you!”
“They didn’t know that. Even I’d started to think I was crazy.” He paused for a moment while I sat there silently dumfounded. “As it turns out, it was a lucky break that I was considered mentally insane, as that meant I couldn’t be put into the foster system where I probably never would have been found. I lived there in the facility for seven years, until…” He hesitated, glancing up at me. “Until Jocelyn found me and got me out when I was fourteen. He brought me here, and I’ve been here ever since.”
“What do you mean, ‘found you’?”
“He was on a scouting trip and came across my file.” He saw the question in my eyes before I had a chance to voice it. “Scouting is what we call it when we go out and look for people who might be Holders and don’t realize it. For the past few years, Taron and I have done the scouting together. Most of the time we are looking for kids. Every so often we find an adult, but it’s rare. Rarer still for us to bring an adult back with us. If a Holder reaches adulthood with no pronounced issues, it’s usually because his ability is too diluted to be noticed. In those cases, it’s best to leave well enough alone. Anonymity is very important to us, and the fewer people who know about us the better.”
“But you told me?”
“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
“They didn’t know that. Even I’d started to think I was crazy.” He paused for a moment while I sat there silently dumfounded. “As it turns out, it was a lucky break that I was considered mentally insane, as that meant I couldn’t be put into the foster system where I probably never would have been found. I lived there in the facility for seven years, until…” He hesitated, glancing up at me. “Until Jocelyn found me and got me out when I was fourteen. He brought me here, and I’ve been here ever since.”
“What do you mean, ‘found you’?”
“He was on a scouting trip and came across my file.” He saw the question in my eyes before I had a chance to voice it. “Scouting is what we call it when we go out and look for people who might be Holders and don’t realize it. For the past few years, Taron and I have done the scouting together. Most of the time we are looking for kids. Every so often we find an adult, but it’s rare. Rarer still for us to bring an adult back with us. If a Holder reaches adulthood with no pronounced issues, it’s usually because his ability is too diluted to be noticed. In those cases, it’s best to leave well enough alone. Anonymity is very important to us, and the fewer people who know about us the better.”
“But you told me?”
“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
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