The weightlessness took my breath away, the fall seeming endless. Even as I risked glancing side to side, and witnessed my entire birth group, whooping and screaming as we fell, I still had time to question. Were they fearful of The Jump, the coming of age celebration throughout Korai Uji; the beautiful planet I called home? Or just the eighty-foot drop from the sloping rock of our land? Did they howl at the thrill of leaping from The Cliff Edge, or only the fast-approaching future it initiated?

With air hissing in my ears, and my hair whipping above me, I found the piercing whoosh of the plummet was almost enough to inspire distraction. So I shut my eyes, and all the while I hoped the rush of wind would clear my mind. I wished for it to end my questioning. Yet it went on. The questioning. The falling.

Then, I hit the water. Just as the hundreds of others in my birth group, I instantly felt it. Life would be different now. The carefree existence I had abandoned on The Cliff Edge could never be mine again, as from this moment onwards…

I could find my Soulmate.

The collision struck my thighs, hard, but my days in diving club meant my body was used to the impact. What really shocked me was the salt in the water, stinging my eyes. I squeezed my lids shut as my downward plunge eased to a halt, and in the midst of the seas my body began to float. Suspended, for the moment.

I allowed myself the feeling; the weightlessness of my body, the gentle ripple of waves pushing me towards the surface. It was, blissful. Far more than I could have ever imagined. The discovery made me want to stay. Linger. Only, it wasn’t long before my need for air emboldened me to swim to the water’s surface; and the second I emerged from the sea, my childhood ended.

I gasped deeply into lungs that tradition had declared fully matured. Now, after fifteen cycles of life I could at last taste, feel, and swim in the water that encapsulated the island of Uji. After fifteen cycles, along with the other four hundred or so in my birth group, I was officially an adult among Korainians. I was officially a new woman.

Blinking through the droplets of water clinging to my lashes, I spun myself in the tides to look about my age mates; the souls I had emerged into this world with, fifteen cycles ago to this very day. More so than ever before, I felt a connection to the hundreds I shared my birth-day with. All classification of Korainian, all mention of scale, Redscale, Whitescale, or Blackscale, were entirely put aside; because today, we all faced the tides together.

Being a Redscale had never stopped my oldest friend Della, a Blackscale, from eagerly expelling her every thought to me; and in that sense the day was no different than any other. I watched amused as she leapt through the water like a cetacean and dove for me, encasing me in the tightest one-armed-hug possible whilst treading water. “It’s started Nykia,” she panted, genuinely out of breath; “it’s started!”

Della loosened her embrace to allow her limbs to paddle, and as she did tears began to form in her eyes. At first, I was unsure of how to respond to her emotion. It wasn’t until a wide and bright smile stretched across my friend’s soft and pale features that it gradually became clear. Her expression was a happy one, she was grinning with glee; and although it took me a moment, I eventually understood. Why wouldn’t there be tears?

We, our entire birth group, were all at once experiencing a ‘momentous occasion’. I had never known what the adults of my world meant by such a phrase, but looking at Della, I felt she must have. I peeked over Della’s shoulders to see those in the water surrounding us, also patting away teary-eyed joy. The sea of reactions hit me; and it dawned on me that few, if any, appeared to share in the hesitance I had only just realised I was feeling.

The connection I felt to my age mates floated away with the tides. I looked about, searching for an expression that matched my own. Like me, they surely understood that The Jump had officially ended our childhoods; which meant the next seventy-three cycles of our lives, and the hunt for a Soulmate, had officially begun. Yet, when I moved my peer to find Della’s large black eyes awaiting my remark on the occasion, I couldn’t make myself react as expected.

Biding my time, I smiled half-heartedly while I struggled to process my emotions. I had been told of The Soulmate Law for cycles. I was warned of what would happen once I became an adult. Friendships would shift into courtships, flirtation would become a mechanism, and every mode of interaction would be repurposed to sift through time-wasting flings with a single motive in mind. Finding the one. The one, dictated by The Universe itself, born to be your Soulmate.

All Korainians on Korai Uji were expected to engage in dating upon new-adulthood. It was even customary to take on temporary flings while hunting for the one. However, since pre-adulthood intimacy remains punishable ‘as The Chief sees fit’, everything I knew of intimacy was second-hand. From what I had been told, the glow phenomenon was what revealed one Soulmate to another; that at some point during intimate contact, the female of a Soulmate pairing experiences glowing hair, root to tip.

Meanwhile, intimacy with anyone other than your Soulmate results in nothing. A no-glow. The test of luck was undisputed for hundreds of cycles; as procreation is only legal, only scientifically possible, with your Soulmate. The absolute second you experience the glow-phenomenon, intimacy with any other soul becomes illegal. Known as infidelity, my lecturer once stated no sane mind would ever consider the offence; and it was clear why. Our Law was proven, and our Universal guidance infallible.

Yet, faced with our Law in its recent application to myself, I had begun to question our traditions. Though our planet was plentiful in minerals and materials to build fanciful technology, and rich with sun and tides to power those inventions, the past cycle of my life had caused me to reconsider things. Law History had taught us the tenets of our society and their origins, and Adulthood Prep had hammered the ideals of a good Korainian firmly into my mind. All the same, despite my efforts to try, none of our traditions came naturally to me.

“Nykia?” I heard Della call; the sound spurring me to look her way again, and find her large grin had not yet faltered. Disheartened by her cheerfulness, I twisted my lips at a lack of words. I was aware my questioning thoughts were illegal. I rarely ever shared them with my own Mother; and even then, the first instance had been an accidental outburst over break-fast.

Nykia, you can’t choose your Soulmate.

My Mother had said, as if it would comfort me.

But what if I don’t… love them?

I had cried, whilst she had frowned in disappointment.

Some Soulmate connections are instant, and others grow.

I couldn’t argue with her reasoning. I had seen The Soulmate Law work in both ways, my own Aunt being a perfect example. The morning of my outburst some eights ago, my Mother had retold my Aunt’s life story. Mostly because when my Aunt Naomi first discovered an awkwardly tall, shy-natured, Redscale clocksmith’s boy named Raymond was her Soulmate, she was a lot less than enthused to begin with.

The tale started with how my Aunt avoided the new-man, and once even ran away from him when he attempted to visit her familial home in The City. How my Aunt’s brother had encouraged her to embrace that new-man, and how she had listened; because she respected her brother, as he had been everything to her since their parents had tragically passed cycles earlier. How when her brother unexpectedly died, any effort she once gave to try with her Soulmate, any enthusiasm she had for the world, entirely fell away.

My Aunt’s brother’s passing impacted many lives, since he had also played a role as my Mother’s Soulmate and father to a newly born me. Struggling as a suddenly single parent, and in the process of being relocated by The Government, my Mother suggested my Aunt live with us. By doing so, my Aunt would have to give up the prestigious Nykia household in City Korai; held by her family for generations since their move from The Colony Outlands. Yet my Aunt accepted, glad to be rid of the constant reminder she was, besides me, the last of her once prominent bloodline.

Cycles went by, and my Mother’s concern for her sister-by-Soulmate grew. I was too young at the time to recognise it, but my Aunt’s reluctance began to appear a rejection of The Universe’s will. Hoping not to upset fate any further, my Mother encouraged Aunt Naomi to accept the Soulmate The Universe had gifted her. She was reluctant, but before my own eyes, I witnessed as my Aunt carefully ventured into a deep, deep love.

Aunt Naomi and my Uncle-by-Soulmate were allocated a home streets away from ours in the Lower Mid Regions, granted permission to conceive, and made a family for themselves when the twins were born. Gradually my Aunt’s laugh became louder, her life became full, and her love for Uncle Raymond grew until it seemed they had always been together. Until it seemed, they had never been apart.

My Mother had habitually recited my Aunt’s happy ending as an answer to my unease. She had said that Uncle Raymond was exactly what my Aunt needed to move on from her loss; and though I respected that, it didn’t rid me of my concerns. Nor did it stifle my worry when I realised, I had absolutely no control over whom I would one day fall in love with.

While I floated in the waves, still thinking of my response, another thought occurred to me. Aside from an unwilling union, there was the possibility of never finding a Soulmate at all. As that did happen. A small number of our population do not have Soulmates. Those with the tragic affliction are labelled Incompletes. They’re viewed as defective, or misguided; and although they had the freedom to be with whomever they chose, no one would want them. Eventually, everyone wants to find their Soulmate. Including, I now supposed, even myself.

Della let out an impatient puff. I looked to her, startled, realising I had thought things over for as long as I could. Taking a deep breath, I finally replied to my friend’s excitement in something other than a tight grip. “It has started… hasn’t it?” I offered, cautiously continuing; “it’s… intense.”

Della looked back at me, perplexed. For a rare moment she even appeared unsure of what to say. She remained quiet for a while, a long while, until she finally perked up as if she had solved a riddle. “Pff!” she puffed. “Don’t worry, Nykia! We’ll both find The one quickly and get to be young committing Soulmates!”

I twisted my lips, offended by Della’s assumption, since I cared very little of what age I would partake in a Commitment Ceremony. In fact, I felt the Government-ordained event was only used as an excuse for obnoxious new-Soulmates to announce their romantic fortunes. Even so, I knew Della had good intentions. With The Soulmate Law’s glow-phenomenon being as unpredictable as reported, it was known that the younger you found your Soulmate, the more fortunate you were believed to be.

“Fortunate…” I found myself mumbling.

“What?” Della squawked.

I waved my hand at her, shaking my head to negate my private mumblings. She accepted my retraction and grinned, quickly moving passed my silence and splashing me playfully where we bobbed in the tides. I splashed back; both of us giggling and forcefully paddling for a long while, until we both became distracted by our shimmering reflections in the water.

I peered down at my full and curly red hair where it floated all around me, and my wet brown skin as it glistened in the high sun. I watched myself in the water’s mirror; my round face, large reddish-brown eyes, prominent nose and full lips contorting while I tried on several expressions as what I now was. A newly-initiated woman. Della did the same, her thick black hair and fringe plastered to her pale skin, while her black eyes searched the mirrored image of her own form.

Soon, they were calling us from above. Tolling city bells rang out from the sloping suspended island upon which we lived, signifying the end of The Jump. We climbed the eroded staircase carved from the rocky land until we had scaled the full eighty-foot drop. My Mother found me promptly in the crowd of emerging new-adults and enclosed me in a tight embrace. She pushed me at arm’s length, searching my expression for a reaction to The Jump. Yet when she looked at me, I also saw her.

I noticed her reddish-brown eyes, weathered and strained as if she had just been crying. Then I remembered, days like today were both sweet and bitter for my Mother; since she couldn’t stop herself from thinking of my father. For that reason I knew no matter how I was feeling, or wasn’t feeling, the best thing to do was avoid upsetting topics. Especially those concerning my questioning thoughts. In aims of saving her feelings, I replicated the gleeful expression I had tried when in the water; and in response, my Mother sighed in utter relief.

We continued to shuffle through the crowds of huddled families moving along The Cliff Edge. My Mother smoothed her own red curls after she was done detangling my hair, patting down her patterned orange tunic and wrap as we followed the crowds. I journeyed under the midday sun along with my birth group. Dripping with seawater, head down and mind full, I only lifted my eyes from my bare toes when the warm rays from above became obstructed; and when I looked up, awe instantly overcame me.

