Saying Goodbye to Our Beginning’s

When Gio opens his eyes, he squints because of the bright sunlight pouring into his room from the windows. The memories of what happened before he passed out slowly find their way back into his head.

Sarah: Are you awake?

Gio turns to see Sarah sitting on a chair beside his bed.

Gio: How long have you been watching me sleep?

Sarah: Don't make it weird.

Gio: Sorry.

Gio tries to turn his head back so the back of his head is lying on the pillow, but he's met with a burning sensation.

Sarah: Are you okay?

Gio: Yeah, I am fine. Where are Lionel and Cinco?

Sarah: They are still talking to Mr and Mrs Morn.

Gio: What are they even talking about?

Sarah: No idea.

Gio: Did you even ask?

Sarah: I didn't have time. Cinco just appeared and took Master with him. And I had to take care of you, so everything came second.

Gio heard how Sarah chose to take care of him over everything else, and he felt himself split. One part of him is grateful to his friend for caring for him before anything else. The other half feels helpless and pathetic because he needs help from her.

Sarah: Gio?

Gio: I am fine. I am just tired.

Sarah: Do you want me to leave?

Gio: Yes, thank you for taking care of me.

Sarah: I always will.

Sarah doesn't realize how much those words humiliate Gio. Gio knows she means well, but Sarah constantly needs to help him, take care of him, and "save" him, which only helps him see the gap between him and Sarah. And after the months he had spent here in this village, watching Sarah and growing to care about her more than he already did, he knew this gap wasn't only in strength.

Sarah: Sleep well, Gio.

Gio watches as the door slowly closes behind Sarah. When it fully closed, the only thing left in the room was him and his thoughts. He turns his head since he can finally overpower the burning sensation in his neck and looks up at the wooden ceiling.

Gio: [I want to be like Sarah.]

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Lionel: Whether you like it or not, your sons are ability users.

Mr. Morn: We know that-

Cinco: If you know, why won't you let us take action?

Mrs. Morn: And what exactly do you mean by "action"?

Lionel: Take care of them, train them, nurture them.

Mr. Morn: So everything that is supposed to be our job?

Lionel: I didn't mean it like that-

Mrs. Morn: Then how did you mean it?

Cinco: We can make them more capable. So they won't just have to lay back and accept things when things get difficult.

Mrs. Morn: No. I won't-

Cicno: Mrs. Morn, this isn't about us replacing you as their parents. We all know that. Why can't you accept that your kids are ability users and let us help them?

Mrs. Morn: I get to decide what happens to my child. If I say they won't be involved with you, they won't.

Lionel: That is true, Mrs. Morn but-

Mr. Morn: Our boys aren't like you.

Cinco: Really? Then why did one of your sons activate his ability in his school? Didn't he bring down the entire building?

Lionel: That is enough, Cinco.

Mr. Morn: Our sons aren't like you at all!

Cinco: Are you delusional?

Mr. Morn: You people, every one of you. You all hurt people, kill people, and destroy families. Our sons aren't like you at all.

This conversation had filled the air in the room with silence, anger, and discomfort.

Lionel: We are just trying to help.

Mrs.Morn: And we have clarified that we do not want it.

Mr.Morn: We don't want help from rouges. Our sons will be nothing like any of you. William will never use his curse again. We will make sure of that.

Cinco: For not wanting help from rouges, you sure didn't mind it when we offered a place for you to stay-

Lionel: That is enough, Cinco. Sarah and Gio are probably waiting for us to get home.

Cinco: Sarah is capable of taking care of herself at the house. Just let me-

Lionel: They have clarified that they do not want our help. And I believe that we will stay here forever if we continue trying to talk to them like this.

Cinco: But-

Lionel: It is time for us to leave.

Cinco: … Okay.

Lionel gets out of his chair, and Cinco walks to a wooden door.

Lionel: Have a good rest of your day, Mr and Mrs. Morn. We hope you reconsider our offer.

Cinco opens the door when Lionel begins walking over to him. As a result, the room was greeted with warm air and orange light from the setting sun.

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The second Cinco and Lionel open the door, they hear a set of feet running on wooden planks in another room. In the hallway, Sarah's room door swings open.

Sarah: MASTER!

Lionel: Hello Sarah. How was your day?

Sarah: It was boring; nothing happened. How did the talk with Mr and Mrs go?

Cinco: Well, it definitely got serious.

Sarah: Oh. So it went bad?

Cinco: Terrible. They said, "We would never accept help from people like you."

Sarah: "People like you"?

Cinco: Yeah, ability users.

