Final Test

We stood in the darkness of the Municipio's shadow. The entrance too, was, or perhaps just felt, unusually dimly lit. Me and Gika held hands, staring up at this behemoth if a building.

"You can do this!" I said, "when you actually try your best, you're amazing at this! So don't worry!"

"Thank you," Gika replied, a soft smile on her face, "you shouldn't worry about it either. Whatever happens, happens."

"Yes, yes, I know."

We hugged and kissed, then took a step inside together. We didn't say anything to each other as we made our way through the hallways, as there was nothing more needed to be said between us. We entered the assembly chamber. Despite the room being filled with people, only two other candidates were there. The majority of individuals present were the Uomo Universale, including my mother, who gave me a quick glance before looking away. I wanted to approach her, but an older woman, wrinkled and unhealthily thin, in a long white dress intercepted my path.

"You are Claudia's son, right?" She asked, her voice being a little overly sweet and grandmotherly, as if she was acting, "she will be so proud of you when you become one of us!"

"Yes, I- I suppose-" I replied.

I looked back at Gika, hoping for any assistance in dealing with this lady, but she had been cornered by three other Uomo Universale herself, all of which were grilling her about the 'strange counting device' she had created. I looked back at the crowd in the hope of finding my mother, but in the time that I had spent talking to this lady she had seemingly disappeared. We were only freed from these people interrogating us by the doors to the examination chamber opening, granting us the excuse of all excuses to politely disengage from the conversation. I sat down at one of the four desks and breathed slowly to clear my mind after this slightly uncomfortable experience. Gika and I looked at each other. It was a strange experience. I felt a little nervous, yes, but it didn't bother me as much as usual. I looked at Gika, and just by watching her eyes, I knew she felt the same. For one final time, the doors closed and a voice echoed through the room:

"Begin!"

The test was quite time consuming, sure, as there were a lot of questions that required extensive answers, but its actual contents were surprisingly… easy. As our allotted time ended and we entered back into the assembly chamber, any left-over feelings of anxiety had melted away. I locked eyes with Gika. She looked similarly confident. I smiled. She smiled.

"I think- I think we did it!" I said, "we will have to see but-"

"We can't change it now, so let's just assume the best."

The assembly chamber was mostly empty now, only the Uomo Universale who had instructed us candidates twice before being there.

"Your tests will be taken to the correctors soon," the man said, "it is tradition for candidates to remain here awaiting the results. Food and stay will be provided. When the results have been announced, you will be brought to the correctors to have the piece of papyrus that holds your pseudonym checked for forgery, after which you will privately meet with one of the Uomo Universale to discuss a number of important matters."

All four of us nodded in agreement, after which the man left. We waited for several hours, both Gika and I attempting to engage in conversation with the two others but neither of them despite their polite answers clearly not really in the mood to talk. Only after about eight hours of waiting, a small dinner provided in the middle, did the man appear once again.

"I will congratulate all of you, contestants!" He said, "all four of you have passed!"

All four of us were quite tired at this point, and a cheer didn't feel appropriate for this kind of formal situation, so Gika and I just gave one another another hug, before the man pointed to Gika.

"You are first," he said, "please follow me."

For a moment I became a little distressed at the idea that we'd be seperated. So much so that I surprised myself. It was like she'd become a part of me and I of her. A ridiculous thought, as she was obviously her own person, and a quite capable one at that. Still, as she stood up to follow him, we exchanged a melancholic look before she disappeared out of the room. The thirty minutes without her felt much longer than the previous eight hours. To the mild irritation of my co-contestants I began to nervously pace around. One of them was the next to be called for, then the other one another half hour later. Only after sitting alone for yet another thirty minutes was I released from my purgatory. I walked behind the man, him guiding me through the Municipio's many hallways into a heavily guarded and closed off section where the correctors had been working in complete seclusion to create and correct the tests, unable to be influenced by bias due to the pseudonym system. I slid my piece of parchment into an opening similar to the sort that one might find on a postbox, and after about five minutes of waiting, a similar piece of paper with the text 'confirmed' on it fell out of this same hole. After this, I was brought into a small room, only furnished with two opposing chairs and a small table in between, and told to wait. A short while later the door opened behind me. I turned around and saw my mother, who walked towards the vacant chair and sat down. For the first time in my life, I saw her look me in the eyes and smile.

"You know by now, right?" She said, "That the Municipio serves, at least partially, serves to capture souls. Gika proclaimed it to be so in a public place, or so I've heard. It works pretty well most of the time, but occasionally, a soul escapes without clear reason, and causes trouble in the Municipio. Hauntings, primarily, floating objects and such, but also occasionally possessions, especially of people with weak souls. The fact that we cannot control it has proven to be an occasional issue, but overall a lot of positives have actually come out of it, inventions from worlds beyond our own, hence why we try to keep an eye and ear out for any rumors about people who seem to act strange or alien, who are gifted from a young age or even speak strange languages. It's how we originally found out about Gika, actually. Her mother approached us with all the details in the hope that we would help find her, and we gladly listened. Either way, for the longest time, we did not truly know what it meant for a soul to be 'weak', and therefore what made it likely for someone to get possessed. After some statistical research we found out that one of the most vulnerable groups was young children. I learned this a week after I had my baby, right here, in the Municipio. A thought came to me: what if my child has been possessed? Would it still be 'my child'? Would it be okay for me to love it? Would 'you' truly be 'Gavino'? Ultimately, I had to make a choice. These endless doubts were distracting me from work. So, I made the following decision: If you managed to become an Uomo Universale, you would be my son and I would be able to love you. If not, you would just be a stranger who selfishly killed my baby. Gavino, I am so proud of you! You have truly earned becoming my son! There is just one thing you have to do before you can join me."

"And that would be?"

"We are going to make your soul perfect."