Presentation and Condemnation

The sounds of children rushing inside their classrooms were heard clearly. It was time to get ready and present my work in front of an audience for the first time. Though I may have experience in writing words, reciting them is an entirely different story. Had it been an audience of adults who could hold their patience, I would have been at ease, but to have myself thrown into a cage of lions that could rip my flesh apart at any second of their choosing? I would have preferred to be accused of theft.

One of the school's teachers came into my room so as to wake me from my daylit nightmare. I was told to be in Reginald's classroom as his substitute and was quickly escorted to his classroom.

Intimidation was all I felt as I gazed through the students' threatening eyes but I began to present myself regardless of the situation. I calmed myself and gave the children my name, "Alastair Duncan", and now I told them what will happen in class.

"For today, as you all may infer, Mr. Reginald will not be lecturing class today." I said to them, but just before they could toss their papers and books in celebration, I was able to shoot down their excitement and hope. "However, your teacher has asked me to keep you all occupied until dismissal time." Surprisingly, all students were capable of understanding my words even though I was a foreigner.

"Are you not from here, Mr. Duncan? You seem to be unfamiliar with your surroundings." A student had risen from her seat to speak.

"Yes, I am from another place called Greenberg. Has this school been offering a course in other languages? You seem to be quite proficient with your words." I complimented the students for their expertise in speaking and another hand from the group raised her hand to speak with me.

"Might I ask, Mr. Duncan, what will we be doing today?" A brave soul asked me as she raised her left hand while she talked.

"For this session, I have prepared a short story that will, hopefully, entertain you all considering I was asked to do this on short notice, I hope you may all keep your patience with me." I replied in the anticipation that they will not make fun of me.

The students looked around at each other and quietly murmured to one another. They then looked back at me in silence, it was most likely to imply that I have their consent to narrate to them. I began telling them the story in a monotone voice and with clear pronunciation. Word for word, I read the story the same way as I had written it. I glanced at my audience every few moments to see if they were attentive and thankfully, they were fully awake.

I finished the story within half an hour and opened the floor for questions. Quite a few hands were raised and because of those hands, my confidence felt as if it was raised as well.

"I see that some of you have your own questions about my story. Let's begin the questions with the girl all the way in the last row." It felt accomplishing to know that there were students who took a liking to my story that I actually felt like I was a teacher myself.

"For what purpose do these two families serve, Mr. Duncan? Surely, there can not be anyone in this world who would act in such an immature manner." The female student spoke politely and even gave her opinion on the matter.

"I am proud of your bravery to speak, young lady, but I must first ask all of you, these two families hold similar traits like us, do they not?" I responded with a question.

"In what matter do they resemble us?" Asked the young girl.

"In the way that they hold true to their own beliefs as if they were the goodness of this world and scorn those who do not agree with them." I answered and the class whispered to each other in disbelief of what I had said.

"It is true that we hold our own beliefs, but I do not think it is true that we would hate each other for those beliefs." A student spoke suddenly from the front row.

"How so? Though you may think so uprightly when was the last time you accepted someone for a belief that may have offended yours?" As I responded, the class seemed to hold a lot more disdain for me.

"Mr. Duncan, I cannot but help but protest against how you would treat us young students in such a terrible manner." Another student stood up and spoke against me but I already knew that they had already proven my point.

"Now, now, children, you mustn't look at me with such anger in your eyes. After all, you have already shown me how the traits of fictitious characters can be seen through the way you speak." I continued to hold my ground and prayed that this session would not stir up controversy within the school.

After a brief moment of silence, it seemed that none of the children prepared their own statement again and in doing so, I decided to continue my argument.

"All I ever made was a small comparison to the way that we think did I not? Yet, it was in your mind's nature to see that comparison as an 'evil' thing requiring correction. Why is it that you must put on such a defensive stance to my small and measly words? Though there may be a million beliefs, be it political or not, that run in this town, all beliefs are similar wherein they are constructed from self-interest in some manner. Just like the two families I have written, their hatred against each other can be traced to the selfish actions of their ancestors. Has the similarity been made known to you now, students? We cannot say that the ideals we hold are the definitive 'good' in this world for the ideals we make are self-serving and flawed to a certain extent." Just as I had finished my words, a student raised up his hand and I allowed him to speak his mind.

"But if our beliefs are flawed, that would mean our sense of morality cannot be trusted. To what foundation of thought must we use as a moral compass then?" The student asked.

"For that question, I can only say that we are to rest our thoughts upon the teachings of the one we know as God. We are all aware that each and every human is equal and because of that equality, we do not have the right to dictate our thoughts and beliefs upon one another and deem them as laws that we must follow. In order for there to be a unitary society of principles, there must be a higher being than the human to dictate those principles to follow. For without the one we come to know of as 'God', then concepts such as murder, rape, and theft can be considered as good things as long as the person deems that these thoughts are convenient to them." I answered to the best of my ability, hoping that my words were heard and understood clearly.

