Lumen and the Thistle

by EJ Wozniak

  They all helped clean up, then John decided it was time to go. Alice had to work the night shift and he wanted to give her time to rest. Alice insisted that they didn’t have to leave, but John insisted that they should go. John gave Alice a kiss on the cheek and sincerely thanked her for having them over.

  “Anytime, John. Thanks for the pie, it was delicious.”

  “It’s from the bakery down the road. We should get some coffee and pie next week, if you have time . . .”

  “I would like that; give me a call.”

  They smiled at one another for a moment before John walked out.

  Lumen and Sofia looked at each other with worried faces, they didn’t like the sound of that. Sofia hugged Lumen and thanked him for the scarf. As John and Sofia were walking to their car, Lumen could hear Sofia say, “Don’t you have stuff going on next week?”

  “Nice man. I’m glad they came over,” Alice said.

  Lumen rolled his eyes.

  “He’s alright. He ate a lot of our food.”

  Alice gave Lumen a look.

  “We invited them to eat, hun, I hope he ate as much as he wanted.”

  Lumen rolled his eyes again and walked to the kitchen to finish cleaning up.

  Alice got ready for work. She and Lumen hugged before she left.

  “I hope you had a good day, hun.”

  “Yeah, Mom, it was great. Thanks for everything.”

  Lumen kissed her on the cheek, and Alice took off for the night.

  * * *

  With a free night ahead of him, Lumen decided to head into Bonumalus; he wanted to find Lucy and Yu to make sure they got their gifts. Lumen was about to take off to the Paxum when Wrigley began to cry.

  “Fine, you can come. You’re lucky it’s Christmas.”

  Lumen put on a jacket. He looked at the sphere on his desk. It was very dark in there. He thought that there must be a big storm on the way.

  Lumen opened a window to the Paxum and jumped through with Wrigley.

  He found Yu hanging out near the cabin. He was wearing the gift Lumen got him.

  “Hey! Thanks for the hat-umbrella thing man. I’ll definitely wear this in Pluviam class! Here, I got you something, too.”

  Yu handed him a big pack of whistleberry juice.

  “It’s a twelve pack. Should last you a little while, right?”

  Lumen laughed and thanked him for the juice. He asked if he had seen Lucy. Yu told him she was studying down in the Genaqua at the food hall.

  Lumen took the elevator down and found Lucy. She was sitting by herself, headphones in with a cup of some juice Lumen had never seen and a book titled A History of Music in Bonumalus. Lumen tapped her on the shoulder. Lucy lit up and stood up to give Lumen a hug.

  “Thank you so much for the book! I had to come here to start reading; my house is crazy right now. Too much family there. Hold on a second . . .”

  Lucy opened a window, just stuck the upper half of her body through, and then came back to where she was sitting. She held a basket in her hands.

  “I know how much you like those pockets, so here is a basket full of them. I found this stuff that will keep them fresh . . .” She said as she handed him the basket. She pulled something out of it.

  “And this paper, you just fold the edges and rub them together, it will heat up. You can place the pocket on top of it, and it will heat up the pocket in no time. Cool right? I think it’s called calor paper . . .”

  Lumen grabbed the paper and rubbed it together like Lucy had explained. He set the paper down and held his hand above it; he could feel the heat coming off of it. He placed a pocket on it and it began steaming after just a few seconds.

  “Wow, that’s incredible! Where’d you find this?”

  “I have a friend in the Ignous caste. I saw her use it to heat up her lunch once. Asked where she got it. Apparently it’s only available in a market down by their classes. I asked her to get one for me.”

  Lumen gave Lucy a hug.

  “Thank you, this is awesome.”

  “Be careful with it, if you rub it hard and long enough, it can start a fire.”

  Lumen nodded and assured her that he would. They sat and talked about their day for a few minutes before Lucy had to get back to her family. She said bye to Lumen, gave Wrigley a hug, and headed up the cabin elevator so that she could jump home.

