How AAOOOSC! Got Started!

Chapter 9 Last String of Hope

Antti's heart was beating loudly as he ran through the forest aimlessly. The flashbacks of the argument kept swimming through his mind. He didn't know where to go or what to do...he just wanted to get out of the house and prove to his father that he can control his powers. And now...now what?
Antti slowed his running into a slow, lumbering walk towards a beautiful lake that was shining in the moonlight with trees surrounding it. Whoa.
He walked to the edge and began to sing to the lake. "Why is it so hard...to do the things you love? Why am I standing here waiting for nothing?" He looked up and began to walk parallel to the lake. "Why am I a prisoner--" He looked down at his hands. "--to something I don't deserve?" He looked up at the sky littered with stars. "Why am I standing here waiting for the impossible to come?" Antti began to spring ribbons of water out from his palms. "Because IIIII'm hoooolding on to-oo the last string of hope." He let the water spiral around him. "Because IIIII don't want to let go...." He looked down at his reflection in the rippling lake. "...of something so precious it can mean life or death to me." Antti began to run next to the lake with his right hand out at the lake, making waves follow him. "Whoo!" He ran up a hill that turned into a cliff that was above the lake, giving a beautiful view of the city that was beyond the forest. "Why am I standing here...waiting to disappear? I have nothing to give, nothing to lose but myself!" Antti began to conduct large waves stretching towards to sky, spraying water in every direction. "I feel so much fear...but there's more pow'r out here! Confused, but I can still hold on to-oo my dream!" He gushed water out from his hands, making a platform of water in front of him so that he can walk over the lake, beyond the cliff's length. "Because IIIII'm hoooolding--" Antti began to sprint on the path he made. "--on to-oo the last string of hope!" He began to swirl water beneath his feet, letting the waves rise up into the sky. "Because IIIII don't want to let go, of something so precious it can mean life or death to meeeeee!!!" He brought himself down to the lake's surface and began to race on it, running around while his powers surged from the lake into the sky.
Suddenly he slowed down and a rectangular block of water rose up in front of Antti, acting like a mirror. "Because IIIII'm hoooolding on to-oo the last string of hope. Because IIIII don't want to let go...of something so precious it can mean life or death to me." He stopped singing and saw a person that was watching him from the edge of the forest from the water. Antti gasped and dropped the water, quickly turning around.
There was Jonna clapping with a huge grin on her face. "That. Was. Amazing!"
"Hehe...." Antti's face turned red as he scratched his neck. "You weren't really suppose to see that...."
"What? You're embarrassed about it?" Jonna walked closer to Antti as he walked off the lake, onto a nearby dock. "With all that water going here and there and everywhere--" she flailed her arms in the air, creating water noises with her voice. "--it was just so awesome! How could you not like that?!"
Antti sat down at the end of the dock. "Did you watch all of it?"
Jonna's eyes grew wide as she pressed her mouth into a straight line. "Errr...yea?"
"Oh gosh." Antti placed his face in his hands.
"No, no, no, no--" Jonna sat down next to him. "--I'll tell no one, 'kay? But I loved it! That was awesome! But-but...I never knew you had powers. I mean, I didn't know that powers even existed!"
"Same here. Until I got 'em, of course."
"So you can control water, then?"
"Kyllä." (Yes.)
"Wow, that must be awesome. You can lift up that whole lake?" Jonna pointed to the lake.
"Yes. If I wanted to."
"I take it that you don't really appreciate your powers."
Antti groaned. "Well, all they'd just done is ruined my life. I got mocked at for having them and my father locks me up because of 'em--"
"Wait, your father locks you up?"
"In my room, practically yes. He's scared to death of me."
"Yikes. So you can't get out of your room?"
"I'm not suppose to get out. Only for school."
"So you're not suppose to be out here right now?"
"That's right. I ran away."
"But you're going back, right?"
"Yea. Where else would I go?"
"Hm." Jonna shrugged. "But you mentioned while singing like a dream; you had a dream. What's your dream you're holding on to?"
"Uhhh...I've always wanted to play hockey...."
"So you want to be a hockey player."
"Yea." Antti nodded his head.
"You never played hockey before?" Jonna's eyebrows rose.
"Nope."
"Wow, well, what are you waiting for?" Jonna jumped to her feet. "Let's get you sign up in a league." She began to walk away
Antti stood up. "Wait, what?"
Jonna faced Antti. "Yea, what are you waiting for?"
"Bu-bu-but my father would kill me if I start playing hockey--!"
"Who cares about your father? I would not listen my dad if he locked me up in my room." Jonna turned back around and walked towards the forest.
"Wait, but Jonna!" Antti scrambled to her, trying to stop her. "Jonna, I have to tell you something!"
"Antti, this is what you wanted, right?"
"Yes, but--"
"So quit hesitating and let's go!"
"But Jonna!" Antti grabbed her arm.
Jonna sharply turned around. "What?"
"I-I don't know how to skate!"
"Well, you can--" Jonna blinked for a moment. "Wait, you don't know how to skate?"
Antti shook his head. "No...."
"Who on earth in Finland does not know how to skate! That's like essential to live here! That's like life here! How can you live without skating and live in Finland for your whole life?!"
Antti just shrugged.
"Okay, forget hockey for now--our plan is get you to be a pro skater, 'kay?"
"Yea, that's what I want."
"Alright, let's grab you some skates." Jonna held onto Antti's hand and led him out of the forest.
So Jonna became Antti's skating teacher, going out to a local ice rink almost every after school behind
Mr. Niemi's back. She taught him the basics, the backwards, the speed, etc., etc. And with weeks, and months, and a few years of practice, Antti finally was able to skate as well as a pro.
"This is amazing!" Antti told Jonna.
They were skating in an outdoor skating rink while light snowfall was falling on them.
"You happy now?" Jonna asked.
"Totally. Kiitos, Jonna. I don't know how I can ever thank you enough for what you had done for me." (Thank you, Jonna.)
"No problem, I wanted to do it. You don't own me anything--"
"I love you," Antti randomly blurted out.
Jonna blinked for a moment. "Wait, what?"
"I-I...I love you... Did I just say that...."
Jonna nodded her head slowly. "Yea...."
"Oh, well, um...." Antti scratched his head. "Rakastan sinua." (I love you.)
Jonna gave Antti a big smile. "Minä rakastan sinua. I've always had, since the beginning. That's the reason I wanted to help you--" (I love you, too.)
Antti swept Jonna off the ice and kissed her deeply. "Kiitos, Jonna. Kiitos paljon." (Thank you, Jonna. Thank you very much.)