Mama was my first and best teacher, an educator of compassion, love, and courage. If love is as sweet as the nectar of a wildflower, then my mother was that blooming garden that perfumed our lives with her presence.
Emilia looked at me with maternal tenderness as she held her left arm against her chest in a gesture that felt familiar.
—Help me, Cassie —she requested with that velvety voice that always made me feel like the most precious treasure in the universe.
Mama… I approached her and wrapped her in a fierce embrace, still slightly annoyed by Arceus's sharp comment.
—I love you —I murmured against the rough fabric of her black uniform, inhaling her scent of lavender and home.
—That's what I love most about you —her hands rested gently on my shoulders, and I felt the familiar warmth of her touch, like a balm for the soul.
I raised my face to look into her eyes, losing myself in her transparent gaze.
—That I have the mindset of a five-year-old? —I asked with mischief, a playful smile creeping onto my lips.
I watched her gently shake her head in negation, and her next words made my heart swell with joy within my chest.
—No, that you deeply value your entire family —her melodious voice caressed my ears as her hands framed my face with infinite tenderness—. That you're able to see the best in each of us.
—Thank you, Mama —I felt my face light up with a radiant smile, as if my happiness were too great to contain beneath my skin.
Despite everything, I genuinely cherished every member of our peculiar clan. My beloved mother and my dear heart-siblings.
What did it matter if we weren't bound by blood?
There was nothing in the world more valuable to me than them.
This house carved into the earth… it was my family. And these were our ordinary days, imbued with the warmth only a true home could provide, even underground, far from the sun.
The air vibrated with the lively voices of my siblings, forming a comforting cacophony. I watched dozens of children dressed in immaculate white uniforms seated around the three sturdy oak tables, surrounded by plates brimming with food. Emilia, standing before us all, gracefully rang the bell she held aloft.
—Right on time. Enjoy your meal —she announced with a voice as clear as spring water.
A collective "thank you for the food" echoed under the ceiling before we all began to savor our meal with the enthusiasm of youth.
After the meal and the ritual of brushing our teeth, we headed orderly to the room that served as our classroom.
"For our future. For our well-being," I recalled Emilia's solemn words, who had explained that these daily exams were a substitute for the conventional schools that once existed on the surface, before the world changed forever.
I didn't dwell too much on those words as I tackled the complex exams placed before me. Questions on numerical reasoning, abstract logic, attention and concentration, spatial aptitude, and verbal comprehension flowed under my pen with the familiarity of a daily ritual.
When we finished, I heard sighs of exhaustion around me. Some classmates slumped over their desks with weary expressions, others stretched muscles stiffened by tension.
—Ugh… finally —an anonymous voice sighed.
—We're done, thank heavens —another commented.
—I'm finished… I think my head's going to explode —a third complained, rubbing their temples.
—Reinhardt, you're truly amazing.
—Your name's at the top of the list again.
—That means you were number one again, right?
"We were the top three, as usual: Reinhardt, Arceus, and me," I thought with pride as I gazed at the results board Emilia had posted on the wall.
Reinhardt, the undisputed genius with the sharpest mind I had ever known. Arceus, so perceptive and intelligent that he was the only one able to keep up with him intellectually.
In truth, the exams were indifferent to me—mere exercises to keep our minds occupied—but the look of pride on Emilia's face when she saw my name among the top ranks made any effort worthwhile.
After each exam day, we were allowed to play freely. Though the outside remained shrouded in perpetual darkness, none of us minded playing among ourselves under that black, unchanging sky.
The uneven terrain, covered in grayish dust and debris from forgotten buildings, was our makeshift playground, a realm of fantasy where our imaginations soared free.
—Are you up for playing today, Arceus? —I asked hopefully as I stretched my left arm with the help of my right, preparing for our usual game of hide-and-seek.
I spotted him leaning against a rocky formation about ten meters away, engrossed in a book whose title I couldn't make out from my position.
—I'll pass for today —he replied without bothering to lift his gaze from the pages that captivated him.
—Tch, it wouldn't kill you to come play with us just once —I reproached, fixing my crimson eyes on his distant figure.
—What are you staring at so intensely? —Lulu's curious voice startled me from behind.
—Ah! —I let out a yelp as I felt her small arms wrap around me in a surprise hug—. Hey, don't sneak up like that!
—Haha, I'm so sorry, Cassie —she apologized between crystalline giggles—. You were standing still like a statue for a while, so I couldn't resist the temptation.
—What kind of excuse is that…? —I replied, feigning indignation.
—I'm starting the count! —Reinhardt's firm voice interrupted us from one side of the makeshift playground.
I turned my head and saw him with his hand raised as a signal to begin, ready to start the countdown for our favorite game. Lulu and I took off running alongside the other children, big and small alike, while Reinhardt stood with his arms crossed before beginning his methodical search.
Running with the nonexistent wind hitting my face, leaping over obstacles like a gazelle, playing hide-and-seek with the precision of someone who knows every nook and cranny, hiding behind ancient debris and millennial rock formations, I recalled with nostalgia that these games had been our constant since I could remember.
The complex rocky formation with its countless blind spots, the arid earth, and the mysterious debris surrounding the house on all sides… It was the territory my siblings and I knew as intimately as our own skin, with its scars and moles.
The grounds of the house stretched vastly in all directions, like a sea of stone and dust. But beyond this expansive territory, there were two forbidden zones we were strictly prohibited from approaching: the sinister tunnel leading to other underground shelters—or so Emilia had explained—and the narrow ravine where, we were told, my siblings had been adopted before my arrival.
None of us ever questioned those unbreakable rules. As long as we lived under that protective roof, we would obey the established norms with gratitude and compliance.
Despite the restrictions and mysteries, I never harbored resentment toward our underground home.
How could I feel anything negative?
My mama was here… I already had everything I could ever want in this devastated world.
I was already immensely happy in my underground bubble, shielded from the hostile outside I could barely imagine.