• "If I don't go...people will die?" I asked, not comphending how that would follow.
    Her grin disapeared."Yes. But don't worry about that right now. You won't have to deal with that for a couple years or so. You do need to go right now though, so that you will be prepared for when disaster strikes. When it does strike, you will know. Thats a good while ahead though, so just forget about it. However, if you do not leave for Talmanar now we won't make it in time. If you're sixteenth birthday passes and you're not in Talmanar, they're," her eyes momentarily widened "We're doomed. That will not happen though if you leave now."
    Huh? Was that a slip of the tongue? Saying "they're" instead of "we're"? Did she not belong in that "Talmanar" place? And what could be so special about my sixteenth birthday? I am turning sixteen in five days. October 27th. This Friday.
    Her talk about people dying continued to worry me. If I'm not in Talmanar in one week, according to the tavolaner, the people in talmanar are doomed? How does that follow? Oh, yeah, I'm just soooo sure that MY presence in a foreign place can help keep a whole world from doom and disaster. Uh-huh. Right. Nothing more plausable than that.
    Yeah right. As if I really believed that. Me. Your not-quite-average student, save a world? Laughable. Insane. Yet, I wanted to believe it, believe that I could be of importance, of meaning to somebody, anybody. But I was interupted in mythoughts by the Tavolaner AGAIN.
    "It's okay. You don't have to believe me. In fact, it would be best if you forgot about that on your own..." She trailed off for a moment. I was momentarily disoriented. What had she just said? I shook my head as a dog does to get rid of water. The Tavolaner was talking again. "But you still have to go. You will thank me for this later." She flashed a smile at me. "I promise. I promise that you will be glad you went. I promise that you will be all the better for going. I promise that you will come back to this room, better than before. I so swear all this on my life, on my future... and on my tavola.
    Wow. This makes how many promises she had just sworn to? If her pretty little story about not being able to tell a lie or break a promise was true, she would have a really hard time getting away with this. If getting away was even possible at all, now.
    "Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention this earlier, but you would probably like to know. If I swear to something by something, and I break that swear, whatever I swore on will be taken away from me, breals, or dies. I swore on my life, my future, and my tavola. This is one of the strongest swears possible in all of Talmanar. I break one promise, and I lose my future, die, and my tavola will die too. You can bet your life I won't be breakin those promises anytime soon."
    So I could trust her, I suppose. As long as she wasn't a raving lunatic or lying. But how would I get to this Talmanar? What would I bring?
    "I can see by your face you have decided to trusst me. Thanks. The next order of business will be sending us there, as I have all the supplies you'll need packed for you already. All you will have to do is stand there and hold onto this." She held out a large purple bookbag to me.
    I warily walked towards her and accepted it, then stepped back, my eyes never leaving her face. It was one of those rolling bookbags, with apparently sturdy clear wheels on the bottom. It was large, but only about half full as far as I could tell.
    "Inside are some clothes and all the basic neccesities you'll need . The quality is pretty good. it might not be exactly what your used to, but it will suffice." I opened the largest compartment to see some green, red, and purple T-Shirts. I couldn't see under them, so I closed the bag back up.
    "What do I have to do?" I asked nervously.
    "Like I said: just stand there. You...might want to close your eyes. Everyting will seem tho shine purple for a moment, but it will pass. When we arrive, you will be unconcious. Within a day or two, you will wake up in someones house. I'll arrange for them to find you. There will be a girl there, about your age. She's very nice, and so is her mother. You have no cause for worry."
    The Tavolaner stood up as I took another step back. "Hold still," she said, but she didn't have to say it. I was paralyzed with fright and the crushing realization of what I was doing. "Don't worry," she said soothingly, "This will only take me a minute." To late. I was already very, very worried.
    My room was suddenly bathed in a bright, purple light. It got brighter, and brighter. I closed my eyes, taking the Tavolaners. There was a moment of pressure, and then everything faded to blackness.
    My last, half-coherant thought that I never remembered was "Why does she seem so...familiar?"