From the mountains of the north and the forest of the east, a flock of birds soared along a little village. With the gusts of their wings, the houses, the shops, and the temple quaked and swayed in their places. Seeds of a million flowers circulated throughout a network of cobblestone streets, waiting for nature to provide its growth. The sun radiated its warmth, it sent the whole village into sparkles. Upon the sidewalks people roamed about here and there, they chatted with one another about their lives and jobs. The baptism of the heavens had blessed the village as something special, seemingly too special to be real for a few not accustomed to this sanctity among Mother Nature.

Located in the eastern district, the tower on top of the school building chimed its bell. The sound harmonized with the gentle winds from the north, causing the ringers to feel dizzy. Soon enough, the school released the minions of youth; with the front doors being ajar, the students stormed the school grounds. Their faces beamed grins and winks, and they thanked the clocks for going fast. As they headed to the flagpole, which was in the center of the grounds, the kids and teenagers conversed, they held onto their satchels and tote bags with tired faces. The teachers gave them a pile of papers as homework, as it was the third week of the school year in August after all.

Wearing loose tunics with short pants, the breezes flowed into the boys and tickled them. Refined silk made up their uniforms, and it withstood the chance of developing wear and tear. As for the girls, they donned a white dress that reached all the way to the top of their shins. Artistic designs they were, the flowers and vines, sprawled about their uniforms and glimmered in gold, the patterns twisted and overlapped each other as though the grace of human imagination decided to create disorganized scribbles.

All the students showed up to the flagpole. They then divided themselves into three sections: elementary, intermediate, and high school pupils. Two girls, Neha and Sachen, cluttered their presence with their classmates in the fourth grade. Short hair with bangs, also with a red blush on both of her cheeks, Neha loosened the tension from her muscles. Sachen, having long hair that reached to her calves, drummed her chest and huffed as hard as she could.

“What a fantastic day Neha! Did you see how I turned out during that test in fitness class? I was on fire when it came to running around the tracks!”

“T-the tracks?” Neha tilted her head and rubbed her chin. “Wasn’t that the time when you were tripping the other sprinters in order to get to first place?”

Sachen grabbed Neha’s shoulders. Her eyes kindled. “You actually remember?! You fell asleep for the test...”

“I had my eyes wide open.”

“Well then, at least you only saw it. It’s not like the teacher kept her eyes to every one of us.”

“Sachen, you shouldn’t keep it to yourself you know? You might get in bigger trouble if you are going to hide it for long... you should tell the teacher, then you can get a minor punishment.”

Her eyes glowing, Sachen sprang forward. She hugged Neha and rattled her head. She might as well reserve the gesture for the teacher.

“D-don’t even consider that! You know I won’t do it!”

“But you’ll be in-”

“Trouble? It was a mere test, it wasn’t that significant! Besides, none of our classmates are approaching us about the matter, so let’s leave it at that!”

Neha sighed. “You want to get away with it don’t you? It’s like that time where you made an excuse for not bringing in the homework, like you said...”

“I remember! I said, ’A cloud of thunderstorms zapped it!’, and it got the class cracking up. The teacher almost believed it, but she made me clean the whole classroom after school! How stressful, and you weren’t there to help me.”

“Silly girl you are!”

The duo chuckled and patted each other’s backs.

Along with the two, the students filled the air with an endless exchange of words, burdening their throats and mouths, and it seemed to them that this might forever. But from the ticking clock upon the tower, they started to stomp and sweat; not more than a few seconds later that they eyed at the flagpole. There, a large group of classmates in sashes and ribbons arrived, and they broke up into sections according to the aforementioned grade levels. None other than the Young Guards, a student organization, their job was to promote the unity and strength of the school, so as to not let the school loose in chaos.

The high school section of the Young Guards then presented a flag. It contained in the middle of the fabric, a symbol of a dove with a bundle of spears upon its talons. Winds passing by, the flag motioned the dove as though it was flying by itself. With the time running close to two in the afternoon, the group tied the left end of it with a rope, hoisted it to the top, and wrapped the rope around the pole.

From the elementary section of the group, a boy emerged and jagged his way to the front of the masses. His dashing black hair and his starry eyes wooed the little ones.

Sachen jumped to see him. “Is that Kuraizang? I never knew he is in our group.”

“You didn’t hear from the beginning of the school year? Our grade, along with the whole section, elected him as vice-president to let him represent the elementary students.”

“I guess I forgot.” Sachen grazed her nails on the back of her head. During the first and second week of school, each section had to elect their own president and a vice president. Grades and extracurricular work mattered a lot, and people like Kuraizang would obtain an easy chance of winning the elections; but as it came with stress, few people dared to run.

The elementary students hushing their mouths and standing with arms straight to the side, Kuraizang started to speak.

“The school day has ended. Since today is Thursday, I can tell that all of you are looking forward to the weekends. However, before you take off, we must commence a minute of silence in honor of this flag... do not groan! We do this every time, as a way to show our respect for the forefathers that had built this village for our sake! You see the flag? What do you think the dove represents?”

