Lukey woke up in his room. It was still early enough that the sun had barely reached over the horizon, so there was hardly any light peeking out through the wood-weave blinds. The room was composed of furniture that was crafted using mahogany wood from the jungle. He had a desk in the corner for tinkering with his equipment and a bed with layers of animal hide used as a cushion. In the corner was his spare fishing equipment and whatever he retrieved from the reef.

  Many of the villagers would be waking up around this time as well, getting prepared to do their responsibilities for today. In Lukeys’ case, he wanted to catch his mother before she left to work in the city. She should be in the nursery, giving her flowers any attention they may need and writing down their progress. Lukey had a very uncomfortable conversation to deal with, so we wanted to do it now while she was in a good mood.

  He got up and put on his vest and shorts. It was only now that he bothered to look down and look at his outfit. It was rather plain, especially when compared with what the sailors wore. When he got a chance, he planned on upgrading his clothing to stand out more. Most people with classes like the individuality that comes with them, so they dress in a way that matches their path. Lukey heard that there was a person with a weaver class on the island, so he might consider a change of clothes before he leaves the island.

  He got up and headed towards the back entrance of the house. It wasn’t complex since it only had three rooms: the main living space and Lukey and Leah’s rooms. The main living space contained the kitchen and a wooden table and chairs. His and his mother’s personal rooms contained their belongings.

  Lukey reached the back door and headed outside; he could already hear his mother working in the nursery. He planned to confront her there while she was in a more pleasant mood, then leave and meet with Triton. With any luck, there wouldn’t be any sobbing, yelling, or insults thrown around so loudly the neighbors could hear. He took a deep breath and then headed inside the nursery.

  Inside he saw his mother tending to some orchids, but they didn’t look like the variety he saw on the bushes in the jungle. These were larger, much larger. They were about as big as a human head, and the size wasn’t the only thing noticeably different. The colors showed a deep orange with red streaks moving towards the center. Each flower was like an oversized sunset, and Lukey could only imagine what they looked like when planted together in large bushels.

  When she saw his mother, she couldn’t help but notice what she wore. She had a wrap around her chest and a puffy knee-length skirt, but there was something else that caught his eye. Her clothing seemed to be made of a series of large flower petals. Lukey rubbed his eyes to make sure he saw it correctly.

  Both the chestband and the skirt were made of vibrant orange petals strung together to make clothing, similar to the petals of the flower she was working with right now. In addition, she wore a crown of orange flowers on her head and wore gloves that looked like they were made of the same tree leaves used for roofs.

  Lukey took a moment to take in her outfit, then made a guess as to how this was possible.

  “I heard there was a weaver on the island. It seems like you’ve made a visit.” Lukey said.

  Leah turned from her work to look at Lukey. She had a look of momentary surprise that indicated she didn’t even hear him come in. Lukey took a stool and sat down to steady himself. Outwardly he was calm and stoic, but inside he was a bundle of nerves. He was anxious about what his mother would say when he told her he was taking a different class and would possibly leave the island. Lukey could only hope she didn’t do anything drastic.

  “Yes, the guild was impressed with what I was able to accomplish so far. They said I should wear an outfit befitting of my title, ‘Princess of Venus,’ so they paid for the weaver to make me some new clothes,” she said. “I took some of my flowers to ask if she could make something out of them, and wouldn’t you know it, she obliged.”

  “It looks great,” he said. “You certainly deserve it. I have never met another person in the village who was as dedicated to working with plants as you.”

  “Well, yes, I suppose. My mind always saw things differently from the other kids. When I was young, I spent a lot of time out in the secret gardens, up near the northern side of the island. It always relaxed me, but my parents never liked it when I spent so much time there.”

  “And then you got your class?” he said.

  Leah's eyes brightened at that. “Yes! When I became a botanist, it felt like something inside me just unlocked! Like this was where I was meant to be. After that, it was just a case of bringing my ideas to life.”

  Lukey felt envious of that. He was striving for the same thing, but in a completely different direction from what his mother wanted. The other villagers said Lukey took after his mother, but he never really understood what they meant. It seems they were more similar than he originally thought.