  Lumen walked around with Wrigley in the Illustra Forest of the Genaqua for some time before he decided to head home. Before he got to the elevator, he saw a hooded figure jogging into the forest in the back of the Genaqua. Lumen thought it could be Chester. He instinctively decided to follow. Wrigley stayed close behind Lumen as they jogged into the forest. Lumen lost the figure in the trees. He saw a flash of light, presumably a window opening, and then the light was gone. Lumen knew the person had jumped from the Genaqua again, most likely Chester. Lumen decided he needed to tell Allister.

  * * *

  Lumen and Wrigley jumped into Allister’s cabin. Allister was sitting on his couch, fire burning, chalice in one hand and a scroll-like paper in the other. He was wearing glasses to read. Janis sat across from him, legs crossed. He had a small tobacco pipe in his mouth and also had a scroll-like paper in hand. There was a small tree in the corner, decorated with lights and a few ornaments. Neither flinched upon Lumen’s arrival. Lumen stood there a few moments before clearing his throat.

  “Ehem . . .”

  Allister and Janis both turned to look at Lumen.

  “Oh hello, my boy, Merry Christmas! Sorry about that. Janis and I don’t often get time to read the paper. As you can see, we got a bit carried away in it.”

  Wrigley trotted over to Janis.

  “Niet, Niet! You brrrought dog? Niet!”

  Janis stood up on the edge of the couch. Lumen was pretty sure he was speaking with a Russian accent this time.

  “Oh, don’t be such a baby, Janis, he just wants to say hello.”Lumen said with a smile.

  Janis shook his head.

  “Don’t you know cats and dogs have been enemies forr all time? He vants to eat me!”

  Lumen shook his head.

  “No, Janis, he just wants to say hello. I think he can tell you aren’t a normal cat. Tell him to sit. I’m sure he’ll listen.”

  In almost a whisper, Janis told Wrigley to sit, and he did just as Lumen said.

  “Good boy, Wrig. Come over here and leave the scaredy cat alone,” Lumen said.

  Allister chuckled.

  “What can we help you with on this lovely Christmas evening? Shouldn’t you be with your mother? Or Sofia?” Allister asked.

  Lumen turned pink when he mentioned Sofia. He didn’t know Allister knew about her.

  “Uh, well, I was with them earlier. My mom works the night shift, and Sofia went home with her dad. I went to the Paxum to find Yu and Lucy. That’s why I’m here, actually. Lucy was down in the Genaqua, and after she left I saw a hooded figure go into the forest. I followed it, and saw some lights flash, and it was gone.”

  Allister looked at Janis. It was like they were speaking telepathically.

  “Did you see who it vas?” Janis asked.

  Lumen shook his head.

  “No, but it had to have been Chester, right? I have seen him do that before.”

  Allister nodded his head and stood up. He walked over to the fire and leaned on the mantle. Lumen and Janis waited for him to say something.

  “Though it is against the rules to jump from the Genaqua, there wasn’t a serious crime committed. Nothing we can do right now.”

  Lumen disagreed with Allister.

  “What? What if he is planning another attack right now? Wherever he goes is where he must be planning out these attacks. We should catch him. Can’t you tell where the lights led him anyway?”

  Allister shook his head. Janis spoke for him.

  “Ve checked arrea, zere is no flaw in Allister’s vorrk.”

  Lumen had to replay what Janis said in his head to fully understand.r />
  “Then how is it possible for him to jump?”

  Allister turned back toward Lumen.

  “The lights . . . some consider the lights to be a fifth element. You can become a master of the lights just as you can become a master of fire, or water. The difference with the lights is they’re impossible to fully control. It is as if they are their own being. They can present themselves at opportune times, in a time of need for example. Chester must have been presented in a time of need, and he seized it.”

  Lumen looked at the ring on his finger. He often forgot that it was there. Allister took notice.

  “Not like your luxem. Your luxem is used in a time of danger, to a designated area. Most people are never presented with lights like Chester presumably has. There is no telling what prompted the lights to help Chester. This phenomenon is called Incipiam. Some believe it to even be a myth.”

