Chapter 3 — The Eye Burner Blocker

Maverick was happy for no reason. It was not because he doesn’t have to go to his training at the Wheat Cultivation, or not about the awaiting celebration. Indescribable happiness filled his heart.

Maverick stepped out of his room after a heavy sleep, scratching his head, barely opening his eyes. The hall was filled with a new fragrance; a strange, but good smell. He sniffed; his long nose scanned where the smell came from. Upon the table was a nosegay of flowers with a letter enclosed. Maverick examined the flowers; they were half dead, heads down. “Is this yours??” he asked Sugaall.

“What?” Sugaall let her squeaky voice pass the feasting room.

“Are these flowers yours?” Maverick asked again

“Which flowers?” Sugaall came out of her room hurriedly, nicely dressed, and combed her long hair well. “Oh, that! A fat guy came early at dusk wanting to see you. Since you were asleep he handed me this….this flowers and left.”

“The letter?” Maverick asked.

“He gave that enclosed with the flowers. You want me to explain every bit of what happened?” Sugaall said angrily, going into the feasting room.

Maverick looked at the letter. On the cover, it was written: To my friend Maverick Ciekawy by Fadherdy Bough (Not to be opened by others)

Maverick remembered him; the big man who always forgets his way home. He opened the letter carefully. Inside it was written in flawless handwriting.

I’m very happy to greet you on a special night. May your service and intellect methods continue to inspire a great many people among us. I’m proud that, I can say to my children and my grandchildren that I lived in the same nights when Maverick Ciekawy lived. It’s an honor to have met you.

My wife reminded me that you helped me to reach my home three nights ago. So I enclosed some flowers with this letter as a gift of gratitude.

See you during the celebration, sir.

Thank you,

Fadherdy Bough.

Reading this Maverick reached the feasting room. “Why are you smiling?” asked Sugaall, packing her food. “No, I’m not,” replied Maverick with a tiny smile. “I never saw you smile for no reason,” said Sugaall.

“Take a look at this letter. This man says he idolizes me. He is the same age as our father but he calls me ‘sir’. Do you think something is wrong with him?” Maverick asked and pulled a chair and sat at the feasting table.

“Yes, definitely wrong. You! His idol!!” Sugaall laughed. “Wait. Are you saying he is abnormal and must be admitted to the Asylum?”

“No, no, no, no,” Maverick bounced. “I just asked ‘Is something wrong with him’ and you are entirely exaggerating!!” he erupted.

“Do you think I’m wrong?” asked Sugaall, raising her eyebrows. “Um, err,” Maverick looked at the ceiling. “Yeah, he is weird sometimes. Always forgets his way home. He is mostly depressed for no reason.”

“Then I’m not wrong,” said Sugaall.

“But never forget; he is a good man. At least he thought to greet me personally, which as a sister you didn’t,” Maverick said.

“Come on! You want me to dramatically say ‘Oh, brother, I’m so proud of you. Tonight is the most important night for you, cheer up,’” Sugaall tried to sound in a different voice.

“Not in this voice,” said Maverick, glancing at the letter.

“So, why you are laughing?” asked Sugaall. “No, I’m not! Am I?” said Maverick, still with a grin on his face. “Aren’t you going to your training tonight?” Sugaall asked, changing the topic.

“No. Sinewy Bestride said he will be busy organizing the celebration, Hence, no Wheat Cultivation for tonight,” Maverick replied in a relieved tone. “Why you are in a hurry? Aren’t you going to eat?” he asked her sister.

“I’m getting late. I can’t let the students wait. I’ll eat at school,” said Sugaall, who works as a teacher in the school, teaching General Studies about Tenebro. “Pass me my meal box,” Sugaall said, packing her books hurriedly.

That hit Maverick’s brain like lightning. The word ‘box’ rang in his ears. The strange dream he had flashed in his mind. The unusual cubical box, the brightness, the man inside the box, the lady, everything flashed before his eyes.

“I’m getting late, Maverick. I’ll join you and Dad at the Council. Dad told me two bulwarks will escort you to the Council, so have yourself ready,” saying this Sugaall went out.

