December 17th, 2043. Goodwill General, Brown Hills, Santa Pyre. 9:50 AM.
We began our hunt. First things first, I picked up two baskets and handed them each to Daina along with a professional, "Try to keep up!" I dashed ahead, expertly weaving through wayward shoppers.
"Hey! Billy! Wait for me!" She gave pursuit. I slowed down a little.
I sighed. No point in leaving her too far behind, right? After all, I haven't told her what's about to happen yet. "Daina! We're about to play the Speed Shopper game! Are you ready?"
"The what!? Bill, won't you slow down!"
"Just follow my lead! Trust me, it will be fun! Here goes! Flour!" I picked up four pounds, shot towards Daina and placed them into one of the baskets. "White sugar! Baking powder!" I repeated the action. "Dozen eggs! Icing!" Like this, the pattern continued. Daina gradually got used to it, learning the ropes, and steadily had a better time keeping up. "Time for round two!"
"Bring it!" replied Daina with a smile, getting fired up.
"Yeah!" I continued the game. "Vanilla Essence! Butter!" Daina worked harder. "Chocolate Chips! Sprinkles!" Various onlookers watched with interest as our game continued. See, this was the way to do something: have fun doing it! Daina seemed to enjoy this form of shopping as I caught her playful smiles. Little did she know that this was something my Mom and I always did whenever she came with me. It was like a tradition.
Soon enough we were waiting in line, a little winded but otherwise happy. Daina said it was the most fun she had ever had in all her life.
"Yo! Bill!" called Samuel's voice from behind. I turned to him. "That looked like fun. We should have a competition to see who can shop the fastest!"
"Oh, brother!" said Samantha. She gave him a soft smack on the head with her wallet.
"Ow! What'cha do that for!?" he overacted. Daina and I laughed.
After returning home and delivering the shopping to Mom, I pulled Daina aside. "Hey, I've got an idea. I'd like to show you someplace magical. Trust me, you're going to love it."
"Um... Okay. If you insist."
"Great! I'll go ask Dad." We went inside. As usual, I found Dad reading the newspaper. He preferred reading over watching television any day of the week. "Hey, Dad. Can I take Daina on a hike to our spot beyond our backyard?"
"Sure thing, son, if she agrees," he replied without looking up, as if it were a perfectly normal thing for me to ask of him.
Daina looked at me questioningly. "A hike!?"
"It's not far. Less than a kilometer tops. Trust me; it'll be totally worth it."
"Let's go after we have a little snack, okay?"
"Sure. We have to pass through the kitchen back door, anyway."
12:00 PM.
"Be careful, and don't stay too long, dears," called Mom behind us as we embarked on our hike. Our destination was to the south of the house, almost to the edge of the Brown Hills Highlands.
"Say, are you fully sure you know the way?" asked Daina for the final time.
"Dad has taken Ameera and me to the "spot" so many times that I know the trail by heart," I replied with utmost confidence. "Why, I'm ninety nine point nine, nine, nine, nine, nine, nine, nine… NINE percent sure I won't get us lost in the woods."
"The horror!" yelped Daina jokingly. I laughed dryly.
"You can count on me, Sister Daina."
"Alright, I'll take your word for it. Let's go."
I smiled as I focused on the path ahead. The trail went east, up a slope, down the other side, then to the west, then southwards across the first creek, to the east again, southwards past the second creek, and ended at a heavily wooded tree line.
"Bill, this is a dead end! You've gotten us lost!" accused Daina.
"No, we're here," I replied with a slight chuckle, having expected her reaction. "Hmm, were these trees always this thick? When was the last time Dad brought me here, anyway?" I thought for a moment before turning to Daina and sighing.
"Is something wrong, Bill?" Daina noticed the slight pained look on my face.
I gathered my courage and put on a determined face. "Our clothes will get ruined if we try to pass through like this. There's no other choice; I'm going to have to cut us a path."
"Cut a path?" Daina repeated in confusion. "Wait, what are you planning to do?"
"I have been doing some light training, and I came up with a new technique. Observe." I turned and went up to the tree line. "First… Light Boost, Level Two!" I felt my muscles not just tense, but expand slightly, and my energy flowed more powerfully than with Level One. "Okay, let's give this a try." I bladed my right hand and coated it in tungsten steel. I channeled a great deal of energy, generating so much electricity that my hand blade started glowing white while vibrating rather violently.
"Bill, what is this!?" Daina sounded alarmed, rightfully so.
