Calysta could feel her classmates' eyes on her, as she stepped forward from her seat and begin her march on stage. She always had those nightmares where she tripped over her cape and fell flat on her face in front of everyone in her urb. Calysta keep her head high and her eyes on Clovis Lysander as she walked up the steps and stood before everyone.
Clovis began his introduction. "Calysta Briar from Urb 107. Her talents include telekinesis and speed. She has had the highest marks in her class and partakes in most of the volunteer activities during her free time." Calysta could feel her cheeks burn as the redness of bashfulness seeped in. It was one of the highest honors to have Clovis himself mention special things about each Thaerian.
She held out her hand for him to shake it, and he grasped her wrist tightly while shaking it. She turned around so that Clovis could unclasp her I.D. tag, the one that was given to her at birth. After placing it in the scanner, she awaited patiently for her mate's location to appear on the screen. She hoped that it was within a few day's travel, so that she wouldn't have to journey all across the planet to find her soulmate.
All of a sudden, the screen became fuzzy and a high-pitched sound filled the arena. Calysta, while covering her ears, looked around at everyone else. She wondered what was going on and was a tad scared. After a few seconds, the noise stopped and a clear description and picture of her destination appeared on the thin screen. It read:
Location: Earth
Urb: Prairie Village, Kansas
Distance: 56,345,000 miles away.
Time of Departure: June 15
Time of Arrival: June 17
The entire crowd gasped along with Calysta. Earth? There was no way. There was always one person in their graduating class that had to travel the farthest...but 56 million miles away? Calysta was appalled. "Thank you for your time devoted to Thaera, and we hope to see you again." Clovis smiled and kissed her on the forehead. Calysta's tattoo lit up in a bluish color and then dulled back to normal. She returned to her seat, still in shock, and waited for the rest of the ceremony to be over. As Clovis closed the ceremony by dismissing everyone, Calysta was the first to get off of her seat and run toward her parents. She held them in a tight embrace, sobbing into their shoulders.
"Mum, Dad, what am I going to do? Earth is too far away, and I just can't..." She choked on her sobs, stopping to sniffle and wipe her eyes.
Her mother spoke first. "Oh Cal, this isn't a choice. You'll have to go. We trust that you'll have the knowledge and ability to find your mate soon, so that you can come home soon." She began to get teary eyed as well.
"Cal, we've raised you right enough to know that you'll overcome this fear and return to us unharmed. You'll do fine," her father encouraged.
"But, I leave in two days! That's barely enough time to pack, and prepare, and say goodbye, and..." She felt woozy even just thinking about her trip.
Her mother held her tighter. "Calysta, we are certain you'll be fine. Besides, you're almost all packed already! We did it for you. And we'll hopefully see you when you return. We know you'll make all the right choices. You just need to follow your heart and let it lead your life for awhile."
Calysta knew her mother was right, and that she always knew the right things to say in troubled times. Passing by the obnoxious, shocked stares of her classmates, Calysta wiped her eyes and didn't bother to make any small talk or conversation. She paused briefly when seeing the concerned faces of her friends standing near the exit. She noticed Nat's tear stained face, as Nat stepped forward to hug her. Calysta entered the embrace of her best friend's arms and they cried into each other's shoulders. After pulling away, she could not stand to be in the arena any longer.
It held the solemn memory of her soon-to-be absence. She flashed Louis and Liam an apologetic look, and rushed to get home. Once there, she flopped onto her bed, and spent the rest of her night crying into her pillow, while her parents banged on her door, wanting to console her feelings.
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Calysta went straight to her room by the time she got back from the ceremony. She didn't know what to do, scream or calm down. Scrunching up the pillow around her head, she hoped it might've muffled the screams.
Raising her head from the pillow, she could see that most of her stuff was packed tightly in various suitcases that were stacked against the wall. She had remembered beginning to pack weeks in advance, being excited to travel the planet in search of her soul mate. She had no intention of visiting a planet 56 million miles away.
Calysta desperately wanted out of her room, where she could be remembered of her departure that was awaiting her. She decided on going for a run. Using her speed, she ran to her secret place, a place she figured she wouldn't see until she got back from her mate search.
It was just outside a dense forest on a cliff side. There was a tree, whose branches were twisted in such a way that made it great for climbing. A small stream trickled right beside it, running down the face of the cliff. Calysta eagerly sat upon the lowest branch and kicked off her gray gladiator sandals. Letting her feet dangle in the cool water, she began to ponder the recent events that occurred just a moment ago.
She still couldn't even believe she'd have to travel at least 56 million miles away just to find her mate. And he probably wasn't even from this planet, so how'd he find the other half of the shape of her I.D. tag?
She was also appalled at the fact that some of her school friends' mates were in their own urb, and some were even lucky enough to have their mates be in their very own friend circle. Calysta did not think it was fair that she was the only one of her class who had to venture out into a planet unknown to Thaerians.
Looking up to the stars beginning to come into view, Calysta instantly saw a flash of light across the night sky. It was a shooting star. Her lock tattoo lit up in the same blue color that appeared on the stage of the ceremony. It was Thaerian legend that if you saw one, three consecutive good events and one bad one would occur. Hoping for the best, she stood up from her branch and grabbed her sandals to leave the secretive area.
The run back home was exhausting from the tiring events from the previous hours. The nature and wildlife stood out, and Calysta made sure to take in the moment for the last time for a while. The green trees stretched to the sky and the singing birds tweeted simultaneously in a high-pitched song. She sighed, and kept running past the beautiful scenery.
When she approached her home, all the lights were out. She suspected her family was asleep already. Climbing the staircase carefully, she made sure to avoid the steps that creaked. Her room was dark as well, and she could only make out the shadows of the objects in her room. She tiptoed straight to her window seat, and pulled her legs up to her chest. Running memories through her head, she leaned back against the cushion and felt her heart beat slow down. Gradually, her eyelids shut letting her fall prey to slumber.
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Hope you liked this chapter, and sorry I haven't written in a while. I've been so busy! So here's kind of a filler chapter! Love you all so much and thank you for reading! ~authentickisses
