The Lost Paradise

Chapter 21

It was around 2.00 pm the other day when we were summoned by my flocc mentors. We were assembled in the plain white room again. But unlike the last time, now right in the middle of the room was a huge round table with five chairs around it.

"You have issues to solve I assume?", Professor Gregory observed. Henry gave him a small nod in agreement. "Very well, talk then", he said, coming forward and giving each of us a small bottle. I rolled the glass bottle between my fingers, its pink-colored gas contents started to move.

"Drink all of its contents after you take your seat", he said and started to leave the room. He paused when he almost reached the door. "If you don't resolve your issues and trust each other. You will not pass in any of the tests, remember that", he told us, before leaving us on our own.

I let out a deep breath and took my seat in one of the chairs. My other flocc members were still standing hesitantly. I gestured them to take their seats too. I had to pass the tests, and so I had to do this. Talk to them, I reminded myself. I now opened the lid of the glass bottle and put all of its contents into my mouth. I didn't feel any taste in my mouth, and for seconds I waited to get some sense of the thing that I just took in. Nothing did I get but. My flocc members too one by one gulped their own bottle contents.

No one spoke at first, and no one was attempting to speak or start a conversation. "Lianna we can start with the problems you had with me the other day", I directed at Lianna. "I don't want to talk about it", she said, now looking away.

"The hell you do", Ryan smashed his fists on the table angrily. "Ryan, calm down", Yivan told him. "Shut up", he fired at him, to which Yivan looked taken back. "You are an ass", he told him. "Watch your mouth", Ryan said, pointing a finger at him in a threatening way. He tried to now get up from his chair, but only that he couldn't. He looked up at us, baffled. He kept trying to get up, but he couldn't succeed.

I now tried to get up too, but only to fail. One by one Lianna, Yivan, and Henry all tried and then realization hit us. We wouldn't be able to get up until we solved our issues. We were now just staring at each other, all of us freaking out from inside but trying our best to not show it outside.

"We can start again", Henry breathed out. But no one spoke. "Yeah, we can sit here all day long", I said, rolling my eyes. "We don't have any other work right?", I said sarcastically. "What other work do you have?", Lianna directed at me, with a smirk. "I don't have any other work", she smiled. "So, I don't mind sitting here all day", she gave me a sly smile.

I was running out of patience now. But I needed her in house with me, if I had to pass these tests. So I thought of giving it a try again. "Lianna, I don't know what issue you have with me. But, please we can sort our differences. I really want this. And it will happen only when we speak", I told her softly.

"Please, we can do this", I told her taking her hands into mine. "For the others", I said, pressing it. She stared at me for long seconds. "I don't have any problem with you, Eliza", she started slowly. "I only fear that you will be a problem to us", she said, shaking her head. "And yet, who indeed became the problem here?", Henry directed at her, impatiently. She looked at him wide-eyed. "What do you mean?", She asked him, with a blank face.

"You fear that she will be the obstacle here. She will be the person because of whom our flocc will get into trouble right? And yet who was the reason for us getting into trouble in the first place?", He asked her. His words coming out so fast, that he was almost breathless by the end.

"The problem wasn't her, it was you", Yivan told her, shaking his head. At that moment I had a feeling that she thought we were ganging up against her. Ryan wasn't speaking and I wished him to remain the same way, his anger was not something that will help us, if we wished to work this out.

Lianna sat there without saying anything for long minutes. "Lianna I really want to pass these tests, and I am willing and ready to commit to the tests. I will give my best, but I know that I will need your help. We all will need each other's help", I told her, earnestly.

"Yes, we will", she looked up at me. "I'm sorry for messing up the first one okay", she said. "And I shouldn't have snapped at you. It's just that, Eliza", she exhaled deeply. "We. Me Ryan, Yivan, and Henry are always together. Hanging out together, but you? You don't come with us. You just keep with yourself. And I feel like I don't know you. It just feels like you don't need us. You don't even try to speak to us or have a conversation that is more than about these meetings or these tests. It looks like you are forced to work with us and you have no choice", she tried to explain.

I listened to her carefully, and realized that maybe I was at fault too, I was being indifferent towards them. But that wasn't entirely my fault. I liked being alone, and I was really not the most social person in the room.

"Do you guys also think the same way?", I asked the others, who were silently listening to our conversation. It was Ryan who first nodded, and then Yivan and Henry both nodded in agreement with Lianna. "See, I'm sorry to make you guys think all of this. But...", I paused, wondering how to explain it to them. "It takes time for me to get close to some people okay. It's not easy for me", I told them, trying to get up from the chair, forgetting about its little trick for a while. I still couldn't get up. "And I also realize that...that maybe I didn't make any efforts too", I said, supporting my paining head on my hand.

They remained silent for a second. "Let's go out today", I told them. "We will really work on this as a group", I said, beaming at my flocc members. "Sure", Yivan got on his feet, excited. He was standing now, we realized. The pink gaseous content that we had sipped few minutes back came out of our mouth suddenly, getting itself trapped inside the glass bottle again. I kept staring at it in awe, before finally leaving the plain white room. I have started to not like this white room at all.