"This… is… my… White Blade!" I gritted out, feeling my energy dropping quickly. I held my arm to my right before swinging with immense strength and speed, leaving a gleaming afterimage as it sang through the air. My hand blade sliced through the closest tree like a hot knife through butter. "White Frenzy!" I continued forward, slashing in such a way that each tree fell to the side.
By the time I was done and returned to Daina, I was clearly exhausted, both techniques dispelled. I caught my breath, hunched over with my hands on my knees. "Billy, are you alright!?"
"I'm fine… Let's just go to the other side and I'll sit down and rest for a bit." Daina nodded and we started moving through the freshly cleared path, steam rising from the burnt tree stumps. We came out to a fairly large, open meadow. "Behold!" I announced.
The meadow was filled with various colorful flowers. Wild rabbits foraged in small groups here and there, and song birds sang as they fluttered about. It was truly a slice of heaven, slotted here in the land of yours truly.
"Oh, my goodness! This is the most beautiful place I've ever seen!" Daina exclaimed. She suddenly snatched me into a hug. "Thanks for showing me this wonderful place!"
"I'm... glad you... like it..." I managed, still tired.
"I don't like it..." she drawled as she put me down, confusing me, "I LOVE IT HERE!"
"Great." I just slumped into sitting. "Before we head back, I need to show you the view."
"The view?" she asked as she patted some grass with her feet before joining me. I pointed to a small hill at the edge of the meadow. Beyond it, we could just barely see the larger hills of the Highlands. "Okay, sounds good."
"I… I want to talk to you about something." Daina looked at me. "I'd like for us to have our own training sessions out here, just the two of us. Hardly anyone from the village ever comes here, and few even know about this particular meadow to begin with. We can cut loose out here without fear of discovery. How about every Saturday afternoon?"
"Hmm, okay. It's not a bad idea, I think." Daina nodded. "Now, tell me about your new move. This has to be your most dangerous technique by far."
"It is," I agreed immediately. "While surfing the internet for ideas, I came upon a science website. In the physics section, a line stated that particle bonds could be weakened by strong oscillations, or vibrations."
Daina's eyes widened. "In Solids, especially densely packed ones, the molecules have low kinetic energy and just slightly vibrate in place. Adding more and more energy, usually heat, causes the molecules to vibrate more and more, undermining the atomic bonds until the snapping point."
My eyes grew small. "It's almost scary how knowledgeable you are, Sister Daina. So, yeah, that is the premise I got. You see, I devised a way to generate an alternating current, which is very hard to do and costs more Plasma Energy than with direct current. I run this current through my metal hand-blade such that it vibrates at an ultra high frequency. Then, by swinging my arm while amplifying it with Force-Manipulation, my technique weakens the particle bonds of whatever I'm cutting. The stronger or denser the material, the more force and power I must exert and expend respectively in order for the effect to continue to work. When I become strong enough, I should be able to cut through almost anything."
"Billy, you are becoming a small genius in your own right." I blushed at that. "You are really taking William's advice of using knowledge to bolster your imagination to heart."
"Yeah." I nodded. "I also had to upgrade my Light Boost ability. The new second level is absolutely necessary in cutting down on waste, and you saw how I still became exhausted. The good news is that this level is also helpful for my Lightning Bolt technique. Though, I'll only start practicing that when I get stronger from our training."
"Noted. Let's just put out best foot forward and work hard." Daina gave me a thumbs up and I returned it.
Once I was recovered, we made our way across the meadow and climbed the hill. From the summit, we could gaze out at the illustrious green and brown of the Pyre Plant laden hills stretching southwards for about six to eight kilometers. "What do you think?"
"It's breathtaking..." Daina replied, smiling all the while.
We spent fifteen minutes enjoying the view and the cool of the hill. The Sun had gone behind some grey clouds. Seeing that it would probably rain soon, I bade us to finally leave. Normally, the snakes in the forest would come out late in the afternoon, around dusk. The rain would coax them out of their holes much earlier if it happened.
Sunday, December 25th.
Ah, Christmas morning. The warmth of sunlight, the wafting aroma of a splendid breakfast, the mess of torn gift wrap scattered around a lit tree, and the jolliness of the air. Christmas was here, and that only meant two things. I had been waiting an entire 364 days for them. The Punjabé Beach Day and Christmas Night Dinner.
At 8:15, it was preparation time.
"Bill, go get your things." said Dad, getting up from the table. "And then come help us load up."