Maverick sat dormant; none of his senses worked. The last words he heard after the shock was ‘Bulwarks will escort you to the Council, so have yourself ready’. As his sister said he got ready and ate more than five fish to ensure his stomach don’t disturb him during the celebration. He noticed something on the feasting table along with the flowers; it was Sugaall’s meal box. Maverick cursed himself for not noticing that earlier. Now he must go all the way to the school to give her that. Without having a second thought Maverick grabbed the meal box stepped out of his home and paced towards the school.

The street looked empty. In the market, no stalls were opened except Mr & Mrs. Kindlespoon’s. Mrs. Kindlespoon, as usual, stood outside her stall with a big board in her hands which said:

SPECIAL NIGHT OFFER

100 eggs for 6 sacks of wheat

2 fish for just a dozen eggs

… Hurry…

There were no people on the market street but she still advertised in her squeaky voice. “Special night offer… hurry up, everyone.”

Maverick took the other street and went galloping towards the school. When he reached the school his nostalgic memories triggered. Maverick looked at the school’s entrance gleefully which took him to his most pleasant memory; the night when he met his best friend, Blardece.

A small boy sat in the mud, crying, with his curly black hair soaked in mud.

“What happened to you?” asked the eleven-year-old Maverick.

The small boy raised his head and looked at Maverick. With his brown eyes filled with tears, he said, “Those boys did this to me.”

“Okay… Why are you still in the mud?” Maverick asked. The small boy turned his head and saw where he was sitting; a pond of dirty rainwater. He was drenched in mud from the waist below.

“Come on, I will help you,” Maverick lend his hand to the boy and tried to pull him out but the boy was too heavy. With all his strength Maverick pulled him. The small boy dashed into Maverick and he, in turn, dashed into somebody.

“I’m sorry!” Maverick said, turning to the one whom he dashed upon. But to his surprise, it was two girls. A tall, stout, black-haired, round-faced, girl, and with her was a brown-haired, medium-height, oval-faced girl; the brown-haired girl looked so pretty.

“I’m sorry!!” Maverick said nervously. The two girls didn’t pay him any attention. Their eyes were fixed upon the small boy.

“What happened to you!” asked the pretty girl.

“He fell,” said Maverick.

“Oh! You look awful. Uh, my home is nearby, just two streets away, why don’t you come and have yourself cleaned?” the tall girl asked.

“Um, thanks,” said the small boy.

“What’s your name?” asked the brown-haired girl at Maverick.

“Uh. I’m Maverick Ciekawy.”

“I’m Velvebloo Flowere,” said the brown-haired girl. “And this is — ”

“Lidrolla Scintill,” said the tall girl, “And you?” she asked the small boy.

“Blardece Neying,” the boy replied

“Hey, Neying, you can’t escape from us.” A sound made those four turn instantly. Two large boys came running towards them.

“You must apologize for what you did,” the first boy said. Blardece trembled with fear.

“Leave him alone or else you will regret what is going to happen now,” Lidrolla warned the tall boy.

“Strange. He got some friends,” said the second boy.

“Make him apologize. I’ll let him go or else,” said the first boy, twisting his wrists. Lidrolla slipped her hand into her bag and took a handful of small stones. She threw a stone horizontally into the dirty mud; water splashed all over the boys.

“Ah! This stinks!!” yelled the second boy. She threw another stone and again the water splashed on them; some went straight into the second boy’s mouth. “STOP, STOP,” they yelled. Lidrolla didn’t stop. She fired more stones in the dirty pool; soon those two boys were soaked in mud more badly than Blardece. The two boys ran as fast as their feet could carry them. They slipped and fell but didn’t turn back.

“That was a good move,” Maverick praised.

“Thanks,” Lidrolla replied, dropping the remaining stones in her bag. “Shall we move?” she commanded.

“I haven’t seen you in school. What are you studying?” the pretty girl asked Maverick.

“I’m studying Bulwarking,” replied Maverick, with a warm smile.

