Watery charcoal was smeared into a figure eight on my forehead. Eight other children were lined up beside me, all smiling at thier own symbol being painted onto thier skins.
Our town had fifteen children who turned of age this year. Eight would be sent out into the world today; seven tommorow
The second group was already seen as unlucky because it wasn't the holy eight.
It was everywhere. It was seen as the most highest number and symbol. Even though those seven children were going to be marked with it, they were already fated to a life outside the walls of misfortune.
The charcoal mixture dripped down my face that I ignored. To wipe it away would be brushing away the fortune I had been given.
Our lives all led to this moment. The world we were born into was mixed with all sorts of demons. Our job was to purify the world of them, starting as soon as we collectively turned eight years old.
Here, they celebrated the year as a whole for our birth. Even though all of us were bought into the world on different days and months, they didn't exist in the ceremony. There was no waiting to make the world a better place.
A new year and a new life.
Everything was for this moment right now.
School taught us not to fear the creatures we would be destroying. Thier faces on pages always looked so comical and unrealistic. We laughed at them.
We were trained to accept water on our heads without reacting. In school, it was just remnants from a paper cup; but now, it was the purest river water and charcoal from the oldest tree that had been standing in the square behind us since the creation of time.
It was a blessing to be chosen under the number eight. Everything was perfect.
We stood side by side in our white gowns laced with gold that glinted in the sunlight.
The Elder of our town bestowed the first boy with a wooden box that was the size of his body. I held my head high, proud that I stood taller than a whole head over the others.
Each beautiful box was placed at the feet of the child who accepted it silently. Individually carved from trees planted at our births, these boxes were our destined to be our most precious possession in helping us face the world. There were two leather straps on the back of the boxes to act as support.
Pages in books taught me that new lives were going to be carried inside those boxes. They were always represented by glowing white lights. I had never seen one in real life before, but could only imagine how majestic it looked inside.
It was an honour. But, my gut curdled as my own box was placed down in the dirt and I accepted it by laying my hands on top.
They were so small against the wood. The box itself looked so heavy. It had me nervous that I would shame myself and my family by struggling to hoist it onto my back.
Still, I kept my head high and mouth shut, just like everyone else beside me.
The Elder stepped back to let the Priest shuffle forward with a bowl of holy water that he dipped a golden rod into to flick towards the first boy.
Head, shoulder, shoulder, stomach, leg, leg, foot, foot. Eight shakes of holy water sprinkled on each child down the line to bless them with fortune and wellbeing.
When the Priest shuffled before me and started his flicking of the water, the spray across my face made me flinch as it dribbled over my eyes.
I could feel the tense atmosphere around me as my shoulders were blessed hurriedly.
Shamed at my reaction, I held back my tears when my body was blessed and I was given an extra bestowing of the Priest's weathered hand on the top of my head. He muttered something to himself then shuffled off to stand beside the Elder who was now by the gates to the road leading out of town.
One by one, in order, we hoisted the boxes onto our backs and marched the few meters to line up opposite the two men.
Surprisingly, the box was light when I hauled it onto my shoulders and followed behind the others in my place as the eighth.
Maybe it was filled with light? It felt like nothing was inside it at all.
Why carry a box with nothing inside?
"Denmirre, we wish you a fruitful journey" the Elder smiled to the first boy down the line.
"And I bless you for my life" he recited.
School had taught us well. We had to repeat those words until they were clear and confident, all for this moment.
Next, his family would bestow on him a gift for the journey. It was given to the Elder the night before so that he would be the one to present it.
Our families were here, but not allowed to interfere in the ceremony. There were no tears or spoken words from them. Breaking the line to see them would be dishonorable. Crying would show that your spirit was weak. It was a sign of a child seeing thier own death if he didn't confidently march out the gates after being gifted. Faltering was failure.
It was a proud moment. I kept my eyes forward, trying to strain to find my family out the corner of them to no avail.
"Sebastian, may your journey be straight and true."
"And I bless you for my life" he answered.
As a child with nine letters in his name, he already had a lot to live up to. Eight lettered names were so cherished and popular. The letters in a name didn't mean anything, but parents saw every chance as a sign to give thier child the absolute best start in life.
"Revenree, fly high and tirelessly in your path."
"May the Silk Sun bless you too" she bowed back.
As a child of the outside world, Revenree wasn't seen as the same as the other Ashen Eights standing by her sides. With blood tainted by demon parents that gave her blood-red eyes and a serpents tail, her blessing into the world and impromptu reply was going to be seen as nothing but a mockery of our own upbringing.
She was quite fun to be around in class and honestly a good person despite her blood, but I wasn't about to further foul my own blessing by smiling at her broken blessing to the Elder.
"Treven, walk with clarity and confidence moving forward."
Even with six letters, he hated how a demon child was closer to the holy number than him. It always was a joke between Reven and I.
"And I bless you for my life" Treven replied with smugness in his voice at Revenree beside him.
I tuned out the Elder making his way down the line towards me. I was mostly looking forward to the gates shutting behind us out there so I could finally be with Reven without being judged for it.
The girl was fun. Sure, she had a few odd views on the world, but I enjoyed being her friend. Others might avoid her when the gates closed, but I wanted us to make our journeys together.
Eaighett was blessed next. Her name always made me chuckle a little because of how pretentious is was. There was honoring a system and then there was just downright putting yourself above others by giving her the right amount of letters at whatever cost. She was a nice girl for sure, but Eaighett had the opposite reaction to her name than what her parents wanted.
