Final Story - 012

"Great. I see you've made your mind up, Chosen Child.

Now, I know I said that I would answer all your questions, but I have a little story that I would like to tell you first. Do you mind? I think it might help you understand what all of this is about.

I came to this place not that long after you first did. About a month after you, Chosen Child. In fact, that day we first met was my second day in this city. I was sent to this place by the leadership of the Mother's Order. I don't imagine that your little girlfriend knows much about them, does she Chosen Child?

Yes, even Ray Starcrawler knew very little about them, beyond the fact they existed. The inner circle is made up of a small group of high-ranking members from our various sub-organisations. See, Chosen Child, the Mother's Order has a lot more influence than you realise. We run charity groups, work with environmental warriors and conservation groups, fund political parties, to name just a few.

Yes, I know. It seems absurd that such a group could exist outside the public eye for so long, true. But the same could've been said of your father until recently, isn't it so? He brought together a coalition of transnational corporations, each far more powerful than the Order, without the majority of the public taking notice. And even those that did, had no idea how he planned to wield such power. Even the Mother's Prophet didn't.

Yes, the Mother's Prophet, Chosen Child. She is the leader of the Order. She's the one who sent me here. It is because of her that I'm here. That all of this happened. Though, at the same time it's also because of you, Chosen Child. But I'll explain it all in due time. I guess I should tell you what I was thinking when we first met. It's more important than you seem to think, Chosen Child.

"You see, I need to gain a sense of my surroundings to help me do my job properly."

"And what exactly is your job, Miss Duskdancer?"

"I'm waiting for the Mother to give me direction, Ray."

"Huh…"

He doesn't seem entirely convinced by my answer. Just how weak is the Order here? Can this man really be one of the Mother's faithful children? And being the leader of the chapter… you really would think that he would have more faith in the Mother's great work.

The two of us were walking around, aimlessly through the streets.

"Could you tell me about our surroundings, Ray? Where in the city are we?"

"This is the eastern part of the city," Ray responded, "it's one of the poorer, more impoverished parts of the city; though I don't know if that applies anymore, as the richer suburbs have been abandoned."

"Why are they abandoned?"

"Economic bust. Lack of opportunity in the workplace and education. The city never recovered from the earthquake."

"Hmm… did you live here before the earthquake, Ray?"

"Yes, I was born here."

"Perfect. Can you think of any place that you would call the heart of the city? Maybe like a monument or a structure of some kind?"

"That would have to be the Cathedral," Ray replied with only a slight pause, "though, it was destroyed in the earthquakes."

"So, it doesn't exist anymore?"

"No, it's still there. Just in ruins."

"In ruins?" I asked quizzically, "why was it never knocked down?"

"The Church protested. They wanted to rebuild it, but never got the funding to do so. And so, it's still there to this day."

"Could you take me there?"

Ray sighed, "okay, let's go back and get the car."

"No, we walk."

"Sorry?"

"We're going to walk all the way there."

"But it's right in the centre of town!"

"So? How far is that?"

"Probably close to an hour if we walk the whole way."

"That's fine. If we're to the east… then we keep going straight ahead, right Ray?"

I look back at him. His face looks dumb. He's gawking in disbelief at what he's hearing.

"You're going to walk that whole way barefoot? For what reason?"

"I always go barefoot. And I told you already, Ray. I need to get a feel for my surroundings. For the city."

He sighed, "fine. Yes, straight ahead."

With Ray convinced, the two of us continue to walk straight forward, towards this cathedral, that he believes is the spiritual centre of the city.

We're walking along a relatively busy street. The traffic is mild, but for an underpopulated city like this, it's probably considered busy.

As we walk along, a bus passes by. It comes to my attention for two reasons. Firstly, because it seems like it's way too close to the side of the street. Or rather, it's slowing down. It must be stopping here. Indeed, looking up just ahead there's a bus stop.

What really catches my eye though, is something surprising. There's a boy that catches my eye. A teenager, probably around sixteen by the looks of him. He's quite scrawny looking – very skinny. Certainly not very healthy. And yet… he has this aura about him. An aura of authority and fire. If I had to give it a colour, I would say it's golden. Like a bright hungry fire, or a flurry of leaves in fall. I can't say that I've ever seen anything like it before.

Not anyone has an aura. For instance, Ray here has no such aura. And even among those with an aura, few have such a strong aura that it's noticeable when they are sitting down on a bus. It might just be…

The bus takes a long time at the stop. There weren't more than a dozen passengers, so it must be quite old. As we go past, I take another look. That boy isn't in his seat anymore. I can tell where he is, making his way through the passengers standing in the aisle towards the front.

Yes, I'm almost certain of it now. This is the work of the Mother. That aura… it must be. The Chosen Child.

"Miss Duskdancer?" Ray stared at me in confusion.

I put my finger to my lips to silence. Whatever Ray has to say, or whatever he's done that meant I had to be sent here, it can't compare to this.

"You, Chosen Child of Our Mother."

Upon hearing my voice, the boy turned to look at me. He stared at me with a look of bewilderment. Well, I can't exactly blame him for that. This child probably doesn't have any clue what I'm saying to him. And also, I'm balancing on the bench at the bus stop.

It came to me all of a sudden. It was something that a character from a television show I watched a long time ago did. I remember thinking that it looked cool, but now I just feel kind of stupid.

Anyway, I feel like I've been waiting for him to respond long enough.

I repeat my words to him, "you, Chosen Child of Our Mother."

"Are you talking to me?" he asked.

"Yes, who else could I be referring to, Chosen Child?"