Everlasting Hope

Evelin was supposed to be looking forward to her 18th birthday. It was the day that she would become a worthy and trusty adult. Because she lived on an island, she also got the perk of being dubbed The Traveler. However, her cravings weren't towards power and integrity: they were towards adventure and finding new things. As the day approached, she was pacing in her small kitchen in her cramped apartment, deep in thought. The floors moaned and groaned. She had meant to fix up the floor a while ago, but the overwhelming thoughts swam through her mind and she put it off. She reached for a cup of water and took a deep sip. It cooled off her body, but her mind seemed to swim even more. Her mom walked into the kitchen and laughed, smiling.

"Pacing again, dear? You know, it's not going to change the facts by trotting around the bamboo floors." she cracked. She pulled up a seat and motioned for Evelin to join her.

"No, I can't Mom. I am going to be an adult. Isn't that just crazy? I mean, it's just like, wow, I'm really here, and..." Her mother put a calming hand on her tense shoulder.

"Come, sit," she insisted. Evelin sat down and resorted to nail-biting for ridding of stress. Her mother pulled out a card game and began to shuffle the mixed deck. The first hand was dealt, and Evelin began to think again. Her boyfriend, Brian, wasn't going to be an adult until the next harvest. She was going to become grown-up without her significant other. The nail-biting increased and her mother shot her an empathetic look.

"Evie girl," she soothed. "It's ok. Take some deep breaths. It's all ok." Her chest moved slower and she looked at her cards. A full house, tens over fours. She increased the pot, and her mother called.

"So, honey, what do you want to do when you get inaugurated to the Traveler?" her mother asked.

"I'm not sure yet. I'm going to stay on the island for a little while and then wait for Brian to turn 18 so that we can leave." she sighed. She went all in and her mother folded. She grabbed her chips back and her mother dealt the second hand.

"You know, you shouldn't wait for that boy. He's nothing but trouble, always causing a ruckus around the farming fields." her mom scoffed. She called and Evelin did the same.

"Yeah, but Mom, I love him!" she pleaded.

"I'll have none of it. You only love that he gives you attention, but boy oh boy, someday he's going to forget about you. I made the same mistake with your father." she bolded. Evelin increased the pot and wondered if her father was to see her be inaugurated. Her father had been the Island King and made a promise to see her grow into adulthood, but he ran away one day, never to be seen again. She figured asking her mother about him would be a sensitive thing to do, so she kept her mouth shut. Her elbow bumped the cards off the table and her mom made no move to grab them.

"What are you doing, pick them up!" Evelin yelled. Her mother grabbed her arm and she shrunk.

"Don't you ever yell at me! You bumped them off!" her mother boomed. Tears formed at the corners of Evelin's eyes as she ran upstairs. She whipped open her door and face-flopped right on to her mattress, bawling her eyes out. Her adulthood was coming within hours, and she wasn't ready at all. She wasn't ready to become a mother, or a worker, or a traveler, or anything really. All she wanted was to cradle in her mother's arms, face snuggled inside her calming chest. She sobbed and pulled her knees up to her stomach. Her mother's boiling anger quickly subsided. She calmly picked up the cards and put them back in the drawer before going upstairs to confront her daughter. She let her boots make a loud stomp as she walked upstairs. Audible crying could be heard from Evelin's room.

"Evie, honey, I'm sorry! Can I come in?" her mother muffled. Her hand slowly opened the door and she ran to her daughter and put her arms around her.

"It's never easy, you know," her mother said after a long silence. "When I was pronounced as the queen of Latimer Island, I struggled for many days. Hell, I cried every day in your father's arms when he actually cared about me. But, the important thing was, I got through it. I calmed my self down, and focused on the next task. And eventually, I got really good at running a monarchy and a child simultaneously. So you see, all you have to do is believe." she told Evelin, who looked up at her with runny eyeliner.

"I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, Evie." She kissed the top of her head and squeezed her tight before getting up to put on her dress for the inauguration.

Evelin walked the path with as much joy and pride as she could muster. Being pronounced the traveler meant that she can expand the island's monarchy and acreage as far as she wished, with access to 5 boats and 300 men. She smiled as the Temporary King lifted up her hand and inaugurated her. She looked out at the applauding crowd and saw all of the faces she wanted to see. But, one face in the back caught her eye. Was it? No... It can't be... wait... no... yes it is! Evelin covered her mouth in surprise as her father stood up, awaiting his now-adult daughter. She embraced him tightly.

"I told you I would be here, my Evie girly." he grinned. Her dad signalled to a young man in the row second to last, and Brian walked up.

"Hey, Evelin." he said nervously.

"Hi, Brian!" she piped.

"Do you mind if I add just a little more joy to your day?" he asked.

"Well, what do you mean? This day is already wonderful that you and my family are here, so you'd have to do something monumental to change that." she cracked. Brian laughed and took her hand.

"Evelin..." he started. He got down on one knee and pulled out a ring. "Will you marry me?" She yet again jumped for joy.

"Yes!" she squeaked through all of her ecstatic feelings.

"I'd call that monumental!" her father joked. The crowd laughed long and hard as Evelin finished out her 18th birthday.

The next day, Evelin Branders set out on a great quest to spread Latimer Island's ruling power and becoming the first Great Traveler in island history.

(Note: I tried to use symbolism in my text, as I am learning it in school. If you didn't catch it, it was with the card game. It symbolized the stages of grief, starting with denial, and ending with acceptance. Also, I know the background knowledge isn't great, but I had a very small window to submit and couldn't edit. Thanks for reading!)