Sinner

- Alright children, gather in the middle of the playground!!! It's time for your lessons!!!

All the children, ranging from ages between 5 and 11 did as they were told. A black haired child, the one furthest away from everyone who was initially squatting hesitated at first but eventually stood up and ran towards the crowd with the eyes of a child. Eyes that were full of innocence and boundless curiosity.

- Alright, now form a line in front of your homeroom teacher and go into your classes. With order ok? - called out a young woman with a nun's clothes, her smile like a flower in full bloom.

- Yes Sister Maria!! - answered the children in a sonorous mix of voices.

The majority of the children then formed different lines according to their ages and went to their respective classes.

The only ones left behind were the ones aged 7, the children that recently got their first taste of making contact with the spirits of Gaia.

7 was the age at which a person's soul potential was enough to sustain a spirit contract. For some people, it was even less than that. But there was never a case of it happening after the 7th birthday. Once someone was deemed incapable of entering in contact with a spirit of some sort at the ritual performed after someone's 7th birthday, then that was it.

In the region of Gand, someone's status depended on one's contracted spirit, the more powerful it was and the more spirits willing to form a contract with you the more it meant that you were favoured by Gaia, the goddess of spirits. This placed a high emphasis on someone's ritual after the 7th birthday as it not only improved or decrease you social standing but also showed people a glimpse of your future achievements.

Now, you might begin to realise the importance of making contact at the ritual, for those who didn't feel any connection to the spiritual world, were considered as defects and even sinners to Gaia; those who couldn't make contact were believed to have angered Gaia and as such they were considered ominous and ostracised (mostly in Gand).

For those who were born into nobility, the situation was not as bad for they could receive familial support if their family were loving; the situation was similar for the common folk.

Now, what would happen if said child was an orphan?

- Today, we are going to practice communicating with your spirit -said the nun called Maria- You will form pairs and will try to make your contracted spirit do something to your partner. We will do it as a game!!! Those who make their spirit do 3 things to their partner first wins! Now, form your pairs.

The pairs rapidly assembled. Everyone knew who they were going to pair with as they were all orphans that lived with one another since they were brought to the Saint Chapel of Gaia.

Maria was happy after seeing the speed at which the pairs were formed for this showed the children's interest in what they were about to do.

She looked round and round and all she saw were children competing with one another with eagerness and competitiveness in their eyes.

"Such innocence.... what a lovely sight" - she thought.

It was at this moment that she felt at something tugging at her skirt from below. When she looked down, she saw a black haired child with his right index finger in his mouth trying to get her attention by tugging on her skirt with his right hand.

Soon, a wave of disgust overcame Maria. It wasn't the child's looks. He looked pretty average. The child had black hair and was as innocent looking as the other children. What disgusted Maria was the child's identity. He was one of those known as Sinners. He was the only one at the ritual that did not make contact with a spirit.

The class had an odd number of people so it was normal for at least one of the children to be left alone. In this case, it was this black haired child's turn only that this case was different. Normally, between children who had lived together since infancy, their bond was so strong that they would prefer to disobey the adult's orders and do a group of 3. The signs of the child being casted out by the other children was beginning to show. This was mostly due to the adults in the orphanage casting disgusted looks at said child. This was having an influence on the children No child wanted to get into their carers bad side. This created the situation in front of Maria.

Maria could have easily solved the situation but she preferred not to. She also saw the child as bothersome. She would have ignored him or kicked him out of her way if she was allowed to but the higher ups told the staff in the orphanage again and again to treat the child in front of her with caution and care; to always communicate anything strange the child did. Maria did not know what was so special about a orphan but orders were orders and she was paid to accomplish them.

As such Maria swallowed her disgust and faced the child by squatting down to the child's height.

- Yes Logan? - asked her with the best smile she could form.

- Sister? I do not have a partner - said Logan whilst stuttering in his words- What am I going to do now?

"Figure it out for yourself you prick" - thought Maria but she kept that for herself.

- Do not worry Logan - said Maria in the most gentle voice she could muster at the moment- Now that you've done the ritual, all you need to do is to form a contract with a spirit. For that, you must feel them around you first. Entice them on making a contract with you.

That was a lie for everyone knew that it was hopeless if there was no first contact or feeling.

- I'm gonna show you a way to connect with the spirits more efficiently. Close your eyes and try to feel the elements around you. Do that whilst assuming a sitting position.

- Like this sister? - asked Logan with eagerness.

He looked like he wanted to be praised so the sister patted his head whilst saying - Yes, yes just like that.

- The best way to practice this method is to remain undisturbed, as such you will need to find a place where the other children cannot disturb you okay? But it must be where I can see you right?

- Okay sister....

- Now, go practice and do not come back to me until you feel the elements. Hard work and never giving up is the key to success - said she as she made a fist with her hand and drove it into the air to show her excitement.

Logan imitated her and went to his own way. He went into a corner of the giant playground, beneath the shadow of a tree, far away from the other children but still not far enough for the sister not to see him.

Maria had unintentionally further opened the crack on Logan and the other children's relationship. Once satisfied with how she dealt with the situation, Maria then went to give advice to the other children and see how they were doing.

She never again approached Logan on that day.

*******

Winter had started in the region of Gand. The greenery of the lands was no more as snow fell from the skies and gently piled on the land below.

White replaced the red of the rooftops of every single house.

It was only afternoon but almost every man and woman retired to their refuge. Hearty shouts for Ale and Beer were heard in bars. Alcohol was a popular way of driving the cold away for the ones that didn't contract a fire spirit.