Sarah: Why wouldn't they accept help from us?

Wait, didn't you guys allow them to live here? In a way, they already accept your help.

Cinco: That is the exact same thing I said.

Lionel: In their eyes, we aren't helping them. Not in the slightest.

Cinco: Then what are we doing in their eyes then?

Lionel: I am not exactly sure.

Cinco: They are two stuck-up idiots who are currently contradicting themselves. I mean, here we are, offering to do something to help both of their kids in the long run, but they won't accept all because they hate ability users.

Sarah: Hate ability users? Like Break Point does?

Lionel: No, not exactly. Like Break Point.

Cinco: Plus, what Break Point does isn't really out of hate; it's more like to keep control.

Sarah: Then why do these people hate ability users?

Cinco: Because they are ignorant idiots.

Lionel: It could be because of a lot of things, Sarah. They could be scared of what we are capable of, how they were raised, and ability users could've done something to them in the past.

Cinco: Hatred is everywhere and could spread for many reasons.

Lionel: Hate is never felt for no reason, though.

Sarah: Why don't we try talking to them again?

Everyone else in the village found a home here eventually. I am sure they can, too.

Lionel: I love how you can be so optimistic, Sarah.

Cinco: Not really realistic, though. Despite how much that would benefit us. Hate doesn't just disappear with one conversation, Sarah.

Sarah: Well, I still want to try.

Cinco gets ready to say something else until he stops. He rubs his eyes, turns to the window behind him, and sees that the sun has almost entirely set.

Cinco: I have to help around the village early in the morning. I am going to sleep early.

Cinco walks to his room with the wooden planks under his feet, creaking with each step. When he reaches his room, he closes the door behind him, and they both can hear it lock.

Sarah: Did his door always have a lock?

Lionel: Yes.

Sarah: I get he has to be up early, but the sun hasn't even fully set.

Lionel: It takes him a while to fall asleep.

Sarah: Seriously?

Lionel: Yes.

Sarah: Wow, I never knew.

Lionel: How is Gio?

Sarah: He is asleep. I am kinda worried about him, though. He has just been sleeping ever since he finished our workout this morning.

Lionel: Probably because he chose to over-exert himself. I tried to warn him.

Sarah: I get that, but … it is confusing, I guess.

Lionel: What is confusing?

Sarah: No, it isn't you. I find how I feel confusing. On one hand, I don't want him to give up. But on the other, I want him to be okay.

Lionel: I see. Then how about this in the morning, I will talk to him for you. And we will find a compromise.

Sarah: Thank you, master.

Lionel: Of course. Oh, and also, guess what.

Sarah: What?

Lionel: Gray is coming but to visit tomorrow.

Sarah: REALLY?!

Lionel: Yes. But he should be here sometime tonight.

Sarah: But it is so early.

Lionel: I know. I don't know what is making him come back so soon. We can ask him tomorrow morning.

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Sarah laid in her bed, staring up at the ceiling.

Sarah: [I can't sleep. I am too excited to see Gray tomorrow.]

She rolled around in bed, trying to see if her positioning would help her fall asleep. While rolling around, her eyes look out of her window and makes contact with a full moon.

Sarah: [What a beautiful night.]

For some reason unknown to her, when Sarah's eyes focus on the moon, she feels a feeling of calm spread across her body. Her heart slows, her mind goes blank, and her eyes close. For a moment, all Sarah sees is black. It was calm and peaceful. But it disappears when a door slamming makes Sarah open her eyes. She sits up and looks out her window. Her eyes closed because of a mixture of orange and red light.

Sarah: [Must be morning.]

Sarah gets out of bed and stands up, and when she does, her nose is filled with a strange smell. She left her room expecting to hear movement somewhere in the house like usual, but it was silent.

Sarah: Cinco did say he needed to help around the village. Maybe master went to go help him. Sarah walks to the front door and opens it, and heat pushes and crawls across her body.

For over a year, Sarah has lived in this village. In the beginning, she felt uneasy and tense. It felt as if she said one wrong thing: they would turn against her and throw her in a cage again. She didn't feel safe. But over time, she grew to love it. So much so that she memorized everything there was to know about the village. Where each house was, the name of everyone who lived in the village, and even the name of every plant that could be found there. She cared for it so much that she used her strength and abilities to help in absolutely any way she could. It was her home.

Unfortunately, she would be forced to witness her home being reduced to splinters, pebbles, and ashes. The light she saw in her window was not the sun rising; it was the village being covered in red flames, and that weird smell was the smell of burning flesh.

Hank: It has been so long since we last saw each other.