Two children climbed up a sleet filled road, one of several that chilly morning.

  Up ahead a girl. With items on her back wound into a sheet, she plodded up the hill one step at a time. Down below slogged a small boy, he dragged his bundle up the incline.

  Their first winter experience in Sirqu, they were told the city had opportunity and betterment on every block. So far, it wasn’t exactly what they imagined.

  “C’mon Quin!” yelled the girl up front. The frozen puffs of her breath hugged her face.

  “I’m trying!” he yelled back with eyes closed. “I wish Mom and Dad were here. They’d know where we are.”

  The girl stopped and remained silent for a bit. “They’re still lost. We can’t stay at the pier and wait for them forever.”

  “We’re lost toooo Sis! We keep going somewhere different everyday and I’m tired.”

  Quin stopped to take a rest when a small wooden box escaped the clump of stuff he lugged. He chased after it as it slid down the hill before he finally reached it at the bottom.

  As he wiped dirt and snow off the small chest, he noticed two figures decked out in black next to him.

  He had seen such people for a while but not up close. Everything about these figures from their dark cloaks to their unsettling masks gave Quin a different type of chill.

  The lack of smoke from their mouths gave him an impression they could come and go without a single breath.

  The poor boy’s face froze in fear as their deathly stares burned a hole in his brain. His sister slid in to break the trance of terror.

  “We’re so sorry for stopping you,” she uttered with her head down. “We’ll get out of your way now. C’mon Quin.”

  Pulled off the ground, Quin stepped out of their path and they continued on with whatever business they had.

  He stuck to his sister’s side, his legs trembled. The harrowing glares disturbed him greatly along with those emotionless, bone colored masks.

  He hoped to never see such an image up close again. But as fate had it, he would later adopt it.

  In the present day, he stood on a small wooden bridge over a pond. In his reflection, he saw a mask of his own. So much can change over ten years.

  At the very tip of the peninsula, the Cosondera headquarters had a different landscape compared to the rest of Sirqu.

  Trees and meadows engulfed the area instead of dirt and bricks. Only birds filled the ears. No signs of a crowd could be seen, although plenty of cloaks roved and roamed about.

  “Oy, you the new guy?” asked somebody behind him.

  He turned and saw a man and a woman in black cloaks. Neither wore a mask and both looked older than him though not by much.

  The man had short brown hair while a side of his face drooped in disappointment as if he expected more.

  The young lady next to him sported long jet black hair and a lackadaisical expression. Quin had a feeling she would keep such a face even in a fire.

  Nonetheless, these two must have been the “guides”, although he long knew his way around the city.

  “You found him. That’s me,” he responded. “My name’s Quin.”

  “Tris,” said the man as he pointed to himself.

  “I’m Mia,” followed the lady. “You must be pretty good to be picked up personally from the Pit.”

  “And I take it that you guys are here to give me some tour? So where exactly are we going?”

  “Beats me,” Tris answered with a shrug. “This was all out of nowhere. The whole thing seems so rushed and it’s not like we Tyrovivs can actually go anywhere. I guess we just walk around until the leadership tells us something else on short notice. Actually, before I forget...”

  Tris pulled out a small notebook from behind him. After a few flips of the pages, his hand scribbled whatever his mind told him.

  “…‘a little scatterbrained and short sighted’. The leadership, not you. I felt it was important to clarify.”

  “Come ooon, it’s already getting too hot to stand around,” Mia claimed as she walked off the bridge. “Let’s just move and do something already.”

  Thus began the tour, or at least somewhat. Before anything else, Quin wanted to stop by a place he hadn’t seen in weeks, his home.

  They arrived in front of Miro’s shoe shop and the little building warmed Quin’s heart like an old friend.

  Cramped in the congested heart of the city, he actually missed the crowded view and uneven roads.

  “Well ain’t this is a lowly little place,” Tris remarked with a bored look.

  “Yeah. I just need to pick up a few things first. I won’t be long,” said Quin.

  “Good, ‘cause we’re a little out of the way here,” Mia mentioned before she leaned on a wall.

  As he approached the door, Quin wondered what kind of response Miro would make.

  For all he knew, Miro may have been annoyed by his absence, but more or less carried on the same as before.

  Quin opened the door; he never thought he’d miss the familiar chime of the smacked bell in front of it. Inside, semi-nostalgia welcomed him.

  He lifted his mask and the blend of polish, leather, and old footwear pounded his nostrils. In a way, the shop had let itself go during his time away as it became much messier without his occasional organization.

  One place however looked a little different from what he remembered, his old room. Perplexity was plastered on his face when a stranger emerged from within.