"So you are saying that if God does not exist, it would be justified to take the life of another as long as it would serve the purpose of our own personal beliefs?" Another student spoke suddenly and casually from the class.

"Precisely so, it is why I do believe that there may be a God or a higher being that presumes over our world. For if the concepts of crime were already embedded unto our minds, giving us a sense of what is right or wrong, then surely, there is a deity that has given us this subconscious thinking."

"But would that not mean we are given the right to enforce our own sense of morality upon those we see as evil since we know that it had been created by God?"

"No, for though these thoughts dwell within our minds, we do not live by these thoughts and concepts. The reason is simple being that we often find it hard to observe and keep these God-given statutes so much so that we always deviate from those thoughts. Therefore, no human can truly pass judgment unto others for evil is within our imperfect nature."

"How depressing, if that were to be true, Mr. Duncan, then how are to maintain order and peace in this world?" Another student asked, and opened my eyes to the depressed state of the classroom.

"I cannot answer that question wholeheartedly. Since we cannot pass judgment upon one another, we cannot determine the value of those who have done evil. I can only say that we can continue to try and uphold these virtues imprinted unto our minds until the time of divine judgment comes." I gave what might possibly be the laziest answer I have ever made.

The clock's minute hand was a few minutes close to dismissal and the only thing that had passed within the classroom was the awkward silence surrounding us. However, one last hand rose up from the students to finish our session.

"But what reason could there be for upholding these virtues? Would there even be a reward?" The student was straightforward with his question.

"Perhaps, but that can only be certain if God and Heaven were real. If they did not exist, then we might as well regard everything we have discussed as meaningless talk. For without those things, we have no reason to keep the moral compasses embedded into our minds. If anything, it would be meaningless to pursue things such as nobility or justice within this world. Justice, on the contrary, might as well be regarded as the highest form of evil since it follows the ideals of only one person rather than an ideal that would benefit all." Just as I was speaking, a rush of footsteps was heard outside of the classroom and many a great number of children were seen running about the hallways, "Well then, it seems that today's session is dismissed. I would like to thank you all personally for being so interested and engaging with your topics." I had smiled as I greeted the class farewell. Though the conversations came to be depressing, I believe that those students can always forget about my words and resuscitate their jubilant moods with playing or gossip about how troublesome I must have been.

With one problem finished, another had risen. I had nothing to do since Elizabeth was nowhere to be found. It frightened me slightly knowing that I'll be left all by my lonesome for who knows how long until she would return.

"You look quite miserable, Alastair, almost as if you were a child that lost its mother." Richard had emerged from the compartments of my mind and his voice filled my ears alone rather than the shuffling steps of teachers and students walking beside me.

Be it as I did not want to create a scene in an already bustling environment, I kept my silence and continued to walk around the school in the hopes of finding Elizabeth.

"Now, now, it's quite rude of you to ignore me in that way, Alastair." Richard continued to grab my attention while we walked, "Fine, if you wish to keep your mouth shut then so be it, but what I want to know is something that you cannot deny. The moment you left that classroom, you felt a sense of relief not because you were finally free from those little rascals but because you felt something unlock within you, correct?" At first, his words did not make much sense to me but it was not until I thought back about everything that happened in that classroom as well did I realize what he was talking about.

We arrived at the entrance of the school after his question and I had decided to explore the other curious parts of the energetic and political town known as Festigkeit before I answered Richard.

"Yes, I did feel as if something unlocked within me. It was like a rekindled flame that overcame an all-consuming darkness." I did my best to put the inexplicable feeling into words for Richard as we now walked on a stone road that provided some level of privacy since the people were so occupied with the stores and stands placed everywhere.

"I knew it, for not only were you the one who felt it but it also had an impact on me as well whilst you were speaking with the children." Richard appeared to be very gleeful as he spoke.

"What makes you so interested over a mutual feeling? Is it something that you know well and I do not?" I inquired with confusion written all over my face.

"Are you not aware?" Richard looked surprised and stared at me in disbelief, "For all of the years and winters you have lived through, why is it that you still cannot discern the meanings your aching heart tries to say to you? This burning feeling that wells up inside us is the passion that you have lost long ago." Richard explained to me and somehow, it had offended me slightly.

"All right, what is it that interests you so much about this passion? This passion is mine and mine alone, I do not see why you would be so invested in it." I spoke with a hint of anger in my voice and Richard seemed to have paused a bit in his speech which was a very rare sight to see.

