All These Years: The Chosen Heir

By Ezekiel Keyes

"There's no such thing as soulmates."

In a world where the vestiges of the ancients were never forgotten, the people live with their Gifts in harmony with Time, expecting as well as welcoming Death as it had been foretold, waiting for the other halves of their souls.

Leo DeMarco, the youngest of his family, was facing the most monumental day of any teen's Life, his Eighteenth.

Little did he know, he may need more than just his faith in the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars to guide his journey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ezekiel Keyes
• Release date: Jul 16, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201712112

Book preview

PRELUDE

T here’s no such thing as soulmates.

Their breath came out in a whisper, awed.

That was it, that was the line. In this journal they found, it was the only line that was emphasised; underlined and in bold, and the words themselves looked to be stressed upon the page. If one cared to look closely, they would find that the ink was smudged, the paper, creased. It was as if someone had spent many of their time going through this single line, over and over again. That was the only explanation that they could come up with, at least for the moment.

Just how did a book this cherished end up here?

Frankly, they did not expect for their search to have been fruitful at all. After failing to find what they needed online, they did not expect the local Archives to hold anything that could relate back to the topic, but desperate times called for desperate measures (and they needed the information since yesterday). Now with the metaphorical holy grail in hand, they had to admit their entrance was not the friendliest one, but that could wait for later.

As it stood, all they felt was their hands wrought with anticipation. Trying to contain themselves as they gathered the journal, their eyes darted around looking for a place to sit or at the very least lean unto while they soak up the thoughts written. One could only describe them as impatient, eager to read the rest of the words etched in the pages of the record.   After some time, they finally found a secluded enough space.

Once seated, they took their time calming down because this was not just simple reading; the contents of the journal could make or break their whole argument.

It would mean everything.

(Being just a little dramatic there, but alright.)

Most importantly, it was high time they knew more about the truth.

TO AN OUTSIDER, THIS had made quite a strange scene today. Thomas in particular felt a bit bewildered by the whole event. To him, it was rare enough to see a youth frequent one of the many Archives, let alone stalk through the doors with determination, but that alone did not faze him. As the Archivist of the establishment, he knew that students did come in at times to find a particular source for their papers, so when they started to walk straight towards him, he was glad to help even if he had a nice cup of joe in hand.

No, the confusion came a moment after.

Right before they strolled up to his desk, the person in question just...paused in their tracks. Before he could ask if there was something wrong, they closed their eyes and took a deep breath in. (At this point, he wondered whether this was not a student, but a patient from the nearby hospital.) Not a moment after, they smiled softly at him, said thank you, and continued on to walk towards the section dedicated to major events, as if what had happened was totally normal and they did nothing weird whatsoever.

All Thomas could do was blink slowly, not really understanding how the whole event unfolded—wondering if he missed something, given that he never even saw this person before today.

Although, befuddled as he was, he gave a glance to where the mysterious person had disappeared, before he continued to drink his coffee. He might have been more worried if this was one of the more important archives; though even then, there was nothing else to do but have someone keep watch on the kid. At the end of the day, so long as the people knew what they were doing, he had no problems getting more down time during his work hours.

AFTER A WHILE, HE DECIDED to start on his routine check-up since it was still his job to make sure people did not get lost and the records were all kept safe. As he passed by the ‘Major Events’ aisle, he saw that familiar patch of brown hair from earlier sitting at one of the tables, giving Richard a chance to figure out who exactly came through his door. Even from afar he could tell the kid was built with those broad shoulders, quite masculine in appearance as far as he could see, but he knew better than to assume.

If anything, they looked pretty much like one of the athletes from the nearby university... with an unopened book in hand staring into space. At this, he could only sigh because he had to kick out another misguided fool that thought it was a great idea to get high in his Archives. Bracing himself, he approached them steadily, just in case they got any ideas when he went to berate them (The kid was really built, and he had no desire to be flattened, thank you.) Once he got closer however, he eventually saw that their eyes were actually, honest to the Gods, glowing under the light—shining really, almost like gold.

Then, he just felt silly for being as confused as he was the whole day.

