his work would be acceptable.
Just then, Jackson heard the car pull up. He pretended to work even though he was finished. He didn't want his mother accusing him of not working again. A few minutes went by.
Jackson's mother walked into his bedroom and put a pile of papers on the desk. "I stopped by your school to pick up the homework and notes from the days you missed," she said. "Are you done with all the other makeup work yet?"
Jackson looked at the new pile and just about cried. "Yeah, almost," he squeaked.
"Good, because I want to take you somewhere. Put your shoes on."
Jackson looked up at his mother in worry. "What? Where are we going?"
"Put your shoes on, Jackson," she said curtly.
Jackson obeyed, slipping on his sneakers and following his mom out the front door.
She got in the car and turned it on, beckoning for Jackson to join.
Jackson couldn't shake the worry from his mind. He got in the passenger seat and looked at his mom. "Where are we going?" He said innocently.
"It's time you learned to apologize."
Jackson's eyes were wide. "What? No! Don't take me there. I don't wanna see him! I promise I won't start another fight ever again. Please!"
Jackson's mom shook her head and drove in silence, ignoring his pleas.
The trip was short. Too short. They pulled up to Beck's house and parked in the driveway.
Jackson looked at the house with dread, hoping his mother would change her mind. But she did not.
Jackson was dragged up to the front door.
His mom knocked.
A woman answered the door, and immediately grew an angry expression. Beck's mother. "Yes?" She asked rudely.
"I am sincerely sorry for what my son did," Jackson's mom said. "I've brought him here to apologize. He needs to learn the consequences."
Beck's mother popped an eyebrow, but her anger remained. "About time. Beck is in the backyard with his friends. Jackson can go around the side."
Jackson's mom nodded eagerly. "Of course. Go on Jackson. Apologize to your friend." She pushed him away and stayed to apologize to Beck's mom some more.
Jackson reluctantly trudged around the side of the house. A path he knew well. He could hear laughter from the backyard before it came into view.
His friends didn't notice him standing there; they continued kicking a ball around.
Jackson was shaking from embarrassment, not wanting to get their attention.
Suddenly, Sebastian turned around. A Hispanic boy with a ridiculous haircut. The sides of his head were shaved, and he had a mop top.
"Hey, look," he said in a low voice to the others.
Beck had a scowl. He was a pale boy with beady eyes and dirty blond hair. A bruise still marked his cheek. He walked up to Jackson until he was about ten feet away. "What are you doing here?" He said in a mocking tone.
Jackson opened his mouth, but no words came out. He couldn't do it. He couldn't apologize.
Charlie walked up next. A dark-skinned boy with a buzz cut. He was usually the quiet one in the group.
"He probably wants to beg you for forgiveness, " Charlie said.
Beck chuckled. "Oh, yeah? How humble of him."
Jackson's fury rose. "Like that would ever happen," he said. "How's your face, anyway? Does it hurt? Cuz it's killing me."
Beck trudged closer in anger until his face was right next to Jackson. "Nice one. You learn that in elementary school?"
Jackson couldn't take it anymore. He threw out a punch, aimed at Beck's stupid face.
The other boy ducked and tackled. Sebastian and Charlie ran over, grabbing Jackson by the arms and picking him up. They held him tightly so he couldn't fight back.
Beck hit Jackson in the stomach. Then in the chest.
Jackson held his breath for each hit.
Beck swung his arm swiftly toward Jackson's face.
Jackson tried to move, but he couldn't. The punch struck his mouth and stung immediately. He let out a wild scream.
Beck kicked him in the stomach.
Jackson's voice caught.
"What's going on back here?" A woman shouted. Beck's mom.
"Stop! Stop!" Jackson's mom screamed, running toward the group of boys.
Charlie and Sebastian let go of Jackson and backed away.
Jackson landed on his side and groaned.
His mom caressed his cheek and felt his lip. "Oh my gosh, you're bleeding."
"Can we get out of here, mom?" Jackson said in irritation.
"Yes, yes, Jackson. I'm sorry." She hugged him tightly.
◄——————————————————►
Jackson woke up. He opened his eyes and felt his lip. It didn't hurt anymore. That was curious.
