A Boy named Isaac

"Isaac, why did you do that?" said Elwin, strolling together through the entrance gates and into the courtyard of the exam hall. His gratitude was difficult to explain in words, so Elwin couldn't help but ask questions first.

"I'm sorry if it was so sudden," Isaac replied. A sad smile came over his face as he looked at Elwin. "But I was in a similar situation once. So I can't – I couldn't stand by and do nothing when I knew I could help you. That'd not be right of me."

The two boys, strangers just moments ago, stood in that busy courtyard bustling with the frenetic energy of preparations, sounds, and anticipation. But for them, all seemed quiet.

For a brief second, the lights from the clouds above shone on Isaac's peaceable exterior, and Elwin could see the wrinkles of weariness in Isaac's own eyes, behind his spectacles. There was equal parts loss and yearning in his eyes of deep green; that same unspoken expression Elwin saw in Dr. Hana Reiss back at The Marlin several weeks ago, and in his own mother. It was evident that Isaac also knew some truth behind the world that most other boys his age did not – and Elwin knew that to fight such truth required commendable strength and fortitude of mind.

Elwin looked to the ground, and Isaac at the sky overhead. Neither of them spoke for a long while.

Elwin finally broke the silence, "Thank you. I've seldom received kindness from people I didn't yet know. Beyond my family, and until just half a year ago, loneliness was my friend for a very long time. So it just seemed so strange."

Isaac turned to face Elwin, and gave a wry, understanding smile. 

"Haha, me too! You know, but it gets better. I'm glad I was able to help you out." 

Isaac continued. 

"My father once told me that the world is full of dark and ugly things. But as long as you become a beacon of light for somebody, you can dispel the night, no matter how invincible it seems."

"And that's what drove you here?"

Isaac nodded. "Yeah. I want to become the greatest doctor in the world. But right now, I don't have a lot of skill, so I have to start small, no matter where. Where better to start than at Aeternitas? Even if I don't get in... I would leave with experience, and good company."

By 'good company', Elwin realized Isaac was referring to him.

Elwin felt admiration for Isaac. Here he was, knowing absolutely nothing about Elwin and his circumstances and his character, but he went out of his way anyway to help him, knowing full well that he could face dramatic consequences. By all means, by all utilitarian and consequentialist means, a rational person would never have supported Elwin at the front gates. But Isaac did anyway.

Was this what Professor Thales a week ago meant when he gave Elwin the token of passage? That instinct rules victorious over reason alone? Here Isaac was, the paramount of irrationality, someone that the cynical peoples of the world would clearly disdain. But he was so full of heart and goodness. Without Isaac's help just then, Elwin would have had to return to his hometown, utterly defeated, his efforts evaporated in vain. It was only because someone believed in Elwin and put his own future on the line that Elwin was now standing in the exam hall with other applicants, ready to forge his destiny.

So, to a lonely boy who until recently never had anybody defend him out in the world other than his own family, Isaac appeared to Elwin as the greatest person in the world that he'd ever met; he was hewn from the same rock that produced Sandora, Leonardo, and Hina.

Isaac also understood the pain of being a stranger to his age all too well, spending day after day in the hospital battling his father's disease that he knew no way to solve. The golden days of childhood that people so often spent together as friends, adventuring and eating and making fond memories, were entirely absent to Isaac and Elwin, both of them having been forced to grow up quickly beyond their age due to the cruelty of circumstance. Isaac also saw the same thing in Elwin's eye – his single eye. The other eye, he surmised, was unfairly taken away by forces beyond his control. This was the way the world was, but it seemed as on that day fate had twined a red thread for both in each other's company.

And so they spoke in unison:

"Want to face the world together?" 

Both were surprised at the exact same words that came out of their hearts; now knowing each other, surprise turned to laughter, and they laughed as two boys should laugh, forgetting for a moment their burdens.

"You bet," said Isaac, as the two boys shook hands once again with warm enthusiasm, this time binding them as friends blessed by fate.

The two boys sat on a stone bench on a faraway side of the courtyard, waiting for their names to be called to partake in the difficult exam that would test their Maht. In their brief moments of respite, Elwin and Isaac eagerly exchanged stories of their past and what had gotten them here.

"So your father was Carl Eramir? The experimental philosopher, the explorer?"

"Yeah."

Isaac's face darkened. "I am sorry for your loss. He must have been a great man."

"It's alright. Perhaps it meant that I have to look for my own future instead of relying on my dad."

"Yeah."

"You mentioned you work at the hospital?" asked Elwin, inquiring about Isaac's duty of work and his desire to become the greatest doctor in the world.

"Yeah... I –" Isaac paused, then continued, "I do. The doctors and nurses there let me work and help other people to earn money for my father's medicine."

"Your father's medicine?"

"Yeah. When I was little, my father was struck by something called the 'Muhucis Syndrome.' I don't know precisely what it is, just that it is extremely rare, and he's one of the fewer than dozen people throughout history to have it. I'd like to heal him and make him better. I have faith that it's possible."

Elwin listened attentively. He knew the loneliness of losing a parental figure early on, having the child fend for themselves in the wild jungle of the uncaring world, and so felt unique sympathy for those from a similar background. Isaac carried on.

