Part II

Her people are, in most cases, level-headed, mild-tempered, and most take that trait and carry it with them in every life. But Era has transcended this, and in her quest to understand the human condition, has picked up a not-so-flattering characteristic.

This current incarnation has allowed her to feed this most unflattering trait to the point where she had to be reprimanded by the Ancient Master.

To put it mildly, she is very sure of herself, confident always that she is the most intelligent person in the room. This is even with master Guardians, who are twice or three times her age.

It seems that even with all the lives she has lived, humility was not something she ever took into consideration. At times, her attitude resembles one of a petulant child that believes they know better or more than anyone, but unfortunately, in her case, she does know more ... not better.

This, coupled with her upbringing in a very large Italian family, has created an [1]OP [2]Narcissus.

But there are exceptions to her attitude, as, after all, she was raised by parents from two cultures that have a strong belief in respecting your elders.

That you, are the product and legacy of all who came before you. And not only that, but anyone older than you, has gained your unconditional respect just because they have lived a good life.

Regardless of achievements or acolytes, a life well lived has many more obstacles that can’t be quantified, so, human or guardian, elders must be given the respect deserved.

Human bodies born with guardian souls are in most cases ethereal and beautiful and disease can touch them. Of course, unless the life that they are living requires them not to be this way, and in transition lives, before they become masters a lot chose to live in the most difficult way imaginable.

But not Era, she chose the reverse, she chose to spread the pain out over centuries, as her theory is that this passed approach would reduce mental health issues in her community and allow more guardians to experience human lives.

Wiles scrolling and generally loitering on her phone looking at everything and nothing, her phone rings, and the name ‘MUMMY’ with a heart emoji next to it pops on the screen, taking off the mask and placing it on the coffee table, she pikes up smiling and thinking to herself how predictable and punctual her mum is with her Friday check-up calls.

‘Hey mum, how are you?’

‘Hi sweets, how has your week been, did you manage to finish that last book you had left to translate, are you taking any more jobs on, are you still coming to see us, yes?’

‘Wow mum, ok one at a time… no I did not, still have five pages of the final chapter so will finish in about two hours. No, I already spoke to the publisher and told them I will not be taking any more jobs until further notice. And I already booked the plane ticket to London for the second of next month, so tell dad he must come and pick me up as I am landing at ten in the evening.’ – feeling a bit flustered after all that, she walks over to the fringe to get a bottle of water wiles Mrs. Cho is expressing her delight at the news she just received.

‘Ow that is a relief we haven’t seen you in half a year now, we are looking forward to spending some family time together, are you still up for visiting your grandma in Shanghai as well, yes?’ – Era is hearing a bit of trepidation and concern in her mum’s voice.

‘Yes, no worries, I need a change of scenery, so I was going to tell you that I am locking up everything here and going to stay with her for the foreseeable future. I am worried about her all alone over there too.’- as she finishes her sentence, she can hear a loud sigh of relief on the other side of the phone.

‘Now, Professor Cho, don’t get emotional with me, I have to go now I need to finish this chapter off and get ready to go out with Ella, and hit her with the news I am moving on the other side of the world, so wish me luck.’

‘Good luck honey, call me if you need anything!’

Smiling at the black screen, water bottle in her other hand she slowly walks across her apartment to the window of her bedroom, dropping the phone on the bed.

With two fingers she parts the blinds to reveal the almost melancholic scenery outside. The piazza is not lively, but the shops and café are open since early morning and a few tourists and fearless locals take shelter under its umbrellas.  

Everything moves a bit slower here, especially under the unforgiving heat of the Italian summer sun. The days are orange-coloured, the tourists fill the streets with chaos, curiosity, and confusion and every summer here looks like it’s a snapshot from an old Hollywood movie.

Unexpectedly she is feeling grateful for her current life and somewhat nostalgic remembering her past existences, but most of all she feels like her body is craving the cold, the rain, she is craving nature and the solitude that comes with being isolated in the mountains.

She lifts her palm up and closing her eyes, thinks of the almost suffocating humidity that gathers just before the heavy rain falls, the electricity spreading through the air preparing everyone below for the dancing lightning followed by the deafening thunder.

And just like that, as she opens her eyes and looks up to the sky, small arches of electricity start dancing between her fingers, and the dark clouds start to gather above. She takes one last sip of her water thinking that the atmosphere will be lovely tonight for the outing after the cobbled streets have been cooled by the rain.

Her father named her Era Monti, Era, to mean age, eon, eternity, what was. Once she asked her dad why he chose this name. He said that when he first held her as a baby, looking into her eyes he did not see, as most parents do, innocence and nothingness, he saw the wisdom of a life lived.

Her race, the ones that call themselves guardians have looked over Earth and humanity since its beginning. There are many times more humans on Earth than there are guardians, but as well they pose abilities beyond imagination.

They are energy, so they see and understand the flow of energy through every living matter, and they can bend it to their will.

But as they have no need for earthly possessions and are not plagued by petty human emotions such as greed, vanity, anger, or the desire to be above all, they are very passive creatures.

Era, on the other hand, was one of the few that came into existence after humans developed civilizations. Furthermore, the catastrophic event that produces her birth killed thousands.

The elders never hid this from her, and when she learned what had happened on the day of her birth there was nothing that could console her or make everything all right.

This unyielding guilt that has never left her is what drives her, she has tried all these millennia to make up for all the pain she caused just by being born. It’s why she wants to become a councillor; she wants to make sure that no one will feel like she has all her life. 

But right now, she is living in the present and going forward with all the lessons learned in the past guiding her steps towards the future she wants.

Coming out of the trance some melancholic thought pulled her in, she takes a deep breath and turns around from the window thinking of what she needed to get ready for the outing this evening.

Like never before a strange feeling of fear and anxiety grips her chest but is quickly brushed aside due to the urgency of the task at hand.

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