Not wanting to disturb the kid anymore, he went to finish his rounds, thoroughly chastising himself for his obliviousness. The whole thing did make Thomas a tad disappointed; he was really curious on what they were going to read up on today, but considering his own earlier assumption, he felt too much like a pompous bigot to ask them now.

After all, there was no shame in using one’s Gift to ‘read’.

JOURNAL ENTRY:

There is no such thing as soulmates.

To better understand the statement I have concluded above, it is best to familiarise oneself with the following:

Soulmates –

An archaic term used to refer to what is known nowadays as a True Match. In olden times, it once referred to certain sets of people who were destined for each other, referencing their suitability with the other party. This suitability is largely contributed to their understanding of one another, which includes—but is not limited to—emotional, conceptual, and sexual aspects for those who desire such a thing.

Time of Death [alt. Death Timers, ToD, etc.] –

The Timer is the inescapable indicator for one’s Death. (The death of———to be exact) For all of recorded humanity, this phenomenon has occurred for everyone who has reached of age. With certain exceptions such as—

A person will receive their Timer on their 18th year (appx.) from their day of birth. Naturally, this is untrue for those whose Deaths came beforehand. This fact could wholly be the one true reason people not of age are treasured, and thus, protected like no other group by several customs, laws, and regulations internationally.

As a rule of thumb, if their Time has become less than five years, the individual has a right to live their life as they please. Funds from all over the world are continuously being donated to the World Council of Death and Life to ensure each person has sufficient sponsorship to Live for the rest of their years. Additional luxuries may be given based on circumstances.

Match –

A Match is a set of people who have the exact same Time of Deaths. Inexplicably, studies have shown that as long as they are a Match, they will get along extraordinarily well, be it between close friends or even strangers.

Researchers have theorised that what conceptually makes them human are so similar that they end up living through similar scenarios. This makes the circumstances of their Death, and thus, their ToD, to align. Others theorise that the meeting of a Match would be the catalyst of their death, that future interactions will place them in a situation that would prove fatal.

A complicated topic to say the least.

In any case, most matches prove to be platonic in nature, though there are some romantic pairings as well. For a romantic Match, these are usually the case when the visual aspect of their ToD, the aspect of which symbolises the circumstances of their fates that match instead of their Time...however, for when both Time and the visual image correspond to one another, rare as it is, the set of people can be considered as True Matches. (In most cases, they would feel a spark when they meet.) To be frank, it is most likely in this case that the nature of Death may be limited to—

All evidence points that True Matches would need to proceed with caution when meeting.

Gifts –

Given that the idea of Gifts has been taught by both the general education system as well as functioning households, one should be familiar enough with the term and the general classifications. All other knowledge will only be shared once a person comes of age, and only when their Timers extend for more than a decade. Hereon would only serve as a refresher.

Gifts, the one thing that has preserved throughout all of humanity alongside the Timers, are—

CHAPTER 1: Always

In this world, you are only promised three guarantees in Life.

Your Gift, your Time, and your Death.

It was more often than not one would get more.

(Regrettably, some were entitled to less).

Most of the time, people wish they were guaranteed money and power instead. Others have wished such things were not of importance, people who would rather the mass preserve their humanity, morals and whatnot. Then, there were the few who feel that the world, that Gaia herself had already been kind enough to let us know when we would face our Death.

Could you imagine that? A world where you will never know if today would be your last? Of being filled with regret that you did not get to fulfil that one promise to that person. To try and live life the best you can, just for someone with anger issues to run you over...

No thanks, would rather gladly die. Cheers though!

The first eighteen years of everyone’s Life is stressful enough with all the constant drama of being the best they try to be, without knowing if they will ever live to see the next day. The ever-present expectations adults can have, the horrific idea of being ridiculed by your peers, and having no clue whether taking a pill for fun could land yourself in the morgue. Living as a teenager in this world, no matter the century, is probably the epitome of great experience, will probably never do again.

In other words, everybody looked forward to their Eighteenth.

The question here is, who would not?