  “Can I help…” He noticed the Cosondere outfit as he neared the counter and his face dipped. “Is something the matter sir?”

  “Who are you?” Quin asked with a tense stare.

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  The stranger looked around before he replied, “Me? I’m...I’m the apprentice here. If you’re looking for Miro, he stepped out for a bit.”

  “Apprentice? Since when?”

  “Uh...since a month ago? Is something wrong?”

  Quin needed the counter to catch him as he processed this information. Without any requests for permission, he made straight away toward his old room.

  The apprentice raised an arm to protest, but then he thought better than to interfere with a Cosondere.

  The room had been entirely rearranged as if Quin never occupied it for two years. He couldn’t believe it.

  He didn’t expect Miro to miss him, but he certainly didn’t expect to be replaced. He also didn’t expect it to happen immediately.

  He got on the floor and looked into the coffers. None of his things could be found. He could NOT believe it.

  “I don’t know what you’re looking for, but I’m pretty sure we don’t have it sir,” the apprentice said.

  Quin turned to the room’s new owner at the doorway. The concern and confusion on the apprentice’s face matched his own as it dawned on him he had technically trespassed.

  He slowly got up and slowly walked back to the main room.

  For a late summer day, Quin never felt so cold. His replacement just looked on in silence, unsure how to respond.

  For two years, that room represented his little corner of home. His sanctuary from the bustle of Sirqu.

  After a handful of weeks, it had a distinct and unfamiliar smell that reminded him little of his past life. In fact, the more he looked around, the less he saw home.

  “Is this about Miro?” the apprentice asked. “I-I don’t know what he did, but I don’t think he’d be foolish enough to mess with the Cosondera.”

  Those words grabbed Quin’s attention. In his shock, he forgot about his new occupation.

  The sudden attention spooked the apprentice. “B-b-but I’ve only known him for a little bit, so if he did something, I-I wouldn’t know.”

  “No. No,” a dejected Quin responded. “Um...sorry for bothering you.”

  Just like that, Quin was replaced. Maybe Miro felt bad, maybe he didn’t. Either way, it became very clear his little corner of home was no more.

  Just a mere visitor now, he turned to the front door when it opened.

  With a shuffle in his step, Miro entered with his typical gruff and grump manner. A slight silence took over the space.

  “Uh, Miro. There’s someone here to see you,” announced the apprentice as his elbow pointed out to Quin.

  Miro’s face wrinkled even more while he took a long look at his former apprentice. Soon, his memory took care of the rest.

  “Oooh, done with your vacation already?” he asked with an affable yet exaggerated tone. He shambled his way to his room with a dismissive face.

  “Well how nice of you to take time out of your break to come back. Of course, I wasn’t aware of this sudden vacation, but I guess you must’ve told me in my slee-”

  Closer to Quin, Miro had a better look. The mask on his former assistant’s head helped him connect the dots. In seconds, his expression went from barely hidden contempt to plainly clear esteem.

  “Quin. Quin! It’s so good to see you again,” he stated with arms out and no trace of sarcasm.

  Quin had no words.

  “I see you’ve already met Rick.” An awkward silence befell the room. “Look Quin, I wasn’t sure what happened to you. You know I’m a guy who expects the worst and hopes for the best.”

  The “expects the worst” part sounded on brand to Quin, but an impression that Miro “hoped for the best” never appeared in his two year stay.

  Miro continued, “But days turned to weeks, and you knew how much I needed help around here. But anyway, look at you. Never knew you wanted to be a cloak.”

  “I didn’t,” Quin stated matter of factly. “One thing led to another.”

  “Huh. Well it’s good to be a Sentar’i right? Didn’t you say you wanted to be one? Oh! You’re probably here for your things. I have them somewhere around here. Help me look around boy.”

  “I wouldn’t know where to look Miro,” said a confused Rick.

  “Here’s a hint, it’s in a small building that you’ve seen for days now. I’m sure if you use those two balls on your face, you’ll see something you haven’t seen already.”

  The two shuffled through the various clutter piled up in the corners and after a couple of attempts, they found their item, an unassuming sack.

  Inside, Quin saw his tools, All for Heart as well as a few other doodads albeit a little banged up.

  Prominent among them laid the violet sandals, the sandals he wanted to give to Aesther.

  Relieved to see them in one piece, he also felt irked him to see them haphazardly tossed with all his other things. At least they returned to his possession.

  “I would have stored it in a better spot, but you know how my back gets Quin,” Miro said as he shambled his way toward Rick.