The Orientation Centre, a monumental glass-domed structure, stood wedged between a towering rock formation and a plunging waterfall. Glowing holographic displays welcomed us and issued instructions to each individual that passed its threshold. I gazed upwards as I stepped inside, the glass walls of the dome stretching high and wide above and around me; one side pelted by gushing waves of white and blue, the other side a looking glass into the mountain’s core.

Despite the extravagant exterior, the inside of the large dome was sparse. I padded through the monochromatic entranceway and across the empty atrium with Mother in tow, my eyes moving across the space whilst more and more Korainians pooled inside. A large and sleekly mechanised water clock with exposed inner-workings caught my attention as it ticked and sloshed in the centre of the atrium; the movement of its waters indicating the time to be minutes passed the 60th hour.

Beyond the water feature, I glanced through a pair of open double-doors into an inner domed hall; an auditorium, filled with rows of upholstered seating. To the left and right of the inner dome’s building were two identical sets of suspended glass stairs. One set that curved up and along the outside of the inner dome to the left, and one that curved up and along the right. Yet, since both sets of stairs disappeared behind the inner dome before reaching their apex, I had no idea where they led.

My Mother suddenly freed herself from the tight grip I had on her arm and moved into the atrium, leaving me for her own curiosity as she passed other wandering parents to peek into the auditorium. Feeling abandoned, I stood awkwardly still; as if standing still would render me invisible. Instead, a stray beam of light guided my eyes across the speckled marble flooring, passed the sleek water clock, and over to a huddle of Whitescale new-men that appeared to be gawking my way.

Quickly deciding it was best to ignore them, I averted my eyes. Still feeling out of place, I took to tapping the knuckles of my right hand with the fingertips of my left. Thankfully, before long had the chance to pass, a booming voice swept over invisible speakers within the atrium. Its monotonous tones sounded the names of those in my birth group, one after the other, and instructed them to ascend the curving glass stairs one by one.

My Mother quickly rejoined me to scale the glass steps once my name was called. I gulped as we ascended, gripping my Mother as the light from the atrium disappeared behind the rounded inner dome. My brows lifted as we found the left and right staircases curved to meet each other, the landing at the top of the stairs offering a single archway into a wide and empty room.

Having nowhere else to go, we soon shuffled inwards with everyone else. Right away, I noticed the odd shape of the low-ceilinged spherical room. Although I imagined the auditorium must have been just below our feet, I still struggled to understand how it was constructed. The walls around us were opaque, and what I supposed were white in the dim glow; but there were no lamps or bulbs visible to the eye, nor anything disturbing the smooth surface. Rather, the walls themselves seemed to emit a dull yellow light.

As all four hundred or so of my birth group and our parents pooled inside, stewards dressed in neat grey overalls swooped in to hand each new-adult a flowing white robe. I willingly pulled mine over the standard swimsuit I was currently wearing, which covered me from mid thigh to neck in a shiny tight white material, and was surprised to find the robe fit me better than anything I owned.

Scouring the crowd for any familiar faces, I found those in my birth group pulling on the same attire; crisp white robes with flowing arms that draped from a left aligned knot at the waist, with a slit by the right to expose a thigh. Della’s bright black eyes met mine and locked into place. I could barely see her through the bustling, but I watched her smile and nod her head ferociously. I snorted loudly at her enthusiasm. However, my snorts came to a swift end after my Mother nudged me in the arm.

Once my entire birth group had collected in the low-ceilinged space, the uniformed stewards returned; this time hauling wheeled trays stacked with slabs of marble devices, all glowing with white text. A Blackscale man suited in a dark grey overall handed a device to my Mother, proceeding to then hand the last tablet to the father of the girl behind me. As he wheeled away I peeked over my shoulder, catching a glimpse of the slab in the hands of the parent behind me.

“Nykia!” my Mother snapped. “Mind your own!”

“Sorry Mother…” I whispered back, though the device in her hands continued to inspire my curiosity. I watched on whilst my Mother’s eyes moved over the text, until her gaze finally dropped to the bottom of the slab. She pressed her thumb into the corner, triggering the glowing text to dim. “What… was it?” I asked, as my Mother waved her hand flippantly.

“Nothing dear, just an agreement of some sort.”

“Agreeing to what?” I probed.

“I don’t know, Nykia. You know I can’t be asked to read legalese. Honestly, I skimmed it. The first few lines mentioned something about relinquishing guardianship-”

“Really?” I interjected in a scoff, underwhelmed by how little legal work it actually took to become an adult.

“I’m sure it’s just a ceremonial thing, dear,” she sighed.

I twisted my lips at my Mother’s disinterest in the practical elements of my Coming of Age, but then shrugged all thoughts away when another booming voice came over concealed speakers in the low-ceilinged room. “All parents and guardians please proceed to the inner auditorium through the indicated exit,” the voice said. “Adulthood Initiation agreements will be collected as you exit. Seating in the auditorium is signposted.”

All at once, the walls around us revealed glowing white arrows pointing towards the open archway. Parents began their heartwarming goodbyes and steadfast encouragements, before handing in their signed tablets and filtering out through the exit. My Mother dallied after becoming obsessed with my stray curls; typically leaving her one of the last to go as she procrastinated by fussing with my hair, face, and robe. She pulled away from me looking displeased, until she hurriedly reached into her tunic to reveal a string of knotted silk and shells.

“Wait!” I gasped, as she looped the adorned string around my wrist; “Isn’t this…”

“The bracelet of my bloodline? Yes it is,” she nodded.

“But…” I choked; “I’m not supposed to get this until…”

“Your Commitment Ceremony, yes I know,” my Mother replied; “let’s forget that old tradition, dear. Just for today.”

I squeezed the silky knots between my fingertips as I fought back threatening tears. “Thank you Mother, it’s beautiful…” I whispered, whilst I turned my wrist to better appreciate all the natural carvings of the shells.

“Well, it’s not nearly as beautiful as you are, Nykia,” my Mother said, reaching out to hold my cheek as she did. “I can’t believe my little Korainian is a woman,” she sighed, her voice betraying heartbreak. I twisted my lips at my Mother; wanting to wash her sadness away, but failing to have the words to do so.

“I’m still the same…” I finally said, quieter than intended.

“Oh, of course you are, dear!” my Mother reassured, squeezing my arm. “But you must remember,” she went on, her words all of a sudden ferocious; “you’re a woman now! Life starts today! Every newly declared man in here will be looking for his Soulmate. You need to find yours as soon as possible. Don’t get too attached, do you understand? Do the deed as soon as you can and if he’s not the glower — get out. It shouldn’t at all be a problem to reel them in, with your beauty you could catch anyone!”

My Mother rubbed my arm in aims to hearten me, but my joyful tears were long gone; replaced with a sudden disdain for the shells digging into my wrist. They felt sharp, like a spiky hook designed to lure unsuspecting fish to their ensnarement. But I knew my Mother meant none of what she had said to be harmful. I glanced over my shoulder to look back at Della, and saw her own mother attaching feathers to her ears and spritzing her hair with fragrance; which reminded me. My Mother wasn’t at all the strange one. I was, for feeling so distressed by my fifteenth birth-day.

A steward approached my Mother and I, cutting our Soulmate-fishing seminar short as he encouraged us to hurry along. Flustered, my Mother pulled me in to kiss me on both cheeks and my forehead, a rarely used and special parting and greeting act between close family and friends, before stubbornly conceding to the steward’s request. She waved goodbye as the steward and last few non-newly-initiated-adults followed her out; and once they had, every single glowing arrow along the domed walls vanished.

The light from the outer dome began to shrink to a sliver as a seamless panel slid closed over the open archway; a soft click echoing through the low-ceilinged room as it shut. Within moments the womb-like room was filled with the whispers of my birth group. However, the nervous chatter quickly quietened once the spherical walls dipped from a comforting warm white, to a void-like black.

Then the ceiling glitched, and revealed a digital clock. It beeped, starting a countdown from 88; the number of days in a cycle, hours in a day, and cycles we may live. “The Adulthood Initiation is about to begin, please lay down,” a monotonous voice announced. The floor below my feet and across the room lit up, displaying hundreds of body-sized rectangles with the words ‘please lay down’ written within each one.

The scampering began instantly. “Ow…” I said, as an age mate knocked me aside to take the rectangle beneath me. They whispered an apology before lying down and triggering the light below them to shut off. Struggling to see anything as my eyes adjusted, I looked left, right, and over my shoulder, until I spotted Della through the scampering figures in white robes. Only, before I could call out to her, she dropped to her knees and elegantly reclined within the rectangle at her feet.

The light emitted by the box beneath her deactivated. I spun, and saw tens, then hundreds, do the same. Boxes of light rapidly dimmed from bright white to black. I bounced uneasily in place, unsure of what to do but follow along. So I did just that, lying within the first box I could find. Its light cut to black. So did many others. Until the room was still, and every box of light was occupied; leaving us nothing to do but stare up at the countdown unravelling on the domed roof above.

At sixty-four seconds, I turned my eyes from the flashing numbers. Peeping left, I saw another Redscale girl gripping aimlessly at the smooth floor. Peeping right, a pale Blackscale boy pushed his wet hair away from his eyes. At forty-seven seconds, I returned my focus to the countdown on the ceiling; but the eye-watering brightness of the display above remained so intense, I couldn’t help but feel unnerved by its pulsing lights.

I forced my eyes shut, cutting off the sensory overload, and focused my mind on something else. I focused on graduating from intermediate school earlier that day. I thought of the opportunities the later hour of adult hibernation would soon allow me, like attending the wine bars and aqua clubs I had heard about. I even considered how, in some ways, I looked forward to dating. Only, when I remembered The Soulmate Law’s existence, I quickly recalled what was stopping me from embracing it.

My eyes flew open to escape the thought, and the glowing countdown above met my peer. Still, little thoughts trickled into my mind. By twenty seconds, I was pondering the life that awaited me after initiation. How at some point, I would choose to go to dinner or diving with someone. But at eleven seconds, I realised dating would become serious. Suggestions would be made to test our luck. Friends and family would question if we had glowed together; and in all honesty, I had no idea how I would respond.

At five seconds I panicked. What if my hair didn’t glow? Would that mean the times we shared laughing and dancing meant nothing? Would the individual I spent all those days and evenings with simply leave me to look elsewhere? Would I want to leave them and look elsewhere? Or would I want to have a fling? A long-term relationship I knew would lead to nothing meaningful? Even so, before I had the chance to dive into my questioning, a blinding light pried my eyes open and a loud screech filled my ears.

And then, I saw a group of girls. One Whitescale girl of blonde hair and warm coloured skin with yellow undertones; crescent-shaped grey eyes, small lips and nose. Then a Redscale girl like me; kinky long red curls, deep brown skin, reddish-brown eyes, large lips and nose. Finally, a Blackscale like Della; with dark black hair and eyes, pale skin, straight nose and flushed cheeks. I saw all of them happy. Very, happy…

And then they were jumping, their hair whooshing wildly above them until they hit the surface of the glistening water. I saw them emerge, the Redscale girl first, and I watched her embrace her family. They were proud of her, and it was as if I could feel their pride swelling within my own chest. Bursting inside of me. She was wearing robes, just like mine, and they fit her so well. She was very taken by it all, just as I was…

Only I wasn’t, or hadn’t been. Not until a moment ago. I found myself confused, my thoughts seeming to contradict themselves; lost between what I felt, and what the Redscale girl from the screen did. Though I did my best to decipher the difference, it became increasingly challenging to separate the two streams of consciousness. Which was when the screen pulsated, stuttered, and recaptured my attention once more.