"Okay, Dad." I raced off up the stairs to my room. Got to make this quick.
Within the hour saw us on our way driving across the country to the west coast. At the coast, the main road had a north and south split due to a capital T junction. South led through Pyre Plant Forest to another split at the end. At that split, one could travel further south to the airport, and Lava Side Island was just across the bridge. East would take one to the Southern Mountains Village, and further than that to Fire Flats.
Anyway, we went northward and arrived in West Flame City within another half hour. As we were heading up the main street, I caught a glimpse of something and smiled. "Mom, stop the car!"
"Huh!?" Mom applied the brakes, and we came to a stop at the first intersection just north of the Saint Wesley Fire Hospital. "Everyone, look."
Imagine our astonishment when we caught sight of Tanaka walking on the sidewalk towards the hospital's parking lot. He was wearing an outlandish combo of white shorts and a near sleeveless T-shirt. "Hey, Tanaka-san!"
We were still laughing as Mom drove into the street and pulled to a stop alongside him. "Huh!? Oh! Bill-san, Daina-chan! Good morning! And this is the whole family? Merry Christmas, everyone!" he greeted. Then he realized that we were STILL laughing. "Uh, what's so funny?"
"Nothing, Tanaka-san," I replied, trying to stifle my remaining chuckles.
"Merry Christmas to you too, Mr. Sakamoto!" wished Mom.
"Thanks, Mrs. Punjabé. What's the occasion for today?"
"We're heading up to Crescent Moon Beach to spend the day. Then, later we will have dinner."
"Ooh, sounds like fun."
"Say, why don't you join us?" I brought up. "From how you're dressed, I'm inclined to think we're heading to the same destination."
"Oh, I don't know... I wouldn't want to impose..."
"Nonsense! We'd be happy to have you!" said Dad. "The more the merrier! After all, today is all about sharing."
"Well, if you insist! Thank you, Punjabé-san. I'll follow behind you." He went into the lot. We stared in astonishment as he got onto a shiny black motorcycle. He put on a matching helmet before starting and revving the engines. The roar was loud and fierce.
Looking at it carefully, I saw that it was of the Ducati brand. Cool! I thought.
It was around 11 o'clock when we arrived at the beach house in Crescent Moon Bay Town. This house was situated on a cliff overlooking a splendid view of the Crescent Moon Beach. It was expensive to rent at any other time of the year than now. My parents had the owner, Mr. March, on speed dial, and they booked him every year for our tradition.
As we came out of the vehicles, we were greeted by Mr. March. "Good afternoon, and merry Christmas, Punjabé family."
"Same to you, Mr. March," replied Dad, shaking his hand. March then gave him the key to the house. "Thank you."
"As always, take good care of the place. Enjoy your dinner."
"You are not joining us for dinner tonight?" asked mom.
"Unfortunately, something has come up. Family matters. I'll be out of state for a while. Can I trust you to book my next client for me?"
"That long? Well, we shall see what we can do," replied Dad.
"Thank you, my loyal customers. Well, I'm off. Season's greetings, everyone."
"Season's greetings," replied Daina and Tanaka as Mr. March went to his car. He got started and drove off down the hill to the city proper.
"OK everyone. Chop-chop! Gather the things to the house," ordered Mom. Dad was already unlocking the beach house. "Then we can head on down."
Ameera and I were off like shots to the back of the car. Daina and Tanaka came next. We all passed the items along to the next person in a line. At the end of the line, Dad was waiting to bring the item inside. Before long, everything was in order.
"That's a wrap. Come on, everyone. Let's all go have some fun," said Dad.
"Last one to the beach is a washed-up Jellyfish!" I called. Ameera and I were already racing down the path. Daina and Tanaka were in hot pursuit.
"Wait up, Bill-san, Ameera-chan!"
And so, we began our beach respite. Our first act of recreation was to build a big sand castle. Everyone pitched in. Ameera and I did the coordinating and designing, Dad and Tanaka collected and brought buckets of sea water to help keep the sand together, and Mom and Daina did the actual construction work. First, we made a 3 by 5 feet perimeter of 4-inch-thick, 2-foot-high walls. A 4-foot-high tower was made at each corner. Ameera and I made a moat around the walls while the construction workers moved on to the inner castle stage. They built a court, the main body and more towers. Ameera left me to search for pretty shells and stones with which we would decorate. The finished product was a picture-perfect sight to behold. Mom snapped a picture to immortalize it. We spent two minutes admiring it before heading off into the sea for a soak.