“Bulwarking! Fascinating subject,” said Lidrolla gleefully, and continued, “Believe me, if I was a boy, I would have definitely become a bulwark. The attractive uniforms, the work in architecture, access to weapons, and most importantly… guarding our village. It’s a lovely life.”

The pretty girl jumped across a puddle of water and said, “But Bulwarking is the most dangerous occupation in our village — ”

“Innovative too,” Maverick interrupted.

“Yes, I agree,” the pretty girl smiled.

“Well, what are you studying, Velverblo?” asked Maverick. “It’s Velvebloo,” she corrected him. “We both are studying the History of Tenebro.”

“Boring subject,” Lidrolla yawned.

“Are you making any significant invention in Bulwarking?” asked Velvebloo.

“Yes. I’m trying to figure out a way to block the Eye Burner, temporarily,” said Maverick.

Lidrolla laughed aloud, “You are joking, right? Blocking the Eye Burner is impossible.”

“No. it’s not impossible,” said Maverick confidently.

“Are you sure you can do that?” asked Velvebloo. “I don’t doubt your skills, but, if you are successful then you will be a reputed person in our village. Congratulations in advance.”

“Thanks, Velve…bloo,” Maverick smiled.

“Geeks,” Lidrolla whispered in Blardece’s ear

“What about you?” Velvebloo asked Blardece.

“Uh — I’m…I’m studying about fisheries. My father is the deputy head of the fisheries department,” replied Blardece with pride. Having not been aware of the pit of water in front of him, Blardece slipped and fell flat on the dirty water.

“Seems like your friend has a habit of falling,” said Lidrolla to Maverick.

“Can I help you, Mr. Maverick?” a sullen voice pulled Maverick back to the present. It was the school’s secretary. “What brings you here, in your busy schedule?” he questioned hurriedly.

Maverick hid the meal box behind him and said, “Nothing — sir. Just came to see my sister!”

“Oh! Miss. Sugaall!! She’ll be on the northern block,” the secretary said in a low voice. Tying his hands behind him he moved.

“Thank you, sir.” Maverick took a few steps; again the secretary’s voice knocked his ears. “Hey, Maverick could you do me a favor?”

“Yes, sir. Of course, I will.”

“If the principal asks where I am — ”

“I’m not going to see her — ”

“Shh… Shh… Just listen. If she asks me, please say you didn’t see me,” he trembled.

“Okay,” said Maverick, dubiously.

“Thank you, boy,” a sudden delight filled the secretary’s wrinkled face.

Maverick asked, “The principal is still, Mrs. Empirica Specsolven, right?” But there was no reply. He turned and saw the secretary hiding behind a large tree and signaling him to move.

Maverick reached the loud and noisy northern block of the old building. He crossed every room, glancing at the windows searching for his sister, and finally, he stopped at the last room. Sugaall was there surrounded by a bunch of twelve-year-old students; all were giggling. It was a shock to Maverick to see Sugaall very close to her students. She was saying something in a low voice. The students burst into laughter every time she stopped. Maverick couldn’t believe his own eyes. She might be cracking a joke, Maverick mused. Instead of handing over the meal box, he stood secretly at the window, to listen to what Sugaall was saying.

“Tell us about the EYE BURNER BLOCKER,” said a girl, raising her hand. “Yes, yes, tell us,” the whole crowd chanted.

Sugaall scanned everyone with her charming dark eyes and asked, “So you all are curious about why we are celebrating tonight?”

“YES,” they replied.

“Then off to your seats,” she shooed them. Everyone jumped into their seats. Maverick for not to reveal his presence hid behind the windows.

Sugaall spoke audibly. “Before eleven years, during dawn, Tenebro was not the same as you see every night now. We were living as usual but the dawn terrified us. Not all nights were the same as you think. Some nights ended soon, some nights lasted more than usual. We don’t know when the Eye Burner shows up and when we must shelter ourselves in our homes. So we didn’t — ”

“What’s an Eye Burner, really?” a thin boy from the first desk asked. The whole class broke into laughter.