And the Redscale girl was there again, smiling. Smiling not at me, but for me. She was lying in the room exactly where I was, watching images just as I did, and then she was walking through the open archway of the low-ceilinged room; descending the glass stairs and entering the Inner Dome Auditorium where parents were seated. I saw her family in the audience as she took a seat on stage with the others in her birth group. She was very calm. Very content. I wanted to be like her. At peace with the ceremony…

And she was standing now. She stood before filled rows of upholstered seats. She stood before her birth group whilst her wrist was branded with the adult-mark that I soon would also wear. She was gifted a flat rectangular box garnished with a silver silk bow; and the box was pretty. Very pretty. The box was mesmerising to her, to both of us, and as she pulled away the silver bow I waited along with her until…

I gasped to catch my breath. My mind unclenched and clenched as a blinding light faded from memory. The walls around me lightened to a soft yellow, the moans of my birth group sounding all around as I clumsily sat up and pushed my heavy limbs off the glassy floor. The monotonous voice once again came across invisible speakers; calmly issuing an instructional refrain as the seamless panel over the entrance clicked and slid open.

Unsure if it was my drowsiness or bewilderment to blame, I couldn’t at all decipher what I was being told. Nevertheless, I moved instinctively with those around me; following after the Blackscale boy that had been to my immediate right, with the Redscale girl that had been to my left behind me. Our entire birth group exited the womb-like room in orderly processions and marched down the glass staircases back into the atrium. We passed by the sleek standing water clock, entered through open double-doors, and proceeded into the Inner Dome Auditorium.

Applause erupted in my ears, yet I didn’t so much as glance into the audience of gushing parents. My feet moved, deliberately, marching down the main aisle towards the glossy black stage ahead. Still following the new-adult before me, I stepped onto the stage, climbed the shiny black benches that awaited us, and then halted at the fourth row of the onstage seating. I stood there, waiting for my entire birth group to reach the benches; and the moment they had, we bowed in unison, all together, and swiftly took our seats.

All of a sudden, I became aware of where I was; as if I had ambled all the way from the womb-like room and onto the levelled bench without once consulting my mind. The thought caused a twinge of panic to course through my nerve endings. Yet, though I tried to pull the unsettling notion forwards, no amount of mental persuasion could stop it from slipping from my grasp. Which left me, sat in the dark, searching around myself in confusion.

The hall was quiet then. The audience had stopped cheering. The feet of my birth group were still. The lights throughout the Inner Dome Auditorium were dimmed, and nothing worthy of attention was causing any renewed activity. Barely able to see the outlines of those in my birth group sat on the benches below me, my eyes strained to look further, into the audience, but to no avail.

Whilst I sat in silence, I noticed my tight cheeks. Lifted in an unconscious smile. I rested my lips as I lightly shook my head, my eyes then catching the glint of a smooth shell attached to the bloodline-bracelet around my wrist. I raised my hand out in front of me, my mind tired, my whole body as if a fatigued muscle. Slowly, I regained control of my lax limbs. I took a deep breath, feeling my movements once again align with my thoughts; though I remained entirely unsure of how they had ever fallen out of sync.

Distracted, it took a moment before the faintest whizzing, akin to the whirling of machine parts, became privy to my ears. Sat squeezed between two members of my birth group, I looked about, searching for the origin of the sound. The noise gradually grew in strength, and though barely above a murmur it began to draw attention from the previously dull dome. Now everyone was whispering, questioning what the strange whirring was; the most amusing comment I caught being, ‘why is the most interesting thing happening some machinery noise in the dark?’

Still, the whirring loudened. It became intense, demanding attention, until it hit its climax. I squealed as four sudden bursts of woodwind and lights filled the auditorium. Reflective streams of paper fell from the domed roof as if strips of the sea, catching the strobing lights the way a gently moving tide would. A hidden symphony sounded across the hall. Instrument after instrument played a perfect note; each singular sound building harmoniously, before breaking out into a full blown musical arrangement.

Harps and strings, woodwinds, and bass played pleasing melodies. A ridiculously lavish light show erupted into the air above; the top of the dome imitating a twinkling star-speckled night sky. Explosions of colour chased each other, magnificent sea animals created by converged light leaping and reeling through the air as if it were the ocean. The audience gasped as echoing drums pounded through the dome, and I gaped open mouthed as a cloudy manifestation rose from unseen crevices.

Stringed instruments led a dithering melody, an intoxicating cry soon joining the rearrangement; growing from a singular note before lifting into song. I grinned at the sweet refrain, amazed by how its tune stirred me with inspiration to dance. Then, as if my thoughts themselves had made it so, the smoke around the dome began to take the form of little Korainians, twirling and jumping through the air; tens of them, running and dancing rhythmically above the crowds, like miniature dancers.

They bounced off each other as their spinning paths collided, searching for something, until each tiny smoke dancer finally found a partner. I watched whilst the pairs melded into one another and floated upwards in smoky wisps, the smoke churning and swirling as the music gradually quietened to a singular pump. A solid thump-thump. With my head lifted to the roof and my eyes wide, I witnessed the transformation; of smoke, twisting to form a vital organ, and light, racing to replicate the flow of red blood.

Its design stunned us all to silence with its beauty. A smoke sculpture of the Korainian heart. I lifted my fingers as if to touch it, as if it were just before me, moments before an authoritative voice came over every speaker within the auditorium. “Welcome,” I heard it say; “to the Adulthood Inauguration of your children, the third generation of day 76 born to undergo the Official Adulthood Initiation and Inauguration.”

I watched the heart of smoke dissipate as the image of the night sky prevailed. My eyes remained affixed to the roof. Waiting. Then, soon enough, holograms, exhibiting illustrative footage, began to fill the space above all our heads.

“Four hundred seventy-eight cycles ago,” the voice went on; “a great environmental shift threatened the existence of Korai Uji and every Korainian inhabiting its plush lands. Resources ran at an all time low, causing unconscionable societal strife, and famine swept the three Mother Isles that once segregated our species. In 211BL the Blackscales in the isle of Volcanis suffered their coldest cycle, the Redscales in the isle of Sandya their hottest, and the Whitescales in the isle of Mountu their sparsest of crops since the beginning of known history.”

As the authoritative voice spoke on, I began to recognise its words; and once I had, a near immediate flush of boredom overcame me. Broken from my captivation, I sighed in disappointment; easily recalling the story of Uji’s founding from the repetitive teachings of my past Law History lectures. “In 184BL weather conditions worsened,” the disembodied narrator recited; “wars over resources in all three Mother Isles developed-”

“And in 151BL…” I momentarily continued.

“A great rainfall flooded The Mother Isles,” the voice concluded. I quietly chuckled to myself at the predictability of the speech, my chuckles evolving to snickers as my lips moved with the narration booming from the speakers. “Setting aside differences of scale,” I mumbled along; “the tribes of Volcanis, Sandya, and Mountu fled to the sloped island of Uji to establish colonies…”

“Sssh!” I heard someone hiss.

My eyes widened at the sound. I spun my head round, and in the corner of my sight, to the left and sat on the bench below, I glimpsed the head of an age mate as it turned in a disapproving shake. Embarrassed by the reprimand, I twisted my lips, slumped my shoulders, and sat in silence whilst the authoritative voice went on without me.

“In 110BL, the elders of Uji’s colonies formed the Tribe Tribunal. Shortly after, disagreement led to the Tribunal’s disbandment. In the absence of leadership Korainians turned on one another, and The War for Uji ensued. It was not until The Last Battle for Uji in 89 BL, when Ino Taka, the leader of a neutral tribe of Whitescales, brokered peace. A new Government, led by Taka, The First Chief of Uji, rose up to lead the colonies out of despair. Yet, despite his good guidance, the Korainian population fell to an all time low. For eighty cycles after the war, death rates succeeded birth rates, and The Barren Times plagued all on Uji.”

The dome remained silent as the narration quietened. So silent, I took a moment to look around myself and make sure the audience hadn’t fallen asleep to the retelling of our own history. However, instead, I found the faces of my birth group and our parents utterly captivated by the holograms projected into the centre of the dome. Even as the images transitioned to the dramatic scene of a crying female Korainian, gripping her stomach.

Before the holograms grew too grim, a spontaneous rupture of light burned its way across the domed roof and glittered down whilst the authoritative voice went on. “In the cycle 12 BL, the first couples reported glowing hair. A phenomenon that shocked the nation and its leaders. These pairings were gifted with fertility, the following cycles producing hundreds more couplings. For the first time in a lifespan, every Korainian on Uji had a chance at fulfilment — with the one that made the glow!”

The droplets pouring down from the domed roof pulsated and shifted in colour from white, to a glittering silver. Struggling to see the bright sights, I squinted through the sparkling lightworks until they dimmed. When my vision cleared I saw the domed roof once again, now emulating the twinkly night sky. I gazed upwards, distracted by the constellations of stars zooming through the air above; barely listening as the authoritative voice bellowed on.

“A gift given from The Universe above to indicate a new era on Korai Uji, a glow could mean only one thing. A Soulmate. Designated by The Universe itself. A promise, to each and every individual on Korai Uji, that The Barren Times would never plague us again. For this reason, in the cycle 0AL The Government declared the glow-phenomenon a binding law. The Soulmate Law. Today, two hundred and sixty-seven cycles later, we celebrate the initiation of this birth group into the glow-phenomenon, and welcome them to adulthood. The hunt for a Soulmate, is on!”

Fanfare exploded into song and lights swooped across the dome, hanging themselves in ornate patterns and forming impossibly intricate chandeliers. The main lights in the auditorium rose to a warm white; the faces of parents and family members suddenly coming into full view. I found my Mother in seconds, beaming with pride and smiling ear to ear. She sat up abruptly, reminding me to sit straight and tall, and I heeded the request; nodding to her, and then waving to my Aunt when I found her sat beside my Mother.

Just as the claps began to dwindle, another raucous round of applause erupted within the audience. I spun to look across the stage where the applause was directed; finding a Whitescale woman, dressed in all white, descending a sleek glass staircase onto the stage. Stepping up to the suspended podium, she cleared her throat; and the same authoritative voice that had encapsulated the dome, and near put me to sleep, came through her lips.

“Congratulations my young ones,” said the woman I had never met before, though I instantly recognised her from my school curriculum. Chief Ieday stood with her head slightly tilted, her hands turning smoothly to accentuate each word. My Law History textbooks, if I remembered correctly, had listed the Whitescale woman as our reigning Chief for over ten cycles. One of the youngest Korainians to ever assume the position, she walked and talked with an engrained assuredness that made everything she said feel as absolute as Law.

“Today I look upon the bright young faces of the day 76 born, and aren’t they a striking group!” she declared, the words inspiring several giggles to escape the benches where my birth group were seated. “I see young Korainians, ready not only to take the first steps towards adulthood, but also the first steps towards procreation. Today, you will be given all you need to continue life on Uji, and whether you decide to remain in The Mainland or return to your colony, the prideful memories you have made today will last you a lifetime.”

I felt my lungs inhale to scoff, the uncharacteristic show of goodwill from The Chief to the colonies inspiring my disbelief. However, before I could let out the breathy exhale, a jostling motion to my right distracted me. I glanced to my side, and then immediately furrowed my brow. “Are you… uh, alright?” I whispered over to the Blackscale sat beside me, bouncing his knees with vigour as he turned my way with a wide grin.

“It’s so exciting! Isn’t it?” he whispered with zeal, his black eyes swiftly returning to The Chief still delivering her speech.

