When you think about it, for anything that we know in one way or another, experience has always been the best teacher.

  “Giovanni, check on you brother.” I set the book I was reading on the table when I heard mother’s soft voice calling out from another room in the house. She always seemed to know when he woke up even before he made a sound.

  My training at the third training ground lasted six months, from the time I arrived until we were sent home, and it had been almost a month since I returned.

  Even without the daily lessons, I was always in books. I always seemed to have more questions and since I did not want to trouble anyone, I turned to books for answers. Lately, I had moved on from reading history books to reading more philosophical books.

  When I came back home from the camp, I found out that I now had a younger brother. The first time I saw him, I felt the need to protect him, that I had to make sure no harm came to him. Since then, I had only grown more attached to him over time.

  I went to my parents’ room an found my brother. The moment he saw me, he started waving his hands excitedly and reaching out for me to pick him up.

  “eauw~ o~ wawawa~” He babbled.

  I wrapped his cloth around him and carefully raised the little cherubic boy with practiced movements then gently arranged him into my arms before we moved out of the room.

  He always seemed so happy to see me and for some reason whenever in my arms he tried to touch a part of my face.

  We made our way to the veranda, where I often sat with him, and as usual I tried to think on the things I read but his happy cooing sounds always pulled me out of my thoughts.

  He wanted to play.

  He always seemed so energetic and I wondered whether all babies were like that.

  I arranged his cloth on my legs and started moving his arms around to entertain him. He laughed, making me think he enjoyed it so I continued thinking I found a new game to play with him.

  Then I heard mother’s soft voice from the doorway behind me, to the side. “Won’t you smile for your brother, Giovanni?”

  Ah, it’s true… I didn’t smile. Not even when playing with Garios. It made me wonder why this didn’t seem to bother him, and he still played with me with so joyfully.

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  It wasn’t a choice to not smile, although I felt a warmth in my heart when I was at home, with my parents and especially with my brother, I did not force myself to smile and it never came as something natural to me, it never seemed to bother any of them either.

  Looking at my brother who was always so happy and energetic, I wondered whether I was different as a child, whether I was more like him, so I asked her.

  “Mother, how was I when I was a child?”

  She chuckled softly at that question while moving to us. “What do you mean, when you were a child? What are you now?”

  Looking at the confusion on my face, she sat by us and leaned my head on her side, and while caressing my hair she said still with a smile. “You’re still a child Giovanni.”

  She did not answer my question, but staying like this wasn’t so bad.

  But I now had another question. If I was like my brother while I was younger, I wonder what made me change to be how I am now, and if I was always the way I am, I wonder why we were so different.

  I probably wouldn’t be getting my answers today, so I just lived the moment.

  The two months I spent at home passed quickly, and as the new year began, I returned to the camp. I felt reluctant to part with everyone at home but I had to leave.

  Back to the third training ground, I slowly readjusted to living away from my brother and my parents while at the same time I continued to excel in my training.

  Time continued to move forward, and without realizing it, it was already the fourth month of the year. There were talks of a new group of students soon coming to join the camp and the way everyone talked about it, even a recluse like myself continuously heard about it.

  The rumors were confirmed when out of nowhere, the main instructor for the parkour section of the camp selected twelve trainees to perform on the parkour for the year’s new arrivals. Being one of the top trainees, I was among those selected for the performance. I was one of the few who could effortlessly navigate the 500-meters obstacle course in around five minutes.

  There was no training and almost no preparation for the performance. As the instructor said, we already knew what to do, we simply had to show the newcomers what we were capable of.

  The only preparation they made was arrange for us to come to the field a little later than usual, and also to make sure no one other than the twelve of us were present in the parkour’s vicinity.

  When the day came, just like those who performed for us the day I first arrived here, we showed a performance for the new arrivals and there was a great audience. The day of the performance also happened to be the only day when everyone was allowed to come to this section of the camp.

  I enjoyed every moment of conquering the obstacles and heading for the “reward” that was the top most spot of the course. Each of my movements was done with a practiced swiftness that added a sense of elegance as I moved forward. The obstacle course that had once felt like a chore now felt almost entertaining. In that moment, I was only focused on moving forward and upwards. That was the way of the Vittore.

  Then I reached the top and felt the familiar sense of freedom. No matter how many times I stood up here, I still had that liberating feeling.

  However, like every other time, I had to return back down. I unstrapped the pulley and slid down back to the starting point.

  As I looked back towards the top spot, in a rare moment, I saw a flock of birds pass by and I couldn’t help but wonder how it felt to be up there whenever. How free it was to be a bird.

  I did not notice it but my shadow rippled and almost bubbled at this time.