"How are you doing right now?" Dweep asked while sitting beside me. "Varsha told me you've been taking care of us non-stop for those two days..."
I kept staring at the bonfire wondering what to say. Knowing that he had defended me made me quite happy, but after calming down I realized that from their perspective what they'd been saying might have been right.
Still, while I considered myself weaker than most people I know among my seniors and others, the fact that my friends thought of me like that made me quite conflicted. I have no idea how I am even disrupting their growth.
"I'm fine right now. Back-to-back weeks of constant work burned me out."
It was currently evening of the fourth and final day of the extended stay at Ashrama before we went back to our respective Gurukuls.
The seniors, not having a parent's visitation this third week of the month unlike us first years, will be spending the whole Alik day here. I don't know how they'll manage with Forgotten among their ranks.
They finally came together and set up the long-promised celebratory party for getting a record in our Dungeon Clear time.
Yashvi tried her hand at making bite-sized snacks from different parts of the country and kept refilling up our plates enthusiastically.
Laksh and Vihaan on the other hand told stories about how they defeated the Daityas who invaded their section and the importance of communication during a battle.
Trisha kept sitting alone in one corner, listening to their exaggerated stories and smiling in response from time to time.
All the members of Shreya's team were invited, despite Esha and Aditi bailing out on us after the first chamber. We sat around the bonfire in three separate groups, having food and sharing stories from the Inter Gurukul league and the Divyastra Utsaav.
"Something went wrong between you and Jhanvi again, am I right? She kept saying that she messed up badly. What happened this time?" Dweep asked me, whispering softly.
"She told me about the fight you two had." I affirmed his suspicion, "Thanks for defending me. It made me happy."
"It was nothing. I would do that any day. The problem is with Anik himself; he's been wallowing in self-doubt and envy ever since losing his second life. But that was about me. Why did you have an argument with her?" He asked.
"Not an argument. I just stopped talking after that, knowing I would not say anything good if I opened my mouth at that moment." I sighed.
Dweep followed my sigh with his own. "Don't take it to heart about what they think. I'll always be glad to have you watching my back. Quite literally."
I smiled at his warm, comforting words. Being a Vaidya who stayed at the end of the group, his wide back often gave a sense of protection.
"Anik's actions make sense. He has great ambitions, but only one more life. He must have been frightened of things that might happen in the future. He's doing his best to become stronger but is also trying to find a logical reason behind his shortcomings. I make a considerably sensible case in his equations as a negative influence..." I was going to cuss him out in the next sentence and stopped myself.
Vihaan stood up and held out his steel glass filled with apple juice. "This one goes to Jhanvi, Dhruva, Dweep, and Trisha who managed to kill the final boss while staying alive till the end. Those were some juicy rewards we got from the record. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you."
"Stop acting like you're drunk, Vihaan." Yashvi elbowed him playfully. "I'll also say 'thanks' to both of us for finally bringing together everybody for a party that kept getting postponed."
"Congrats to Esha and Anik on acquiring Blessings from the Hero Sahadeva and the Pavan Deva." Laksh announced, knocking his knuckles against the steel glass and bringing out its metallic sound.
"Congrats to Yashvi for securing the third rank at the inter Gurukul league." Vihaan clapped.
"Don't embarrass me in front of a member of the winning team." Yashvi glared at Vihaan making him bite his tongue.
These two were going at it nicely.
"Jay and Sobith came out to be too OP in this league only because the rules were not defined properly." I said while following Laksh's clapping style, "Anyways, congrats to myself I guess."
The others also joined in.
"Now for the main course." Trisha finally got up and walked over. From her dimensional box, she brought out loads and loads of items, that emanated the smell of newly tanned leather. Is that even a dimensional box anymore, holding that many items inside? She must have upgraded it recently.
"It took a while and some potion trades as bribes for the ones working at Vishwakarma's forge to put these in high priority pipeline. They managed to complete these before we went on our missions." She explained while proudly putting her hands on her waist. "They took the chakra of the Final Makara Boss and a few other things as labor charges, which I thought would be better, simplifying the distribution of rewards."
The seniors had collected the loot from the dungeon, promising to provide us with equipment made from them to keep things amicable and fair.
