Memories of Mei

12. Year: 1253 SL

Terror washed over me as our combat instructor order me to fight Chathi in a sparring session.

 Looking back, it was an odd choice considering both Chathi and I despised fighting with others. However, I now know our instructor's intention.

Chathi and I stood in the sparring arena for over half a day. Our instructor refused to let us leave until one of us was defeated. 

The diner bell came and went, but we still stood frozen by our past traumas. 

Our feet locked to the earth with shackles constructed by our shame and regret. Both of us never wanting to hurt another soul, all we could do was stare.

Eventually our instructor left, and it was just Chathi and I with the light of sunset painting lines across our concerned faces. 

I spoke through the silence to shatter the stagnant nature of our bout, "Chathi, I am going to attack you now. I am sorry if I don't hold back." 

She gingerly nodded her head and raised her shield in a defensive stance. I quivered in my boots, but if I did nothing we would still be stuck in that arena to this day. 

After a deep, calming breath I dug my back foot into the earth and launched myself at Chathi. 

My flail built up momentum as my body shrunk the space between Chathi and I. My front foot pressed firmly into the ground stopping my body, and the weight of my arm continued the swing of the flail until I heard the bellowing clamor of metal. 

It wasn't until the ringing stopped that I opened my eyes and looked at Chathi. She was afraid but still held her ground.

I backed away from her and announced, "Your turn now." 

I raised my shield to signal that I was ready. Chathi stood still for a moment, and I let my guard down for a second to see if she was going to move. Of course, that was when she decided to attack. 

It was not just one solid hit. Chathi charged at me with the force of a thousand men. She unleashed a flurry of blows upon me, and I was forced to prioritize my safety while blocking her hits with my shield. 

She pushed me further and further into the corner. I danced around the arena trying to dodge every swing and scarcely evaded the razor edge of her longsword.

I barely had time to think between attacks, but I came to realization that this was every ounce of Chathi's pain unleashed. 

Everyone who arrived on the stone steps of the church had lost parents. Most of the children never knew their parents so they could never understand that loss. In that sense Chathi and I were the same, we both knew what it was like to be loved by our parents and to have that love stolen from us. 

Even though I was an adult now, I understood her pain as if it was my own. I also understood that I was the only one who could accept her feelings.

After ten minutes, I was out of breath, sweaty, and had fallen prone on the ground. 

My shield defended me from the last attack as Chathi swung down on me with her longsword. She was winded and fatigued with this look of relief and concern. 

All I could muster to say in that moment was, "You win."