(year 2)

My Index finger had callused over. My master was handing me a piece of parchment. He placed it down on the mahogany desk adjacent to me, and I perceived no empty spaces. On the parchment was a beautiful, high-quality calligraphy that infused the entire parchment. I nearly gasped when I saw the plethora of words before me.

I exclaimed to my master, "What am I supposed to do with this? All I see is a bunch of words!"

He put his gaze upon me, and said in a coarse voice, "Have you not been reading this entire time? I believe one year of reading should suffice, so this is your test. If you can read this to me, then you are ready to continue onto your next task. Let me see what you've learned."

I exhaled deeply as I set my brain to it's reading function. I readied myself slowly, for I attempted to recall all of the things I learned about reading, how certain letter groups made certain sounds and all of the exception. It was really quite overwhelming, but I eventually wrote it all down mentally, (which is how I've learned I remember certain information)and I started to read (I'll write what he reads later).

After about an hour of constant pronunciation and self-corrections, I completed the task set before me. The room was in a vivid haze, for my Master was puffing smoke from his pipe. The peculiar thing was, with a quick motion of his old, decrepit hand, all of the smog vanished into thin air. He clapped his hands together & patted me on the shoulder.

"Nice Job Makoa. I didn't think you would be able to pull it off. I must admit, I am proud of you. So, now that you are able to read, do you believe that you are ready for you next task?"

I humbly nodded my head, queuing him to move on. He motioned me to follow him, so I stood up from my stiff, mahogany stool, & stretched out my back. I had been sitting in that chair for the past couple days, preparing myself for this assessment that my Master had planned for me. I was awe-struck that I even completed the assessment, for I had always been an extremely challenged learner, and it took many many weeks to actually remember the information. My butt ached from many a day of sitting , and it actually hurt me to walk, let alone complete the next task my master had planned for me.