Abarith
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Chapter 7: The Weight of Truth
🕑 Added 2024-11-22 05:44:28 +0000 UTC“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry Jeremy. Are you hurt?” The young woman’s voice trembled, her hands shaking as she looked him over, completely ignoring the apples scattered around her. She barely seemed to notice them, her gaze fixed entirely on Jeremy as though nothing else in the world mattered.
Around them, everyone in the park had paused as well, focusing on him. Strangers he barely knew came closer, eyes searching his face for signs of pain. Even those sitting at the edges of the park stood and came to him. It was like time had stopped, and he had become the center of their universe.
Jeremy blinked, caught off guard. “I’m fine, miss, really. Don’t worry.” He forced a smile, waving away her concern, but his mind was elsewhere, still distracted by his new Skill. There’s no way I unlocked another Skill just like that. Is it really so easy?
Seeing Jeremy distracted, the woman grew even more frantic, to the point of being hysterical. “Oh no, Jeremy. Here, please, you must sit down—are you sure you’re alright? Do you need water? I’ll get some water!”
She reached for him, as if trying to guide him to her stool, and the others seemed ready to follow her lead, murmuring to each other, eyes wide. It was like he had fallen from a roof rather than simply been hit by a few apples.
“Calm down, Grace, he’s fine,” an older woman’s voice broke through the crowd. An elderly lady, her hair pulled into a neat bun, stepped forward, placed a hand on the young woman’s shoulder. “Look, see? Jeremy’s alright,” she assured her, her tone gentle. She then gave him a warm smile. He was shocked by the way they all knew him by name, even this old woman whose face he couldn’t quite recall. Has this not been the first time he has seen her? And why did her expression seem so... relieved?
He couldn’t help but feel a tingle crawling up his spine. They all looked at him so intensely, too much for a simple tumble of apples. The faces that hovered over him were more than just concerned—they were almost anxious, like he was someone precious.
It was then that, as if someone had flicked a switch, the crowd walked away. One by one, the people straightened, offering brief smiles before returning to whatever they had been doing. The hysterical young woman let out a little laugh, patting his shoulder. She then gathered her fallen apples with a cheerful smile, as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
Jeremy felt his breath hitch, realizing that something weird had just happened, and not knowing why. Abandoning his original plan for the day, he rushed out of the park, and ran back home.
As he ran past the bakery, the baker looked up from his dough with a nod and a smile. “Jeremy! Running home already? Don’t trip, now!”
Jeremy gave a quick nod in return, too preoccupied to say much, but as he sped away, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the baker’s gaze lingered on him a bit longer than usual.
Farther down, he passed Mrs. Langley, who was locking up her bookstore for lunch. She waved as he flew by. “Careful there, Jeremy! You’ll wear out those shoes faster than they can grow!”
Normally, he would’ve laughed, but today, her words felt heavier somehow, as though every person he met was trying to say something he didn’t quite understand. They’d always been kind, of course, but today… today felt different.
He pushed on, picking up his pace until he was nearly running. A few streets over, a couple of kids he recognized from the park watched him dash by. One waved, but he didn’t stop to wave back.
His legs carried him quickly back home, Running allowing him to speed through town. He met Andrew on the way, who was balancing a cup nearly filled to the brim. “You decided to have lunch at home?” Andrew asked, giving Jeremy a quick glance before returning his attention to the cup. “Here, I brought a cup of coffee. I think I’m about to give Dad a heart attack with how much coffee I’ve been giving him.”
His heart was still racing from the strange scene in the park. “Something weird happened at the park. I wanted to tell Dad,” he said, unease in his voice. Andrew, sensing this, simply nodded, and the two ran back home.
By the time they reached the front door, questions were piling up in his mind. He burst inside, finding his father seated in the living room, reading a book.
His father looked up calmly. “Back so soon? I thought you’d be out all day.”
Jeremy dropped into the seat across from him, catching his breath, as Andrew gave their father the cup. “Dad… something strange happened at the park.”
“Oh?” His father’s tone was calm, as if he already knew what he wanted to say.
Jeremy hesitated, unsure where to start. “There was this woman… she was having trouble, and some apples fell. I tried to help, and somehow I unlocked Reflexes. But that’s not the weird part.” He paused, seeing his father’s shocked face, and his brother’s frown. “Everyone started gathering around me, like, a lot of people. And they all knew my name… then, out of nowhere, they all just went back to what they were doing. It was… weird.”
For a moment, his father didn’t respond, his gaze drifting out the window. He took a sip of his coffee, as if considering his words carefully. “I had hoped you’d never notice,” he finally said, a hint of regret in his voice. “But perhaps, with you both leaving for the academy soon, they became… complacent.”
