The Reset

The streets of our tiny kingdom were soaked in sunshine as people got ready for today. It was as if even the Sun got excited for what was happening next.

The Reset was about to begin. Every thirty years, the world was drenched in darkness as the Sun decided who would lead our people for the next third of the century.

Being only twenty-four years old, this would be my first time witnessing the Reset.

I have heard that the Leader was a surprise to our kingdom time and time again at the beginning.

But now, there has been talk that wise men could predict who the Sun will choose next, and they have determined that it will be Glorinda, the daughter of the richest man in our lands.

And that fact scared me.

So, on this day of the Reset, I went to visit Garrick, our current Leader and my dear friend for some reassurance...I was that scared. Oddly enough, he wasn't busy at all. It was like the kingdom had already forgotten about him.

"Ah Sophia," he greeted me, "What can I do for you?"

"A place to hide during the Reset?" I impishly requested.

"Hmm, yes. I was going to watch from the window myself. Want to join me?" he asked.

I already felt lighter at the thought of hiding away in his study, "I would love that."

The streets were packed with people. The Reset covered the whole land but everyone wanted to be where Glorinda was so they could watch her receive the light. Since the Leader has always lived in this temple, the wise men and her father set up a stage right on the street down below.

"I went to school with her in my teen years," I confided to Garrick, "She was nothing like you. She was mean and selfish. I'm having a hard time imagining her as a good Leader."

"I met her last week," Garrick said, "Your description seems accurate. I don't think she has changed much."

"You are a great Leader. I look up to you. How could she possibly be the next one?"

"When I was a child, things were different. Community was everything. We were thankful for our homes, our land, and each other. We appreciated the Sun and everything that prospered from it," Garrick explained, "But now, some people want more. They think that they can manipulate the land and each other so they can have more. And I think they are attempting to manipulate the Sun now."

"How can they even think of doing that? Why?" I asked.

"For Power," Garrick lamented.

"This is going to be arduous, isn't it?" I asked hoping for reassurance.

"Yes, but not because of Glorinda. There is more and I'm so sorry."

"Sorry, you have nothing to do with today," I pointed out.

"No but...did you know that I knew the former Leader? I met her when I was fourteen years old," Garrick told me.

"Huh?" I laughed with the coincidence of it, "That's about the same age I was when I met you."

"Yes. I felt drawn to her. I wanted to learn from her, and I was so surprised that she was willing to meet me, and then to even teach me."

"Wow," I proclaimed, "It's like you're telling me my story. I used to sneak away to this temple and try to see you in action. I was so fascinated by your work and how you managed to Lead. I was amazed that you took me in as a student...It's a shame that Glorinda wasn't interested in learning from you."

The noise from the window was getting louder as crowds of people were cheering with excitement. People were holding streamers and balloons of the sun and signs praising Glorinda.

Garrick's voice pierced the noise like a beacon calling to me, "A man can gain lots of riches and higher men to be known as "wise men" and tell them what to say, but that does not make what they say the truth. Do you understand Sophia?"

"Glorinda's father hired the wise men?" I questioned.

"There's only one person who can foretell who the new Leader will be because that child needs to be trained in the role of Leadership, so she can understand what a true Leader does," Garrick explained.

"I hear you Garrick, but I don't think I understand," I told him, "Garrick, I feel strange. Is this a part of the Reset?"

"How do you feel?"

"Not bad, strange, like tingles but even better. It feels like energy shooting through me. And I'm remembering things, but they are weird memories. Not my own?"

"I'm so sorry Sophia. This should be a good day for you, but I'm afraid of the crowd and Glorinda's father. I'm not sure..."

"The Sun?" I questioned, "It's almost like I'm feeling the Sun?"

"Sophia, maybe it would be best if you moved away from the window," Garrick suggested.

“But the Sun, I feel a pull to her, I giggled like I was being tickled, "I remember this feeling when I was little, like I could stand in her presence forever. I never wanted to leave."

The sky dimmed and the crowd began to transform into silhouettes. The sunshine shrank into a single beam of light. I craved to touch it and then it drifted into my hands.

Silence engulfed the street.

Random gasped and "ahs" were let loose.

Stray comments floated on the wind,

"What about Glorinda?"

"Sophia? Is it Sophia?"

"Of course, Sophia."

"Sweet, kind Sophia."

Then silence again as I held the sunlight. It shrank even more until my glowing hands held everything the Sun had to give.

Parts of the crowd began to cheer my name. I felt like I wasn't a part of my body anymore.

As I tried to grasp what was happening, terror crept up my spine. Glorinda's father screamed out, "No! Fake! She's a fake!"

Then the wise men called out, "She has stolen the Sun's power. Give it back."

"Garrick?" I pleaded.

"Close your hands child," he consoled.

I made two fists and hid the only light the street had.

"Now what Garrick?"

"Now...we need to run.”