  Lumen had a million questions buzzing in his head.

  “Have you ever witnessed it before?”

  Allister and Janis looked at one another again.

  “Not firsthand, my boy, but I can assure you that it is no myth,” Allister stated.

  Lumen felt like he touched a sore spot. Janis seemed uncomfortable. Lumen decided he would talk with Lucy about this later.

  “Well, what do we do now then?”

  Allister came toward Lumen and put his hands on his shoulders.

  “Next time you see Chester going to the back of the forest, you follow and try and make the jump just as he does. The window should remain open for a second or two after Chester jumps. You’ll have to time it perfectly.”

  Lumen gulped and nodded as Allister smiled at him. He did not want to let him down.

  “Great, any questions?”

  Lumen nodded, he had one.

  “What do I do when I get through? Do I apprehend him?”

  Allister smiled again.

  “No, no, of course not. Watch him for a moment to see where he is and what he does. Do not put yourself in danger. Once you take note of where he is and what he is doing, you come straight here and get me. Janis and I will take care of it.”

  Lumen had one more question.

  “What will happen to him if he is the one causing all of this? Does he go to jail? He is . . . is he sentenced to death . . .”

  Both Allister and Janis shook their heads.

  “We are civilized people here in Bonumalus, Lumen. We will decide punishment based on what we find. Though his crimes have been serious, and could have resulted in serious injury or death, I always believe we can help, especially children and young adults. We don’t want to subjugate a child to the horrors of Vincula. You let us worry about that part.”

  Lumen nodded. He had a lot to think about and decided he should head home to rest up.

  “All right, happy Christmas then . . .” Lumen said as he went to leave.

  Allister waved and then hollered for Lumen to wait.

  “I almost forgot, open it when you get home. Read the note before doing anything with it. Merry Christmas, Lumen.”

  Allister handed Lumen a cube-shaped box that fit in his hands. Lumen had no idea what it could be. He was overjoyed by the fact Allister gave him a Christmas gift, so much so that he couldn’t even manage to say thank you before he jumped from the cabin.

  Chapter 15 - The Jump

  Lumen tossed and turned for the next few nights. He didn’t want to let Allister and Janis down, especially after receiving a gift from Allister. Lumen opened it the same night he received it and found a ball of water sitting in the box. The water was not bound by anything other than the air around it, yet it stayed in a perfect sphere shape. Lumen picked up the water, and its form remained. He picked up the accompanying note.

  STICKY WATER - in case of a fire , throw this at the flames. It will “stick” and put out the fire immediately. Once the fire is out, just ball the water up again. Use with caution. Has other uses as well. - AA

  Lumen had no idea how it worked but was excited to have it. He set it down gently in one of his desk drawers and covered it with some papers in case Alice came around.

  Classes in Bonumalus commenced the next day. Lumen made a point to follow Chester around whenever he wasn’t in class. However, Chester did not seem up to anything out of the ordinary as of late. Lumen followed him for a couple of weeks and found nothing relatively odd. He found Chester liked to lay on the rocks near the forest on his off time, play with his Rubix cube, and listen to music. Every once in a while someone threw a snowball at him or have a tiny storm rain on him. Chester would look toward the forest in those instances, but never actually took action. Lumen was becoming impatient. He wondered if he could entice him to go and decided to enlist Yu and Lucy for some back-up. He asked Alec to help as well, but he declined.

  “I got midterms, man. It’s no joke for us second year-ers.”

  Lumen understood. He asked Yu and Lucy to meet him in the food hall to discuss a plan. He broke down everything that had been happening with Chester and explained that he needed to follow him through his secret window.

  “Let’s just throw a couple of snowballs at him, he seems to get overwhelmed pretty easily,” Yu suggested.

  “No, Yu, I just explained that he has been ignoring stuff like that, we need something else . . .” Lumen said as he put his head down to think.

  Lucy seemed to be thinking deeply and was nodding.

  “You got an idea, Lucy?”