"Yes, it is indeed yours to hold dearly, but are you going to let that flame sit idly to watch it die, or are you not going to translate that passion into this world through the works of your hands?" Richard tried to recollect himself and sounded like he was urging me to write again.

"Perhaps I will let this passion burn brightly into this world but knowing you, I can only imagine the downfall and your laughter of what may come." Though it was tempting to revive my career, I had to put my guard up first to prevent myself from falling into his snare.

"You don't have to think of those measly things at all, Alastair, just as you have said that humans only follow their selfish desires and ideals, you mustn't listen to the voices of others when you chase your own selfish wants." Said Richard with a suspiciously warm smile.

Just as he had finished those words, a loud clang of metals banging together was heard ahead of us. Following the noise and curiosity, it had been known that the cause of it was a bunch of metal tools falling onto the ground along with what appeared to be Elizabeth who also fell upon the floor.

It had already become instinct for me to attend to Elizabeth as quickly as I can to assess her injuries. After brushing bits and pieces of metal off of her, we both stood up immediately, and into my ear, she whispered that she was perfectly fine. As her composed voice comforted my worries slightly, Richard was nowhere to be seen and an angry mob appeared to be in front of us. They were ranting and shouting what might have been terrible things but being that I could not comprehend one word of what was said, I had to keep my composure and hope that it was all a simple misunderstanding that can be easily resolved.

"Might I ask what is going on here?" I whispered to Elizabeth and held her close to me.

"It's just a small controversy between my family and the people of Festigkeit, Alastair, there's nothing to worry about that much." She spoke softly with a smile as she looked into my eyes.

As the furious mob continued to berate and scold Elizabeth, another group of citizens was led by Reginald to confront the hateful mob. The two groups of people who both lived in the same town exchanged scorning remarks with one another until both of them began turning their words into violence. Out of the chaos caused by the people, Reginald snuck himself out of the fighting and was able to find both me and Elizabeth safe.

Reginald spoke to Elizabeth regarding something but since I could not understand his words, I could say at the very least that he sounded apologetic with his pronunciations. Once he had finished speaking, Reginald escorted us outside of the frantic street fight and gave Elizabeth a warning based on the tone of his voice.

"Come now, Alastair, Richard has asked us to leave." Elizabeth said clearly and grabbed me by my hand.

"Leave, as in the context of leaving this town? Already? It's been only one day." I was surprised to know of this sudden piece of information.

"Unfortunately so, but I will explain later when we are both safe out of this place. We must first get our luggage from the hostel, all right?" Elizabeth said and we both ran as fast as we could to the hostel.

Though we had arrived without any trouble, our own luggage had been thrown from our room's window and fell to the ground in front of us. The culprit of this act peeked his head out of the window to survey the fruits of his labor and found us looking frightened by his actions. The man shouted to the top of his lungs saying a certain chant in Festigkeit's tongue but the only word I could discern from it was the name "Lafitte", Elizabeth's last name. We had no moment to hesitate and had no chances to regain what was damaged.

I held Elizabeth by her hand this time and ran to wherever that may be of use to us at Festigkeit's gates. Upon arriving, Elizabeth tugged my sleeve and pointed towards a manned carriage that can take us back to Greenberg at a price. At that very moment, we did not hesitate whether the driver might kick us out immediately because of Elizabeth's identity or not, but it was a risk that we were willing to take.

Elizabeth ran ahead to ask the driver if he could take us to Greenberg and fortunately, the man was kind enough to allow us in. Both Elizabeth and I paid the fare with whatever we could gather from our wallets and sat inside the carriage for a moment of relief. As we felt the carriage begin to move, all of the fears and anxieties cast upon our shoulders were seemingly lifted as we watched the images of Festigkeit's worn houses and people pass us by.

"Would it be okay if I were to ask what was happening back there? What were those people going on about? What is it that they know of you?" Though I had spent my efforts catching my breath, I wasted it all with my barrage of questions towards Elizabeth.

"The reason behind their behavior back then was because my family, The House of Lafitte, held an unfavorable relationship with the town's locals." Elizabeth began to explain, "So much so that even when I try to make amends and make a business proposal that could benefit both parties, they still share a deep hatred against my family's past actions." She spoke with a grave tone as if she was filled with regret.

"I see, surely, they will eventually forget about such things, or even better, they may find the room to grow and to forgive as well." I attempted to comfort Elizabeth but she seemed to be still bothered with what happened.

"To forgive? I like the idea, Alastair, I really do, but I can't say if the virtue runs deeply within the hearts of people." She continued to retain that depressed attitude.

As the silence continued to widen the gap between us, we eventually resorted to staying quiet for almost the entirety of the ride back home.