The Makara Final Boss' leather, used as a base for the pieces of equipment seemed properly and carefully treated. The soft cushion on the inner side also felt squishy and comfy. The parts that needed to be sturdy, like the helmet, elbow, shoulder, and knee guards were made from Makara bones and skulls. Thick Makara hide from its back was used as an Armor for the same region. The tough yet flexible tail leather was used for making gauntlets, and abdominal guards. The chest plate seemed to be made from the femur. All the individual parts had leather straps at the edges, that could be tied together to help them stay in place while we equipped them.
Different pieces of the multi-set Armor were studded with glowing monster chakras and seemed to provide random stats or special abilities. I'll have to sit and go through them one by one later.
Dweep started stress-testing the shin guards, bending them against his knee with an excited look. I watched him with a smirk, making him hide his face with a shoe.
Everybody collected a full set and stored it in their dimensional boxes and waited for the next: Weapons.
"Shields made from the femur of the Final Boss. For Vihaan, Dweep, and Aditi." Trisha handed over three rectangular-shaped shields one by one.
She gave a slight smile when she crossed me. I gave her a thumbs up knowing she was doing this to interact with us more. Without a reason, it has always been tough for her to start up or join a conversation.
"Bows for Yashvi, Anik, and Jhanvi. I don't know which parts were used to make them. Looks cool though, like those archers from the Olympics." She went through the group once more, delivering the weapons with utmost sincerity.
"One short sword and one long sword each for Saiyan and Shreya. Twin daggers and a spear for Laksh."
"Staves made from the hyoid bone for me, Esha, and Dhruva. They are enchanted with the water beam attack spell of the Makara Boss. It uses up quite a bit of Kundalini to activate, so be careful in fights." She handed me my first-ever staff.
I could see glowing blue symbols etched along the Y-shaped body of the staff. The U shape at the top also contained a small crystal set in place with tendons, glowing with a deep blue hue.
"You guys also have enchanted items, I just didn't bother to look into it. Use the Status' observation tool to find out the details. The weapons have been registered in the KalpaYaal." Trisha casually mentioned.
"There's also a Kundalini storage crystal here!" Esha chirped excitedly while checking her similar-looking staff with her Status. "4 points!! Nice!"
"Why don't I ever see you looking at your status? Are you even allocating your points properly?" Dweep nudged me.
"I've been burned by the status." I joked, "I don't care about it anymore. My capabilities are generally non-physical, so I only need to know how much energy I have left. That's all."
He gave me a frustrated look. "If you don't care, just allocate everything to Stamina or Agility. At least you'll be able to dodge some attacks or run away."
"Will do."
I got up with my other batchmates, knowing it was our time to give some gifts to the seniors for their help in the dungeon.
After helping my friends wake up on the second day of the extension, I spent all my time preparing my individual presents diligently. It was also an excuse to shut myself out for a while.
Saiyan and Shreya, as our representatives and being the ones who had deserted us in the middle of a raid decided on quite the gift by themselves. It seemed to signify both, a thank you and a sorry.
They presented the seniors with four small vials containing a light green juice.
"Essence of Kalpa's leaves. They'll increase your experience gain rate for a week. Remember to take them before going into a Dungeon." Shreya explained the contents of the gift.
"They themselves might have been using the concentrated version." Dweep whispered making sure no one could hear it except me.
"Makes sense. Secretly delving into dungeons while they were missing must have allowed them to increase their levels rapidly." I agreed.
Maybe this is why both of them couldn't level up as much as the other Chosen ones. They kept a part of this essence as a gift to the seniors.
Hearing the crackle of the bonfire after the seniors said their thanks prompted me to step forward.
"It's my turn now." I smiled, taking Saiyan and Shreya's place in front of the seniors.
"Trisha, this first aid kit is for you." I handed her a Kundalini blob that looked like the bigger version of Mr. Bean's teddy.
"Why this shape?" She gave a slightly embarrassed smile, "I'm mentally twenty-plus years old you know?"
"My grandma was the oldest, wisest, and the most cheerful kid I ever knew."
"Then guess I shouldn't be complaining, right?" She gladly accepted my gift.
"I'll show you how it works later. Thanks for teaching me about medicinal herbs and potion manufacturing." My voice came out to be surprisingly gentler in comparison.
She ruffled my hair with a charming wide smile.
"Yashvi, ten 32-point blooming arrowheads for you. Thanks for all your encouragement and care-filled dishes." I moved on to Yashvi and got a quick hug in return.