The students cocked their heads, and at once did they raise their hands.

“Salvation for all of us!”

“Indeed!” Kuraizang said. “The dove is the pathway to the heavens. We must be diligent and good-hearted in order to get to such place. Now, I will shut my mouth, so that we can start.”

Kuraizang then stepped aside for the president of the elementary section. Straight hair and narrow eyes, she snarled, and the students fell quiet. Without greetings, she shouted for the commencement of the ceremony.

Along with the intermediate and high school students, the kids formed columns of their own. They straightened themselves with their limbs numbing once they got into position, and nobody swung or leaned to the side. All at once, the students placed their hands over their hearts. The flag still drifting, silence ensued. For a moment, Neha and Sachen cut off their breaths, stiffening their lungs. Sachen fidgeted her body every second or so, and she tried to maintain her balance. Dandelion seeds scattering about the air, Neha blinked, her eyes became watery, a single sneeze from her could push her presence into the spotlight. Good thing the girls said nothing; the gods above them were relishing in such silence.

The clock struck two, and the students relaxed from their postures. The Young Guards thanked them for their time, and they headed back to the school for their extracurriculars. Once again, the kids fired words and laughter out of their mouths, and soon, they went home through the gates. Breaking away from the masses, Sachen tailed the Young Guards. Neha followed her.

“Where are you going Sachen?” Neha clasped her chest, and panted.

“I’m going to see Kuraizang! Because you know... I want to get to know him! Even though we are in the same grade, we have never talked with him. Isn’t that strange?”

Sachen reached for the doorsteps, and as she opened her mouth to call Kuraizang, Neha snatched her arms. By this time, the Young Guards were gone. “Sachen, don’t be so hasty. I mean, Kuraizang must be busy.”

“Busy?”

“Yes. I heard from the classmates that Kuraizang is preparing for something important. All I could recall was this: ‘Kuraizang is going to impress the High Order by his willingness to cooperate with them.’”

Sachen shrugged, she removed Neha’s grip from her arms. “Sounds boring to be honest. Oh well, if the High Order wants him, then I’m not willing to bother. The High Order after all, is a powerful group.”

Sachen gazed back at the flagpole, and pinched Neha’s elbow. “Come on, let’s get out of here. I want to go to bed.”

“You should have slept earlier.”

“I know! But my brother kept waking me up.”

Walking towards the gates, the girls left school for the day. They cheered upon the three-day weekend, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Amidst the assignments that they had to do, they wanted to enjoy themselves for now.

They arrived at the center of the village, where the villagers flooded the place in such a large number that one wouldn’t make out the layers of the streets well. Afar, a group of quarry workers hauled minerals and stones on a wagon, and they signaled people to move out of the way. The stack of the haul sunk the vehicle slowly to the ground, its wheels squeaked like mice. They worked on an average of ten hours a day, so of course their days ended in either a large quantity of resources or nothing at all, which they feared everyday that the latter consequence could degrade their overall performances.

The sparkles and transparency of the minerals took Neha’s breath away. “Wow, look at those shiny stuffs. They must be diamonds or some sort.”

“Diamonds?!” Sachen cast her eyes at the wagon and ran towards it. She tried to grab the most shiny diamond, but the workers passed on to the southern district. If she had succeeded in doing so, then the wagon might have fallen apart.

“Oh man, I was about to get one for you...”

“It’s okay. Besides, those minerals are important, so we shouldn’t tamper with them.”

“Shucks.” Sachen kicked the dirt, and the dirt tainted her toenails. “I bet they will use them for decorations or something.”

The girls then continued their strolls. They observed along the way, all walks of life and flesh, from lumberjacks, to seamstresses, to blacksmiths, to much more. Everybody regardless of age and gender had a place in the community, and they were willing to work hard for the sake of a reward—that was, salvation. The High Order of the Celestials, the leading administration and sole power of the village since the beginning, started to preach such salvation when long ago their progenitors supposedly received a divine vision from the gods. Though one couldn’t fathom the experience of salvation itself during mortal living, it was the ultimate prize, the pathway to eternal happiness. Hearing that in service every Sunday, the villagers would crack their necks and break their backs for it. No matter if hardships and suffering could bring the worst of their stress, they believed that such a thing was the only way to lead themselves out of earthly struggles, that it would pay off in the end.

Traversing around the center, the duo was about to go home. Before they could, Neha’s stomach growled. Neha grabbed her dress and her face crimsoned; her cheeks were burning. Sachen let out a grin.

“Ah, poor Neha, you must be hungry! The lunch you had is not keeping you full?”

“It does...”

“Oh? Don’t lie, you really want something to eat for now. Tell you what, let’s go to the northern district and grab a bite, okay?”

“But I don’t want to burden you.”

“Don’t worry about it!” Sachen slapped her back. Despite Neha continuing to refuse her gracious offer, Sachen snatched her friend’s hand and led her north from the center.