On the day of the engagement party, I found myself wearing a white long sleeved blouse and a long blue skirt with a blue pendent. My mother also wore something similar, since it was her friend's daughter's engagement party and it didn't seem appropriate to wear a saree. It was a garden party held inside their estate and my mother advised me to carry a parasol as it was rather hot that day.

It was odd actually; it was my first time attending an engagement party. I've read about them, but never thought I might actually have a chance to attend one. Even my mother was clueless and kept on asking my father about what a lady was expected to do in an engagement party. My father gave my mother one of his indifferent looks before saying, 'I don't have the foggiest clue either.'

My father and my elder brothers drove to the Riverten estate separately from the Military headquarters while Christopher, my mother and me were driven to the state by our family driver. By the time we arrived, father was already there. Only for the three of them to awkwardly stand in the corner while the rest of the guests gave them rather cautions glances. My family consisted of espers. Espers might be of value to the military but it didn't stop people from being wary of them. It was the reason why no one usually say they are espers out loud. Everyone knew father's esper but not of the rest of us.

Contrary to how the rest of us were feeling, Christopher was the only one who was excited to the event and kept on fidgeting around me.

'Why are you so excited?' I asked.

Christopher gave me a look that told I was an idiot before saying, 'We are in high society now, you imbecile.'

It took only one look from me to shut him up. 'Maybe. But I wonder who the groom will be, to hold an engagement party here.'

That peaked Christopher's interest. It turns out the groom-to-be was a young British Lieutenant from a noble family. They have decided to hold the engagement party in Ceylon and to hold the wedding in England due to some bizarre reason I could not comprehend. It seemed the young bride-to-be was to leave to England next week.

It made me realize what type of a dilemma I have actually managed to escape. From the look from my mother's face as she gazed at me, she was thinking the same thing. I was not ready to spend my life in England, a place I barely knew of with a society with so many hierarchy's and complexities. It made me feel more motivated to somehow pass the entrance exam.

The party was a simple event where all the guests held out a toast to the new bride and groom to be followed by music and mingling around while I tried to eat something while trying to best to act ladylike as possible. I was joined by Henry, who must have got fed up from the way people stare at him. My mother was occupied with Mrs. Riversten and a few ladies who lived in the neighborhood. Most of the faces I didn't recognize though.

Henry stuffed a scone to his face as he gave those around him a death stare. People turned away in a flurry.

'The more they concentrate on me, the more I hear. It's irritating.'

I nodded in understanding.

'You are lucky in a way. At least you get to lead a normal life.'

I raised one of my eye brows.

'Okay. Yet it's not that bad as most people right? You should hear people complain in their head. Pray that Christopher does not decide to levitate anything. Maybe he should, this party is boring.'

If there is something Christopher was good that, it was causing a commotion and getting attention from everyone around him. It didn't take long before Charles made his way towards us asking, 'Where is Christopher?'

Henry and I looked at each other's faces. The Riversten estate was big, maybe ten acres or so and it was surrounded by a coconut plantation all round. Soon, all three of us were going around, trying to catch a glimpse of a mop of blonde hair and mischief. The boy was a genius, but he was stupid at times. After an hour, we still couldn't find him and had to report to our mother who glared at the three of us.

'Couldn't you keep an eye on him? He's not an ant that you can lose sight of him so easily!'

The three of us flinched. Mother only spoke in Sinhala when she was terribly pissed off. Seeing mother in a bad mood, father walked over to us.

'They can't kind Christopher,' Mother explained to father, who instead sighed. The napkin nearest to him ignited in flames, which Henry hurriedly snuffed out with a left over cup of tea.

'We'll find him,' Henry said.

The whole family spread out again, looking for Christopher. It would have been embarrassing if we let the guests and the Riverstens know that we couldn't keep a twelve year old in check, especially an esper. But that is what made mother anxious. There were rumors about espers being kidnapped and sold off to the Eastern Empire. Espers were almost a forbidden topic for people, because even thought the military loved to have more espers at hand, civilians thought them as weird which may also be a reason why I never made friends in school. I might not be an esper but I came from an esper family. It was better to blame my family's heritage rather than my bleak personality. After searching through the gardens and determining that Christopher in a million years would not be interesting in coconut plantations, we decided to search the mansion.