"I have been wanting these arrows for so long. After watching the havoc they caused in the league, I was going to ask you for some personally. Thanks!!!" She was too excited.
"Those were 40-point ones. These are a little weaker in respect since I didn't have Jay to help me." I clarified, in case she got disappointed at their reduced performance.
"It's fine. The problem is, I wouldn't know whether to use or keep them as showpieces."
"Don't think twice before launching them, when something like 'that' ever comes across. I'll make more for you any day."
"I'll take up on that offer then." She smiled, twirling one of the arrowheads between her fingers.
"Next up is Vihaan. I think you already know about the tech Jay and I came up with. Thirty close-range protruding spikes and their authentication bead. All of them can be activated by this one." I placed one small button-shaped Kundalini bead on his left palm. "And this one..." I placed another star-shaped bead that will help him in differentiating between the two, "Is to launch those spikes towards the direction you're pointing at that moment. A nice surprise attack."
"Isn't this too over the top?" Vihaan was a bit taken aback.
"Nope. If I had more time, I could have come up with a better design." I said, "By the time we return here again you guys might have already left the Ashrama on your missions, so I had to hurry."
Laksh stared at me expectantly, waiting for his turn to arrive. "Your Gurukul seniors must have told you."
"Yeah, I was wondering why the whole League business had a theme like that. The guard dogs of Kalpa have been called to look after the sacred Peeths... You had said there are already other Ashramas in Satya right? And that you've also come across the children attending those. They should be the ones going instead. Why us?" I wanted to sound angry but only came out to be frustrated.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
"Because we care about this dimension more than the other." Anik suddenly said out of nowhere, "Unlike you, from our very childhood, we have been dreaming of being a part of all 'this'. Our dreams, aspirations, and ambitions are tied to this world through and through. This is real life for us, not like the game you treat this to be."
"Anik." Dweep's voice suddenly got deeper, "I thought we were already past that."
The crowd went quiet for a few seconds until we heard the moo of one of the cows in the dairy from up north.
"I'm sorry I called you a guard dog." I ended the discussion there and walked up to Laksh while others silently exchanged awkward glances.
"Laksh, these spearheads are for you. Once inside the enemy, they'll burst out like a hand grenade. This bead is for remote activation."
"Thanks. I'll make good use of these." He smiled, not letting the awkwardness creep up his face. He certainly has good control over his expressions.
Without waiting, I started walking away but whirled around at the last moment. "Anik, if you wish to talk, do it personally instead of spewing comments like this in a setting where I won't shred you with my words. I wonder what went wrong with you." I turned around and resumed my march.
"I would have loved to do that, only if we were on the same page." I heard Anik replying from behind after a few seconds.
"Guess we were not. I can be pretty optimistic with people at times. My bad." I didn't look back anymore.
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"She looks much healthier and bigger than yesterday." I inspected the Asuran baby in Varsha's lap.
The Hut where Kamadhenu's daughter lived in the dairy was lit up with small diyas along the edges of the floor, surprisingly creating a heating effect.
Varsha spent most of her time here whenever she wasn't out hunting with her father, meditating and taking care of this little child in solitude.
"What's her name again?" I asked, embarrassed that I didn't even bother asking after all this time.
"Asuras don't get a name till puberty. After their powers are fully realized, they go through trials and earn a name according to their achievements." Varsha educated me.
"You called upon a rain or something then?" I guessed from her name which meant Monsoon, the season of rain.
"Yes. A bloody rain you can say." She puffed her chest proudly, "When I finally reached a hundred years of age, I went on to hunt a swarm of Rakta-pankhi Matsyas. They are your dorm building-sized, spiky red-finned fishes that thrive inside rain-heavy clouds."
"Woah. Freaky. Anyway, are their meat tasty?" I asked, clearly interested in a different aspect of the story.
"They are. It leaves a tingling sensation on your tongue. We partied for the next ten years celebrating my naming ritual with their succulent meat." She closed her eyes, looking up, reminiscing something that had happened centuries ago, and ending with a lip smack.
"It ended only after the King of those Rakta-pankhis crashed into our capital as an act of revenge. An enormous planet-sized goldfish, ughh, still gives me nightmares. Father drove it away to the other end of Sutala after a devastating fight. They used to bring storm clouds and rain along with them, and after they went away, the surroundings of our capital city ended up as a wasteland."