“You don’t know what an Eye Burner is?” Sugaall asked the boy.

“My mother told me it is a fire demon which comes on the sky every day and, and will burn us to ashes if we step out during… day,” the thin boy rhymed.

“The latter part is true but not the ‘fire demon’ thing,” Sugaall said. “The Eye Burner or Sun is the exact opposite of the moon. The moon is not harmful, but the Eye Burner, as I said, it’s the exact opposite. It will burn us.”

The thin boy nodded.

“So, coming back to what I was saying; people were afraid during dawn. They finished their work in a rush. This had a huge impact on our village’s economy. The fishermen, bulwarks, farmers, poulterers everyone did only a half night’s job. The Council and bulwarks took immense steps to change this situation, but none worked. One fine night, Maverick Ciekawy, came up with an idea to predict the Eye Burner’s arrival.”

“Maverick Ciekawy is your brother, right?” a girl from the last bench asked.

“Yes, my little, genius, brother,” Sugaall sighed. “Okay, back to the story, no more questions,” she returned to her strict tone. “His idea was pretty simple. It was observed that the Eye Burner comes up in the sky from behind the Twin Mountains and fades into the river.”

“I don’t understand,” said the thin boy, instantly.

“Come here,” Sugaall called the boy and made him stand to her right. She called two girls and made them stand left to her. Standing between them Sugaall said, “Now imagine I’m our village, Tenebro, okay. These two girls are the Twin Mountains which is in the eastern part of our village, and you are the river which flows in the west. Understand?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the boy nodded.

“Now do you see the gap between their heads?” Sugaall asked the boy, pointing at the two girls. “Well, imagine the gap is so small and thin.” She peeped her hand between the two girls’ heads and said, “Through this gap, the Eye Burner comes up and reaches vertically above our heads — she stretched her hands above her head vertically — and during dusk, it descends to the river, and fades,” she dropped her hand on the small boy’s shoulder. “Do you understand now?” Sugaall asked, tilting her head towards the thin boy.

“Yes, ma’am,” the boy replied. “Okay, good, off to your seats,” she shooed them.

“Now back to the subject,” Sugaall clapped her hands and turned towards her students; her ponytail swished a semi-circle and rested on her shoulder. “If you are in the Twin Mountains by dawn, you can see the Eye Burner’s light before the people of Tenebro. So, Maverick Ciekawy’s idea was, there will be a tolerator — bulwark — on top of the Twin Mountains and six other tolerators, three in each mountain’s bottom will be ready with the EYE BURNER BLOCKER.”

“Like I said if you are in the Twin Mountains you can see the Eye Burner’s light before the people of Tenebro. So during every dawn, the Tolerator at the top of the mountain will send a signal. By seeing that, the Tolerators in the bottom of the Twin Mountains will fire the EYE BURNER BLOCKER, temporarily blocking the Sun for a while, till we, the people of Tenebro, safeguard into our homes.”

“The mechanics of the EYE BURNER BLOCKER is simple. The six tolerators have a total of sixteen cannons with them, eight in each mountain. During dawn, after they see the signal from the Tolerator on top, they will fire some specially made fireworks from those cannons, aiming at the sky. Those sixteen fireworks meet up in midair, between the Eye Burner and our village. Then BOOOM!!! they explode, creating a giant cloud of smoke blocking the sunlight from reaching our village. Hence, the EYE BURNER BLOCKER.”

Everyone in the classroom sat paralyzed. Their broad eyes now shrunk, some were looking at their neighbors by the corner of their eyes.

“What? You all don’t understand!!” Sugaall asked in shock. Murmurs peeped among the students.

Sugaall sighed and said, “Okay…. Let me use an example.” She looked around the room puzzled. “Got it,” she snapped. Sugaall turned off all the lit torches in the room except one. She took that and placed it on the wall in the eastern corner.

“Listen here,” she silenced the crowd. Sugaall pointed to the girls in the first row and said, “Now imagine you girls are our village. Everyone must observe them closely,” she ordered.

“Yes, ma’am,” all boys replied joyfully.

