3rd Calendar, Year 674

Kalen approached the edge of the cliff and took a deep breath.

He looked at the water down below and saw light waves hitting the base of the tall rock which he stood upon. The warm sun bathing his skin reigned supreme in the sky and the sea was, thankfully, calm that morning. Turning his head he saw the three people that followed him still climbing the path of stones leading to the cliff's edge. He had only a few seconds before they caught up to him.

Kalen turned to the sea again and breathed deeply a second time. He was familiar enough with the water around that area to know there were no rocks. Still, the height of the jump made him unease. He heard the sound of steps getting closer and made his decision. 

Now that it has come to this, Kalen thought, I have no choice.

Readying his body, Kalen focused. He had never been sure why he always focused when he needed to use his body in an extreme situation. His instincts told him to. It was pointless trying to understand, he simply knew something called to him and if he listened, he was able to push through any limit. And at that moment, he needed just that.

Kalen jumped, eyes fixed on the blue carpet waiting all the way down. He felt the wind embrace him, the briny air filling his lungs while adrenaline traveled his blood like never before. He adjusted his body and his hands carved a path for him when entering the cold water. Seconds later, he emerged and shot a look at the cliff's edge, where those three people were still standing.

Now is the moment of truth. Are you jumping after me?

"You maniac!" A boy screamed.

Kalen chuckled, then drew air to scream back. "If you don't jump I win by default!"

"There's no way any of us can jump!" A girl screamed. "Even if we did.. there's no point, look how far you are! That's insane!"

Kalen hadn't realize before the girl, Joana, mentioned it, but he had reached quite the distance in his jump. It surprised him since he had imagined he would fall somewhat closer to the rock. Well, even better! Kalen thought.

"All right, you chickens," Kalen screamed. "if you're not going to jump—"

Just as it seemed none of his friends would follow him and jump, one did. Shiori fell in the water — feet first and arms glued to her body — between Kalen and the rock.

After she emerged, Shiori looked at him and frowned. "You're a freak! How did you manage to jump that far?"

Kalen shrugged. "I just jumped."

"Can't believe we actually did it." She said, looking at their two friends who appeared nowhere interested in joining them. "My father will kill me if he finds out."

"Mine will complain I didn't tell him to come along." Kalen said, laughing.

Shiori chuckled. "I can see your father pouting even."

Kalen and Shiori had been close friends all his life. Their parents moved together to Iroyama eighteen years before — the year both of them were born and adopted. The two families created a bond and as a result there was no one who knew more about Kalen than Shiori — or vice versa.

"Seems they're going back to the path." Kalen said. "Should we swim to the lower rocks on the other side?"

"Let's." Shiori replied. "But first..."

She swam to Kalen and kissed him. He felt her soft lips touching his while he wrapped his arms around her body, pulling her close.

At times Kalen asked himself how could he be so lucky. The other boys seemed to be all in love with Joana. Her blonde hair and blue eyes sure were captivating, and she had beautiful features, Kalen couldn't deny that. But in his opinion she was no match for Shiori.

Dark hair and pearlscent skin, Shiori's beauty was enhanced by her penetratingly sharp gaze — which seemed to seek every secret inside Kalen's soul. He often failed to avoid getting lost studying the patterns in her light brown eyes.

Shiori seemed to be contemplating his eyes as well. "Do you ever wonder where we came from?"

Kalen frowned. "That's out of the blue."

"I mean, your eyes are scarlet red," Shiori said. "everyone else in our town have either blue or brown. Doesn't that make you wonder?"

"Well, I can only imagine there are towns out there full of people with different eye colors." Kalen replied.

Shiori paused. "I know our parents said the lands we come from are far away but how come there has never been a single traveler passing through our town with the same color of eyes as you have? Or not even a different color than everybody else we know?"

"I remember meeting one with green eyes once." He said. "Though, admittedly, it was so close to blue I had my doubts."

"I don't know.." Shiori said. "Sometimes I wish there was more I could find out about the World and what happened to our real parents. Did they die? Were we abandoned? My father always finds a way to escape when I ask him."

Kalen had wondered about those same questions in the past. He too had tried and failed knowing more about his origins just like Shiori. It started around the time he noticed what he was able to do when focusing deeply and listening to the subtle calling in the air. He wanted to tell his parents and Shiori about it, but he didn't know how they would react, so he had decided he needed to learn more about who he was first.

Eventually, however, his curiosity waned as he realized he already had everything he could have wanted. Loving parents, the girl of his dreams and a peaceful life. He was happy as it was and didn't need anything to change.

"I get wanting to know." Kalen said. "But it doesn't matter to me if we don't. It's not like we are lost descendants of a king or something."

Shiori sighed as Kalen kissed her neck. "You never know. We could be next in line to rule Athrea."

Kalen chuckled. "That would be funny. Can you imagine we going to the capital and telling the Emperor 'Hi, we are two nobodies from the end of the World and we came to claim the throne'."

Kalen and Shiori stared at each other for a second, before breaking in laughter.

Shiori pushed Kalen away and started swimming. "Let's go back. I am sure Joana and Seth are anxious to make fun of us."

"Do we have to?" Kalen asked, slightly disappointed.

As he swam behind Shiori, a bright blue light seemed to have come from a cavity in the rock. Kalen looked at the hole and wondered if there could be a cave there. Even if there were, Kalen thought, it's too small for anyone to pass.

The blue light shone again and Kalen hesitated for a moment, but continued to swim away.