The wind clearly had a mind of its own; he was certain he had started in a south-easterly direction, but he'd been turned around by another strong gust of wind. Momentarily stunned (because he didn't account for the wind being that forceful,) Jesús rubbed his hands together and tugged his beanie down more. It was almost as if the wind knew how much he hated being cold; it was cruel and incredibly unforgiving, but Jesús pressed on, this time sticking south.
After a few minutes of walking, the sixth year pondered on the suddenness of the wind and the direction that it came from. While he would never openly admit to being superstitious (it was a part of him whether he wanted it to be or not,) Jesús knew an omen when he saw one. Divination wasn't exactly a strong-point of his (he actually thought the subject and practice was ridiculous (though he really couldn't doubt it's predictive properties at times)) but he'd found himself drawn to reading up on the subject from time to time. All for the sake of pointing out the fallacies and lack of logic within the subject. And while he didn't necessarily take divination seriously, he certainly knew that there were plenty of cultures that relied on it heavily. A nagging thought in the back of his mind reminded him that wind was oftentimes used to divine meanings or messages or to even confer with spirits.
That the wind was prompting him south could only mean that there was something waiting for him at the end of his so-called journey. What that something was, well, Jesús could only imagine. So he did. He couldn't help himself as images of various traps and dark creatures crossed his mind; he was highly suspicious of everything around him (even though it was only snow for the time being) as he continued making his way south. For whatever reason, they'd chosen a remote area, thick with snow, to freeze the competitors. And while he still felt very cold, it seemed that it wasn't as cold the further south he went. From his time spent reading up on mythology (both magical and mundane,) the sixth year found that any time a northern wind was introduced, it almost always brought with it bad tidings or even a curse. Jesús, after several more minutes, surmised that the northern wind (with all its forceful prompting and prodding) was a bad omen. The thought made him frown deeply, and he mumbled some unsavory, foul words (words that would probably make his abuela lecture him, nonstop, for about an hour or until he was done) about the distasteful sense of humor the curators of the challenge seemed to have.
A shiver crawled up his spine, and he wasn't sure if it was the cold or if it was the realization that something sinister was actually going to occur.
His mind drifted to thoughts of wild beasts living within tundra-like climates, and he briefly wondered if he would run into a yeti during the challenge. It would be appropriate, though it would've been an incredibly ridiculous sight to see. Again, Jesús thought about just how smug the judges must've been, watching the competitors struggle with their individual tasks. Was it really that entertaining to put children through such harsh conditions? Another reason why he would probably drop out of school before the term ended. No need to continue feeding into their nonsense, he would fare better outside of school anyway. He figured that no matter what he faced later on in the challenge, the bitterness of the cold weather would be the worst aspect of it all. Because would could actually be worse than freezing without any prospect of finding warmth? Nothing. Nothing could be worse than what he was feeling at that moment.
__________________
Coming soon. |