FORTY-FOUR

I went back to campus feeling like the whole world had been lifted off my shoulders, I had never felt this free, or this determined to make my brother proud in every possible way, my little big brother...

Immediately I got back, I took a shower and sat at my desk, then opened my book on business management, and began to burn my eyes....

I had sat at the table for more than an hour and still couldn't concentrate, despite my determined mind, my laziness and dullness was disappointing Mark, I couldn't do that, I wouldn't.

I immediately started experimenting on different ways to study, accompanying it with music, writing, reading, sleeping or closing the book after every ten words and seeing if I could remember them in order.

The methods worked, but personally, the one that worked the most, was getting Roderick to quiz me on my acquired knowledge after every chapter, that was quite similar, if not the same, to what Mark used to do with me which helped my grades, I wondered why I never thought of that.

I kept begging Roderick to quiz me but despite my never, in my three months of being his roommate, seeing him going to a single lecture, I just let it slide.

I asked other friends and there was always one who could quiz me, myself.

I often just opened to the question section and answered everything in a notebook with much better accuracy than writing down what I remembered with air pods on full volume in my ears that I heard from some upcoming YouTuber.

After my first few days, I began to feel unmotivated and my body craved my old lifestyle, but I forced it to comply, I moved my daily workout routines to night and made sure to free run to whichever lecture I was having and pay laser point attention.

I slacked out, a lot, to be Frank, but always strived to get back up, it was never easy though.

Then one Saturday, I stood up and went to a flower shop and got some vegetative parts and root hormones then went back to the cemetery and met dad there, as usual.

I just took a shovel from nearby and began to till the soil then first placed the underground perennials, before I planted the seeds.

I then said to him,"I actually also never thought of how much you must have been affected, knowing that you lost your son and literally couldn't do anything about it, you had a greater reason to breakdown, yet not once have I seen you crying, how do you do it?"

He smiled and said,"Hope, the hope that he's in a better place because of the heart he had when I was with him, and the hope that his family will love on and live strong."

I looked at him, then stood up and looked at the chipped away tombstone, then left.

I forced myself to sit down, but this time, I was reading something different, stone carving.

I practiced for weeks, alongside my actual studies, with lots of motivation from Rose and...a workable amount from Roderick, till the day I went back to the cemetery and with dad's permission, resculpted the tombstone, I tried my best to make it look as good as Mark effortlessly did all the time, but wasn't satisfied with the end product.

Dad said it was wonderful and even the passers by and others visiting other graves congratulated me on a wonderful job done, but I felt there was something missing, without which it was continents away from perfection.

I then turned back as Lucy walked towards the grave with Lucille, who kissed a shell she had found on the beach a while ago, then placed it in the grass, just below the tombstone and I knew at that moment, what it needed, all of us.

I asked Lucy if she had anything to give then she smiled at me and knelt down, then placed the engagement ring Mark have her onto the tombstone but I could tell it was hard for her, the tears were enough proof.

Rose couldn't be there as she hadn't been in the country for weeks, but it was okay, she could come by later.

I went back to my dorm room after that and sat down with the zeal to learn, but having finished all my books, I needed more.

I went to the library and walked through the halls, scrolled through the e books and read those other people had left behind, it wasn't enough till I found one of the title,' Transcendence '.

That was a weird title for an educational book, and it was also sealed.

I could tell someone had been reading it as some of the pages had been slightly folded in, but what was up with it.

I almost smashed the head of one of the library helpers into the floor when he asked me what I was doing in that section.

"I wished to gain knowledge and insight in the storehouses ...collected and kept in this magnificent house of books."

His expression remained unimpressed as he said,"Well look for knowledge out of this area."

"Why? It's not restricted or anything."I said.

"Because you aren't, in your own manner of speaking, worthy of the knowledge bound in these books, now scram."

I frowned at him, but left anyway, what was he hiding?

I barely left the unrestricted restricted area, when a person I knew passed by.

I asked her if she knew anything about the books kept there but she said she didn't have a clue, she was lying.

I just walked out of the room, leaving one of my phones sending a live feed to my other one and I watched it.

The woman, Mrs Lewis by name, walked past that overly cranky library helper and took a book which sat right next to the one I took.

She then solemnly placed her hand on the book's cover and murmured some words, before turning it over and it opened, right up, but what did she say?

After that, she took the book out of the room and I lost her, but didn't give up.

I snuck into the private room she read the book in and stayed in hiding for almost an hour, hoping for her to leave the book there when she was done.

She read it like she was reading it to someone else and kept looking at the ceiling, then finally said,"The ones among us shall be found..."Placed her hand across her chest, bowed to the book and left.

I immediately ran to open it but it was locked.

I gasped and hid under the table when she came back in and said something I couldn't understand and I heard a click as she opened the book to take a paper she was writing notes in and even from under the table, I could see that the notes weren't in English, or in any of the three other languages I was learning...it didn't seem like anything short of hieroglyphics.

I said the incantation and as expected, the book didn't open.

I was confused, what was I doing wrong?

I then placed my hand on it one more time and said the incantation again, hoping for the best and then it opened, but I felt a slight tingling in my hand, one I didn't like.

I opened the book over and wasn't at all prepared for what I saw within...