What an irony.
The little Asuran child was listening attentively to the stories of her dimension with a spark in her eyes.
"She ate well. Without her, all my batchmates would have taken much longer to wake up from their slumber. They'll take some time to get rid of the lethargic curses though." I ran my fingertip along the soles of her little feet, soliciting a giggle from her. "It's also better that you took credit for that."
"You almost messed up announcing that she eats Bhootas right in front of those Tantriks. Thank your Gods that they were a few feet away. Be careful of subtle things from next time. Don't always say things you feel or think directly. Try to be diplomatic with your words." She scolded me while pouting.
I nodded quietly. Even after all this time, I'm still naive and impulsive. Am I never going to learn better?
"But you yourself..." I started to say but got interrupted.
"That's reserved for the people who know about your true nature. Try that shit with them and you'll be in for a thorough beating."
"Gotcha." I laughed genuinely for the first time after leaving the depressing party.
"Good, your mood has gotten better. It seems I can now tell you about it." She suddenly got serious. "Around fifty-five of you guys got blessed during the Utsaav. And about four hundred people are still part of Satya. Soon, you'll be sent to pilgrimages based on the Blessed Rakshak of your new makeshift team."
She wondered for a few seconds about something, twirling her purple-shaded hair between her fingers, "It might be harder than the usual missions your seniors went to in their sixth grade, but much easier than an actual Dungeon Crawl. You'll be fine considering what I know about you."
"So, our activities will now revolve around the Blessed individuals." I summarized, flustered at her untimely compliment.
"Yep." Varsha affirmed, "On those pilgrimages, you can also get a chance to grab the attention of some God belonging to the same Order."
"I'll keep that in mind." I pondered whether to ask the next question for a while. "Just asking for a friend. Can a body hold two Blessings?"
She gave me a suspicious look. "Maybe. If those two Gods don't have a problem with each other."
"And, can Higher Beings from below Bless Manavas?"
She was now glaring at me. "How below are we talking about?"
"Like a lot?"
"It's not a Blessing then. It's a mark of acknowledgment." She said, "That means, you'll be tried. Mercilessly. This is... interesting. The mark actually has a much deeper meaning. You'll know if you decide to take their trials seriously." She gave out a nervous laugh. "Something must be happening down below. To force even those lazy beings to take action. When did you get it?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." I looked away with a smile.
"I told you already. Being diplomatic with me will make you experience a world of hurt." She pinched my arm.
"Just tell me what you know about the acknowledgment mark." I protested, pulling away my arm.
"I don't even remember when they did this last time. Or maybe... It's time for their Throne Ascension Ritual." She went deep into thought, "Get stronger fast. Instead of meditating right now, fill up your arsenal like you usually do. You might need to expend some energy regularly to keep up their maintenance, but you never know when 'they' might whisk you away into their dimension."
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Before leaving the Ashrama, we were called over to the central Banyan by the sages. Ashwatthama on the other hand, still hadn't returned.
Sarvajnana's eyes met mine and he followed up with a gentle smile while standing in a line in front of us with the other sages, the majestic Banyan towering behind them.
They announced what Varsha had told me about.
Opening my status, I found myself as a member of a new group chat, titled, The Jyotirlinga Pilgrimage.
Seven more Rakshaks and a Rishika, aka female sage, were also part of it, filling the member list with unfamiliar names, except Aditi's.
Damn you, Sarvajnana.
I wonder who the sole Blessed one in this team was. From the names, there seemed to be five girls and three boys. Excluding the Rishika.
"We'll depart for this pilgrimage after you spend two more weeks in the Ashrama. That is, on this upcoming Alik Wednesday." The Rishika sent a welcome message, "We'll prepare you with items and necessary teachings that will prove helpful for you in the next few Satya months or years. Make sure to ask me if you have doubts. Use this ID for communication."
Her username spelled out the word 'Vivikta'. I wondered whether she truly was as lonely as her username stated.
A ping from Sobith, my inter-Gurukul league teammate, changed the direction of my focus. Opening up his chat, I found myself staring at what he had sent.