Sugaall went near the first row, took a big board, and raised it above her head. There was no difference in the room by her actions, except in the first row. The whole class was filled with the lit torch’s light but the first row was dark. The shadow of the board was on the first row of girls’ faces.

“See. This is how the EYE BURNER BLOCKER works. The lit torch is the Eye Burner which is millions of yards away from our reach. This board is the E.B.B which blocks the Eye Burner’s light at every dawn.”

“After dusk, when the Eye Burner is gone, the Tolerators who are residing in the Twin Mountains will light the beacon fire and start preparing the E.B.B, to get it ready for dawn. The two vertical lights you see in the Twin Mountains are the beacon fire.”

“The number eleven!!” a boy from the middle row said dreamily.

“What?” Sugaall spun towards him.

“The two vertical lights we see in the Twin Mountains every night. Which…which looks like number eleven. One-one!!” the boy replied quietly.

“Yes, good, and!! You sound like you know something about it!” asked Sugaall.

“Yes, madam. My father was a Tolerator two years back,” the boy said softly.

“Wonderful. So, could you tell us all about your father’s work?”

“Um, yes,” the boy got up. “I…I missed him a lot during those nights. He would — ”

“No, no, no, not that part. I asked about your father’s work, as a Tolerator.”

“Uh, okay. Um, my father is a bulwark for the past twenty-seven years and, before two years he was selected as a Tolerator by the Council. He departed to the Twin Mountains at the start of the winter with five other men,” he stopped.

“Carry on,” Sugaall said leaning on her desk.

“The Tolerators are the most experienced and talented bulwarks. They spend a whole year in the Twin Mountains maintaining the E.B.B by every dawn and dusk. A total of six Tolerators will be working on the E.B.B, three in each mountain. They will reside in the caves during the day, safeguarding themselves from the Eye Burner, and work all night preparing the E.B.B for dawn. The two vertical lights we see every night were lit by them, indicating they started to work on the E.B.B.”

“Good. Thank you,” Sugaall applauded softly.

A boy in the last row asked, “Why can’t the Tolerators fire those cannons from our village itself, why should they be in the Twin Mountains for that? Does it take a whole night for them to prepare the fireworks? Who is that old man on the top of the Twin Mountains? I heard he hasn’t got down from the mountains since the E.B.B’s was constructed. And, seriously… fireworks! Do fireworks create such a big cloud of smoke?”

“Excellent question,” said Sugaall with bright eyes. “Since the E.B.B’s inception, none has asked these questions, other than you now. I’ll explain that.” Sugaall came to the center of the room and said, “Those fireworks aren’t like those you play with during Moon Praising and New Year. They are very dangerous. If they, by mistake, explode in the cannon itself, there will be no life for more than fifty yards around. I’m talking about only a single cannon’s effect; think about the whole sixteen. Working as a Tolerator isn’t easy, boy. They risk their lives to save ours.”

“Yes, it takes a whole night for them to prepare those fireworks because they should assemble all those exploding shells from scratch. Nothing is readymade because if they have all those shells ready for them, and if anything goes wrong, a whole year’s shells will explode. I hope I don’t want to explain how terrible it would be.”

“About that lonely guy upon the Twin Mountains, well, I don’t know his name but when Maverick asked the bulwarks for a Tolerator, who should be ready to spend a whole year alone on the top of the Twin Mountains, no one stepped forward. At last, an old guy volunteered. The bulwarks and tolerators after some years had requested him to come down and let some other tolerator do that, but he didn’t accept. His only answer was ‘I found peace in here’. Only after that, he got the name ‘Man above the Mountain.’”

A girl in the first row asked, “What about that scary old man in the Watchtower? Is he connected to the working of E.B.B? Because whenever I see him, he just blabbers that he is responsible for the safety of our lives.” Everyone laughed.

Sugaall in a strict tone said, “Yes, he is right, and his name is Irascias Piraat, not some scary old man. He is risking his life daily for us. So, show him some respect.”

“Sorry, madam.”

