Sinking the Teeth Into the Fervor

CHAPTER 1

His body fell flat on the ground after the massive impact of her tornado roundhouse kick. He winced in pain from the strike. She looks at him, while breathing heavily, not letting go of her stance

"Knockdown!" the instructor announced. The students cheered for her winning and some were worried about the boy who got beaten up. He was still lying on the ground, eyes closed with his arms and legs spread free. He slowly opened his eyes, then greets the blinding lights to his lost but then a figure covered him up from it. It was her. She bent down and handed her hand out to him, trying to help him stand up.

"Nice work, Falu." She said as her violet eyes locked to his.

He eyed the hand she offered then at her. He then accepts her help to assist himself up.

"Thanks and congrats to you, Inys. That was one hell of a kick you did there." He smiled as he slowly removed his gear from his body.

"I was really no match for you after all." He scratched his head while he looked down a bit ashamed.

Inys looks at him in dismay. Wondering about his sudden remark about his performance earlier. Indeed, Inys had won the competition but not because he was weak but because she was too strong for him. For Inys, it was already incredible that Falu was able to last almost 20 minutes, since usually her opponent would fall down after 5 minutes of their fight. Not to mention, Falu was barely new to the sport that just started a month ago.

"You've done well for a beginner, Falu. Be content with what you've achieved for now..." She removed her gear.

"Then come back again, reaching higher. There is still a long way for you to run."

Falu looks at her as she leaves away with her equipment. A swarm of students came to congratulate her. His eyes were still at her. Amazed. To him, Inys was a superstar. A shining light, blinding him from anything surrounding him, and only her can be seen from his sight. Falu then started to wrap up his things. Some students approached him to congratulate for doing his best, even the instructor. He bowed and thanked these people who appreciated his performance.

"Okay, everyone! Cool down." The instructor yelled and the students came swarming on the mat, positioning themselves to stretch. Falu left his things and went to the students to join in as well. As he stretches his arms to the right, his eyes catch Inys once again. She was just at his side, who was also stretching herself up. Her braided jet black hair shines in different places as she moves. Her movements were so graceful that her stretching looked like she was dancing. He was lost in a trance, and didn't realize that the stretching was done. He was still standing in his last position with his arms flailing from the right side, not progressing. He immediately placed his arms down, sheepishly dismissing his last position. He then turned to look at Inys who was already looking at him.

"Ahh-" He was startled to see her looking at him. His reaction made her give him a questioning look.

"Don't lose focus, Falu. May it be this simple stretching or in a fight. Everything matters, you know."

"Ah! Yes." He then bows to her.

His messy red hair shook when he bowed, showing his nape that glistened from his sweat. Inys noticed Falu's posture was quite unstable as his body was slightly shaking from his bowing position. She thought that it could be because his core is weak or he's just exhausted from the fight earlier.

"Next time, let's fight again, Falu."

Inys once again handed her hand to him.

"And I hope on that day you're strong enough to knock me out too."

Falu raised his head up and saw her hand being offered to him once again. His heart pounds strongly in response to this. He felt his adrenaline running through his veins as he took her hand again, sealing a promise. The noise in the gym started to diminish as the students left. She then walks out through the glass door, leaving with her black gym bag. He watches her walk away and soon does the same.

Falu rang his bell from his bicycle as he went full speed. He can't forget about what happened earlier. The kick to his face. The handshakes. Their next fight. And Inys herself. A bunch of emotions were all over him but it wasn't so bad. He felt more motivated than ever. A huge smile formed on his face. He can't contain his excitement any longer then pedals once more, furthering away.

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A few more blocks and Inys was about to arrive at her house. She walks down the sidewalk with her posture still straight while carrying her gym bag. She went past a small playground with a bunch of kids playing around in it. They were so loud and cheerful, that caught Inys attention. She glanced at them briefly then proceeded to walk away. Seeing kids or people enjoying certain things scratches something at the back of her brain. It wasn't even bad. For her it was soothing, like a warm caress that's deep inside her chest. Yet at the same time it also creates a hollow that feels a longing.

Everytime she comes across people who enjoy something and treats this something with such importance she would start to wonder. Wondering how it feels to know what you enjoy. How can someone have this need of importance? What exactly is this "importance"? Her mind was always filled with questions that are still unanswered. Her legs stopped walking out of habit. She didn't even notice she had already arrived home. If not for her incredible muscle memory, she wouldn't even notice that she had already walked past her house.

A two story mansion with her mother and a couple of maids in it. A house that she always thought was too big for just a two-membered family. As she enters the house, she was greeted by the helpers and offered help to carry her bag which Inys refused. She walked upstairs but immediately halted when she heard her mother calling from the living room.

"Inys school is about to start next week. Do your best to excel in your school." Her mother said as she flipped through the pages in her newspaper. The hot coffee beside her filled the place with its aroma, Inys mother then sipped in it as she continued reading.

"I expect a lot from you, especially since you are the sole successor in our business."

"Yes, mother."

Inys continued to climb upstairs not waiting to hear another say from her mother. As soon as she gets inside her room, she drops her gym bag on the ground and bounces herself on the bed face first. She let out a heavy sigh on one of her pillows. Exhausted. Not because of that 30 minute walk that she did, but every time she's at home, an amount of her energy just decreases.

Inys loves her mother dearly but sometimes her expectations just get the best of her. When she was young, her world revolved around what her mother wanted but as soon as she grew up, her perspective and values changed which opened her eyes on the weight her mother had placed on her. Growing up with only one choice makes things difficult for her to understand herself. She doesn't know what she wants, since her life got used to depending on what her mother deems important.

She rolled over and saw the violin case beside her bed. She stood up, and took it out of its case. Inys started to play the instrument but noticed the tune to be off. She adjusts her strings to its proper tune. Her mind was not leaving her alone while she rubs the rosin on her bow to make it grip the strings better. She soon started to play back.

*rosin - a solid form of resin, where it is rubbed against the bow to fix its friction when played on the violin's strings.

Were the things she wanted what she really wanted or was it because it was what her mother wanted her to want?

The idea of herself not knowing anything was getting bothersome. Frustrated, she accidentally pushed the bow too hard on the strings, making it screech. She doesn't know who she really is and it was aggravating.

She came to a halt in her play. Nothing is going forward by her playing the instrument if her mind is in waywires. Inys returned the violin to its case and once laid down on her bed. Mind still remains on the same problem while her eyes on the ceiling reading nothing. Her eyes were closing along with her consciousness, slowly drifting away in a deep slumber.

*Author's note: Inys's played the Pierre Rode - 24 Caprices for solo violin, Op. 22  in this part :)).