He set his cup down, leaning forward slightly. “Boys, there’s something I need to tell you. About the town.”
A chill ran down Jeremy’s spine, his pulse quickening as he waited for his father to continue.
“You see, Eldoria is… different. It isn’t just any town. Your mother and I, we own the place. Every house, every street, everything in town and everything as far as the eye can see. We had this town built so that your mother would have a quiet place to raise you in a safe environment.” He leaned back, watching their reaction closely. “The people you saw today—they either work for us, or they’re people we know and trust completely. They’re here to ensure you and Andrew are safe.”
Every interaction Jeremy ever had in Eldoria raced through his mind with the help of Memorization. He remembered Mr. Hendrickson from the coffee shop, who would let him sneak a marshmallow or two when he thought his mother wasn’t looking. Jeremy had thought it was their little secret, something special just for them. Now, he couldn’t help but wonder if it had all been arranged, part of some greater plan to keep him happy.
Each memory had felt real to him, but was any of it truly real? A wave of something like betrayal washed over him, but mixed with a bit of warmth, knowing that these people had still shown him genuine care in their own way.
“Wait, everyone here knows about us? They’re just… watching us?” Andrew asked in disbelief, shocked at the revelation.
His father gave a small nod. “As the children of your mother and I, they know how important the two of you are. I ordered them to be warm and caring towards you, and to keep you safe above all. Think of them as… an extended family, in a way.”
Jeremy shook his head, trying to process it all. “So… every talk I’ve had with people here, it was all fake? Every time we went with Mom to town to have dinner, every time we hung out with the other kids, all of it… it’s not real?”
“Of course it was real,” his father said gently. “Think about what you felt during those moments. Were you happy? The emotions you felt were real, even if we ordered them to be here. Besides, the children in town just did whatever they wanted; we didn’t tell their parents to have them be friends with you. That, at least, was genuine.”
A silence stretched between them, heavy with unspoken questions. Jeremy looked down, trying to process it all, while Andrew frowned, glancing up at their father with another question.
“But I still don’t understand,” Andrew started hesitantly. “Can’t we just live in a normal city instead? Why have the town?”
Their father sighed, a look of understanding crossing his face. "I know it’s hard to take in. But living in a normal city has problems, especially because of who your mother and I are. We’re not just soldiers, boys. We’re among the highest Tiered individuals in all of humanity. Each of us leads a war against an alien civilization, and we report directly to the Emperor.”
Jeremy and Andrew exchanged glances, shock flashing between them.
"The Emperor?" Jeremy repeated, his voice barely a whisper.
Their father nodded. "In a regular city, everyone you will meet would try to get close to you only because of us. They will impress you, flatter you—anything to use you to reach us."
Andrew's expression turned dark. "So… they’re gonna pretend to be friends with us?"
"Yes. We wanted you to have a chance to grow up without that, to live in a place where people treated you as yourselves, not just as our children." His gaze softened. "This town is filled with people we trust, people who understand our mission, and who would protect you and your sister as they would their own children."
A silence filled the room as Jeremy absorbed his father’s words. The smiles, the kind faces in town, even the very streets—all of it had come from a plan. Yet, there was something reassuring in knowing that the people around them genuinely cared, not because of power or influence, but because they were chosen by his parents to care for them.
"So," Jeremy said slowly, "we're here because you and Mom wanted us to be genuine people—to know how it feels to grow up without all that… that fake stuff."
His father smiled, nodding. "Exactly. I know it may seem strange or even disappointing right now, but we wanted you to grow up with relationships, to learn what it feels like to make friends without any hidden intentions. Everyone here—they care for you both deeply."
Jeremy’s heart swelled as he considered this. Though it was unsettling to realize the control his parents had over his world, it was also comforting to know it had been created out of love, not power.
Andrew’s voice broke the silence. “But what if we want to go somewhere else? Meet people outside of here?”
His father looked at him intently. “In a few days, you will. Once you’re at the academy you’ll meet people who know exactly who we are. You’ll make friends—some will be true, others maybe less so.”
Jeremy frowned. “But… how will we know which ones are real and which are fake?”
His father smiled, nodding thoughtfully. “That’s the thing, it doesn’t matter. What’s important is how you feel. If you’re happy around them, then that friendship is real for you. Be genuine with others, and the rest will take care of itself.”
He looked at both of them steadily. “You don’t have to pretend, and you never have to worry about others’ intentions. If you want someone to be a friend, they’ll be your best friend. If you tell someone to laugh, they’ll laugh like it’s the funniest joke they’ve ever heard. If you ask a girl if she likes you, she’ll fall head over heels for you. And if you tell someone to never show their face again, they will disappear. You are the sons of Adrian and Helena Hoppins. Only what you want will matter.”
