What a good day ! I used not to care much about the quantity of work I performed, but a few months ago, I came to realize that maybe, reaching higher efficiency levels could somehow make my Bishop proud of me. Thus, today, even while accomplishing my tasks with the usual minimal effort, I managed to reach a new personal level of efficiency! The satisfaction this achievement provided and the feeling of being useful to Dema would have been enough, but what happened next was the height of contentment, and I still cannot wrap my mind around it, even several hours later. I was going back home, mechanically walking down the dependable alleys of the City, when he suddenly appeared. Right in front of me, in the soft neon light, stood Lisden himself, wearing the Bishop's usual long, dark red cloak. He pronounced my name: 'Ezedis,' he said.
My blood ran cold, and panic set in. 'Did I do anything wrong ? Is he going to take my Premiere Citizen title back from me ? I won't be able to attend the Annual Assemblage of Glorified !' I thought. 'Why? Maybe I didn't fulfill my monthly quotas ? That's impossible !' I was so terrified and disturbed by the situation I started shaking and feeling dizzy, even having trouble standing up. However, the words I then heard, I was not prepared for. Lisden looked at me straight in the eyes, and calmly said: 'You have done good, my child. Know that your work makes me and your district very proud of you.' Even now, it is still hard for me to accept that truth: I, myself, made Lisden, my Bishop, and one of the nine rulers of Dema, proud. He had already congratulated me in the past, during the Premiere Citizen acceptance ceremony; but back then we were a dozen to get rewarded at the same time - today it's personal ! He said my name, and acknowledged me ! I was so shocked, when I knelt down to him (or fell, I still don't know) and finally managed to stutter 'I-I am fully devoted to you sir !', he was already leaving. He stopped, turned back to me, and said 'Don't forget to write your letter tonight'.He then left as he appeared, disappearing in the shadows of the large concrete walls of the City.
This moment alone, along with the Premiere Citizen acceptance ceremony and the Glorious Gone -when I'll achieve it- is what I would have lived my life for.
Maybe you wonder what was Lisden talking about; this whole "letter" thing. I don't really understand it as well, I don't even know who's going to read this. All I know is that Clancy used to write letters. Whoever you are, reader, you definitely know about Clancy. He's been recognized by the Nine themselves as a hero of Dema, achieved the Glorious Gone, and is now a model to every single of us. 'In order to honor and to praise him, every citizen of Dema shall now write letters, just as Clancy used to' said the Bishops. I think I'll stick with the minimum requirement, writing one letter per week. There isn't much interesting to say about me, and even if today's events could be considered an exception, I don't fancy what's out of the ordinary.
It's almost time for sleep now, and I'll be heading to bed. I hope I'll be able to beat my efficiency record some day soon, and make my district proud. I would be so contented to hear Lisden talk to me like this again.
May the walls of Dema cover me.
-Ezedis
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What a Good Day !!
قصص الهواةEzedis' life couldn't be better ! They're a dedicated worker, a Premiere Citizen of Dema, and will even achieve the Glorious Gone in the near future ! Yet, there is this man. This curious man who's caught Ezedis' curiosity, and who could blow his li...