I felt my lips twist at my age mate’s excitement. Unsettled, I turned to look about the benches; searching for any colony kids to see if they were as convinced as the new-adult besides me seemed to be. Luckily for me, thanks to their scars, markings, piercings, and tattoos, colony residents were easily spotted. Yet even then, despite the tell, it was a challenge to find any from the colonies among the benches. Which I expected.

Colony dwellers were becoming a rarity these days. The population of The Colony Outlands had shrunk to record lows in recent times. Long ago my own father’s bloodline were rather prominent amongst the Sandya colony of Redscales. My first and last name being ‘Nykia’ was even to commemorate their history. Regardless, most Korainians, my family included, had since ventured out of their home away from the Mother Isles and into the cultural mixing-pot of The Mainland.

Although I hadn’t much knowledge of the migrations of my family, on my father’s side, as my Aunt occasionally mentioned, our ancestors forwent their proud warrior-legacy during The Second Wave of Confirmation in 120AL. In the process they encouraged their tribe to do the same, accepting the Upper Region position the Chief of the time awarded for compliance.

Ironic war concedes aside, I gained the sense abandonment of The Colony Outlands was inevitable. Even my headstrong Great Grandfather on my Mother’s side had left the Sandya colony with the remainder of his small clan as a boy. The way he recalled it, they hadn’t received as warm a welcome as clans that transitioned in earlier times; although it wasn’t until 182AL that The Government officially declared the separation.

Nowadays those in the colonies, or colony dwellers as they were often referred to, rarely ever mixed with Mainlanders like myself. My modern mind interpreted the politics to mean The Government didn’t give a whale’s blowhole about what happened out there. However, the terrible grade I received for that Law History essay would suggest I was missing some nuance.

Regardless, each cycle, every Korainian turning fifteen was expected to make their way to City Korai, colony dweller and Mainlander alike, to partake in Coming of Age Ceremonies. Great Grandfather often lectured about the suspicious amount of effort devoted to traditions such as The Adulthood Initiation and Inauguration. Most of our family thought him insane, but in this case he wasn’t wrong.

Experiences like the light show we had just witnessed would amaze any Mainlander. Which meant for a colony dweller, who barely had access to consistent electricity, attending the event was like releasing your pet catfish into the open sea. So it ultimately made sense, though I had hoped to find a cynical smirk from my colonial age mates, that I instead found what I should have known.

Of the few colony kids scattered amongst the benches, I saw, upon each of their faces, blissful unadulterated smiles. Teary eyes. Expressions of utter excitement. Happy emotions, that I didn’t at all share. I slouched in my seat; unfamiliarity flushing me as I once again found that, just as after The Jump, my reaction was not what it was supposed to be.

“And that is why,” I heard our Chief go on; “we hope this cycle shall be the most successful in their duty to continue our kind! I give you, the third cycle of day 76 born! Universe guide you!” The audience exploded into a heavily concentrated applause as Chief Ieday concluded her speech. A man dressed in a neat grey overall by the base of the stage signalled to us on the benches to stand, and I stood with my age mates; falsifying a smile similar to the gleeful faces surrounding me. Isolated from their merriment.

Some time afterwards they began listing out names, calling forth new-adults to traipse along the slippery benches as gracefully as they could manage. With my turn nearing, my mind began to fill with questions. What if I tripped? What if I missed a checkpoint along the ceremonial procession? Even so, it was the concerns underneath the superficial that were the most unnerving. Like what would happen if, somehow, they already knew of my questions concerning The Soulmate Law? So much so, that I was entirely unprepared when my turn finally arrived.

“Nykia Nykia,” a monotonous voice called, willing my limbs into action. My legs took me unthinkingly through the benches, across the glossy black stage, and face to face with the Elder of Maturity, Elder Gaynor; the man our school textbooks named as responsible for adult affairs. I bowed swiftly before the Government Elder, a lean old Whitescale man, his long tail of hair white like the crisp suit-robes he wore over his yellow-toned skin. His sharp eyes held the coldest of grey irises, and with that chilling peer he stared into me. Unwavering.

He suddenly took my right hand and flipped it palm upwards, his hands searching for the skin on my arm just below my palm. “This won’t hurt a bit,” he cooed, as his lustrous long moustache bobbed in time with his words. He pushed back my Mother’s shell bracelet, took the hot burner baring the bold ‘A’ stamp resting on the coals beside him, and swiftly pressed it to my skin. The heat shocked me to stillness; and taking advantage of my immobility, the Elder removed the bronze stamp and slapped on a clear plaster that instantly numbed my pain.

Dazed, I looked down at my arm; the limb feeling remarkably ordinary considering it had just been branded. “You may remove the plaster after four hours — now on you go,” the scary Elder said, holding out a small white book as he looked to the next new-adult approaching behind me. I nervously retrieved the little hardback, bewildered as I continued along the stage cradling my branded arm.

I stopped when I looked up to find Chief Ieday, presented on a podium. She was tremendously imposing, despite the fact she stood at only five feet tall. Her small grey eyes observed me whilst I bowed steeply. The white robes she wore cloaked any shape she might have had, and her platinum blonde hair sat in a shiny bun atop her head. Yet, despite her unparalleled appearance, I had never met such a blank object in my life. She felt, entirely unavailable. Although she stood before me on her platform, her palm extended towards mine, I gained no sense of connection when I touched her.

I shook her adorned hand as she barely made eye contact, quickly shuffling onwards once she withdrew her cool fingers; leaving me shaking the unnerving essence of emptiness from my being. The pretty Whitescale woman at the edge of the stage and end of succession smiled at me brilliantly as I approached her. She reached behind herself into a curtained area and retrieved a wide rectangular box tagged with my name.

“Universe guide you!” she practically yelled, as she pushed the thing into my hands.

“Um, you too…” I mumbled, lowering my peer to the flat rectangular box garnished with a silver silk bow. The box was shiny. Very shiny. It was surprisingly heavy too; forcing me to wedge the small book the scary Elder had given me under the silver ribbon and hold it with both hands. Before I had even clomped down the stairs off the stage, my Mother had already pulled the shiny box away and shoved it into my Aunt’s arms.

I stumbled as she grasped me excitedly and dragged me through the auditorium and into the outer dome’s atrium. “Nykia! Nykia Nykia!” she exclaimed once we had entered the marble-floored atrium; “Dear, you looked so beautiful up there I almost burst! When you walked across the stage, every man in the audience perked right up! You stole the show! I even heard one father cheekily ask who the ravishing Redscale girl was!”

“Uh, thanks…” I mumbled, squirming in her arms.

My Mother released me from her grip to clap for her own conclusions, though my Aunt Naomi thankfully caught me in my stumbles. “You alright there?” she chuckled as she held me in place. I nodded small as she patted my shoulder, entirely grateful for her stabilising presence. She handed me a pair of sandals, snorting a laugh as I hurriedly snatched and yanked them on; before huddling me along with my wandering Mother.

I withstood my Aunt’s congratulatory cheers whilst my Mother angled to get a good view of one of the circular projections, set up to relay the events inside the auditorium to those waiting outside in the atrium. Before long, My Aunt joined my Mother to watch along with the ongoing event. Uninterested in following the remaining two hundred names left to be called, I looked about the atrium to the other families; all sorting themselves in huddles, preparing to continue their celebrations at home.

I did my best to avoid direct eye contact with anyone; especially the occasional newly-initiated man that passed by, staring at me as if I were a single seahorse in an empty tank. After a while my Mother noticed me rubbing the thin gauze of my inauguration robe, so she lent me her orange wrap. I was grateful for it too. Until, she went on to extend some suggestions on my posture that dampened my gratefulness.

Bothered by her recent list of unwomanly mannerisms, I distanced myself from my family and stood to the side on my own. I slid my sandals against the marble floor, all the while glowering at my feet; entranced by the irrelevance of my own toes. Wishing that I too could somehow become invisible to the average ogler.

I continued staring at my feet atop the marble slabs below. Before long, I was lost in pondering. Flushed with considerations of the oddness of toes. So much so, that I didn’t even notice my best friend, Tedi Kedar, standing right in front of me.

“Nykia?”

“Hmm?” I said, my head whipping upwards to find Tedi’s warm-coloured face bearing a warm smile. “Oh… hey, Tedi.”

“Hey Tedi? Hey Tedi!” he gasped, his offence causing me to furrow my brows. Tedi shook his head, his ruffled blonde hair moving with the motion. “Alright, Nykia, you know I’m a man now, we talked about this. From now on — it’s Ted.”

“Who’s… Ted?”

“It’s me!” Tedi snapped. “Remember? Della said my name, Tee-Dee, is too childish for a man. So I decided to go by Ted after adulthood? You said it was better!”

I blinked Tedi’s way, and then let out a ridiculously loud laugh. “Wait, you were actually serious about that?” I guffawed, my laughter becoming a howl. “Tedi, we thought you were joking! Stars, don’t let that adult-mark go to your head! You’re still… barely taller than a kid in Early Schooling!”

“Ouch — unnecessary, Nykia,” Tedi breathily huffed. Yet despite his reaction, we both knew Tedi’s height was low-hanging fruit in the way of comebacks. A shorter stature was a typical trait for Whitescale Korainians; and even so, Tedi wasn’t far off from my own boringly average height. Regardless, he continued to dwell on the joke. “I like Ted,” he insisted; “I spent time researching, and single syllable names signify strength. Multiple sources say so.”

“Multiple sources, my stars…” I droned, rolling my eyes.

Barely a second of silence passed before Tedi and I broke out into chuckles. “Alright, you win Nykia,” Tedi finally grinned; “I was just trying to make you laugh, that’s all.”

“You were?” I challenged. “Why? I wouldn’t exactly call you the comedic type…”

“I’m funny!” Tedi contested. “I make you laugh all the time!”

“Yeah, but not on purpose! And making jokes is different. Jokes are more about… pushing boundaries. We both know you’d rather drown than break a rule.”

“I can break rules!” Tedi rebutted. “I’m fun!”

“Tedi, you’re such a law-lover you wouldn’t use my revision notes for end of school exams because you said it was… too close to cheating?”

“Stars, Nykia, I only said that to be nice. The truth is — your revision notes were poor.”

“Oh!” I guffawed, a snort ripping from my throat. “Fine, fair point…” I admitted; “at least that’s the last time my academic mediocrity gets recorded…”

“What about The University?” Tedi probed; my eyes instantly widening at him as a warning. “Alright I get it! We’re still ignoring that your Mother wants you to go. But — and I say this as a friend — it’s probably time to start taking it seriously.”

“Taking what seriously?” I said, moving on from the topic.

“Adulthood, maybe?” Tedi wittily countered.

I scoffed at his quick response, though I wasn’t at all offended by his commentary. In fact I felt alleviated, as I always did when with my best friend. The stress of any and all things tended to fade into the background when I was with Tedi; our effortless banter a constant reminder of the easy friendship we had built for ourselves, thanks to our childish snark.

“So, what was wrong with you earlier?” Tedi asked abruptly. I looked his way, opening my mouth to reply, before realising I didn’t have a response. Tedi tipped his head at me and my obvious confusion. “Earlier today?” he prompted, lifting his hand to gesture by the large water clock in the centre of the atrium. “I was over there? We made eye contact, but-”

“Really?” I interrupted, genuinely surprised.

“Yeah, Nykia,” he affirmed, raising a blonde brow; “you looked right through me?”

