Flawed

4. A Second Later

I felt nothing.

I looked around my room and found it looking exactly the same as it did a minute ago. I lifted my hands and scrutinised them. I found no difference. No change, no spark and there was certainly no Glow. I ran to my window and peered outside, glancing around in all directions. I saw no ignited map' and no illuminated pathway. Confused did not even begin to describe my state.

I looked at my mother and for the first time in a very long time, saw true fear hidden behind her eyes.

Was she seeing something I could not see? I looked into my mirror and found my reflection staring back at me. Just the same way it was this morning when I was getting dressed. I found no difference in my appearance, no surrounding Glow. What was wrong with me?

I stared at my mother, who had seated herself on my bed, with her head in her hands.

"Mo-Mother..", I stuttered.

She looked up at me. She had fear and worry written all over her face. That seemed to only make me feel worse. She motioned for me to come closer and patted the spot next to her on the bed. I listened and sat down next to her. She put an arm around me and sighed heavily.

"What's wrong with m-", I started to say, before she cut me off.

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with you Giana", she responded hastily.

"What happened to me then? Is eight o'clock the wrong time? Is it the wrong day? Did I make a mistake? Did I not do well enough in the Unit Lessons?! Did I do badly in my te-?"

"Giana enough!", she raised her voice, startling me in the process.

"Just stay quiet and listen to me", she said firmly. All traces of sadness gone, now replaced by solely by pure determination.

I started to say something but I did not get a word out before she cut me off again.

"No more questions, Giana. Please!", she pleaded.

I knew better than to push this any further. I silenced the build of questions in my head and kept quiet, waiting for her to say something.

After a few moments, she finally broke the silence.

"Giana. I need you to listen to me very carefully", she began.

"There is nothing 'wrong' with you. But something is not right with you either. I know for a fact that your dates are one-hundred percent correct. I recorded them myself," she said.

It sounded as if she was speaking more to herself than to me. Almost as if she was thinking out loud. Nevertheless, I continued to listen to her.

Clearing her throat, she went on.

"Your tests and Unit Lessons were merely preparation for you. All of that knowledge was supposed to return to you with the Injection", she said matter-of-factly.

I gasped. "What do you mean?", I asked hastily. "I have no recollection of any of those tests at all. Not even the one from last year", I cried.

"I know that Giana. You did not receive your Glow, as you were meant to. It does not surprise me that you received none of your trained Knowledge either", she replied calmingly.

"As I said before, there is nothing wrong with you, but I fear that something has gone wrong", she said, worry beginning to settle in her voice.

"What am I going to do now?", I asked fearfully. "Should I call Father in? Perhaps he will know what t-."

"NO! Whatever you do, no one can find out about this Giana. Do you understand me? Nobody, not even your father", she cried, cutting me off once again.

I stared back at her, holding onto her every word.

A small tear escaped out of the corner of her eye. Wiping it away, she continued to speak.

"Giana, I will have to send you away. I know someone who I think will be able to help you", she said.

Her voice dipped and she seemed much less confident and slightly unsure of herself. Usually this would concern me, my mother would never worry about anything. However, given the situation at hand, her worry was unsurprising.

"Where are you sending me, Mother?", I replied slowly, trying to keep my voice from cracking.

"If anyone is capable enough to handle this journey, I know you are", she replied with a small smile.

"But whe-", I started

"Yes Giana, I will get to that now", she replied cutting me off yet again.

"I am sure you have heard of the Trinity Peaks", she said slowly, searching my face for a reaction.

I felt chills travel down my spine. The Trinity Peaks, of course I had heard about them. They were notorious for awful weather and mysterious disappearances. I had had nightmares for two weeks after we had learnt about them in the Unit Lessons. I looked up at my mother and met her fear-filled eyes.

"Yes. I know about The Trinity Peaks", I slowly replied.

"Giana... you're going to have to travel through the Trinity Peaks to get where you need to be. Its a hidden location, only known by a few members of the Unit Council. However, you will definitely get the help you need there", she said, her tone slightly more hopeful.

"But Mother", I replied. " How will I know where to go?".

"Do not worry about that Giana, you will soon understand. What is important now, is that nobody finds out that you have not received your Glow", she said firmly.

"But how? What about Father? The rest of the Home Sector? Hope?", I asked, my voice cracked.

"That will be taken care of", she replied vehemently.

I exhaled heavily. It was difficult to believe that just a few minutes before I was dreading something so much that I wished it would never come to now wishing to have nothing but the very thing I had been dreading. I gazed back at my mother, who had now stood up and gone to retrieve my packed bag from the other side of the room.

"What do I do now, Mother?", I asked cautiously.

She turned around in response to my question and simply replied:

"Run".