"Invitation to Vrishik Sangha." The title mentioned, and a few more interesting lines followed it. "Note: The message will disappear after it is closed. As recommended by Sadhak Sobith, we extend our invitation to Dhruva as an Adhama. If the recipient decides to join us, recite the Mantra at the bottom of this message. It will tag them with a Finder's magic, that activates after reaching any major city in Satya. A Nica allocated to you will take care of all the registrations. If you decide not to join, close the message. It will activate another spell that'll erase your memory about this incident."
They seem pretty professional, keeping things transparent. The problem was, that I had no concrete idea what this association or 'Sangha' was for.
Maybe it's common knowledge among others but unfortunately, they happened to choose me, who knew hardly anything about Satya.
If I am to guess, it will be related to Sobith. And scorpions, judging from its name: Vrishik. Hence, it must be some assassination-based guild. Wait. I'm already burdened with the Karma of multiple murders, and I don't want to mess up my life any more than I already have.
"Is this some secret intelligence guild or an assassination one?" I sent Sobith a message.
"Depends on what you want to do. The Maha-Sadhak I work under likes tracking and taking out criminals with bounties on them. I've only accompanied him once. About why I recommended you... I have seen how you fight. You're incredibly unpredictable, tricky, and merciless, and also, equipped with a wide range of flexible methods of... you know what I meant. You'll do great here. If you don't want to, no worries, I won't bring it up again." He replied real fast.
"What are the perks of joining Vrishik?" I inquired next.
"You'll have a powerful backer since you don't have a background in Satya. If you have grudges, you can employ someone easily... You can also buy information from the points you get by completing missions for the Sangha. I'm not supposed to say all this, but there's one extra thing. The skill you keep pestering me about... That's nothing compared to the Skill Pustaks you can acquire there. Think about it before deciding." Sobith explained in detail.
"I'll join. Thanks for the invitation." I messaged. The last argument had sold me.
"This is nothing. You sacrificed your participation in the Utsaav to help us win. It is the least I could do. Moreover, the Maha-Sadhak I work under will be happy to get a gem like you. Since you guys are going on a Pilgrimage to Satya, I guessed this would be the best time to send the invitation."
"I'm not sure whether I can leave the group and do my own thing." I expressed my concern.
"Don't worry about that. They'll always appear when you're alone."
I wanted to see Sobith's expression while he typed that.
"Let me recite the Mantra properly then. TTYL."
"Hope to see you soon... If I'm not bound to the Peeth I'm allocated to for the next few years." He ended the conversation on an ambiguous note.
Reciting the mantra written in Sanskrit, I closed the message wondering whether I had pronounced everything correctly.
Sarvajnana was quite strict with that. He never failed to chew me out whenever I made some mistake on that front.
"Words pronounced differently might invoke a different meaning altogether. That's the worst thing you could do while chanting mantras." he had repeated this warning multiple times during our Skills 101 sessions.
The first hour is mandatorily allotted to learning the language that's used in the Vedas, and most of the aspects we'll come across after being a part of this World.
The meeting in front of the Banyan tree had already concluded by the time I completed it, and the students were walking back to their dorms to set their return locations for next time.
I don't know what happened after I left the party before everyone else, but I haven't come across them since then.
Things are just repeating all over again. Do I need to get aggressive and corner Anil until he talks about what's bothering him? Wouldn't that piss him off more?
Usually, I would have ignored everything and waited for time to heal everything, but I have seen that it never works like that. Someone has to take the initiative to mend the bridge, if not, it'll stay as it is or get even worse.
"Finally found you." I turned around to find Jhanvi breathing a sigh of relief.
"You beat me to it." I said referring to what I was thinking just now.
She gave a slightly confused look but didn't ask further.
We made our way out of the retreating crowd, going in their opposite direction.
"There's still time before we are sent back to our respective Gurukuls. I know we could talk again after a day, but I didn't want this to drag on further." She hurriedly said as soon as we found a quiet place near the sword Arena.
"Seems like you've got a lot to say."
"Not much." Jhanvi disagreed, "I only wanted to give you, my genuine thanks and apologies. I realized that it was primarily my mistake that drove a wedge between you and Anik."
"You simply told me what had happened in my absence. Why is that your fault?"
"I have a gut feeling there's something more. But I can't put a finger on it right now." She looked down and went quiet for a few seconds.
"That's all?" I asked, wondering if she had something more to say.