“I did?” I asked again, echoing my previous tone of surprise. I glanced away from him to search my mind for the recollection, and gradually recalled the huddle of new-men from the atrium earlier that day. “Oh, I remember now…” I whispered, recalling the memory as Tedi’s face emerged from the crowd within my mind. “Sorry…” I eventually said, shrugging; “I was a little preoccupied with… stuff…”

“What stuff?” Tedi instantly queried.

I glanced Tedi’s way again, smiling at his interest. However, after briefly considering his offer, I thought it better not to offload my troubles onto him. “I probably didn’t see you because… you’re so short,” I finally said, avoiding his question.

“Ouch,” Tedi snorted. “Or maybe Nykia, it’s because your head was in the stars?”

“Hmm…” I mindlessly concurred.

“You’ve been really pensive lately, more than usual I mean.”

“Hmm…” I mumbled once more.

“Nykia, you’re doing it again,” I heard Tedi sigh. I blinked and turned to look his way, finding him shaking his head at me. “You know, your declining ability to hold a conversation is going to make finding a Soulmate really difficult-”

“Um, rude!” I interjected, forcefully backhanding his arm.

Tedi theatrically gripped his limb and dropped to the floor. I snorted, laughing at him as he feigned a slow death against the cold marble slabs. At the sight, I was reminded exactly why Tedi Kedar was my best friend. Being with him was like, returning home; kicking off my sandals, and flopping onto my waterbed. His company was always comfortable, even in the most uncomfortable of situations. Which felt good on a day like today.

Tedi went on rolling against the shiny floor, gyrating like an unconvincing performer on a Government-sponsored show while I laughed at him. However, our moment of bliss was cut short when a thin shadow cast itself over our unthinking delight. Tedi’s Mother, a straight-backed, well-groomed Whitescale woman, pouted at me and scoffed at her son. “Tedi get up, you look ridiculous,” she snapped. “Although your friend finds your antics amusing, any proper young woman here would see them as obscene.”

I physically recoiled from the frosty remark, though Tedi’s Mother’s disdain for me was nothing new. Chastised, I stood awkwardly aside whilst Tedi clambered to his feet. Then in horrible timing, as if orchestrated by The Universe itself to become the most unfortunate situation possible, my Mother, oblivious to what had just transpired, stepped into the conversation. “Nykia, we have to go. I just remembered I left the flan on the-”

My Mother stopped herself short when she noticed Tedi, and then his mother. She glanced to me, clearly requesting an introduction. I lightly shook my head, but in response she raised her brows to insist. Inhaling an unwilling breath, I rolled my eyes and spun to face her. “Mother, I’ve told you about Tedi Kedar,” I reintroduced; “he’s my friend from school…”

“Hello, Miss Nykia, grateful to officially meet you!” Tedi rushed as he shook my Mother’s hand. I raised my brow at his oddly formal greeting, though he was far too busy bowing to my Mother to notice me. I watched him turn to his own guardian and gesture grandly. “This is my Mother,” he said, while Mrs. Kedar unenthusiastically offered her palm.

“Oh, Mrs. Kedar! I’ve heard so much about your son!” my Mother beamed, shaking her hand.

“Hello,” she grudgingly replied; “sorry, did you say Miss?”

“Yes, Miss Nykia,” my Mother winningly returned.

“My stars, whatever happened to your Soulmate?” Tedi’s mother immediately probed.

I winced just as my Mother’s smile faltered. Tedi looked my way, clearly as shocked as the rest of us by his mother’s bluntness. In the meantime, I watched my own parent closely; hoping she would do something to defend herself. Thankfully, after a tensely quiet moment, she finally inhaled a sharp breath. “He passed, when Nykia was only a baby,” my Mother replied, gesturing to me as she explained; “it was work related.”

“How tragic, what did he do?” Mrs. Kedar pressed on, as if instead of prying about my dead father, she was inquiring where my Mother purchased her tunic. My eyes widened at the woman’s gall, my lips twisting tightly. Frustrated by my inability to act, a large huff of air escaped through my nostrils. Apparently bothered by my exhales, Mrs. Kedar moved her stark grey eyes my way. “The adults are talking,” she retorted, her dismissal triggering a wave of irritation to swell within me.

“I’m an adult now…” I mumbled, though Mrs. Kedar didn’t acknowledge my reply.

“As I was saying,” the uppity woman restarted; “if you don’t mind me asking, I’m only curious. As we all know, the Korainian physiology is impeccable. A death before eighty-eight among Mainlanders is rare. Those that do die before their time are either colony dwellers, or victims of unusual road or sea accidents. Even less perish from illnesses, since almost all known are now curable or extinct — and thank our last Chief’s Universe-guided policies on disease control for that. Thus, I gather, your Soulmate’s death was caused by something much more rare. Hence, my curiosity.”

Mrs. Kedar raised her chin as she concluded, far too proud of her reply. I sucked my gums at her assumptions. However, before I had the chance to correct the woman, my Mother at last spoke up. “Nykia’s father was a leading researcher at The Wellbeing Institute in City Korai. On a visit to The Colony Outlands to study diseases, he contracted one himself. He passed just before his efforts resulted in a cure.” My Mother gripped my hand tightly whilst she spoke, and I gripped back; turning my face to send a rebellious glare Mrs. Kedar’s way.

“Well, I am, deeply sorry for your loss,” Mrs. Kedar finally replied, with surprising authenticity.

I felt my brows raise at the words. I rubbed my ear, as if to make sure I hadn’t been hearing things; and then rubbed it again when my Mother suddenly started laughing. “Oh, please, it’s fine!” she chuckled lightheartedly. “It’s been cycles since! But Kwaku was a wonderful man, and quite popular in The City! We still receive letters from The Ovum every cycle! Details of the bereavement pension and whatnot, but they always comes with a kind note giving gratitude to his cycles of service.”

“That is, quite something,” Tedi’s Mother said, impressed.

“I haven’t even started on all the galas!” my Mother gushed.

“Do tell! Are they really as fabulous as I’ve heard?”

I raised my brows at Mrs. Kedar’s sudden interest in my Mother’s past social life, then lifted them even higher when my Mother began retelling stories from the cycles before my father’s passing. Tedi sympathetically looked my way; then he tipped his head, gesturing for us to separate from our chatting Mothers. Relieved by the suggestion, I stepped away to stand beside him.

“Sorry about my Mother,” he immediately apologised; “I never told her about your father, it didn’t come up-”

“It’s fine…” I interjected, ending the conversation there.

Tedi sighed at me, obviously unconvinced by my reply. I avoided his eyes, sucking my gums in annoyance. Until, I felt a soft grip on my thumb. I looked down, then up to Tedi when I realised it was his hand holding mine. He didn’t do anything but squeeze my fingers; but after a moment, I gratefully squeezed back. Still, our grip only lasted a short second, since Della appeared out of nowhere and crashed through our arms.

“There you are Nykia!” she loudly announced, flinging Tedi’s hand aside. “Oh — hey Tedi,” she jeered, speaking to him over her shoulder.

“It’s Ted,” Tedi retorted.

“Pff — you were serious about that?” Della puffed, scoffing as she pivoted to face me. “Anyway! I don’t have much time to talk,” she went on, speaking to only me; “I have to get home, Dena came to visit from the Mid Lower Region! With Rojas!”

“Woah… Dena’s visiting?” I gasped.

“I know! I never see her since she moved out!” Della excitedly bounced. “You know she’s my favourite sister too! Especially with how Dora’s been since she turned adult two cycles ago. And don’t even get me started on Daya! If she get’s any worse I’ll have to set Wooba on her!”

“Isn’t Wooba your catfish?” Tedi challenged.

“Well, yeah,” Della replied, finally manoeuvring to include him in the conversation. “I’ll just wait until she’s in the bathtub or something,” she shrugged, ignoring mine and Tedi’s expressions as she hurried on. “So let’s all meet outside The Ovum Hall at the 79th hour, alright?”

“But The Maturity Ball starts at the 77th?” Tedi countered.

“I know that!” Della huffed. “But no one’s actually gonna be there that early!”

“I will,” Tedi asserted.

“Stars, fine then,” Della snorted, looking to me as she assured; “as Tedi has proven, only sucky new-adults arrive on time. So we’ll meet at the 79th hour, agreed?”

“Uh… sure Della,” I shrugged, happy to skip as much of the mandatory ball as possible. Tedi shook his head in disappointment as Della grinned at my reply. He opened his mouth wide, surely to argue his stance on a timely arrival, but before he could speak his mother called out to him. Della mockingly waved goodbye as Tedi backed out of our huddle; and I smiled deeply as Tedi looked my way to issue a sincere nod.

“See you both at The Maturity Ball,” he called out, before adding; “on time!”

“You’ll be sitting there alone!” Della called back, before tutting and looking my way. “So then, how does it feel!” she yelped; though when she did I twisted my lips, since I had no idea what she was asking about. “To be a new-adult, Nykia?” she eventually clarified. “I mean, look at us — we’re women now! We’re actually initiated! It happened so fast!”

“I, suppose…” I said, taking a moment to consider the day. “The Adulthood Initiation did go by quickly,” I pondered aloud, as a faint remembrance caused me to glance across the atrium towards the curved glass stairwells. “I must have fallen asleep… I don’t remember it-”

“Me neither,” Della interjected, before swiftly moving on; “Isn’t adulthood great?”

“Uh…” I scoffed; “it’s a bit early to say, isn’t it?”

“No! We’re mature enough to recognise a stellar situation!”

“Alright then, Della… explain to me how we’re more adults now, than eighty-eight hours ago?”

“Well it’s this thingy, duh!” Della immediately retorted, whilst pointing to the clear plaster covering her newly-singed adult-mark. “How did it feel for you, by the way?” she asked, examining the gel-like patch. “For me it, like — really hurt for a second and then, it didn’t hurt at all. It actually felt better than my other arm! Weird right? I overheard someone say you have to keep it on for four hours — apparently Elder Gaynor told them. I was kinda sad because Elder Gaynor didn’t talk to me. Did he talk to you?”

“Briefly,” I mumbled; “but he was…”

“He was kinda scary though, right?” Della interrupted again. “It’s so weird, considering he’s Elder of Maturity. He’s like, responsible for Korainians our age. We shouldn’t think he’s scary. Anyway, it’s whatever — I shouldn’t even be talking about an Elder like that. Forget I said anything. So, like, how do you feel? Because I’m soooo excited right now I can barely breathe! But you look, I’m just gonna say it — bleh.”

“Um, I’m not bleh…” I droned, in the world’s most unconvincing rebuttal.

“Yes you are!” Della replied in a sing-song tune. “Get on the wave, Nykia! You’re missing it!”

I sucked my gums at Della’s reply, but I let my annoyance go when a far off motion caught my attention. I moved my eyes to find Della’s Mother, frantically waving across the atrium, and I waved back before pointing my friend in her mother’s direction. Della whipped her head round and immediately scoffed at the sight. “Alright, I’ve got to go appease the crowds at home now,” she said, as if it were a chore; when we both knew Della loved the sort of attention she was sure to receive once she returned home. “It’s a full house, all for my birth-day!” she grinned. “Aunts, uncles, Dena and Rojas — even my Great Grandmother!”

“Seriously?” I gasped, recognising the importance of the visit; since Della’s great grandmother was nearing eighty-eight cycles, and would soon be returning to the sea with the rest of her remaining birth group on their death-day. “Please say hello… and goodbye… to her from me?” I asked in earnest.

