Evanesterrin

Chapter One

"Can you turn your light off?" Brydan said in a snappy tone.

"Sorry... I can't sleep. I'm nervous." Naeren said, rolling over in her bed to face her brother. He lay in the bed across from her with an annoyed expression.

"Well, I want to sleep. It's after curfew." Brydan said.

"You're just mad because you failed the test! That was two years ago Brydan! Why do you still have to be upset about it?" Naeren said. As soon as the words had left her lips she regretted it. Brydan's face darkened.

"Well if you pass, you'll have to leave and never see me or mom and dad again!" With that outburst, Brydan rolled over to face the wall and angrily pulled the gray blanket up over his head.

Naeren flicked off her light and rolled over to face her own wall, trying not to let anyone hear her crying.

Naeren thought about her oldest brother. He had been one of the first people to pass the test, and he had been gone since then. Brydan had taken it two years ago, and tomorrow, it would be Naeren's turn.

Naeren felt conflicted. She had always felt closer with her oldest brother than she had with Brydan, but she had been very young when her brother had passed the test and left to the Paradise World. She felt more tears spill from her eyes when she realized that it had been so long since she had seen him she couldn't remember exactly how he looked.

Would her brother remember her? Would he want to see her? What if he was so much older and hadn't seen her in so long that he didn't care about her? Naeren tossed and turned restlessly. She felt conflicted. She really wanted to pass the test, but was it really worth not seeing her parents or Brydan again? What if some of her friends didn't pass? What if all of her friends passed but she failed?

Naeren suddenly felt sick. She ran to the bathroom. She rested her head against the cold stone wall. The chill felt good against her skin, but she still felt as though she might vomit.

She ran cold water into the sink and splashed it onto her face. In the polished metal slab above the sink, Naeren saw her reflection. Her skin was pale. Her blue-green eyes were wide. Her brown hair was messy from her restless movements as she had tried in vain to fall asleep. She looked almost as terrible as she felt. A sudden knocking on her door made her jump.

"Naeren? Is that you in there?" Naeren's mother demanded.

"Yes, mother." Naeren opened the door, her gaze fixed firmly on her bare feet.

"Look at me when I speak to you, Naeren. You know you aren't supposed to be out of bed past curfew!"

Naeren nodded and looked up at her mother. Her father stood behind her mother, an impenetrable fortress of humans blocking Naeren from escaping the bathroom until they had finished their lecture.

"I was feeling sick..." Naeren mumbled. The past tense was a lie. She still felt sick. If anything, she felt even worse than she had before.

"It doesn't matter Naeren. You know the rules. No leaving your bed after curfew!" Naeren's father spoke up.

Naeren stayed silent, biting back the fact she desperately wished she could state: You and mom are out of bed after curfew...

"Go back to bed now. Do not leave until morning. Your test is tomorrow. Do not fail." Naeren's mother ordered. Naeren silently nodded and slipped past her parents and back to her room. She could feel their gazes on her the entire way back to her room. She kept her eyes downcast and wished that she could disappear.

Naeren lay down in her bed again. As she faced the wall, her thoughts turned to the test again. Her parents had always been strict. That was normal for parents where she lived. However, after her brother had failed, they had only gotten more strict. Naeren knew that no one was allowed to be up past curfew in her town. Naeren tried to will herself to fall asleep, but after a long time of staring at the wall she gave up.

Naeren loved her family. Of course she did, but she was still conflicted. If she passed tomorrow, she would never see them again. She might be able to find her brother, and she would get to go to the Paradise World, but this would be her final few hours at home if she did. If she failed, she would never see her oldest brother again, but she would get to stay with the rest of her family. However, if she failed, they would hate her for the shame it brought. To have not one, but two children not pass the test? Naeren shuddered at the thought of her parents' disappointment.

*******

Naeren didn't remember falling asleep, but she must have drifted off because the next thing she knew, sunlight was pouring into the room and Brydan was shaking her awake.

"Get up, Naeren," Brydan said, emotionlessly. Naeren knew that he was still upset about the night before. In most cases, Naeren would have mimicked his sullen silence, but she knew that this might be the last time she ever saw him or spoke to him.

"I'm sorry about last night," Naeren said. A pained look flashed in Brydan's eyes and before Naeren could say anything else, Brydan had pulled her into a suffocatingly tight hug. Naeren was shocked. This kind of show of affection was almost never expressed here. The fact that Brydan was hugging her made Naeren sure that he had also been thinking about the possibility of never seeing her again. Fresh tears welled in Naeren's eyes, but she fought them back. She would not show that weakness now.

"Come on. You have to get ready for the test!" Brydan said, letting go of the tight embrace he had on Naeren. Naeren grabbed her clothes and went to change. While she was gone, Brydan carefully slipped an envelope into Naeren's bag, making sure it was hidden and buried deep enough that it wouldn't fall out without her seeing it.

When Naeren returned from getting dressed, she entered the kitchen and sat at the pristine counter. Her mother presented her with her favorite breakfast, and her father had gotten her a small gift wrapped in a thin white paper. Naeren began to eat and carefully opened the gift. Inside was a delicate bracelet of brown cords, braided together with silver beads.

"It's... beautiful! Thank you!" Naeren was in awe of the gift as she presented her wrist to her father so that he could tie the beautiful threads. Naeren had never owned any kind of jewelry before. She smiled at her family as they smiled back.

Slowly, her smile faded. She knew why she was getting these gifts. Her family was saying goodbye.