Nai Leiyun walked up to Yeserno, Laminia, and Uwala as they ate some bread on the floor. It was warm and soft and there was quite a lot. Leiyun's stomach let out a quiet moan. But she pinched it.

"Guys, I will be heading to the Bakery early, alright?" she said. The morning had just woken up, as rays of light beamed in bright oranges and yellow.

"Okay," Yeserno said.

"Okay," Laminia gave a warm smile and waved. "Good luck, Nai. I love you." (This made Leiyun smile back.)

Uwala lifted himself from the ground and stood. "Wait! Nai, can I talk to you about something?" He ran over to her, a little unnecessary considering their close distance.

Nai Leiyun placed her shoulder and pushed him lightly beside Yeserno and Laminia's bedroom door–hidden from eavesdroppers.

"I have a bit of a problem." He glanced up at her and frowned. "I..." He fiddled with his fingers and bit on his lip before giving a sigh. "The Schoolhouse exams are today, and I..." His fingers sweated. The list ran through his mind–what is the currency that can be used and you should always have on you to survive? How do you make bread using matcho leaves? Give the full list and instructions, every detail clear and concise. "I'm a bit afraid to take it. Some of the stuff are a bit hard to remember. And I don't want you to get mad, or the Adulther." Uwala's lip slightly quivered at the thought of it.

Leiyun thought long and hard. She was pensive about it, for she was afraid of giving the wrong answer. She knew Uwala was hard at work–she always tried to help him out, even at her lowest of energy–but her help wasn't enough to give Uwala the strength in himself.

Uwala wasn't only scared of the exam though. Of course, the thought of being stuck with his Stepmates during the examination, mocking him in low whispers without a bite back from the bear...

That was scary. His heart trembled at the thought, for he couldn't find the bravery to stand up to them and protect himself. He couldn't even stand up for his sister when she was getting picked on.

Leiyun suddenly felt no different from Uwala, at that moment. She too, was a nervous wreck, staring at the ocean of people, ready to bite her at any moment. Their hisses, they were like piranhas and snakes and anticipating her fall into the waves. Leiyun dug her heart for an answer, despite her similar feelings of nervousness and cowardice.

But Nai Leiyun patted Uwala's shoulder and smiled, with an answer to give and feel and feed him a sense of bravery.

For he, too, was staring down at the ocean of people.

"Well, why don't I tell you a story?" She asked, gazing at him with a smile. Her eyes twinkled and her cheeks cushioned. "There is a boy," she started and gestured her hands. "A boy, who would stare down and stare at the large ocean. Because he wanted to swim in those lovely waters so badly. But it was foggy there. The waters he wanted to see were submerged in the cold mist." Leiyun's heart twisted and tightened. Uwala kept listening to Nai Leiyun, imagining the fog he was currently looking at. Yes. The Stepmates snickered and bite.

"Very foggy," Nai Leiyun continued. "He was sure the water was deep. It was what he'd known all his life. And he was scared of it." Leiyun's heart pressed again. This story should feel easy to tell. But with every word, she was ready to run away. She didn't feel the story to her heart, even if it was coming out of her own mouth. Nai Leiyun kept going. "But, one day, he found himself staring at the waters again. He decided to touch the mist, despite his fear of those deep waters. And you know what?" She smiled at Uwala again, deep in thought and attention.

The boy was staring down and Uwala could imagine him touching that cold mist. It was cold as he waved his finger on the droplets of air. His hand even got wet, in that imaginary place. But the waters were still deep–that's what Nai Leiyun said. So he was ready to pull it away...

"Those waters were completely shallow." Nai Leiyun finished. Uwala could imagine his hand no longer jerking away. In fact, Uwala could almost see himself, playing and flicking the waters with his hand and a gleeful expression. "And there, the boy was able to swim in those waters." Leiyun sighed, her chest heavy. But she smiled. "He was no longer afraid. He was brave."

Uwala's fantasy-filled mind cleared as Nai Leiyun finished the story. His hands slightly fidgeted. Brave? "So..." he asked and blurted out his one-word thought.

"So his fears were only in his mind." Nai Leiyun responded. "He realized that he should feel brave. Or, at least try to face his fears. Even if he was afraid." Uwala tilted his head. Leiyun fixed her words. "Because the truth is, bravery isn't about being super-ready to face anything." Nai Leiyun said, and Leiyun's heart twisted and cried again. Nai Leiyun lifted Uwala's chin and pulled him in for a hug. "Bravery is about facing what you're afraid of."

Uwala grinned and gave her a big hug. They both knew that a single story couldn't fix the problem, but Uwala felt a bit of a spark of courage. "You're right, Nai." Of course she was right, Uwala's mind said. She was a grown-up; she was brave. Uwala sighed and filled up his chest with a bit of air. "I will try to face the test."

"And you will do well," Nai Leiyun clasped her hands as her hands drifted away from the hug. "I love you, Uwala. Good luck." Uwala gave her another hug before turning and walking away, with a little hiccup of joy in every step. He went into the mist, bravely taking his heart with him even when they both knew the boy was afraid.

But what he didn't know was that Leiyun was also staring at the waters, the same one filled with the mist and fog and the cold air.

She may be a "grown-up", but unlike Uwala, she never jumped in or touched the fog. She stayed right by the shore.

#

Yeserno waited in the hallways for his sister and brother after the Schoolhouse sessions. He would give a glance at other passerby and Stepmates–older and younger–and they'd run away from his stare. He never understood why they'd do that. After all, he would make a lot of jokes and banter about a lot of the Stepmates before, why did they have to be so afraid? And even most of the ones he joked with are long distant in the Schoolhouse now. They left him multiple times, and Yeserno realized that innocence and kindness were things that couldn't really be found in the grown-up world.

And anyway, they were no different, right? They were just as unkind as he was–though he didn't think he was any cruel.

Oh, whatever. Developing that skin was part of becoming a grown-up. Developing and learning about these kinds of things was part of becoming a grown-up. If they didn't learn that, all is futile in their lives.

Another Stepmate passed by. And they pointed at Yeserno with a laugh before scurrying away.