“Of course,” Della smiled sadly, immediately understanding what I meant. We stood in silence for a moment, each of us pondering things. Della most likely imagined the many gifts awaiting her at home; while I considered our nearing death-day, just seventy three cycles away. “So, I’ll see you at The Maturity Ball later tonight? Right?” Della suddenly said. I looked her way with a grim expression, not at all feeling celebratory.

“It’s not like I can miss the stupid thing…” I mumbled.

“The Maturity Ball is not stupid!” Della stomped.

“Can’t we just… go with Tedi?” I sighed. “I’d feel more comfortable if we all-”

“Tonight is not about being comfortable, Nykia!” Della interjected. “We are debuting as women! No more childish 78th hour hibernations for us, we won’t hibernate until the 88th hour now! Besides — do you really expect me to have dinner, spend hours with my family, and be ready in time to get a shuttle to The Ovum Hall — just for the place to be totally empty when I arrive? Honestly, getting ready is gonna take way more effort than I care to admit!”

“Della!” Della’s mother harshly hissed from a distance.

Della let out a dramatic grunt and spun in her sandals. “I’ll see you at the 79th hour, Nykia! Don’t go in without me!” she warned, calling over her shoulder as she strutted off and flipped her hand behind her back to wave goodbye. I rolled my eyes at her eccentricity, chuckling whilst she sauntered off. Nevertheless, the moment she and her parents had exited the atrium, my faint smile swiftly faded from my lips.

I journeyed home with my family in silence, feeling pensive. I thought of Della and Tedi on the shuttle home. Their grins. Their excitement for new-adulthood. Della specifically had always been the poster child for Uji spirit. She watched every organised parade on the programming box, all the Ovum-sponsored classics, reality shows and daily operas included, and could play Uji’s anthem on the horizontal harp. The glee she felt for new womanhood was not surprising. What was actually surprising to me, was how unprepared I was to feel gleeful along with her.

In all honesty I knew I was never much of a harpist, and Ovum-sponsored media made me bored beyond belief; but Della and I always had the connection of being each other’s first friend. Yet, the reaction she had set me up to expect, the one filled with excitement for the cycles of adulthood ahead of us, had never come. The disappointment I felt over my own reaction led me to consider myself. My world. Our traditions. Our Laws.

I wondered what made The Universe qualified to decide whom I spent the rest of my life with. Then again, I also pondered what gave me the right to question The Universe at all. In fact, I spent so long delving into my thoughts, considering my insignificance in the vastness of The Universe yet its interest in my small planet and me, that the entire journey home was a blur.

When I finally regained consciousness from the daze I had been in, I was at the dinner table; having at some point already changed from my Adulthood Inauguration attire. I glanced at the floor-standing water clock within the dining room and stared into its mechanism. I watched the water drip, and rise, and push a floating copper disc just enough to turn the minute hand of the clock, until a deep sigh lifted my eyes away and across the table to my family.

My kid twin cousins teased their father, my Aunt’s Soulmate, Uncle Raymond, in their typical double trouble act. Then there were my Grandparents and Great Grandfather, all from my Mother’s side, cheekily conversing over the lack of food at the table. Searching for my Mother, I peeked through the kitchen archway; yet the dishevelled mess I glimpsed inside served as an answer as to when I could expect food. Which was, not for some time.

For a moment, I felt guilty for leaving her to prepare dinner alone. Then I remembered, it was my Mother who wanted to make a multiple-course meal for nine mouths; even though I repeatedly said I was happy with just a fruit flan. She had served the starter, an impressive seafood platter, shellfish-free of course due to my allergy, without a hiccup. However, somewhere between then and now, she had become entirely overwhelmed.

Aunt Naomi had gone in to assist some time ago, but had since reappeared wearing a freshly stained apron to announce multiple dishes dropped from the menu. Which sucked, since the flan was the only thing I asked for. Still, being too hungry to complain, I searched for a distraction from my rumbling stomach. My gaze swept back across the dining room; and as it did, I became captured by the mechanisms of the floor-standing water clock once more. I watched the water drip, and rise, and push the floating copper disc. Drip. Rise. Push the floating copper disc.

As the hands on the clock gradually shifted, I found myself wondering how time itself felt to know it would keep dripping, and rising, and floating and ticking. Was it relieved that there would always be another hour after this one, and after that one? Did it know how lucky it was to be the only sure thing in The Universe? Well, time, and the annoyingly Universal Soulmate Law, that was. I felt my irritation surface as my thoughts began to sink deeper into uncertainty; until my glaring stopped, and I at last noticed the time.

Though the clock read as the 66th hour, I didn’t believe my eyes; as it would be nearly impossible, unless time itself had gotten bored of being resolute. My lips twisted themselves as I attempted to count hours; remembering my Mother and I entering The Orientation Centre at the 60th hour, thanks to the sleekly mechanised water clock within its marble atrium. However, when my calculations continued to lead me to a conclusion I couldn’t understand, I looked outside of myself for a reasonable answer.

I reached over the empty seat my Aunt Naomi had vacated amidst the kitchen emergency, and tapped her Soulmate on his arm. Uncle Raymond spun round his head of tightly-coiled red hair, parental stress radiating from the frown lines in his forehead. Evident from his tired expression, it was clear my kid cousins Rowmahn and Natalia were a handful. Nevertheless, he did his best to answer me with a smile. “Yes Nykia?” he politely prompted.

“Sorry Uncle Raymond… am I distracting you?”

“No, it’s quite alright,” he responded, whilst the twins resumed their food fight.

“Um…” I began, watching as my cousins picked at remainders of their platters and lobbed them at each other. “You’re a… clocksmith,” I gradually restarted; “do you think you have time to look at our water clock today? It must be broken, but I don’t think Mother’s noticed yet. It’s one of the only things we took from my father’s old home in City Korai, so it’s important.”

“Sure Nykia, what’s wrong with it?” my Uncle asked as he glanced at the clock.

I lifted my brows as Uncle Raymond became distracted by the war of flying fish raging between his children, and waited for him until he settled the twins. “I think it’s fast…” I continued once I had his attention. My Uncle nodded to me, then looked down to his fancy wristwatch; as being a clocksmith he would have one.

“No, the clock is quite right,” he eventually said; “it is forty-two minutes past the 66th hour.”

“That’s, weird…” I remarked, twisting my lips; “I was sure the Adulthood Initiation and Inauguration was just a couple hours.”

“Well, I’m afraid I can’t relate Nykia!” my Uncle chuckled back, laughing to himself as he went on; “Naomi told me of all those talks they had in the auditorium about ‘Caring For A New-Adult’. She said it felt like the Head Planner for the Department of Non-Soulmate Relations was talking for an hour alone! I have to say, I’m rather glad there was no room for me to come in the end! Some Korainians really don’t know when to end a speech!”

“There were… speeches?” I scoffed. “But… when?”

“While we were waiting for you here,” my Uncle replied. “From the 60th to the 65th.”

“Are… you sure?” I asked, bewildered by the time.

“Am I sure, Nykia?” Uncle Raymond chuckled back, before lifting his arm and tapping his wristwatch to say; “Keeping time is part of what I do!” My Uncle ended his reply with a smile, but despite his reassurance a sudden unease coursed its way through my veins. I spun back to peer at the water clock as my mind was flushed with confusion. I knew The Adulthood Initiation, though I couldn’t really remember it, was surely barely an hour long; and the Inauguration didn’t at all make up for the time I couldn’t seem to remember having spent.

“Nykia?” I heard my Uncle call.

“Hmm?” I mumbled, looking over to him.

“Are you alright?” he asked, sounding concerned. “You’re breathing quite heavily?”

“I am?” I asked breathily, my head feeling light. Realising the ridiculousness of my reaction, I took a breath to calm myself. It was likely I was overreacting again. More than likely, since my reactions to my birth-day had proven to be far from what was normal. Moving on, I hurried to distract myself from my thoughts. “That’s a… beautiful wristwatch,” I said to change the topic; guessing my Uncle was hoping someone would comment on it, with how obviously he was brandishing his arm.

“Well, thank you Nykia!” he exclaimed happily, sufficiently distracted. “Your cousins aren’t as impressed unfortunately. And your Aunt does think it a bit frivolous, seeing as there’s a clock at home, and at work, and in the town centres! But, it was gifted with my promotion!”

“You were… promoted?” I asked, thankful the conversation had successfully pivoted.

“Yes, I was!” Uncle Raymond replied, before going on to quietly add; “But please keep it hushed, from your mother too, we’re not exactly ready to tell the family yet. We need time to ease everyone into the news. You see, wristwatches are becoming an essential fixture in The City! The association requires more hands on deck! I may even need an apprentice soon!”

“That’s, fun…” I said, struggling to sound interested.

“Ah, it is! But it’s much more than repairs!” my Uncle grinned, briefly looking around himself as if he feared someone else may be listening. “The association will be needing me more often and at shorter notice, and since the premise of my work will be based in The City-”

“Wait… you’re moving to the Upper Region?” I gasped.

Uncle Raymond raised his brows at my volume. I clapped my hands over my mouth as he surveyed the room; but once he was satisfied our family hadn’t been dissuaded from their own conversations, my Uncle looked back my way to explain. “Well, we’re not moving to The Upper Region,” he chuckled; “that’s unfortunately quite far above my pay grade! But we will be moving, your Aunt, and Rowmahn and Natalia, and I, to the Upper Mid Regions. To tell the truth, we were quite torn about it for some time. It’s good to be close to you and your mother, and the kids love it here and will miss their friends-”

“The twins aren’t enrolling at The Mid Region Academy?” I pressed. “How far up the Mid Region are you moving… exactly?”

“Well, we’ve not been allocated a home just yet,” my Uncle chuckled; “but that’s the thing, one of the benefits of my promotion is acceptance for the twins to The City Korai Academy! On the condition they pass the entrance exam, of course.”

“Oh, that’s… great…” I said, not meaning the words.

“Isn’t it just!” Uncle Raymond beamed, unaware of the sarcasm in my response. “Imagine it! Their classmates will be the children of Government officials! Maybe even Elders!”

“But, uh, isn’t that… expensive?” I warned.

“It’s all-inclusive!” my Uncle yelped, unable to keep his excitement contained. “The twins’ scholarships, daily travel, and school dinner expenses were all included in the promotion! We’re incredibly lucky they’re still young enough to move regions before intermediate school starts!”

“Suppose it is,” I shortly retorted, surprising even myself with my clipped tone.

I glanced away from my Uncle as he furrowed his brow, well aware of how unsupportive I must have seemed. I knew it was unreasonable to be upset about my Aunt and her family moving to a new home in the Upper Mid Regions, but I was still unreasonably upset. I felt protective over my Aunt. She was the only reminder I had of my father, and she even spoke of him on occasion; which I appreciated, since my Mother often avoided his memory in aims of saving herself from sadness.

Still, even if my Aunt’s move meant she was only a half-hour further than the two streets currently between our homes, it wasn’t just the distance alone. An annoying notion in the back of my mind persisted in telling me things would be different, that her living in the Upper Mid Regions meant that my Lower-Mid-Region-self had no place in her new life. It wasn’t unusual either. Korainians were known to change when they moved up. In fact, it was exactly what happened to the Whitescale girl Della and I used to be friends with; Astoria Calcite.

The three of us were once a trio forged in Early Schooling. However, all that changed when the sale of Astoria’s great grandmother’s clothing business, Calcite Textiles, made her family enough quartz to enable a move to the Upper Region. Astoria remained at school with us, since we were eleven and transferring during intermediate school was near impossible, but that was all there was. She made new friends to match her new Upper Region life; the difference in our social circles made more and more apparent each time we interacted with the shallow individual she had become.