This was just a normal winter day in in the city of Duskae.

A week had passed since Logan started the meditation taught to him by sister Maria but he still couldn't feel any of the mentioned spirits. Meanwhile, the other children already could make their contracted spirits do simple tasks and were in the process of trying to understand the spirit's language and comprehending how to borrow the spirit's powers.

All this while, the relationship of Logan and his peers was collapsing.

That fateful day, when Logan was minding his own business.

- Aww.... Achooo!!! - A sudden force hit him on the head.

Logan panicked thinking that he was dosed on something dangerous but the coldness and viscosity of the fluid falling towards his face and mouth told Logan that it was just plain normal water.

At first he thought it was snow that fell onto him from the top of the leafless tree he was sitting beneath off. But then, why was the substance water and not snow?

He cleaned his face with the sleeves of his white long shirt.

Rapidly, Logan opened his eyes just to be met by a band of 10 children. He knew all of them for he played and grew alongside them. Paul, Bucky, Sarah, Nathan..... he knew all their names.

Non-suspecting anyone from the group, a smile bloomed from his childish face and then he asked:

- Guys, what are you....

- Don't you speak to us so casually sinner -shouted the one with the name Bucky.

- Uckk! Look at those black eyes and hair. An unruly soul that refused the teaching of her grace Gaia and committed a sin.

- Be careful, he might make us one of his kind too.

One after another abusive word was thrown at the young Logan. He was but a child so he didn't understand the meaning of the majority of the words.

But he felt that something was amiss though. He might not have understood the words but the atmosphere of the place, the eyes of his peers, the contempt in their voice, all of this did. He might not have been as intelligent as the other kids but his instincts told him. They told him that he did not belong in that place anymore.

As tears were about to fall from his eyes, a shout from outside the encirclement was suddenly heard.

- Oi, whatever you're doing right now, Stop!!! -shouted a masculine voice.

The children made way for the new person coming through. His hair was blonde, eyes were sharp, the aura oozing out of him was imposing and he was the most talented person on the whole of the St. Gaia of Life chapel.

Miles.

- Brotha Miles!! -shouted Logan as he tried to seek Mile's protection.

Logan ran towards Miles with his arms spread around. He childish instincts told him to hug Miles and hind behind him.

He was on the verge of crying. He felt wronged. He did not remember doing anything to earn the ire of his peers.

When he was but a couple of centimetres away, he felt a sudden pain on the stomach. Miles had kicked him.

Logan couldn't stand up, Miles did not hold back.

- I do not remember giving an ill--bred sinner like you the permission to call me by my name nor call me brother - said Miles as he lifted the little Logan by his hair.

- Why??..... What did I do wrong?? - asked Logan difficultly.

- You have sinned - responded Miles - As long as you bear this dark hair of yours and your eyes are this shade of black, no one in Gand shall accept you as one of their own.

He then proceeded to throw Logan against the tree behind him. The impact shook the tree making the snow on top of it fall towards the ground. Half of Logan's body got buried. He faintly heard sister Maria shouting "It's time" to regroup and return inside the chapel but he couldn't move his body.

One of his arms bent the wrong way, one of the bones of his rib cage were broken and if it wasn't bad enough, he couldn't feel his legs.

Sister Maria knew exactly what was happening for she already foresaw it; she still turned deaf ears towards the entire situation though.

She could fake it as an accident. Before the ritual, Logan might have held a bit of value to the higher ups for a reason no sister in the chapel knew off but now, she thought that it might not bring her any trouble getting rid of Logan; the ritual turned any value that he had to zero.

All of the children returned back to the chapel without looking back.

The chattering of the children slowly faded away.

Logan wanted to cry his heart out but he found no energy to do so.

As a child, he had no conception of death; all he could feel was that it all felt blurry and that all the pain he was feeling was slowly but surely fading away.

...

...

...

But then, someone slapped him, returning him back to reality.

- Oi! Don't you die on me! Oi - shouted a feminine but otherwise childish voice.

It was a voice Logan did not recognise. He made an effort to open his already prepared to die eyes.

- Who are buhh!!

Logan tried to ask for the identity of the the owner's voice but was slapped again at the act.

- Wake up!!! Don't die!!!!!

- I am buhhh!!!!

"I want to return to that peaceful place again. Pls, save me this torment" thought Logan

- You do not know *sniff* how long I've been looking for you -said she as she was about to cry, all the whilst she kept slapping him.

Seeing that whoever was on him wasn't gonna let him fade away towards that place, Logan made an effort to say something.

- Stop!!! - Logan managed to squeeze a word.

And with that, the person in question stopped. Logan managed to open his eyes after much misery and what he was greeted with was: Silver.

He was mesmerised by the sight in front of him. He couldn't stop himself from murmuring "Beautiful".

Silver lustrous hair, sharp big rounded golden eyes decorated with a pair of long soft looking eyelashes, tender arms, supple lips, rosy cheeks, all of which belonged to a girl in front of him.

By his looks, she could have passed for someone with Logan's age but her demeanour and aura said otherwise.

The 2 look pensive as they gazed into each other's eyes and for a short moment, time seemed to stop. The one who broke the silence was Logan.

- So....could you get off me please?

-... ah! Yes - exclaimed the girl whilst looking flustered as she moved away from sitting on Logan's chest.

- Ahhhm - Logan carefully selected his words - who are you?

-... ah! Yes me. I am Locus and I'm...I can't seem to remember...are? Are?

The girl look flustered as if she had forgotten something important.

- Anyways!!! What is important is, I am what you would call a... contracted spirit.