Mother said that it was rude to go around someone else's house and went to speak to Mrs. Riversten to allow us to search the mansion. Knowing Christopher, he might be exploring for hidden passageways or had buried his nose in a book he found somewhere in the house. Besides us, father was fuming. He was literally fuming. He didn't come to the party in a good mood and having Christopher missing made him mood turn even muddier.

After Mrs. Riversten allowed by mother to search the house, mentioning that she even didn't need to ask to search for her missing son, we spread out.

The Riversten mansion was big. I can imagine anyone getting lost in it. Unlike our vintage villa, the mansion looked exactly like a European mansion, meaning it was probably made by a noble in the past. There was a ball room, chandeliers and passageways with rather disturbing paintings. Henry went upstairs with Charles while mother and I remained in the ground floor, with father explaining and trying not to make General Harold mad about somewhat disturbing his daughter's engagement party.

I found Christopher in the library of the house. I would also have leapt up in excitement if I weren't in a rush to find the troublesome boy. He was found exactly the way I had imagined him to be; his nose buried in a book while books flew around him like pet birds.

'CHRISTOPHER!'

The flying books fell with a thundering roar while Christopher's face paled. What followed next was my mother yelling mercilessly at him while he tried his best to pry tears from his eyes. Christopher had looks that would send anyone cooing at him in adoration. He might have expected Mrs. Riversten to come to his rescue. But even the pleas of the timid lady didn't stop my mother from pulling the boy by his ear. At that time, even my father was prepared to leave. My parents had to apologize to the Riversten's repeatedly for the disturbance before my brothers left to work while mother, Christopher and I got into our family's George Orwell and drove off.

'Madam seemed to be in a bad mood,' said the driver in Sinhala.

'These children can be a pain at times,' my mother sighed to the driver. Sinhala was the native language of Ceylon. It was nothing near English, its origins coming from an ancient language in India called Sanskrit and a combination of many languages derived from India. Ceylon had a rich history, even before the British caught hold of the country. My siblings and I grew up hearing the language from our mother and her servants. Father learned it eventually, but my parents never spoke in Sinhala to each other. It almost seemed awkward and father had a funny accent when he spoke.

Christopher sulked by the window, probably upset at being interrupted from his reading rather than from being scolded.

'I thought you wanted to mingle in high society,' I said.

With red eyes, Christopher glared at me. 'High society is boring.'

'What did you find?'

'Nothing someone with your intellect can understand,' the boy muttered.

'Christopher!' mother scolded.

The boy shut up, glaring at me again. I couldn't help but smirk. It felt nice, seeing the arrogant and cocky brat being scolded once in a while. I might sound mean, but it really felt satisfying. Soon enough, mother and I felt guilty for Christopher sulked the whole day afterwards.

That day, mother made milk rice for dinner, much to my father's displeasure. Christopher loved milk rice, even if he hated the rest of Ceylonean cuisine. Father never got used to the spices, coconut milk and chilies. I on the other hand, loved spices. I think it came from my mother.

'Don't wander off again like that,' said father to Christopher, 'Being an esper doesn't mean you are invincible.'

'I have control,' Christopher muttered.

'There is no control on how cruel people can be,' I said as I scooped the onion and chili mix into my plate. When I raised my head, I found my family staring at me. Did I say something wrong?

Mother served another piece of milk rice in Christopher's plate before asking, 'Have you finished studying for the entrance exam.'

'No,' I replied. And that was the end of the conversation. I found father looking at me, thoughtful. He always tried to figure out what was going on in my head. Only Henry knew I guess, but he never bothered to explain on my behalf.

I read my textbooks that night until I felt like I could no more and went to bed, with the same wish as always. 

It was a hopeless wish. I had three more years before they deemed me unable to have a manifestation. Manifestations occurred from the age of six to nineteen, beyond that, manifestations were rare. I wished to be an esper ever since I was young knowing that being an esper would mean a crueler chain being tied up to me. But it always seemed to exhilarating; to be able to move objects with your mind. I have never felt the need to be an esper as great as to when Christopher first manifested. He threw his teddy bear across the room in a fit that day because father didn't allow him to stay up late to read. He was seven, and I was eleven.

I wondered why I wasn't born an esper.