The Children of Nihon (BOOK TWO)

Chapter 10 - Mirror Image

Sofia weighed the nut in her hand. She shook it, and listened to the seed inside the shell, rattling against its cage with no place to go.

She had found it on the ground, and, as if it were a forbidden fruit, had quickly snuck it into her pocket. She had by now realized that it would be too difficult to try to be alone for her experiment. But anyway, it didn't matter what object she did it with. So, better start small.

Better start with a little nut.

When she felt unobserved, she held it in her open palm. For a moment, she felt anxious, as if she were about to do a monumental thing. Though actually, what she was about to do couldn't have been easier.

With just a slight focusing of her mind, she created a second nut.

The perfect mirror image.

She held them both, looking at them distrustful, examining them from every angle to make sure they really were identical. They did look the same. The same smooth brown shell, the same scratches and lines in exactly the same places. When she held them each to her ear and rattled them, they made the same noises, as if the nut inside were of the exact same size and shape.

But were they really identical?

Was that even possible?

Sofia felt the urge to crack them open, to see if the fruit inside would be the same too, and if so, if it would taste the same as well. Instead, she closed her palm over the nuts and shook her fist until she was certain that she didn't know which one the real nut was. She opened her palm again, and there they still were. Two identical nuts.

Even though she didn't know which was which.

There was something about all of this that felt wrong. But that, Sofia thought, is a problem for another day. She had more important issues right now. And so she put the nuts into her pocket, and went to join Orì and Ami who were coming back from having gone bathing with most of the other children. Sofia had remained with the few timid children who were scared of water.

Orì had looked at her curiously, knowing very well that Sofia wasn't scared of the water, and that she was a good swimmer. But she hadn't said anything.

"Orì can breathe underwater," Ami said as soon as Sofia came near them. It was rare for him to speak out like that, unprompted, so Sofia could tell that he must have been very impressed.

She feigned a slight surprise.

"Can she now?"

Orì grinned.

"It's no big deal."

"You can dive, you can fly. What can't you do?" Sofia continued in good-natured mockery, and lay down next to them on the grass. Neither Orì's nor Ami's hair was wet, but she was long passed being surprised by these things.

"I can do everything," Orì bragged. "What have you been doing?"

Sofia shrugged.

"Thinking."

"About what?"

About how to get away from here.

"About when we will arrive at your home."

A slight shadow crossed Orì's face but she didn't let on.

"Soon. In two days or so."

They were quiet then. Even Ami looked worried.

It was the great unknown. What would happen to them once they were to arrive? By now, Sofia was quite certain that none of the most sinister things she had pictured would come to pass. There would be no dark and dirty cells, no torture chambers, no beatings and no killings. There would be some version of the same thing they'd started to experience on the road. Schooling, teaching. Probably with more structure, with clearer goals and less playfulness. Some truths would start to shine through about what they would be supposed to do, or when they would be ready, as Mother had said on several occasions.