Astoria was a complete fish now, all pouty and uppity. I didn’t want my honest, humble, genuine Aunt to become anything like her. Yet, moving closer to The City could do that to a Korainian. While I considered the possibility, I overheard my Great Grandfather croaking his usual lectures. I turned to look across the table at him, chewing on his last bits of fish and spouting angry rhetoric about the methods of The Chief and their ranks.

He was currently droning on about one of his favourite topics, elitism. How Uji’s regions had been designed with the intent of dividing Korainians. He claimed the sections of our land enticed individuals with the luxuries of Upper Region life; encouraging neighbours to abandon communities, and families to betray bloodlines, all in hopes of obtaining an impressive land lot code. I didn’t usually bother considering the motives of Uji’s geography. Yet now, facing my Aunt’s relocation, I began to see his point.

Tales of families moving from the Lowest Lower Regions, or The Pits as some called it, to The Upper Region, were told like tribestories. My lecturers even often encouraged us to imagine experiencing the glow-phenomenon with an Upper Regioner. How our fortunes would change overnight, simply because The Universe had made it so. It might have been my fault for napping during Law History, but to this day I didn’t get the moral of the story. No matter the statistics a textbook listed, or the eloquent conclusions presented in scholarly essays, I couldn’t shake the concern that all of our planet’s fortunes were based on a cosmological lottery of love.

I tapped the dining table eighty-eight times a minute, until my Uncle rested his wristwatch-wearing-hand over mine. I looked up, into his kind eyes, and my frustration instantly evaporated. “Sorry, Uncle…” I eventually said, remembering my manners; “I just don’t want the move to change… the twins.”

“It’s alright Nykia,” he sighed in reply, seeming to understand. “I assure you, it won’t.”

“Sure…” I mumbled back, unconvinced by his claim. Just then, my Mother burst into the dining room, grinning a little too excitedly, as she held out a huge bronze platter holding a duck roasted and glazed to perfection. I raised my brows as my Aunt rushed out of the kitchen and gently pulled the platter from my Mother’s hands. “Malaika, we need to clear the table first?” she tautly joked; spurring my Mother to gasp, and then hurriedly fumble to collect all the cutlery.

“That duck smells delicious!” Uncle Raymond cheered, smacking his lips as he sniffed the air and grinned my way; “I hope you’re hungry, Nykia!”

“Oh, I’m starving…” I replied. “I think the last time I ate was before The Jump!”

“Stars, you must be quite famished then!” my Uncle returned. “Your Aunt assumed your birth group were at a buffet whilst your mother and her were enduring those speeches! I guessed you were enduring an onslaught of seminars, just like them. Perhaps you could settle our wager?”

“Well, I’m sure I would’ve remembered a buffet…” I began, before stopping to consider my Uncle’s query. I sifted through my mind, the simple question of my activities during the initiation saturating my thoughts. Yet at the end of my pondering, despite trying, I came to realise the inescapability of my own forgetfulness. “I… I… really don’t remember…” I breathed, gradually turning to face my Uncle. “I’m so sorry, Uncle Raymond, I don’t know…”

My Uncle turned to look at me, appearing genuinely surprised by my reply. However, before he could respond, my Mother and Aunt reentered through the kitchen archway. The dining room exploded into applause as the fattened-duck platter was placed onto the table; my kid twin cousins and grandparents not even waiting for their trimmings before they dug into the meat. I glanced back to my Uncle, hoping he would offer some assistance regarding the lapses in my memory. However, in finding his fingers gripping a chunk of duck and scooping deeply into a bowl of sauce, I decided against interrupting him.

It was the 72nd hour when everyone but my Mother and I had cleared out. The kitchen was a mess, the dining room was a mess, and the lounge was a mess. The mess was making my head hurt, and so my Mother suggested we would tidy tomorrow. Retiring to my bedroom, I traipsed through the hall, pulled aside my bedroom curtain, and flung myself onto my waterbed as the mattress squirmed beneath me. Then I stared up into the ceiling, for a good few minutes, glaring at the many faint holes and cracks in my bulbous bedroom ceiling.

After a while, the holes began to look like stars and the cracks began to look like constellations. I found myself peering into them, as if they were the cosmos; asking questions as if it could hear my thoughts. To begin with, I started small. I asked why the sea was blue, but water clear. I asked if seagulls ate fish because they wanted to, or because they had no choice. Then my simple queries grew into complicated questionings. Questions like, how does one become an adult? Was I supposed to act maturely? What did mature mean outside classifications of fermented foods? Was it possible to be too mature, like how food could spoil if left out?

Filled with frustrating ambivalence, I diverted my attention to the winding string of silk and shells attached to my wrist. Pride filled me at the thought that generations of my Mother’s bloodline had also worn the same adornment. Only, when I recalled my Mother’s words from earlier in the day, I was once again flushed with disdain for the bracelet-turned-Soulmate-bait.

I unlatched the securing clasp, unravelled the loops of shell, and transferred the jewelled knots into the top drawer of my bedside dresser. With the bracelet removed, the gel-like plaster atop my recently singed skin became visible. Realising four hours had long passed since the Adulthood Inauguration, I finally peeled the clear plaster away.

Though I expected my skin to be raw, or the plaster to pinch, neither was true. The skin beneath wasn’t raised or red, the only difference being the darkened capital ‘A’ that sat on my right forearm. I ran my fingers along its edges for a while, thinking of how that one letter seared into my skin was my claim to adulthood. My certified declaration of maturity.

Suddenly, inspired by the thought, I sat up and looked around myself. As in, really looked. For the first time in my life, I began to wonder if my surroundings suited me. I began to consider redecorating, now that I was an adult, since nothing in my bedroom had changed in cycles. The walls of my room were purple from before it was my room. The fuzzy carpeted floor had been cream before my Mother was allocated the home. The doorway curtain and my bedsheets had been purple for some time too, and I’d had my cream dresser and closet longer than I’d had twin cousins.

I had never before thought of it as inadequate. Yet, technically, before was when I was legally a child. Now, I was legally the opposite. With the oncoming tides of adulthood forcing me into new depths of consideration, I had to decide for myself what I would do. Would I hold on tightly to the simplicity of childhood, kicking and screaming in denial of my age? Or would I do what was expected of me; and simply put, grow up.

“Whatever that means…” I mumbled under my breath. Huffing to myself, I looked out of my circular bedroom window and into the slowly setting sun. My eyes took several blinks to register the warm rays, my mind momentarily relaxing as I thought of nothing; only then to be sparked with the remembrance I actually had somewhere to be. “Stars Nykia!” I snapped, scolding myself as I flung my legs over the side of my bed.

Teo was expecting me by The Bowl, the only worthwhile haunt in the Lower Mid Regions. Unoriginal in its name, The Bowl was a mountainous waterfall where a collection of streams rushed through a rocky chasm and into a wide pool; almost as if liquid, pouring itself into a bowl. Knowing I barely had the time for the journey back and forth before Della’s late entrance to The Maturity Ball, I dressed myself in something hiking appropriate as quickly as I could.

Pulling on some boots and a cardigan, I slipped through the front door without alerting my Mother; who had begun the post-birth-day cleanup without me. I walked to The Bowl, quickly, and whilst I walked I couldn’t help but continue to think. Specifically about the day, and how by this evening I would’ve spent more time in City Korai over the past eighty-eight hours than I had for practically all of my childhood.

I pondered about my ‘A’ mark. My imposed maturity. What classification of adult I would become. Nevertheless, in the end, my prevailing thought was Teo; how late I was to meet him, and how unimpressed he would certainly be.

Being the day of fifteenth celebration for day 76th borns, The Bowl proved far more populated than usual for the time. Stopping to trade birth-day wishes with the recognisable members of my birth group resulted in the hike up The Bowl’s mountainside taking longer than expected. Thus, when I finally saw the back of Teo’s red curls, sat the only Korainian left atop the rocky mountainside, I felt entirely ashamed of my tardiness.

“Uh… sorry!” I offered from a distance.

“You’re late,” he said; glancing over his shoulder to me with a risen, thick, red brow.

“But I have a good excuse…” I replied, approaching him as I held out my arm; “I was busy becoming a woman! See, I’ve been stamped and everything!”

“Happy birth-day, I guess,” Teo shrugged, eyeing the singed mark. “Not sure what that has to do with bad time-keeping though.”

“Hmm, true…” I sighed, as I sat down beside him and pulled off my boots. After I had settled down we sat in silence, as we often did. It wasn’t ever awkward, more so a mutually agreed upon quiet; and in that quiet, a question posed itself in my mind. “Do you think I should… redecorate?” I found myself asking; though the query was halfhearted, as the marvellous water scene below made it difficult to commit to conversation.

“What do you mean?” Teo eventually replied.

“Well, I’m supposed to be an adult now…” I started again; “and, I don’t know… my room feels… inadequate.”

Teo looked away from the view and to me for a moment, perhaps to gauge how serious I was. “I didn’t redecorate,” he responded plainly, whilst his reddish-brown eyes squinted slightly at the setting sun.

“So you think it’s… stupid?” I scoffed, defensive.

“Didn’t say that.”

“So… what?”

“So I get why you’d think that, but you don’t have to.”

“I know…” I huffed, before adding; “I suppose, I’m still the same individual…”

I looked Teo’s way as he nodded once in response; although it wasn’t necessarily because he was in agreement, and more so because he simply did that sometimes. As if a nod of the head could be a substitute for a comprehensive answer. His indifference caused me to furrow my brows in consideration. Nevertheless, in the end, I simply turned my gaze back to the fading sun and continued to wait for the stars to emerge.

“You said it was purple,” Teo announced after a while.

“What?” I asked, confused by the abrupt start.

“Your room,” he clarified, glancing at me when he did. “You mentioned it at our last diving club meeting together. I think.”

“Oh, I guess…” I mumbled, surprised by his recollection.

“Actually,” Teo began again, smirking; “you said there was, a lot, of purple.”

“Uh, I did… did I?” I stuttered, embarrassed. “Oh, that was, a full cycle ago… before you became an adult, and before I joined the club!” I said, feeling it necessary to explain my overtly purple room. I laughed weakly as I concluded my rambles and readjusted my position. “There’s less purple now…” I lied, glancing to Teo as he nodded in response. “So I’ve, uh, got to be at The Ovum Hall at the 79th hour…” I hurried on; “for you know, The Maturity Ball.”

“Doesn’t it start at the 77th?”

“Yeah…” I mumbled back; “how do you know?”

“You told me,” Teo returned.

“And you remembered…” I smiled, feeling as if I had accomplished a small victory.

“It’s not hard to remember,” Teo went on; “I had mine only a cycle ago, so I leaned pretty heavily on that information.”

I sighed at his logical reply. “Hmm… well, Della wants to arrive ‘appropriately late’.”

“Then your best bet is the 80th hour,” Teo rebutted.

“And… how would you know?” I snapped back, bothered by his knowledgeable responses. Typically for him, he simply shrugged his reply. “Well, you’re wrong…” I finally mumbled under my breath; just as Teo let out a quiet scoff.

“If you say so,” he said.

“Well… I do,” I mumbled.

“All deep then,” Teo concluded, his shoulders lifting in another unaffected shrug.

“So…” I pushed my luck by saying; “you’re admitting you were wrong?”

“Am I?”

“You should be…”

“And why’s that?”