His mom had been so worried, she rushed him home and patched him up, apologizing the whole time. Jackson wanted her to feel bad. He tried to tell her he didn't want to see Beck.
Nevermind the fact that he never actually apologized to his old friend.
Jackson had gone to bed in silence that night. But why was he awake now?
As he lay down, he recognized the stone ceiling above with the bits of flickering light across the surface.
He was back in The Interim.
He sat up quickly, grinning ear to ear. He felt his lip again. Completely fine. His body on Earth might be in pain, but in The Interim he was uninjured.
The door across from Jackson was open, and he saw Sairia propping it open with her foot as she talked to a guard outside.
She was speaking in Ihmonic, so Jackson couldn't understand a word. Although, it was interesting to hear the woman he was speaking to yesterday in perfect English communicating with the people in this world.
Sairia noticed Jackson staring at her. "You're a little early," she said. She ended her conversation with the guard and entered the room.
The door closed behind her. "Things are just now getting prepared for the ceremony. But we'll have a meal ready for you in a moment. You still need to eat everyday, obviously."
Jackson felt his stomach growl. "Yeah, that sounds good," he said. "When's the ceremony gonna start?"
"As soon as you finish eating. So, come over here."
He hopped out of the stone box and sat at the table. Just a moment later, the pudgy woman from two nights ago walked in with two plates of food. She set one in front of Jackson and said something in Ihmonic.
There was also a lot of bowing as she was speaking. Jackson waited for her to leave the room before turning to Sairia.
"What did she say?"
"She said, 'It's an honor to serve the Alma Ni, may thy life be long and your fire bright.' She is a lady of Velhal; she lives to serve those who reside here, like the members of The Council and you."
"Velhal?" Jackson asked.
"Sorry, there actually is a translation for that. In English, it would be 'The Heart'. This inner courtyard and its surrounding rooms are in the very center of the palace, which is why it's called The Heart. It's where all the decisions are made on the rulings of the nation.
"This facility can't be maintained without servants, though. There are four watchers and four ladies who serve in The Heart. A permanent position; once a servant enters here, they can never leave. The only ones who can leave are members of The Council—who know the secret."
"Wow," he said. "But can I leave? How long am I gonna stay here before I see the rest of The Interim?"
"I don't know how long The Council intends to keep you here. It'll be at least a few months before you can leave, I imagine."
"Ugh, I was really hoping to see more, you know?"
"I know, kid. Dai Ihmon is a vast land with plenty to discover. But don't worry, it'll all happen soon enough. I'm here to help you prepare for that eventuality."
"When are you going to start teaching me?" Jackson asked, then shoveled in a spoonful of food.
"Tomorrow. We'll try to progress quickly, since it sounds like The Council wants you to have the language down in two months."
"Language?" Jackson asked nervously. "Oh gosh, I can barely keep up in my Spanish class."
"Don't worry too much about that. I think you'll come to find you learn much faster while you're here. I believe it's because of the undeveloped nature of your brain in this new body. There's so much space for new information, it soaks everything up like a sponge. But it'll only last a few months, so we should make the best use of the time."
"Oh, that's weird," He chewed for a few seconds and swallowed. "I mean, cool, but what I'm really excited for is kovak. Can I learn a little today?"
"Kid, I told you. You'll learn that soon enough, but it won't be from me. I know you're excited, but it's going to have to wait."
There was a knock at the door. Sairia got up, as if expecting it, meaning it must've been a signal she agreed upon with the watcher.
"It's time for the ceremony. Are you ready?" Sairia said, sounding a little nervous.
"I guess so," Jackson said, standing up. "You said I don't have to do anything, right? Just sit there?"
"Yes, there will be a chair in the center of the room, so just sit there. After the ceremony, the members of The Council want to meet you.
"They are the rulers of Rey Oben, and when an Alma Ni awakens, they are there to prepare the Alma Ni for a place at the table. A place on The Council. Depending on what area of expertise you show the most promise, they will prepare you for that position or maybe make up an entirely new position on The Council. That's how it went for me, anyway."
"Is that why you were talking about 'leading a nation' yesterday?" Jackson asked.
"Exactly."
"That sounds boring. I'd much rather go on an adventure, or like a quest."
"What are you talking abou—"
Another knock came.
"Oh, we have to go," she said.