Generally, there would be almost zero to no drawbacks; in most cases, you get to live long enough to have the chance to work towards your dream career, family, and a future. Worst scenario, you get to Live just the way you like it for the rest of your Dying Life, then Die right afterwards. True, Death is a major showstopper, but living in this kind of world, you learned to have an open conversation about the topic. Surprisingly, it does wonders for the mind.

Leo DeMarco was one such person with these thoughts in his head.

He had plans for himself and his Gift, no doubt motivated by the several personal incidents he had had in his entire life. Just thinking about it reminded a lot of his days that were spent being thankful, because no matter how mediocre his Gift was, his dad had said that it probably saved his life, and his family will always be grateful for it.

(Though he remembered that day when he became Aware of his Gift; on top of the highest tree in kindergarten, looking down at the ground and thinking, I can jump from here.

His father did not look grateful back then, and it made him shudder to the core remembering the Stare of Death he had received that particular day.)

Given that he was born with the Gift to practically mend himself of any blight or wound, and he was blessed with a loving family, no wonder Leo felt ready to take on the world. Saved him a lot of trips to the hospital too. The teen was his own personal healthcare plan—it was just too bad it was only limited to himself, or he could have gone to be a Healer.

Oh well, as long as I can still be in Rescue, it won’t really matter, he thought to himself. It probably helped that at this point, he might as well have been the local Rescue squad’s mascot; he knew the ins and outs of procedures better than any probie ever could. He never really needed their help, with his Gift and all, but the squadron were a source of comfort for him, especially when he had first...tested his capabilities.

Sue him, but being able to endanger yourself with minimal worries had made him become fond of the people who were always there to catch him, which, funnily enough, led to him becoming a volunteer for practice rescues. It was thanks to that, that the brunet finally got the approval of the captain to shadow the entire team during the summer. He was excited, to say the least; to finally take that step to becoming one of the people he had always aspired to be.

I remember being Rescued years ago.

But first, he has to wait for the agonisingly slow school day to end.

Leo was practically vibrating in his seat waiting for the bell to signal the beginning of the school break, not paying too much attention to the History papers being handed out. No offence to his favourite stern-faced teacher slash mentor, but he had aced his finals and there was no other distraction now that his best friend was not in class (having left early to prep for his club’s last meeting for the season). The young teen was glad that there were others from his classmates who seem to share the same sentiments regarding the end of their junior year; almost all of them looked keen to leave, ready to get on with their summer plans.

Then, it was finally his turn to take his result—it was always after Davis the she-devil after all. He was halfway standing from his seat when he heard a drawled request to sit back down from Mr Lancia. Confused, he was all the more perplexed with the next statement.

Mr DeMarco, please come to the front once class is over, thank you.

That... was not in the plan.

He could barely give a damn about the she-devil spreading lies behind his back ever since the statement was uttered, he was more worried about what it actually meant. After sounding out an affirmative, Leo spent the rest of the time stewing in his seat, thinking about all the plausible deniability he could have for whatever it was he was being called out for. As far as he knew, he had not been in any recent fights, except for the usual verbal wars with Davis, so he was utterly stumped trying to figure out his teacher’s intention.

Just like that, the school bell had gone off and class was dismissed, leaving him alone to face Mr Lancia. Usually, he would have been more than happy to stay back and talk, but that was always when it was in his favour. In this case, it was the first time the teen was ever called out to stay, something that was reserved for the students who were in some kind of trouble, academically or at home. That was solely because Mr Lancia was the kindest teacher the faculty had, and everyone knew that.

(His father was especially proud of the man.)

What made Leo worried was that he could not recall any ‘issues’ he might had caused; with his mind drawing a complete blank, he made his way to the front.

After a momentary silence, a quiet chuckle broke him out of his stupor, quickly followed by a calm voice, There really is nothing to worry about kiddo. As if knowing exactly where his thoughts had went, Mr Lancia then offered one of his rare smiles (Well, maybe not rare to you, but still!). Filled with relief, he then let out a snapped retort at the quick mood change.

Then did you really need to call me out back there?