“Uh, because…” I started; “you just… said… urgh, forget it!”

I sighed in frustration at the reductive flow of conversation, aggravated by the smirk I could see lifting Teo’s mouth in the corner of my eye. Deciding to let it go, I moved my eyes to the streams of water beneath us as they splashed at the rocks. Before long, we had settled back into one of our regular stints of quiet. I watched The Bowl below, whilst Teo sat silently. Indecipherable, as usual.

Although his specific way of being often annoyed me, it intrigued me just as much; as with Teo, it was different than with my other friends. Della and Tedi often offered their opinions, whether their opinions were welcome or not. Whereas Teo tended to stay quiet whenever I wanted to rant; waiting for me to ask, before he offered his succinct conclusions. However, it hadn’t always been like that. In fact, I didn’t like Teo when we first met.

He was in the birth group above Tedi, Della and I, so we only ever saw him in the hallways of Mid Region Academy. He always exuded an insufferable arrogance that none of us could tolerate, but all that changed after I joined the diving club in my third cycle at intermediate school. Try as I might, his friendly persistence won me over; and after I discovered he lived streets from Tedi’s place in the Central Mid Regions, meet-ups at Tedi’s house after clubs became a regular occurrence.

Della met up with us occasionally; but since we spent the time making fun of Ovum-sponsored programmes and eating oily fishcakes, she found us too childish for her tastes. Either way, we hadn’t seen much of Teo in the past cycle. Him being initiated as an adult before the rest of us meant that from the 78th hour, when we would begin sleeping, Teo would begin clubbing. I often imagined what his outings were like, but Teo had his own age mates to enjoy them with. Yet, now that we were finally all adults together, I was looking forward to our friendships outside the confines of school.

“So how soon will you start dating?” Teo abruptly asked, surprising me into a guffaw.

“Uh… dating?” I lamely replied, whilst I attempted to think of a way to sidestep the sensitive subject. “Well, Della, is… probably starting from tonight!” I feebly joked.

“If she had her way she’d be on Soul Search,” Teo said.

“Um, Soul Search!” I exclaimed, shaking my head; as Soul Search was a horrid Ovum-sponsored reality show Della would only ever watch, and never participate in. Most because it was a dating program dedicated to chronicling the lives of Korainians concerned they may be Incompletes; usually over several broadcasts until they found the one. Or didn’t.

“Della would never!” I forcefully protested.

Teo shrugged as he raised his hands, and I nodded justly at his surrender before we both returned our attention to the views from atop The Bowl. The quiet Teo and I often shared persisted after then. Eventually, I reclined onto my back to stare up at the slowly-emerging stars; until an unknown passage of time later, I roused from my birth-day-exhaustion-induced nap.

“Fishsticks… what time is it?” I panicked, having awoken to starry-skies and darkness.

“It’s a little while after the sun set,” Teo answered over his shoulder. “You should probably head back. But don’t worry, you’re not late or anything.”

“Oh, good…” I sighed in relief, surprised by how concerned I had been about missing The Maturity Ball. Though in all honesty, it was the possibility of accidentally outdoing Della’s lateness that scared me most. I sat upwards to stretch my limbs and yawn, my shoulders becoming uncovered in the motion. Confused, I looked down to a woven blanket covering my legs and resting in my lap. “Where did this… come from?” I whispered, looking to Teo for explanation, before realising he had been speaking.

“And so I wouldn’t really say I’ve started,” he apparently continued to say, his back still turned to me.

“Started… what?” I grunted, oblivious.

“Dating,” he answered.

“Oh…” I said in a yawn; “we’re still talking about that?”

“Maybe.”

“Stars, you’re chatty today…”

“Sometimes.”

“Uh huh…” I yawned once more, rubbing my eyes as I pulled off the mystery blanket. “Is this… yours?” I asked him, whilst Teo glanced back at the woven quilt.

“I thought one of us might need it,” he simply replied.

“Oh… good thinking,” I nodded, whilst I folded the blanket and passed it back over to him. It was only after Teo had reclaimed the blanket and turned his head from me that I noticed, he had offered information about himself; something he rarely ever did without immense encouragement. I raised my brows at the strange occurrence and twisted my lips, struggling to find a way to reply.

“Why… not?” I at last combined the words to query.

“Why not?” Teo repeated, confused as he looked back.

“Uh, yeah…” I started to explain, my words slow as I shuffled on the rock to sit beside him. “Why not, uh… date? You’re a nice-looking Redscale… I mean not just, for a Redscale, sorry. I meant objectively, you’re a handsome Korainian… your face is symmetrical, and that’s a factor, I suppose… but, you’re also a fun guy! And well-mannered most times… so it must not be hard for you? Right? You must have… boatloads of potentials?”

Seconds went by without Teo’s response, and as they did I began to doubt my question. Gradually, the quiet grew frustrating; the increasing time between Teo’s response, and my poor attempt at casual adult-conversation, leaving me feeling foolish. “Uh, yeah,” Teo finally said, a breath I didn’t realise I was holding escaping me when he at last did. “I don’t know.”

I raised a brow at him. “You… don’t know?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he repeated again; “I, just don’t know.”

“Maybe you haven’t found the right girl… sorry, woman?”

“I don’t know.”

“Doesn’t it… bother you?”

“I don’t know.”

“How do you not… know?”

“I don’t know.”

“Alright,” I finally huffed; “this is getting ridiculous…”

“It’s just-” Teo sighed, and I had never heard Teo sigh before; “I don’t know how to handle the Soulmate thing. Never gave it much thought before I turned adult a cycle ago.”

I took in a quiet gasp, involuntarily; Teo’s words, and how closely they mirrored the way I had felt the past few eights, taking me by complete surprise. Relief flooded me at the thought another individual might share in my hesitation concerning The Soulmate Law, since having someone to speak to without judgement on the matter would surely be helpful. However, I also knew such a conversation could only be satisfying if it was safe; and it could only be safe, if Teo really did feel as I did.

“What do you mean you don’t know how to… feel about it?” I asked, very carefully.

“That I don’t know,” Teo countered. He looked out over the now abandoned freshwater pool of The Bowl, and while he did I chewed on his response. Yet, before I could formulate a reply, he spoke on. “I mean, it happens. A girl’s hair can glow during intimate stuff but-”

“Intimate stuff…” I interjected in an immature snort, instantly regretting it when Teo glanced to me with a risen brow. “Sorry, um, go on…” I apologised; whilst Teo sighed, for a second time that night, and cleared his throat to continue.

“I just think, sometimes, I don’t know, maybe it shouldn’t be The Universe that, decides it for you.” Teo concluded his sentence there, his proclamation drifting through the air between us. In that moment, I wanted to share my own concerns. I wanted to tell him how I had been feeling, and how relieved his words made me feel. Yet for some reason, my mouth wouldn’t open. “But it must be, right?” he continued after my quiet prevailed. I tapped my knuckles and attempted to retrieve a response from my mind. “Just, forget it,” Teo exhaled, suddenly getting up; “never mind, it was stupid.”

Teo offered me a hand, and I took it as he pulled me to my feet without another word. We descended the mountainside together, the hike back to the base of The Bowl silent; and not the content sort we usually shared. When we parted ways on our routes home, Teo waved goodbye and turned his back before I could return the gesture. I sucked my gums as he walked away, my eyes following his form until it turned into a street and out of view.

“Fishsticks…” I said to myself, wishing I hadn’t been too cautious to say something.

An hour of harried steps later, I pressed my palm to the entrance scanner of my house and slipped through the front door. Passing my Mother, still busied cleaning, I peered down the hallway into the dining room to check the water clock; then panicked when I saw the time. I rushed into the tub and braided my wet hair loosely, near breaking my neck as I clambered out of the bath struggling to dry myself. Grabbing a small bag of cosmetics Della had once gifted me from its hiding place, I ran to my bedroom mirror to powder my face, gloss my lips, and ready myself for the ball.

After half an hour of panic, I assessed myself. I was still wrapped in my towel, my hair in chunky malformed plaits, my cheeks chalky with poorly-toned blush. Defeated, I collapsed onto my waterbed and shook my head at my shambolic attempt at preparing for a ball. At least, until the sudden image of a white box garnished with a silver silk bow waved its way through my mind. I sat up at the thought, slowly recalling the wide box that had been handed to me earlier that day at The Orientation Centre. Why the box seemed so intriguing to me now, I had no idea. Nonetheless, its mystery pulled me to my feet in search of its very shiny edges.

“Mother… where’s that box?” I called once I found her.

“Hmm?” she hummed over the radio, attempting not to break her tune whilst she scrubbed the plates.

“Where’s the box… with the silver bow? From the Adulthood Inauguration?”

“Hmmm, hm-hm, hmm!” she continued, nodding her head in some wayward direction.

“Mother…” I huffed, causing her to halt her cleaning.

“It’s in my room, Nykia,” she finally said.

“I need to get it…” I rebutted. My Mother raised a brow at me as she threw her cloth into the kitchen sink, clearly unimpressed by my blunt manner. Sighing lowly, I adjusted my tone and started again. “I need to get it… please…” I carefully repeated.

“Much better,” she tutted, wiping her hands on her apron.

I followed her to her bedroom as she pulled back her curtain, before practically pushing her aside when I spotted the silver bow atop the box sitting on her bed. I mumbled an apology as my Mother exclaimed, undeterred from hurriedly pulling away the box’s silver bow and prying open its lid. I threw aside the mass of decorative paper inside, and in the process uncovered a sparkly, black, square. Entirely perplexed, I lifted it from the box; and as I did the square fell open to reveal a dress. One like no other I had ever encountered.

“Oh my stars, it’s beautiful!” I heard my Mother exclaim.

“You… knew what was in here?” I asked, gawking at her.

“Of course dear, The Government always supply the attire for The Maturity Ball!” she laughed. I looked back to the gown in my hands as my gaze swept over the dress. All the while my mind circled back to the word stunning, again and again. Since the dress really was, utterly, stunning. It was light, and seemed to slip through my fingers like water, but the material itself was like something celestial. Black, and elegantly dotted with sparkles like a starry night sky.

“Will it… fit?” I whispered.

“Of course, dear, The Ovum know what they’re doing!” my Mother chuckled, buzzing with energy. With her newfound liveliness she shuffled me over to her mirror and began assessing my state. “Stars, that blush isn’t your tone,” she sighed; “and where on Uji did you get that? You’re not allowed cosmetics?”

“Della gifted it…” I said, chuckling at my reflection. My Mother wiped my cheeks clean, ushered me over to her dresser and began applying powders to my face and lips. “I thought I wasn’t allowed cosmetics?” I cheekily challenged.

“Stay still, Nykia,” she huffed through her concentration. I allowed her to fuss about my matted braids; enduring pulling, and pinching, and brushing, and squeezing, and plucking. Until, at last, my Mother instructed me to change into my dress. She fastened me up and spun me around, finally allowing me to look into the mirror; at an unrecognisable woman staring back my way.

The woman’s hair was slicked to one side, waves of red locks spilling down her left shoulder. Shimmering silver jewels dripped from her ears, and the dress she wore was figure-hugging. It twinkled in every way possibly imaginable, coating her arms down to her ankles; though the cleavage-exposing neckline kept the cut far from modest.

I touched the reflective surface before me, as if it would help me to better believe my eyes. My Mother’s gaze found mine in the reflection, and she smiled; tears streaming down her cheeks as I finally managed to blow out the words. “My stars…” I said. “Is that really… me?”

‍