“Irascias Piraat’s work is directly dependent on the working of E.B.B. During dusk he will ring a bell twice from the Watchtower. The first bell indicates the Eye Burner is about to fade. The second bell indicates, it has faded and we are safe to come out. During dawn he will ring the first bell to indicate, the E.B.B has been fired, the Eye Burner will show up soon, and the second bell is to say…” she stopped for a moment. Silence covered the entire room. “If you step out of your home…” Sugaall scanned everyone in the room from right to left, opened her lips slowly, and said, “You will die.”

“Wow,” the whole crowd rhymed.

“During every dawn when the Man upon the Mountains signals about the Eye Burner’s arrival, the tolerators start firing the E.B.B, and Irascias Piraat will start ringing the bell. But during dusk, he is risking his life every day. He opens a window in the Watchtower facing west, and by calculating the movement of light inside his room, he rings the first bell, indicating the Eye Burner is about to fade, and rings the second bell when the Eye Burner’s light leaves his room. The dangerous part here is if by accident he steps into the Eye Burner’s light while the window is open… what happens?” Sugaall asked

“He will die!” the whole class rhymed in shock.

“Yes…. I hope hereafter you all will show him some respect for taking that risk for saving us,” said Sugaall.

After scanning everyone’s face, she continued, “When Maverick approached the Council with this idea, everyone was shocked, not only the council members but the whole people of Tenebro too. A small eleven-year-old boy handily solved the problem, which the whole Council and bulwarks couldn’t able to solve for decades,” Sugaall said proudly.

“Madam, someone is hiding near the windows,” a boy from the corner of the first row shouted.

“Who is it? Saki, is that you?” Sugaall came out. Maverick showed himself near the door.

“What are you doing here?!” asked Sugaall. “I… came to give your meal,” Maverick replied.

The girls in the first two rows peeped in front to see him. “It’s Maverick Ciekawy… Maverick Ciekawy.” Murmurs filled the classroom.

“Uh, thanks. I didn’t think you would bring — ”

“You didn’t eat at dusk so — ”

“No, Saki shared her food with me.”

“I didn’t know — ”

“It’s okay.”

That was the most awkward conversation Maverick had with his sister.

“SHUT UP!!” Sugaall silenced the noisy classroom.

Finally, Maverick opened his mouth and asked, “So, you are proud of me but won’t — ”

“Excuse me, Mr. Maverick,” a voice interrupted. Maverick didn’t turn but cursed the owner of that voice.

Sugaall without answering him greeted the girl behind Maverick.

“Hi, Saki”

“Hello, Sacchamia”

“Two bulwarks are waiting for you in the lobby,” the girl said to Maverick.

“Okay. See you at the Council,” Maverick said to Sugaall.

“No. I’ll be joining at the Great Stage. I must escort all students there,” Sugaall replied.

“Fine,” said Maverick and started to move. The girl followed him.

“Mr. Maverick, do you mind if I ask you something?” Saki asked softly,

“No. Not at all,” replied Maverick, irritated.

“Have you seen the secretary? I’ve been looking for him since dusk.”

“No,” Maverick responded quickly. “Hm. Okay,” she sounded disappointed.

“May I know why are you looking for him?”

“Not me. The whole school is searching for him.”

“Why?”

“I have been told that he played a prank on Mrs. Empirica,” Saki said quietly.

“What!! On the Principal!” Maverick startled. “He is a sixty-year-old man, not a nail-biting child!”

“Uh, yes, but in the recent nights, he is behaving… weirdly. Always scolding us for no reason, and sometimes he runs in the lobby giggling like a child. Do you know what’s the most annoying thing? He plays hide & seek with an imaginary friend,” she exploded.

“Yeah, I can see that,” said Maverick looking at the garden.

“Here they are. They two are waiting for you, Mr. Maverick,” Saki said pointing at two bulwarks in the lobby. “Wait!! Is that him? What’s he doing on the tree? Get down, sir,” she ran towards the secretary, who tried to climb a tall tree in the garden.

Read the next chapter here -

EA-R-TH Age of NeOlwd

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