“Yes, but your situation was different. I knew you weren’t going to do anything to endanger us, particularly when it would also have put Ryland at risk.”
“But what about parents? You didn’t want my mom to know, but don’t they eventually have to find out?”
“Eventually yes, but we never tell them unless it can’t be avoided. We’ve always believed that it is each Holder’s right to be the one who tells their loved ones, and only when they’re ready. Some do, but a lot of others don’t. They come in, learn about their ability, how to control it, then leave, happy to live the rest of their lives as if there is nothing different about them at all. Whether they realize it or not, most people don’t want to be different. Telling loved ones about something like this should be a choice, not a requirement. Besides,” he paused with a sad smile, “it’s only the lucky ones who have to make that choice at all. When we came to your house to get Ryland, and had the chance to meet with your mother… well, it’s not usually like that. More often the kids we find are from hospitals, mental institutions, or sometimes prisons.”
“They put kids in jail for being different? Aren’t there laws against that?” I asked, my anger growing by the minute.
“In some countries, yes, but we find kids all over the world, and some cultures aren’t so understanding,” he answered sadly.
“But hospitals and institutions must have tons of sick kids. How can you tell which ones are actually Holders?”
“Usually we can do it with their records alone. After a while you start to notice the typical red flags. But if there is still any doubt all it takes is a conversation with the child to know for sure.”
For several minutes I sat silently, going over it all in my mind. Everything he’d told me was so heartbreaking and at the same time so inspiring that I was at a loss for words. The one thing I was sure of, however, was that my respect for the man sitting next to me had grown tenfold over the last five minutes.
I looked back up at him, almost awestruck, “You really do that? Go to hospitals and prisons looking for kids?”
“We usually go out twice a year. We’ll make a special trip if we happen to get a tip, though they are rare these days.”
“Do you find a lot? How many are here now?”
“On scouting trips we average five or so in any given year. And even then, most of them aren’t full Holders. Right now, we have twenty-two Holder students enrolled, so with Ryland, twenty-three. There are about five others around Ryland’s age who are not yet awakened, and the rest are spread out in age with four about to graduate. Though out of all twenty-three, Ryland is the only one who will grow to be a full Holder. The others’ abilities are too diluted and weak to be of any real use or trouble to them. Before Ryland, our last full Holder was Chloe, and even she is severely limited.”
“What do the Holder kids do after graduation? Do they stay like Chloe has?”
“No. Usually they go off to a college or University and start their lives just like anyone else would, or sometimes the ones with families will go home. Occasionally Jocelyn will hear from a graduate, but not often. When we teach the Holder student about their abilities we make sure to give them all the information they need, but we never tell them about the Order or any of the specifics that could prove… damaging. The only students we tell are the ones who will become full Holders, and even then, it’s done cautiously.”
“That’s why Chloe knows?”
He nodded.
I shook my head slowly, bewildered. I had so many more questions about the school and the other Holder students, but I couldn’t find the words. The only thing I could think about were all the terrified kids out there who were being locked away and abandoned, all for something they had no control over. “How…” I asked in amazement, “How do you do it? How do you keep going? It seems so sad.”
Something like joy lit behind his eyes and he smiled. “No. No, not at all.” He turned in his seat to face me fully. “I can’t tell you how I felt when Jocelyn came to me and told me that I wasn’t crazy and that