  “Did you ever let it get to you? The strange looks, the isolation?” Lukey asked.

  Leah’s face fell, but she began to talk regardless.

  “It was lonely, I’ll admit. People distanced themselves because they couldn’t relate to me and didn’t bother understanding me,” she solemnly said. “Nobody really tried to get close with me, so I just kept my distance from others as well.”

  Lukey thought she was finished, but then she said something that caught him off guard.

  “Did I ever tell you how your father and I met?”

  Lukey was stunned, because of all the things he expected her to talk about, his father was not one of them. She never talked about him, and Lukey never knew the reason why. She had this look of longing in her eyes that said how she felt about him, and Lukey was worried she was going to break down in tears.

  “You don’t have to talk about him if you don’t want to,” Lukey quietly said. “I know how you feel about him.”

  Leah shook her head at that.

  “No, Lukey. I want to talk about him. You should know what kind of man he was.”

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  Lukey could see tears welling up within her eyes. At first, he wondered if he should stop her but eventually let her continue. She seemed so adamant about it, and it would be rude to stop her after she finally worked up the courage.

  “Your father’s name is Favian Wright. He was a scholar that came on one of the ships to learn about Leviathan’s Rest and document the island for his guild,” Leah said.

  Leah stopped for a moment to let the information sink in.

  “We met in the secret gardens while he was exploring the island. He wanted to learn about us, but without a guide he was stuck aimlessly wandering around the island.”

  “He seemed to keep to himself and tried to ignore me. I was curious about what he was and approached him. After we began talking, we agreed that I would show him around while his boat was docked.”

  “He was never put off by my fascination with plants; rather, he was interested in hearing everything about what I knew. He feverishly wrote down everything I told him and hung on every word. This continued for a month until I decided on a change of pace.”

  “He was the only man I had gotten close to up until that point, and since I was young, I thought it might have been fun to fool around with him. So, I showed him a secluded spot near the secret flower fields, and… well, I’ll skip that part since you seem to be losing interest.”

  Lukey blushed and looked away at what she was implying. How could his mother ever be this impulsive! He no longer regretted taking a different class against her wishes, because now he had an excuse.

  “Isn’t that a bit impulsive? Didn’t your parents get upset over this?” Lukey said.

  “Oh yeah, they were furious. They told me that I shouldn’t have been doing things like that so young, especially with a man I only knew for less than a month,” Leah said. “However, great reward is not without great risk, and soon after I was rewarded with you.”

  Lukey was starting to feel a deeper appreciation for who his mother was. Originally, he thought she was just a prodigy obsessed with botany. She always talked about her flowers and the island for as long as he had known her. They pretty much lived separate lives as he became older; they never had a heart-to-heart like this. That didn’t explain why she was spilling her heart to him, but he had a suspicion.

  “I’m going to take a new class soon, and it’s not the botanist class,” Lukey said.

  “Yeah, I figured it was something like that,” Leah said. “You opened yesterday like you want to tell me of some big decision you made. I know because I gave my parents that talk many times.”

  Well, this was certainly easier than Lukey had expected.

  “You’re not going to stop me?”

  “Why would I? I would be a hypocrite if I stopped you from doing what your heart wants. I told you about my past because I want you to understand that this is who we are. To force yourself to become something you’re not, to be swayed by the world and those around you, is a terrible sin.”

  She stopped to let her words sink in, then she continued.

  “Follow your heart, son. Just make sure you don’t disappear like Favian did. I cried for days when I realized he wasn’t coming back, and I don’t know what I will do if I lose you,” she said.

  Lukey didn’t know how to feel about this. He had been prepared to confront her on making his own decisions, setting out on his own to discover his path. Turns out his mother had been in the same position years ago, and he just never knew.

  “I’ll be careful, Mom, I promise,” Lukey said. “Besides, it will still be a long time before I leave the island. It’s a dangerous world, and I must be prepared.”

  The two stared at each other for a moment, faces stoic, hiding the mess of emotions that the conversation had unearthed.