"It makes my father age really quickly. Though he's only in his mid-forties, he looks like he's seventy. He's the only one I have now, so if he's gone... I don't know what I'll do. But I'll solve it. I will make things right. If there ever is a person who suffers from the same disease... they would never have to fear like I do now." He looked down.

"By every day at the hospital, do you mean you work every day without rest?" Elwin asked.

"Almost, otherwise there won't be bread on the table nor medicine to have. My father has to take the medicine every day, else he will... and my mother is no longer with us, so yes..."

"Every day, for how long?"

"From dawn till evening."

And here Elwin was, having previously thought himself in want of need, when his mother and brother were fine and there for him, and he mostly did not have to live hand-to-mouth. Elwin felt ashamed of himself.

"Were you working today morning as well before you came here?"

"Yeah. I just bought the medicines for my father this morning. It's actually here in the bag." Isaac gripped his rucksack tightly; his knuckles momentarily turned white. "If only I knew more about how everything worked..."

Elwin's father Carl was gone, but Isaac's father still had a chance. Isaac still had a chance to save him. He just needed knowledge and help, and Elwin was determined to help him in this regard – not solely out of the feeling to repay Isaac's kindness moments prior, but because Elwin knew it would be the right thing to do. Elwin wouldn't condemn Isaac to the same experience he had faced when young, to wander alone. And so he mustered his heart and spoke.

"Say, Isaac, if I get into Aeternitas, I'll help you search for the cure no matter where you are," said Elwin, pumping the air with his fist and making a small fire in determination.

"You will?"

"Yeah. I promise. And even if I don't get in," he continued, "I will still help you in your search." 

Elwin took out a small piece of paper and ink-pressed the address of The Marlin.

"When the exam is over, I don't know what they'll do to us. Perhaps they might separate us like they did back at the first exam. So just in case, if we don't meet in person again, send me a letter to this address, so we can always keep in touch." Isaac received the folded note, and in return, he gave Elwin his own address.

Just then, two things happened at the same time. The first thing was that the announcer declared through the brass tubes the following instruction:

"Candidate 17 from the Republic of Ascension, Elwin Eramir, and Candidate 39 from the Lumière Republic, Isaac Artavalt, please enter the examination chambers 4, and 5, respectively."

The second thing was that, without warning, one of the janitors that had been cleaning and hauling things to and fro had snatched the rucksacks of various members in the courtyard, including Isaac's and Elwin's, and was rushing for the exit.

"Thief! Stop him!" yelled a voice in the crowd. But no one did anything – everyone was paralyzed with shock. 

"Where are the guards? Guards!" several voices shouted from among the crowd.

But the only guards were the officers outside the exam hall near the entrance; unaware and too hesitant to chase after the thief. Their job was to protect the exam venue rather than act as enforcers from the Order. 

It was dire. Elwin was fine with losing his own rucksack, since he kept backup money in his clothes, but Isaac's rucksack was taken, and it contained his father's daily medicine. Without it, everything Isaac had worked for until now would come crashing down.

The announcer in the command room, unaware of the commotion, continued over the brass tube speakers as methodically as ever.

"Mr. Elwin Eramir, Candidate 17 from the Republic of Ascension, and Mr. Isaac Artavalt, Candidate 39 from the Lumière Republic, please proceed to the examination chambers 4, and 5 now. We await your arrival."

What must I do? 

Elwin was torn between two choices. Stay and partake in the exam as planned, or run after the thief for a chance at retrieving Isaac's rucksack. He had no time to wallow about. If he chose to chase after the thief, Elwin would miss his exam and would surely be disqualified, and render his new life at Aeternitas – and the mission that his father had entrusted to him – to evaporate with no results. If he did not chase after the thief, Isaac, a friend who had told him of his plight and had helped him selflessly moments before, would lose his father forever; let alone missing his exam.

Was the life of another person's father worth losing his entire future? 

Was it worth giving up his future in Aeternitas? 

Was it worth giving up all the things he'd done so far and all the tribulations he jumped? 

Was it worth not being able to give his mother and his little brother a better future? 

Was it the rational choice?

"Mr. Elwin Eramir, Candidate 17 from the Republic of Ascension, and Mr. Isaac Artavalt, Candidate 39 from the Lumière Republic. Last Call. Please proceed to the examination chambers 4, and 5, immediately."

Isaac was already racing towards the exit in chase of the thief, in disbelief, too shocked for any tear to emerge. And in Isaac's expression, Elwin saw himself. It read, Please help me... someone, anyone!

And that's when Elwin made up his decision.

He stood up, gathered speed, and raced towards the exit and Isaac in pursuit of the thief; and amidst the flurry of action, pushed Isaac back into the hall with one hand, gesturing to the exam chambers.

"I'll get them back! This is your chance – don't miss your exam!"

It was not the rational choice.

It was not the logical choice. 

But it was the right choice, and Elwin knew at that very moment, there and then, that no matter what tribulations he had to overcome in the past, he would have no regret throwing it all away, because Isaac needed someone, and that someone could be him, just as Isaac was to Elwin.

Elwin would steer his own destiny, and not be a slave to his circumstance.

"Be the greatest doctor in the world, Isaac!" shouted Elwin, as he dashed out of the exit at breakneck speed, past the fumbling and hesitant guards, and towards the great boulevards of the City of Lights.