Both of them walked out of the room and into the courtyard garden. Sairia was oddly serious while walking through the courtyard and into the connecting corridor. Jackson decided to imitate that seriousness, as he wasn't sure what attitude the ceremony called for.
Was it celebratory? Or sacred? It was hard for him to know; he would just have to see for himself.
They went to a corner of the courtyard where there was a spiral staircase right through a small archway.
They took the stairs up to the second floor and walked down another corridor until they were right outside a heavy door with gold trimmings. It looked like it was right above the room Jackson had come from.
His heart started pumping a little faster; he was nervous. Sairia slowly pulled on the door's latch, and it opened with a creak. She stood, holding the door open for Jackson to enter first. He did.
Inside the circular room, there were unlit torches all around the sides, interchanged with red banners. The banners had the white triangle symbol that he saw everywhere. Three dots connected by three lines and a large dot in the middle.
Other than the decorations on the walls, there were seven chairs set up in a circle with one large chair in the middle. The chair in the middle had more adornments than the others, almost like a throne.
Six of the seats were occupied by people of differing age and size, but only one woman among them.
It was dark in the room, so Jackson couldn't make out anyone's face.
He sat at the chair in the center of the circle, since he figured that was his spot.
Placed in front of the chair, there was a large bowl on a stand holding a clear liquid like water. Behind the chair, there was a smaller bowl on a stand that had some gravel and wood chips.
Sairia took a seat in the only other empty chair in the circle.
A man stood up—he was easily the largest man in the room. He walked behind the chair Jackson was sitting in, so Jackson could no longer see him.
Then there was the roar of a fire, and Jackson's shadow was cast in front of him, overlaid with the shadow of the bowl of water. He felt the heat of fire against his back.
The large man started speaking. Jackson couldn't understand a word, but the man's voice was low and gravelly, exactly as Jackson expected.
The large man spoke for a good ten minutes before taking a seat.
The next to get up was a man that appeared to be drowning in the amount of clothing he wore. He walked behind Jackson as well and started speaking.
This man had a lighter voice, it almost resembled the wind. He spoke for a very long time, and Jackson couldn't understand anything so he let his eyes wander onto the woman seated in front of him.
That woman seemed different from the others for some reason. She wore simpler clothing, but also seemed to hold herself with less vanity, as opposed to the people around her. She never took her eyes off of Jackson and, on multiple instances, seemed to get emotional.
When the man in big robes finally finished his speech, the mysterious woman was the next to get up. Instead of standing behind Jackson, she stood right in front, between him and the bowl of water.
She spoke loudly, as if in some form of praise or prayer. She even looked up and raised her hands several times. The speech wasn't very long.
She spoke for a bit, and then cupped her hands, dipping them into the bowl of water. She wiped her wet fingers over Jackson's eyes; the droplets leaked down his face.
Jackson shivered a little as the water on his face dripped off his chin and down his chest. He wanted to yelp, but he kept his mouth shut—just as Sairia instructed.
The next thing the woman did was put her hands on Jackson's head and say a few more words. She extravagantly removed her hands from his head, then everyone in the room said "Oyo!"
That appeared to mark the close of the ceremony, because each person stood from their chair and filed out of the room. The woman that spoke the words followed behind, but not before speaking to Jackson and gazing affectionately.
Jackson blinked awkwardly and watched the woman leave.
The only other person left in the room was Sairia, and she approached Jackson. "That's the end of the ceremony," she said. "Thank you for remaining silent."
"I almost yelped when the water went down my chest. Couldn't have warned me about that?" Jackson joked.
"Oh come on, kid. It couldn't have been that bad. Anyway, now it's time to meet The Council… and your mother," she said.
"Is that who that was? My mother here in The Interim… She gave birth to this body… That makes a lot more sense. Why didn't you mention she would be here?"
"Well, it wasn't a sure thing. The Council kind of bent the rules letting her into The Heart."
"Oh, okay… Anyway, you want to give me a summary of what they all said? It seemed like they were talking forever."
"Right, well the important part is that you received your name and kovak was bestowed upon you."
"Yes!" Jackson pumped his arm. Then he remembered the first thing Sairia mentioned. "Oh, yeah. What's my name?"
"Oben Taft. Oben being the name of your father and Taft being your own name."
