While lost in thought looking at his mother sitting on the other end of the road he head a laugh.
"He he he..... little lad, are you going to be a caretaker, burp" chortled Mariam. Mariam was old and sat in a wheelchair. She had a head full of golden white hair with a streak of black at the centre and she always burps. Friends of Michael called her Granny Goldlocks.
"Grammy, all of my friends are going to try for the talent assessment. Why cant I go too?" Michail voiced his sadness to his grandmother.
"Young'un, your mother has been through a lot, burp. She is just looking out for you, burp. Your grandfather died in the great war, your father died in the Wailing forest. All these deaths takes a toll on the women at home. She is scared that she will lose you too, burp."
"But grammy, without strength we cant survive. who knows what is going to happen. If someday the horror of the Wailing forest comes out or the black magic of Megalith gets broken out, what will happen to us without any strength. All of us will be waiting to die. I want to acquire strength before anything bad happens. I don't want to rely on others when danger comes knocking on our door."
Growl, Michails stomach gave an unappealing ending to his monologue.
"Young'un its better for you to first deal with the hunger knocking on your stomach, he he..." laughed Mariam. "But in all seriousness I will talk with your mother. Now go to the kitchen and eat something and bring some for your grammy as well, burp"
Michail ate his breakfast with Mariam. The chicken soup made by Yena was delicious. She made a broth with the carcass and kept it overnight in a low flame. There were small chunks of carrots, onion and leeks floating in the clear soupy liquid. Pair it with bread and its the best breakfast for the old and young. Mariam enjoyed the feeling of hot soup moving down her throat on a cold windy morning. Michael finished his soup quickly and went out of the house. He was going to the Argot school.
The Argot school was a small school. All the human children below twelve years of age in the City of Ruins attended the Argot school to learn basics of reading writing and arithmetic. The school was setup by one of the first Caretakers in the council, William Argot, the mage of brilliance. The fee for a child was two coppers a month, which was pretty cheap for a school. Argot school stood three stories tall. The principal of the school was Mr Mulligans, a grumpy old man who always wore squeaky black shoes and groomed a handlebar moustache. His potbelly stretched his jacket buttons extensively. Unlucky Joe the janitor once stood in front of the principal to talk school matters, but his luck was so bad that the outstretched button on the principals potbelly shot out and hit his left eye turning it blind. Since then no student or teacher talked to Mr Mulligans standing in front, they were always vigilant of the button. The mischievous children of the school called him 'the button killer'.
Michail walked to the school. He walked the rowdy corridors of the school where children were playing or running around. Suddenly the kids stopped talking and laughing and ran to their respective classes. From behind him Michail also heard the squeaky sound of shoes approaching his direction."Its the button killer" he thought and quickened his pace. The classroom was two feet away when he felt the squeaky sound just behind him. A massive hand grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. Mr Mulligans with his glorious moustache and outstretched button greeted him. The button was at the eye level. Michail tacitly moved to the side and looked up at Mr Mulligans.
"Michail boy, I heard from your teacher that you are going to try the talent assessment. Good, good. The young'uns are passionate as always." Mulligans adjusted to face Michail. The godforsaken button in line with his face again.
"Mr Principal, I still need time to discuss it with my family, I have not gotten the go ahead from my mother to participate in the talent assessment. I can only go to the venue set by the council after her approval." Michail slowly moved away from the line of site to the side.
"Nonsense Michail boy. Talent assessment is the first step to any person in the City of Ruin for a better life. And you don't need to go anywhere. This year the talent assessment of humans is here, at Argot school and it is today."
Mr Mulligans pulled me into the classroom and announced the news happily.
"I hope all of you try your best in talent assessment and become people worthy of grooming. Even if you don't awaken a talent it does not mean that it is the end of the road. And those who awaken a talent, I hope you don't forget your roots." Mr Mulligans said excitedly.