His eyes were not always silver. He liked to say that they turned that way because he was always staring toward the future. That wasn’t exactly true but it wasn’t completely false either. It was with those eyes that he stared at the train. It represented the future after all, both for him and the world. It was a marvel, a technological achievement that had shrunk the world and it was about to bring him to a new life.
“So you won’t turn back then?”
He turned his head and looked down at the old woman who stood at his side. She was wrinkled and tanned from a life of hard work but she looked stronger because of it.
“Grandmother, I have made up my mind.” He clenched his fist, remembering his painful past to strengthen his resolve. “I need the strength to protect people, my family and my friends. Some places might shine with peace but others are darkened with danger.”
His grandmother sighed like she had expected that answer but still didn’t like it. “Still, be careful. I know you have already been through many dangers but that school will try and crush you.”
He smiled at her and placed his hand on her head. “Don’t worry, my resolve is not that weak.” Then he walked forward toward the train and leaving his grandmother behind. The ticket collector stiffened when he saw him and the collector nearly fumbled the ticket when it was given two him. The silver eyed man just walked by without taking much heed. He had grown used to such things, just as he had gotten used to his silver eyes.
The train was still mostly empty because not many people lived out here near the edge of civilization but he was sure that the train would fill up soon. He took his seat in one of the empty sections and pulled out a book. It would be more than six hour to Vigil, quite short considering, but he had plenty of time to spend.
The hours went by slowly while the scenery outside went by quickly. Eventually he was disturbed from his book my a woman saying, “Do you mind if I join you?”
He looked up and her. A little shorter than him, she had long black hair and she was thin, too thin in his opinion. Not like someone who tried to stay skinny for look but more like somebody who was starved. He supposed that she was pretty but such things were usually lost on his silver eyes. Instead he could see the fire burning inside her, a strong desire and will. Her clothing was more fancy than his but worn around the edges like she had had them for a while.
He shrugged and motioned toward a seat nearby, “Sure, I don’t mind.” The seats around him were all empty. He could tell that the train had become quite crowded yet the seats near him were all empty. Not surprising but maybe a bit disappointed. This woman was the first person who had even approached him since he had sat down.
“Thanks” said the woman as she took a seat near him. “Are you heading to Vigil for the exam?” She asked.
They both knew the answer to that question, everybody on the train were heading to Vigil for that reason. Even this train would not be all of them. More would have headed up earlier and more would certainly be arriving by train before the exam tomorrow. However he answered her question anyways, “Yes, as are you I suspect. It seems unlikely that anybody would head to Vigil now if they weren’t attending the exam.”
She smiled for the first time. There was worry in that smile but mostly is was happiness. “True I suppose. I heard the rumors but I still didn’t expect this many people be attending.” She then lowered her voice and with more innocents then callousness said, “Most of them don’t seem like they have any chance of succeeding.”
He looked out at the crowd of people in the train and had to conclude that she was right. One or two of them might be lucky enough to have unawakened potential but the rest would likely not even get pass the preliminary trail. He wasn’t worried about himself but he looked back at the woman and asked, “What about you? Are you worried that you might not pass the exam?” He though she seemed confident and had the potential but it was difficult to tell these thing. Unless he relied on his silver eyes and he didn’t want to do that.
“I would actually be happier if I failed. Then I could run aways and…” She paused for a moment then looked up and smiled, “Maybe be a farmer. I think that would be nice.”
He had trouble imagining her as a farmer. “You might be the only person who has ever gone to the Vigil exams and wanted to fair them. Usually less than a hundred people pass ever year and you want to fail. Quite unusual.” He tried to change his assessment of her. What sort of person would head to Vigil and hope to fail. There were certainly people with the ability who choose not to be tested at Vigil but thinking you had the ability but wanting it to be proven wrong was something different.
She shrugged like she was preparing herself. “I’m as prepared for disappointment as everybody else here.” Another strange comment from her. “You are unusual too. I hear that those who are already awakened rarely go to Vigil and if they do just bypass the exams.”
He stared at her with his silver eyes for a long moment before he finally responded, “You aren’t just guessing are you. You can tell.” Most normal people couldn’t beyond the air of authority around him and if she could then she must be on the crisp of awakening. So much for her desire to fail. He realized that he was whispering toward her, not wanting the others in the train to hear him. “There are some things that can not be learned alone.”
He just left it like that and she seemed to just accept the answer.