  Quin looked at the bag some more before his face turned to Miro and his apprentice. The experience couldn’t be more surreal.

  Less of a boarding mate, he seemed more like a customer. A highly revered customer but a customer all the same.

  The moment left him a truly shocked; another change that left him rocked.

  He gripped the bag firmly as he looked at his outfit. It was as clear as a mirror.

  Back when he was a Yerp, a nobody, he had to put up with the harsh tongue Miro provided. If Quin didn’t like it, he could let himself out.

  Now that he became a Sentar’i, a somebody, Miro’s attitude pulled a marked reversal.

  While the decent treatment felt nice, Quin never had any qualms with his boss. He could easily look past Miro’s negative traits since the one positive trait gave him a home.

  This version of Miro felt too uncanny and unnatural.

  In fact, the environment gave off a more different air than before. A natural consequence when someone stood out.

  One look was all it took to complete the change, a subtle yet significant change. A mentor/student dynamic became just another Sentar’i/Yerp dynamic.

  But Quin never changed. He didn’t want to. He had no intentions to act differently now that he became a Sentar’i. Nobody had a reason to fear him, nobody at all.

  Quin cupped his eyes with his free hand. Rick and Miro looked on, unsure what he’d do next. His thumb made contact with his mask. Maybe if he wasn’t a cloak, things would have fared better.

  Virtually a guest in his old home, stares of trepidation told Quin he overstayed his welcome.

  Quin lightly raised the sack. “Well uh thanks for the safekeeping I guess. Just, one more thing to ask. On the night of the festival, did Aesther show up?”

  “Aesther? Ohhh that girl you like? Um...yeah I think so. Told her you weren’t here and she left.

  “That reminds me Quin, there was this...money I found lying around. It didn’t happen to belong to you did it? Because, well...it’s kind of gone now.”

  Quin completely forgot about the money Lymon paid him. “Oh. Yeah, that was for me. Don’t worry about that though.”

  Miro waved off that suggestion. “No, you made that money Quin, and I took all of it. I’ll make it up to you.”

  “No no you don’t have to.”

  “Yes I do Quin. I’ve done you an injustice after all the work you’ve done for me. I wouldn’t be able to look myself in the eye if I did nothing about it. I can’t do anything now, but mark my words Quin, I’ll pay you back for the inconvenience.”

  Quin sighed. On one hand, it was nice to see Miro so amiable and apologetic. On the other hand though, he knew exactly why.

  With nothing else to do or ask, Quin turned to the door.

  “Okay, well I guess I’ll take my leave then,” he said. “Thanks again Miro.”

  “No problem Quin,” Miro replied as he followed his old apprentice to the door. “I want you to know, even though I wasn’t the best mentor for you, everything I did came from a good place.”

  “Yeah. Yeah, thanks. I mean it Miro. Thanks.”

  Quin opened the door and the bell rang one more time through his ears. It might be another while yet before he’d hear it again.

  The sun’s glare blinded him from the buildings across. His eyes still weren’t adjusted to daylight. Without a cloak, his arms tinged under the summer light.

  Before he pulled his mask down, he took another whiff of the sea. Never had it smelled so close. Voices and steps were the dominant sounds with an occasional bark, cry, or laugh.

  Tris and Mia were hard to miss among the crowd. A few yards up the road, they had a small pocket to themselves as everyone else stayed out of their way.

  As soon as Mia noticed him, she peeled off from her associate and dashed in Quin’s direction.

  “Finally, let’s go.” She marched past him.

  Tris threw his arms up in surprise. “Oy, I thought we had a good conversation.”

  He walked up to Quin as he quickly pulled out and wrote something in his notebook.

  “I guess we’re off in earnest now. Let’s get to it.”

  He and Quin followed after her when a ball rolled up to his foot. He bent down to pick it up when a hand came into view and snatched it before he could retrieve it.

  He looked over and saw a young lady with fear across her face. A little boy stood beside her as he tried to pry the ball off her hands.

  “So sorry about that!” she began. “We never intended to get in your way.”

  The scene took him back to the past. His first winter in town. His first close up view with the Cosondera.

  The boy’s eyes widened as he looked up at Quin. It had come full circle. Now he was behind a mask and he stamped a new memory on a young soul.

  “Well what are you still bumming here for?” Tris responded for Quin as he shooed the two Yerps away. “Away you go.”

  The two scurried away from view. Quin’s thoughts and memories took over his attention. Years had passed since his arrival in Sirqu in search of a new home and a new life.

  While his life had changed many times over in the past few weeks, his search for a home remained ongoing.