Maybe out there, she'd have a better life with a holy name?
Josephine came after; a blonde plaited girl who looked so sweet but who also knew how to stick up for herself. Beside her was the soft-spoken Paterson, who gratiously received his gift of a small pouch of money.
Now, it was my turn.
"Peatrie, let your journey cleanse your soul and your mind, going forth."
Was that purely because I flinched earlier? He thought I was tainted now?
"And I bless you with my life" I replied.
I saw the change in the Elder's face before I realised my own mistake and bit on my lip.
All that practice and I messed it up! 'For' not 'with'! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!
"A gift from your family" he continued as I held out both my hands to humbly accept it.
Absolutely stupid. How much more could I mess up before I was even out the gates?
A little white doll pressed into my palm. It had a tiny shrill bell on its head that was also marked with a black eight. I pushed my finger through the loop and heard the bell ring out.
A worry doll. I remember my mother saying how much she wanted to get me one when we passed the window with them in it. I just had to tell my worries to the doll to make them dissappear.
"Thank you" I smiled to the Elder as I closed my fist around the doll.
The little bell would be troublesome for demons out there, but I could always fix it later when I was out of the sight of others.
Now that gifts were in the hands of thier owners, we were ready for the world out there.
There was no farewells or music. They would attract demons that could be lurking nearby. We simply matched forward in order, one after the other, out to the long stone bridge that led to the wilderness.
There were no roads out there. Only a path trodden into the ground beside a signpost pointing to the next town several kilometres away.
The gates were closed behind us crowded at the start of the bridge. Now, we really were on our own.
No-one knew what to do.
"Do we just... go out there?" Paterson asked.
There were no instructions. It was just a bunch of kids in white gowns with boxes strapped to thier backs and no clue on where to start.
Where should we start?
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm going that way" Revenree pointed straight ahead as she pushed her way from the group.
"Hang on!" I bustled after her "I'll come too!"
She grinned and I turned back to the others.
"Town is that way" Denmirre jerked his thumb to our right in the same direction the sign pointed "don't you want to find somewhere to sleep for the night and have a full stomach?"
"Isn't that what the boxes are for? They're beds, right?" Reven faked ignorance and laughed at Denmirre's offended expression "you can find all that out there!"
"You can?" I muttered to her.
"Sure" she gestured to the ground with a giggle that showed her pointed teeth "there's a bed, and there...." she swept her arm to the trees ahead "is food."
Tree bark?
I wrinkled my nose at her before I saw Denmirre with Josephine and Treven gathered at the sign.
Maybe following Denmirre would be a better idea....
"Well, we are going the right way" Denmirre scoffed up to us, then looked to the others crowded between our groups "come with us if you want to actually make a difference in the world."
Revenree rolled her eyes, trudging off ahead. I looked back at the others then followed after her quickly.
If I didn't go with her, no-one else would. I'd much rather her companionship than any of them anyway.
"HAVE FUN DYING OUT THERE!" Treven called after us, laughing.
"DON'T LET YOUR COFFIN SLIP!" Revenree jeered back, flipping a finger up at him while walking backwards "YOU'LL NEED IT FOR LATER!"
I glanced back to see Treven marching his way for us. We both giggled at the threat and scurried further forward, pushing each other to get away from the fuming boy.
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With only gnarled trees surrounding us and dead leaves coating the forest floor, we continued on side by side with our boxes and my gift.
Revenree, being from outside the town, wasn't given one. She had no family inside the walls. She was found at a young age out in the wilderness and bought back to be raised in civilisation and hollyness, starting with her own right lettered name and a bath in holy water to cleanse her of her demon ways.
Honesty, I don't think it changed her. She was still crass, unapologetic, and loved tormenting others, just like a wild demon.
At least I knew she wouldn't kill me like a real one.
"How come we've got to carry these boxes anyway?" Revenree huffed when we clambered over large tree roots and trudged onwards "I get that it's 'divine life', but what even is it?"
"It's light."
"I think that's a load of preist piss" Revenree shrugged off her box to dump it onto the leaves.
I stood there to see her roll it over so that the front was exposed. I saw the outlines of where a door should be. There were no knobs to open it but only a little notch her long nails slid under.
"What are you doing?!" I hissed and swatted her hand away "we can't open them!"
"Why not?" she huffed back as her nails slid into the notch again to slowly wedge it open "am I going to go blind if I stare at it long enough? I've seen the sun before, Peatrie, it can't be wor...."
I heard Revenree's words cut short as her eyes grew wide. Her hand still gripped the open door she stared into in shock.
Screaming and whimpering, her hand flung the door open as she fell and scrambled backwards through the leaves.
"It's not light!" her voice trembled from behind a tree she found to cower behind "why do they have us carrying that?!"
"It can't be that bad" I rolled my eyes at her as I approached the abandoned box "you're just overreacting."
I stood over the open box to look inside at what was terrifying Revenree. My mouth hung open before my own fear rattled through my nerves that had me throwing my own box onto the ground beside the one I also scurried from.
Pushing in beside Revenree, we peeked around the tree at what we were forced to live with.
"What even is that?" I whimpered.
Revenree just shook her head, at a loss for words.
"It's not light" she choked out to me.
It wasn't light.
It was a nightmare.
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