Fragments of Alchemy: The Code Breaker

Chapter Twenty-Four ~ The Replicating Notebook ~ Part II

Dear Tajana,

I know you just left, but I am writing to you anyway. It feels different without you here. I know I'm going to miss you terribly, but I will be okay if you just write me twice a day.

I just met Chadwick's godfather. He is a neat man! I like his stamp pockets and his stories. He was really nice, but a little weird too. He called me Aruchan. I'm sorry if this is silly, but I'm really getting tired of all the nicknames. Nobody calls me by my name, and it's getting a bit annoying. Why did my parents name me Althea if no one is going to call me that?

Anyway, I hope that you are having a safe journey to meet up with your Mentor. Can you tell me more about her?

I can't wait to start my lessons! I bet I won't sleep a wink tonight, thinking about all the things I'm going to learn tomorrow. I can't wait!

Write me back! I can't wait to hear from you!

~Thea

Hi again,

I know it hasn't been that long since I wrote to you last night, but I was really looking forward to waking up to a letter from you. Shoot, don't take that the way it sounds. I'm not trying to make you feel bad, I just want to be honest, okay? I know you will write to me when you can. C.C. says that you are probably sleeping right now, wherever you are, I bet maybe trying to recover from your trip. So I understand. But I can't help but add that I want to hear from you soon!

Be safe, wherever you are, Tajana!

~ * ~

Hi Thea!

I am so sorry for not writing you back sooner! You would not believe the time I've been having! It was so hard to get into the Cultivator Coven! They made me swear an Oath to prove that I could be trusted and then they wouldn't let me join anyway, and then on top of all that, Savannah wasn't even there! Then some crazy stuff happened, and I feel like I'm really lucky that I managed to find Savannah.

I should go. Sorry, will write more later!

Hi again,

Phew! Today was really hard. I wish I could tell you more! Do me a favour and be sure to tell Chadwick that Savannah and I are okay, and everything is alright now. I'm back in Verdandi, where I grew up. I'm happy to be home, but I miss you guys, and I wish I could come back to Blackthorn but I can't. It's super busy here, with tons going on, and it's very nerve-wracking, like I'm right in the midst of the war. Don't worry about me though! I'm safe and sound and happy to be home.

My dad (he's really my foster father—his name is Želamir) He doesn't really have time to be with me, and I'm feeling rather lonely right now. Everyone here is so busy. Žel is a Guru in the Giver's grove, and he works all the time. You would not believe how completely impossibly hard it is to be a Guru. These people are not only giving their life's Energies to save people who get hurt, but they're also responsible for protecting Verdandi if Shadows attack. So it's an important job!

In some ways it is strange to be home again, but in others, it feels like I picked things back up as if I never left.

I really tried, and I'm sorry, but I can't understand how you feel about the nicknames. Consider the flipside. Everyone always calls me by my full name. I've always wanted to have a nickname. I think that sort of thing shows how close you really are with someone. Maybe I'm wrong, but I've never really felt like I have any close friends, because everyone is always so formal with me. Even my Mentor Savannah always called me by my full name. I honestly feel like you're the only friend I've ever had. Is that weird?