  “Yeah, I think so. I think Chester doesn’t really like Professor J. We have a quiz tomorrow, maybe we can do something then . . .”

  They all nodded and got to work on a plan.

  * * *

  Before Pluviam began, Lumen, Yu and Lucy went over their plan one more time to make sure they had it right. They knew the test would be on drizzling.

  Professor J had a habit of making each student test in front of the entire class so that everyone could see their shame when they failed. Chester had been much better as of late and had not failed after the incident with Till.

  Yu was the first student to test. Professor J conjured up a tiny cloud, and Yu had to control it to make it only drizzle. It couldn’t be a mist or a rain, but a drizzle. Yu passed easily, he had become one of the best students in this class. Lumen, Lucy, and most of the other students all passed as well. Chester was last to go.

  When it was finally his turn, Chester strolled up to the front of the class with his hoodie on over his head, seeming determined.

  “Do you have no respect, boy? Hood down in my class.”

  Chester took down his hood, unphased by Professor J’s last attempt to scare Chester into failing as he had in the past. Lumen thought for a second that Professor J was just a little bit evil with his antics and joy for seeing students fail.

  Professor J began to conjure up a cloud. Lumen looked at Lucy, and they both nodded.

  Lucy screamed loudly. The entire class looked at her, except for Chester who was solely focused on the cloud above him.

  Professor J seemed irritated.

  “What is it Lucy?”

  “There is a fire under my desk, please, help!” Lucy yelled.

  Professor J sighed and told Chester to hold the cloud there. He walked over to Lucy’s desk, and there was indeed a small fire.

  “A fire? Are you sure, girl?” Professor J walked cautiously to Lucy’s desk. There was in fact a small fire under her desk, but he put it out with a bit of water with the snap of his fingers. At the same time, Chester had managed to make it drizzle ever so lightly. He was smiling. Lumen and Yu nodded at one another and both focused on the cloud. They put pressure on the cloud to release a downpour of rain. Chester was very obviously struggling to keep the cloud at just a drizzle.

  Professor J found what had caused the fire.

  “Calor paper? How did you get this? It’s dangerous if not used properly, young lady.”

  Lucy shrugged.

  “It’s not mine, I’ve never seen that before.”

 
; Professor J shook his head.

  “We will speak after class. Don’t take off right away.”

  He then turned around to go back to the front of class. He smiled when he saw the drizzle coming from the cloud. Chester was really struggling at this point. Lumen and Yu turned up the pressure. The cloud poured down onto Chester.

  “You insolent boy! The only one to fail! When will you learn? Maybe this life isn’t meant for you. Maybe you should consider a life on the board. The board is full of people like you who can’t tap into their innate abilities. Fools, just like you.”

  Drenched in water, Chester ran out of the class. Lumen ran after him.

  * * *

  Chester headed straight for the forest in a sprint. Lumen tailed him but tried to keep a distance so that he didn’t notice. Chester didn’t look back once as he headed into the trees.

  Lumen thought he saw Lucy for a moment running to the left, but when he glanced that way nobody was there. He looked behind and could see Yu and Lucy looking on from a distance as Lumen had told them to not follow. They were into the thick of the trees and Lumen was having a hard time keeping his eyes on Chester.

  Chester stopped abruptly. He glanced behind him, pacing back and forth for a moment before stopping again. Suddenly a window was opened. Lumen didn’t see Chester do anything to open it, however. Allister was right, the lights could present themselves if needed. Lumen thought that the windows must not be biased against good or evil if they were helping Chester.

  Lumen moved up to the closest tree; he needed to time this perfectly.

  He positioned himself in a way where he could take off in a sprint. Chester glanced around once more and stepped through. The moment Chester lifted his leg to step through, Lumen took off running. Chester disappeared through the window. Lumen only had a second or two to make it before the window closed. In the midst of a full sprint, he fell flat on his face. He looked behind and saw his foot caught on a tree root. He slammed his fist into the ground in frustration, thinking only of how he let Allister and the others down.