  Leah was the first to make a move, scooping up Lukey in a bear hug and holding him there. Lukey was stunned for a moment before eventually deciding to reciprocate. He started to feel something wet trickling down his back, after which he heard his mother sobbing onto the back of his neck. Lukey couldn’t say anything, though, as although he did a good job keeping his face impassive, he was crying as well.

  “My baby is growing up!” Leah said in between sobs.

  The two stayed like that… holding each other… crying… each saying nothing to the other.

  It was a while before Lukey felt comfortable going on with his day, but he figured that Triton wouldn’t want to see him as an emotional wreck. He waited in his room as he prepared his fishing equipment. He didn’t plan on doing any fishing, but he had to look presentable if he wanted to look the part of a proper fisherman.

  When he finally felt stable, Lukey set out for the center of the island. There was school today, but he was just going to skip. After all, he had a good reason to. The school was set up by Thousand Acre to teach people the way of the botanist and hopefully promote the class among the islanders. He learned some important stuff, like what it was like outside of the island and even the standard time and measurement systems devised by the scholars’ guild.

  Most lessons, however, were mostly about learning how to best utilize the arts of a botanist and which secondary classes were best to pick up. As more of his classmates chose to become botanists, he felt increasingly isolated from the other students.

  People he grew up with had their paths deviate from him. Those he used to laugh and play with become more involved in their class and their progress. He couldn’t blame them; it was a fact of growing up. When he obtains his class, he will be recognized as an adult, and then he will make his own path through life.

  Lukey made his way to the center of the island, sticking to the path as it became increasingly faded. At one point he thought he was lost in the jungle, but he kept moving forward, following the direction he started with and never deviating. The sun reached the middle of the sky before he saw anything, but he eventually reached the location Triton told him about.

  Before him there was a steep slope of rock that reached halfway up the sky. It wasn’t too high, as he could see the top, but it would be impossible to climb, as it was too steep to even make the attempt without equipment. The impassable slope wasn’t the most noticeable thing about this place, however.

  This place was filled with power. Lukey struggled to keep his hesitation in check as he felt the aura of this place push against his body. It ebbed and flowed like the ocean’s tide, crashing into him with an unseen force, only to pull back into the rock a moment later. It wasn’t so bad he couldn’t stand, but he did feel an unease grow in him, almost like the rock was saying, “Stay away!”

  This power was reason enough that the emperor of the island banned everyone from coming around the rock. Whatever it held, he wanted to keep people out, but there was one difference that set Lukey apart from the other islanders: he was invited by Triton. He felt the old man wouldn’t tell him to come to a forbidden place as a joke. He intended to take the fisherman up on his offer, even if it meant breaking a few rules.

  “You’re here already, boy?”

  Lukey heard a voice coming from his right. At first, he was worried that he had been caught in a place he shouldn’t be. After hearing the words and following the sound, however, he turned to see Triton coming from the east.

  “I had to have a talk with my mother. I hope your offer is still good,” Lukey said.

  Triton stopped before Lukey and looked him up and down. Lukey did his best to show a face of resolve to hide his inner fear. This could have still been one big trick by some crazy old man, after all. Triton seemed to have decided on something as he nodded.

  “That’s good. It’s nice to hear you’re so sure of yourself. Too many young people get stuck with indecision and end up doing nothing until it’s too late,” Triton said. “I feared you would take longer, but I see I was wrong.”

  “Well, I’m here. Now show me how I get the class,” Lukey said.

  “Calm down, boy; first I need to confirm some things. Tell me, how do you feel right now?”

  Lukey was confused but gave a prompt reply.

  “I feel alright. The power of this place is pushing me a little, but I can bear it,” he said.

  Triton seemed pleased with that statement.

  “Good, you’ve passed the first test!” Triton exclaimed.

  Lukey’s confusion only grew at that. He wanted to prod the old man for answers, but he knew unnecessary questions could delay him getting to his class, so he kept his mouth shut.

  Triton led him down along the side of the rock wall until they came to a section that had lots of overgrown bushes grown together.

  “Now, please follow me,” Triton said, before walking into the bushes and disappearing.