We both know you would have been the first one out of that door if I hadn’t kid, so if you would please, dial down that sass a bit.

Not bothering to deign that with a response, Leo went to lean on the desk, bag still hung on his shoulders. In his heart, he enjoyed the familiar dynamic he had with the teacher, giving him the time to calm his nerves while waiting for the other to continue, though he had an idea where this was going if the blush on the teacher’s face told him anything. The teen could almost count down the seconds before the man would say, Great job with the test as always...I just wanted to ask about Maria, has she been well?

Gosh, it was a bit sad how predictable the man could be. Now more bemused than anything, Leo indulged the grump about the state of his sister; retired heroine extraordinaire, current star rising in politics, and most prominently, the source of Mr Lancia’s weekly flustered state—occasionally interspacing the conversation with their usual topics.

Although, the brunet could hardly begrudge the other.

Similarly, his sister made a ridiculous sight herself when she fumbled for more information as well during the rare times she took a break from campaigning, as if the two of them did not already have the whole family’s approval ("Theirs was a long time coming, almost sickeningly so," his pops had remarked.) On the other hand, he needed to be at the station soon, and the teach was his ride.

With zero regrets, he voiced out the one subject he knew would get the older man to start moving, "You know... you can ask her out since I’m not going to be your student anymore, teach."

Soon after, he decided to zip his mouth, convinced that the only reason he was not straight out running out of class was the especially menacing glare Mr Lancia gave that had him frozen to the spot. For the biggest softie he has ever met, Leo really thought the man could give even the Rescue captain a run for his money.

If there were people looking in, they could probably tell the adult was too used to this kind of situation. One minute, the man had a frosty look in his eyes; in the next, they went completely calm, and all it took was one breath out of the working adult to change the subject and ignore his (completely valid!) statement.

"And you know I’m the one driving today, so unless you want to walk—"

Say less, I’ll wait for you at the car! Leo exclaimed, just glad he managed to escape the predicament unscathed, letting out a laugh when he heard another sigh come from the raven-haired man once outside. Almost giddily, he went his merry way, having managed to not only get the teacher to finally move from the desk, but teased him at the same time.

The teen could not wait for the day to go by. The plan for today was set; a scheduled visit to the Rescue team, and inadvertently the captain, getting prepped with the rules and reminders, so his summer experience will be smooth sailing, kill some time with his bestie later, and to put the cherry on top, be welcomed with a celebration once he got home to his famiglia.

It was going to be his day—

Nothing short of the apocalypse would ruin his mood.

Let it be known it was not the apocalypse, but it might as well have been.

EVEN FROM A DISTANCE, Rescue Station 202 looked bigger than life. Seeing that it housed more than 11 members at any given time, it only seemed appropriate for its size. Leo remembered having spent many days taking in the sight every single time he walked by, or even spending some of those days hanging out with the team on duty, marvelling for when he would become a member himself. Arriving at the station, he took a moment to thank Hunter (At least in school, you have to call me Mr Lancia, kid.) for the ride before shooting out his seat to see if he was lucky enough to catch the others during their downtime, barely hearing the other’s reply.

See you at home Jr., don’t make too much trouble for the captain alright!

Unable to help it, he rolled his eyes at the response. At least it was clear enough he saw the DeMarcos as ‘home’, but it honestly killed him inside to see no progress in the actual relationship department. Biting back another snappy response, he waved his hand as a sign he heard the man. He could only hope to see a more dignified sight by the end of today. Hell, he would even use his birthday wish so his sister would get her act together.

She was a DeMarco, for Pete’s sake!

Hunter was not going to make the first move—emotionally constipated as the raven was, just like every other man in his famiglia that was not him or his father.

With the engine fading out into the background, Leo slowed down his steps as he neared the building’s entrance. Entering the compound, the teen was disappointed to not see anyone, but not particularly concerned as he figured there was a minor situation, probably a fender bender of some sorts that needed to be handled. As he was milling about the floor, deliberating what to do with his time, he heard some pots clanging upstairs in the loft, making him break out into a grin, now knowing his next destination.

Climbing up the stairs with newfound determination, he pondered