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Revive

Revive was a way of life, it is not a college or any kind of education institution. When Latsamy stepped into this unfamiliar world, not at his own planning, he was confused, enlightened and curious all at the same time. There were people of all ages in Revive and everybody has to stay four years before they can graduate and move on. You can’t drop out but you also cannot be retained. You have exactly four full years. Everybody was a grade A observer, or as some mentors like to call them, learner. Nobody gets any other grade. The mentors are not the type you would expect to look like a typical professor on Earth but they range in age, religion and profession. There are road sweepers who are mentors to bankers and there are four-year-olds who are mentors to the senior residents of Revive, just to name a few.

Revive has a way of teaching you how to look at your past with new open eyes, to see what you failed to see and to understand what you had misunderstood. In a way, it was a place for you to see an encore of your life up until the moment you entered Revive, but only the inflection points. There was no set class time. Everybody learned as they go.

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CHAPTER 1

25 April 2015

On the day that Latsamy arrived in Revive, he couldn’t remember how he got there. His earliest memory was of him standing on a green grassy plain that stretched to the hills in front of him. The soft breeze kissed his skin and the romantic sunrays seduced him. It felt fresh and it smelt new. He couldn’t resist tilting his face up to the clear blue sky, closing his eyes and stretching out his arms to enjoy this wonderful place. Latsamy remembered thinking to himself that he was in his own dream and he had hoped his five-year-old brother wouldn’t wake him up from this sweet escape of his just because he was too scared to go to the toilet that was right in their room. But of course at that time he didn’t know that he needn’t have to worry. Nobody could wake him up, and this dream was going to last longer than any dream he had ever had in his whole life. It will also be the last memories he will have as Latsamy.

By now you might think that Revive is a planet farther from our Sun than Pluto is. But Revive is just right here, next to us, among us. But the residents of Revive are different from us. They are happier than we are and they see more than we see. We usually say that time goes by fast when we enjoy something. But the truth is, we can only be genuinely happy because time goes slow, allowing us to appreciate the good things around us.

Latsamy looked to his left and saw groups of white tents dotting the green hills and crowds of people around them as if they were in a carnival queuing up to see a show inside the tent. He made his way to the tent and just then he noticed he was not alone. There were people who were also making their way next to him and behind him. Just like him, they were alone in this crowd. And to his astonishment, they were all wearing identical white shirt and pants that were loose-fitting, including him. Everybody had a peaceful look on their faces. They looked more beautiful than any man or woman Latsamy had ever seen back in his hometown. No make up, but natural beauty. The eyes that twinkle, the face that wears a subtle hint of smile all the time and relaxed skin on the face.

Friendly people in pale yellow clothes that looked like his white ones greeted him as he approached one of the tents. He suddenly felt so welcomed as if this is exactly here he is supposed to be. He felt he belonged here although he had never seen this place in his life before. A man in his forties headed straight to Latsamy and patted his back and said “Welcome young man” with one of the biggest and happiest smile anyone could ever see. Strange, thought Latsamy, nobody has ever been this happy to see him. He felt important, he felt wanted.

“Where am I?” asked Latsamy

The man in his yellow cotton attire replied with a smile “You are in Revive”

“Revive? Where’s that?”

“Follow me and you will soon find out” said the man as he guided Latsamy to a wooden door that looked out of place among the tents.

The man opened the door and Latsamy stepped inside. To his astonishment he was inside his own bedroom.

“But…. I don’t understand” said Latsamy as perplexed as he could be.

The bed was unmade, the pair of jeans that he wore last Saturday was still hanging on his study chair, the opened bag of potato chips still on his table that was full of books and notes. A normal and comforting sight to him if he were alone, but this time someone else was looking at his room and he felt a pang of embarrassment and couldn’t help but want to walk out of the room before the man in yellow can see any more of the mess he had made.

“Freshmen of Revive will be brought into this special room and each will see a place that they feel most comfortable and relaxed in. Some of us will see the beach, some will see a park and some will see their bedroom, like you”

“Wait, freshman? What are you talking about? I’m in my second year at the University of Melbourne. I think you’re talking to the wrong guy”

“Do you see your room in this room Latsamy?

“What? How did you know my name?”

“I know more about you than you might know about yourself”

“Is this a prank? Who’s pulling a prank on me? It’s getting silly guys. You can stop it” Latsamy said with a nervous chuckle as he looked around the room trying to see if he can spot his guy friends laughing from behind a hole in the wall with their camera phones filming him ready to make this a viral video the moment he has embarrassed himself.

“I’m afraid not” said the man. “This is your reality now”

“What do you mean this is my reality now?” Strangely enough, he didn’t see the side of the room that belonged to his brother Xang.

“Come, take a seat” said the man as he guided Latsamy onto his own bed. This is getting really weird, how can a stranger invite you to sit on your own bed, thought Latsamy. But he sat down anyway. He’s getting dizzy from the confusion. His room, in the middle of the green hills, swarmed by hundreds of people in white? Who could pull off this kind of prank? A while ago he was feeling the most peaceful he had ever been and now he’s starting to feel like he’s about to face something unpleasant. How can a person’s feeling change so suddenly even when everything else around him remains the same?

“I know there’s a lot to take in, it happens to all the freshmen, so what you’re feeling is normal” said the man in yellow. “Now that we’re comfortable, allow me to introduce myself. I am Frederick, I have been assigned to orientate you to your stay here in Revive for the next four years.”

“Stay? Four years? What the hell are you talking about? I’m not going to be locked up here for four years! I’m not even going to stay for a day!” By now Latsamy was flustered and a bit creeped out. Had he been abducted for some government experiment? But he reminded those kind of things only happened in the United States, surely the Australian government isn’t like that? His parents liked how the Australian government handled things, and that was why they emigrated to Melbourne when Latsamy was only a 16-month-old toddler.

Latsamy stood up but was not quite sure where to go so he eventually resigned to asking the man in yellow for help. “I need to get back home now. Send me back home. I don’t belong here, wherever this is.”

“What was your last memory before you reached Revive?” the man asked as if he didn’t hear Latsamy’s request to be sent back home.

“What? Why do I care? Why do you care?” Latsamy just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

“What do you remember last?” Again the man acted like he didn’t hear Latsamy, it was pissing him off more than a little.

“Okay, if you want to know. I was ….” And Latsamy couldn’t pick out his last memory. He couldn’t remember what he was doing before he found himself standing on the green grassy hill fifteen minutes earlier.

“It’ll take time, just keep thinking and you will remember” said Frederick.

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to be continued

#short stories #writers on tumblr #ya #young adult fictio

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