"All this happened... Because I'm awkward with other people. All these things, like having friends and communicating while taking into consideration the inner intricate relationships among the people I know... Everything is so new to me." She started talking again, "And I've been continuously making mistakes. During the Utsaav, I decided to be the one to take the initiative and ensure that my thoughts and feelings are properly articulated. That's why I sought you out. I've made mistakes and I'm learning from them, so please be a little patient with me. I would hate it if any of you, with whom I've managed to form a connection, got reduced to a mere acquaintance just because I wasn't comfortable enough to share my intentions."
She did exactly what I was unable to do. Just going up to the person and talking when things haven't been going well among them, required a different kind of courage I realized I never had.
"Thanks." I only said, not having the correct vocabulary to let her know how grateful I was.
"Wait. Why thanks?" Her thin eyebrows scrunched up together.
"I realized what I need to do after listening to you." I told her, "I don't know what your circumstances were that made you unable to find friends, but I've always had some. Whom I've lost time and again. They are not even considered acquaintances right now. All this happened only because I was a coward, afraid of mending things and putting in the effort myself."
"Guess we are both slowly learning about it." Jhanvi gave a slight smile.
For the first time, I studied the features of her face properly. For some reason, I haven't been paying much attention to how everyone around me looked. As if only their actions towards me mattered. Maybe I missed the hints one could gather from the expressions a person's face could give during interactions, leading me to interpret situations differently.
Her brown-black hair ending in curls and resting on her shoulders was a bit unruly, but her light brown eyes were the ones that drew my attention. They looked like long lotus petals, the same as the ones goddess idols had.
"Is something wrong?" She gave me a questioning look, "You went out of focus for a second there."
"My bad. I was distracted for a bit, thinking about something else."
"So... Where do we stand? Are we back to friends or do we have to start again as acquaintances?" She asked, shifting her weight from one foot to another. Her eyebrows were raised up waiting for my answer.
"I'm not sure about the future but I've always considered all of you my friends. I wouldn't have cared otherwise." I answered.
"Glad to hear that. And about Anik, I think I know what's been happening to him, but I don't think it'll be right for me to say it. Try to talk with him about it. It's just... He had a few interactions with other Rakshaks taking our Dhanurdhar course." She gave an extra bit of info as a service. It's only fair I gave something in return.
"Someone recently told me that it's not good to let all your intentions bare in front of the other person. Maybe you should still consider a bit before repeating what you did today." I repeated Varsha's advice.
Jhanvi started giggling. "That girl. She didn't spare you either."
"Let me guess. It's the same thing she tells everybody and now it has become an inner joke..." I was flustered yet tried to play it cool by pinning it on Varsha.
"Yep." She almost snorted, "A few incidents related to her have been amusing." Her voice became serious, "But her advice... I don't think I can agree with that. I'll only stand to regret repeating that. I'm done wearing masks and staying silent. I wish others to know what I'm really thinking, like I've said before."
"It seems I have missed a lot in the last few weeks." I said, thinking about how her words now rang with the tones of maturity.
"That you did. I also wonder how long this Pilgrimage will take. After two weeks we all will be going different ways. Take care of Aditi, she too has been trying her best to change." She walked away with a spring in her steps.
"See you tomorrow." I said after she walked a few steps away.
"Have fun in the parents' visitation." She said without looking back and retreated to her dorm.
I was amused at how her 'not much' had turned into a conversation this long. Jhanvi blew away the negative thoughts I was having as easily as she had induced them.
I might not show it outward and try to play it cool, but wondering what people think about me often distresses me quite a bit. Especially if they are the ones I consider close.
"What others will say?" Is a common dilemma among most people in this society. A mistake by a single member can often turn into a public humiliation for the whole family.
What a place to live in. Will Satya also be the same?
"I don't need to think about it right now. I'll treat it as an excursion arranged by the school." I mumbled to myself, "Most of the Rakshaks must be really excited about this though. Apparently, they've been dreaming about experiencing the scenes of their 'actual' dimension since childhood."
The vibes in the room were still awkward, by the time we returned. For a second, I wondered what Saiyan thought about all this. Without having much interaction with him for all these weeks had left me confused about his motivations and actions. Is he alright?
When the clock struck two the smell of homecooked food wafted through the air, and a huge crowd of parents arrived at the junior section campus to meet their child after a whole week of separation. A week for them. And a little more than two months for us.