"My father?"
"I'll explain it to you later. Right now we have to go," she said while rushing him to the door.
Sairia held the door for Taft, and he exited. Sairia followed behind.
The people in the previous room now formed a line down the corridor, with their backs to the wall. They all looked at Taft as he exited.
They were all smiling warmly, but it was still a little embarrassing. Taft and Sairia walked down the line, and the first to greet them was a man in a gold-rimmed cloth cap. There were dark orange curls poking out from under the golden rim.
He had freckles and a big smile on his face. He spoke to Taft very quickly, but seemed to have a friendly tone.
"His name is Abshak," Sairia translated. "He is The Head of The Council. He says that it's a pleasure to meet you and to serve alongside you in service of this great nation,"
Sairia changed her tone. "Abshak and I actually have a history. When I awakened, I was trained in his father's house, and when Abshak came of age, we shared a teacher."
"Nice to meet you," Taft said, knowing it wouldn't be understood.
Sairia translated the words to Abshak, and they went to the next person in line. The next was an old man with a long white beard. He had several liver spots on his temples near his eyes. He bowed down, putting more weight on his cane, and said just a few words.
"His name is Olek. He said that it's a pleasure to be of service to the next Alma Ni. Olek, here, was on The Council when I awakened. He's in charge of the treasury and accounting for the nation's spending and taxes. He's been in this position for over 50 years," Sairia said.
They went down to the next person in line. This one was the large man that was the first to give a speech during the ceremony—Taft could tell from his height.
The man had a strong face as well, with a scar that ran down his chin, onto his neck and down his shirt. He bowed deeply and almost knocked heads with Taft. He said very few words.
"This is Mandiff," Sairia explained. "He said the same thing as Olek, that it's a pleasure to be of service. He is the General of The Royal Armies. Mandiff was under me at one point, when I was on The Council. He was one of the Commanders of the army back then. Truly one of the strongest men I know.
"Although, not the best strategist in my opinion," she said that last part under her breath.
The next in line was a wiry man wearing a lot of heavy robes. He must've been the one who gave the second, longer speech during the ceremony.
He had a pair of spectacles and a wide hat. His ears popped out under the weight of that hat, making him look a little silly. He bowed and said something. His message seemed to take a longer amount of time to get through, just like his speech.
"This is Jun. In charge of the nation's research and development. He said the same as the others, just in a fancy and long-winded way. That's pretty typical of him, apparently. I don't know him well enough to tell you any more."
They moved on to the last man in the line. He was shifty, with a thin brown mustache and eyebrows that seemed to have a mind of their own. He moved his left eyebrow up a little before giving a low bow. He said some words as well—just a few.
"This is Sallion, in charge of resource distribution. He said that it's a pleasure to be of service, and he hopes to get to know you during your stay. He's been a member of The Council for only a few months, and I don't know much about him.
"The only thing I can say is that he also owns a very large company that involves a lot of product being moved—which is why The Council chose him for this position."
Taft smiled at each of them down the line. It was too awkward to speak back when he knew that they didn't understand.
The last person left was the woman who performed the last ritual. She was apparently Taft's own mother. The dark brown hair was further evidence of that.
She looked completely elated. Before Taft could even get close, she ran up and hugged him tightly. He didn't know what to do, and just let the hug go on for what seemed like five minutes.
When she finally let go, she put her still-wet hands on his face and spoke some words with tears in her eyes.
Sairia translated. "She says that she's been waiting for this day all her life. She also said that you grew into a handsome young man. Her name is Meshu and, as I said before, she is your mother."
Taft gave a polite chuckle. "Okay," he said. "Thank you."
He didn't know what else to say. This woman may have had a motherly connection to him, but Taft certainly didn't feel any connection to her.
It almost felt like one of those aunts at a family reunion who hadn't visited in years and treated him like she had. It was awkward.
The woman—Meshu—continued to switch between holding Taft's face and hugging him tightly.
Taft was starting to think that maybe she was overdoing it when suddenly, he felt his knees buckle and his head spin.
He was now kneeling on the ground, and the woman eased him onto her lap, cradling the back of his neck with her hand.
Taft could feel the woman's hand soaking the nape of his neck as he gradually lost consciousness.