Healing

MenMen's team was compiled. The program was designed and ready, titled, "Healing". Amyra was the doctor and the director of the program. Jem was in charge of the diet. Em was the teacher, because education couldn't be paused. Kira took upon the task of cheering. And in the later stages, Ada and Adi would be her martial arts teachers.

MenMen had no say in any of it. The only thing she could choose was the subjects she wanted to study. Everyone called Em a genius, learned in all the subjects. And if there was something she didn't know, she could learn overnight.

"When you are able to beat me, you're done," Em said, with a gloating smile. "I dare you."

"Give me a week," MenMen replied. "Can I tell you the subjects then?"

Em was surprised. She showed it only in her eyes though. She nodded and fell quiet. Jem went next.

"Tell me what you like? I'll make them."

"I'm not really particular," MenMen answered honestly.

"Okay. Tell me a little about your preference."

"I really don't know," MenMen confessed.

"Leave it to me then," Jem announced. "Let's find your taste."

And then, Amyra kicked everyone out. And switched on the doctor mode. The first couple of weeks, she massaged MenMen's back, and demanded light stretching of MenMen's back and limbs. She slowly increased the difficult on a weekly basis. After the first month, she had MenMen stand on her feet. And then, she slowly got MenMen walking. After three months, she had MenMen begin swimming. When MenMen could swim ten continuous laps of the impossibly large indoor pool, she was done. The time frame was eight to ten months.

MenMen offered no challenge. She accepted Amyra's authority, and followed everyone's instructions. It was the first time she was showered with so much care. It equally strange and warm. She looked forward to everyone equally, but she liked her alone time just a tiny bit more. Only because she discovered another friend.

The first afternoon, after everyone left to let her nap, MenMen lay on her back in the most comfortable bed she had ever laid on. Smiling, she closed her eyes, ready to welcome the sweetest sleep ever. But she found herself staring into a vast darkness that slowly morphed into an endless landscape. The ground was black. The sky above was dark blue. And the voice came from everywhere. It was the same robotic voice, but it had some feeling now, like it was almost a person. Or maybe a system that was impossibly close to being human.

[ MenMen, hello. I'm The Dark Blue Sky. But you can call me Dot. I quite like the name. ]

{ Hi, Dot. }

[ First, I would like to celebrate you. You are the most different from all other candidates. And since you are here, let me explain the situation. The Dark Blue Sky accepts all cries for help. You were crying. Clearly asking for help. Now that we're here, do tell. What is it you would like help with? ]

{ I don't know. }

[ I know. Your situation isn't the most unique. But you are. Your response to it is. Your attitude toward it is. Your view of it is. And your opinion of everything is. Might I make a suggestion? ]

{ Sure. }

[ Revenge. It is a slight but very basic desire. Sometimes, it can be extremely effective. Would you consider avenging yourself? ]

{ Revenge against what? }

[ How about all those who hurt you? ]

{ But it's not the people who hurt me most. }

[ Revenge can be against places and institutions as well. ]

{ That sounds nice. Really. If it is revenge, then I'd like to avenge myself against my circumstances. }

There was a long silence, as if Dot was processing MenMen's words. MenMen was in no rush. She quite liked the scenery. The ground was dark, but not cold. The ground didn't feel like anything at all. She felt comfortable sitting cross legged on the ground. And the dark blue sky was a treat to the eyes. Especially off into the distance where it softly split from the dark ground. She felt like she was looking at the moment of her own birth, when she was separated from her mother. She felt like she was staring into a memory she shouldn't have, experiencing a feeling she shouldn't have. Just as she was drifting away, Dot brought her back.

[ I apologise. I cannot make sense of what you mean. ]

MenMen shook her head.

{ No. That's my fault. I'm not making sense at all. Let's talk revenge. First, I'd like to be stronger. Then, let's go back to school, bully everyone into shame that they'll never overcome in all of their lives. Stain The Noble Academy. A stain it would never be able to wash off. }

[ Alright. That sounds like a plan. We can improve on Amyra's plan. ]

{ No. Let's not interfere. I would like something else though. }

[ What is it? ]

MenMen thought hard and chose her words carefully.

{ Show me. }

Like a drop of water fell into the middle of a still lake, a ripple burst out from the centre of the landscape. And the scene started to morph slowly. The ground was still dark, the sky dark blue, but there was a large mansion standing on the ground underneath the sky. It was an exact replica of Kira's mansion. MenMen was lying on the bed in her room in the east wing. She willed the windows open, and a breeze burst in, carrying with it the scent of the lake. A white bird flapped its wings and flew in, resting on the bedpost and scratching its wings with its beak.

"Hello, bird," MenMen said, the sound of her voice surprising her. She sounded like herself, but also grown up. It was the sound of her soul's voice.

"Hello," the bird replied, shaking its tail and flapping its wings joyfully. "Would you like to fly?"

"Yes," MenMen answered, equally joyful. "I would very much like that. Can you take me up?"

"Sure. But wouldn't you rather I taught you how? That way you can fly whenever, even if I'm busy with something else."

"Can I fly?"

"Why not? You have wings. Can't you see?"

MenMen looked down, and saw the large white wings growing from her back. She looked more like an angel than a bird. But in the eyes of the little bird, she looked no different. She smiled at the bird, and it danced again in joy.

"Let's go then," the bird said.

The bird spread its wings. MenMen copied the bird and spread her wings. They flapped their wings. MenMen felt the wind gathering under her wings, and then the lift. She was floating up, riding the wind like the bird. And then, they flapped harder. They were flying. They went up to the sky, going higher and higher, without stopping. However high they went, the sky was so much farther up. They didn't stop though. They flew higher and higher. When they looked down, the mansion was so far down, it was like a speck of dust.

"We should go back down now," the bird said.

"Why?" MenMen asked.

"This high, isn't for me."

MenMen didn't understand. The bird didn't explain. They folded their wings and let the wing carry them back down. When they were down far enough, they spread their wings again, and began gliding on the wind. They went around and around the large mansion, flying over all of the grounds. They flew on until the picture was etched into MenMen's memory. And then they flew further, until the static picture turned into a dynamic moving picture. And then they flew further, until the picture was filled with colour, turning into a video. And then they flew further, until more and more detail filled into the video. When they finally stopped, they were back in MenMen's room in the east wing. She was lying on the bed. The bird was sitting on the bedpost. They were looking out the closed window. Just as clearly as she could see the lake, MenMen could see all of the mansion and the grounds.

[ You never cease to surprise. Such wide and encompassing sight. I confess, it's not my first time encountering such brain capacity, but it is my first time witnessing such growth. No, it cannot be called growth. Evolution. It's as if your brain is truly evolving on your command. Incredible. ]

MenMen was deaf to the praise. She was entirely consumed with trying to understand what she was seeing.

{ This is the real time view of the mansion and the grounds? }

[ Yes. And now, it is time to part. You must wake. ]

MenMen saw Jem in the hallway outside, bringing lunch.

{ See you later. }

She closed her eyes to Dot, and opened them in her room, just as Jem opened the door.