This is a character that's been put up because the original author has gotten very busy. If you'd like to play her, please ask around in Enigmatic Rhythms.

On Self
Your Name: Jo… oh well you can call me Meri too if you want. ?
Email Address: eternitys_hope@hotmail.com
Website: http://www.geocities.com/purloined_mortality
Previous Experience: Azteca (Enkeli Messenger Vesi)
I found Chois-2R2M through: Um. You… ? (GM: I.e., me )

On Character
Character's Name: Saraswathi Narayanan; anyone who’s on a first-name basis with her is invited to call her Sara. It’s pronounced SAH-rah, though, and not the Western way…
Meaning of Name: Saraswathi comes from ‘Sarasvati’, who is the Hindu goddess of the Arts. As it turns out, Sara is brilliant at Arts subjects, especially history. Narayanan comes from ‘narayan’, which is Hindi for ‘running water’. By the way, the reason why Sara has such a traditional name is because her dad is a professor of history. Ancient Indian history, to be exact. He named all his kids after Indian deities or historical characters. ?

Status: Savant, Scientia of Philology
Age: 27
Birthday: 3 July
Horoscope: Cancer

Likes:

• Quiet, peaceful places, especially libraries – Sara likes the soothing, rarefied air of libraries. She’s very much interested in learning, and libraries are a breathtaking source of knowledge. ? It’s also one of the few places on Earth that doesn’t make her feel a sense of her own inadequacies (the kitchen being another). In any case, any place which is crowded and/or noisy makes her uncomfortable; Sara will never willingly go to such places.
• Sunsets – Sara is a diehard romantic and for her, sunset is the epitome of romance. The blood red disc of the sun, sinking slowly and majestically into a cobalt blue sea, staining the shimmering water a rich vermillion and the sky a wistful, rosy pink… such a sight is unbearably beautiful to her. Sara used to watch the sunset whenever she could, but after the disastrous episode with Stephen she hasn’t really been able to summon up the courage to watch any. It’s simply too painful.
• Stones, crystals, semi-precious stones, gems – not only are they pretty and pleasing to look at, they are the earthly manifestation of strength and resilience. As such, they are reminders for Sara to be strong, and she values them for that. She has a huge collection of these; she started it when she was thirteen!
• Children’s picture books – she fell in love with these when she started buying them to read to Anthony. Their simplicity and innocence give her a sense of peace and security and besides, the pictures are pretty. Anthony loves them too and mother and son are forever going to bookstores to get more pretty picture books. ?
• Keeping house – and this includes *gasp* housework. Sara is a very domestic little soul and likes having a neat, clean, beautifully decorated house to return too. She isn’t one of those pathological housekeepers to sweep the floors five times a day, however. She just gets a quiet, cozy satisfaction out of simple household chores like washing dishes and folding clothes. Sara also spends lots of time beautifying her flat.
• Animals and weird critters – she didn’t use to, but Anthony has a little boy’s healthy curiosity and desire for pets, so Sara has grown to like the weird things her son drags in. Anything Anthony likes, Sara likes too. ?

Dislikes:

• Arcades – noisy dens of iniquity in Sara’s opinion. She thinks that all that kids do there is pick up bad habits and waste their time as well as their parent’s money. Besides, they are often so crowded and people are forever watching others as they try out the games… exactly the kind of situation Sara dislikes. She firmly refuses to allow Anthony to go to any.
• Slobs – Sara simply cannot stand it when someone appears in dirty, wrinkled, unwashed clothes or has a messy, haven’t-been-cleaned-in-years room; it goes against her orderly, domestic nature. And this is why she never permits Anthony to appear in public looking anything less than perfect and why she always looks presentable.
• Being in the limelight – any attention is too much for Sara. She hates being stared at and absolutely detests anything that requires her to speak in front of an audience. It always makes her feel acutely aware of her shortcomings (imaginary or otherwise). Some of her worst memories come from having to make presentations to her teachers.
• Flowers – one of Sara’s idiosyncrasies. Flowers may be pretty but they last such a pathetically short while even with the best of care. In any case they clutter up table space and to top it off, they shed their petals all over! Sara firmly believes that flowers should remain in the wild and never be removed from their natural place.
• Violent or explicit TV shows or games – she really doesn’t like the way these things could influence her precious boy. Violence and sex are a part of life, yes, but the way the media and computer games portray them… Sara carefully screens the programmes that Anthony watches, and dreads the time when Anthony begins to fight for control of his viewing rights…
• High-tech gadgets – Sara is a technophobe. ? She can operate basic appliances and technology but draws the line at the newest inventions of her day, like electron scanners and such. Some would say that Sara is a woman who lives for days long past, when Man relied on his own strength and expertise to do things. Perhaps this attitude stems from her love of history, but Sara cannot help but feel that technology weakens Man somehow…

Favourite Colour: This may sound strange, but Sara likes grey, the shiny iron gray of hematite.

Quote: Sara doesn’t really have a quote she really likes, or a catchphrase she often says (unless it’s the motherly refrain of “Anthony!” ) but one phrase that really describes her is ‘I will survive!’ Sara is a survivor; she may not know it, but there is a deep well of strength within her that allows her to weather all storms. The irony lies in how insecure she is. She thinks she has no resilience whatsoever, and constantly wishes for more strength to cross the obstacles in her path.

Occupation: Philologist and paleographer

Highest/current level of education: A PhD in Philology and an Honours (2nd Upper) in Paleography, both from Oxford

Aspiration: Sara isn’t particularly ambitious, and doesn’t hold dreams of further advancement in her career. All she wants right now is to give Anthony the perfect home (as perfect as it can be anyway) and to raise him to be a fine young man.

Hobbies:

Hobbies?! With an active seven-year-old in the house? While Sara does devote most of her time and energy to Anthony, she manages to keep some time for herself.
• Cooking – some of Sara’s best memories in life come from her childhood and adolescence, where she used to spend long hours in the kitchen, watching her mother prepare meals, and then learning to do the same herself. Even now, working in the kitchen brings up warm memories… a whiff of saffron, a sniff of some rich, exotic aroma, and overlying it all, her mother’s gentle, ever-calm presence. Sara is a brilliant chef, and whips up a fantastic meal. She is never tired of experimentation, and enjoys nothing more than making tasty – and healthy – dishes for Anthony (lucky boy!) to try.
• Taking long walks – it doesn’t matter where, a busy city street or a quiet country lane, so long as it offers Sara peace and the freedom to think. She started taking long, solitary walks as a student at Oxford, and never quite kicked the habit. It’s practically the only exercise she gets, anyway, given her avoidance of sports (she’s really inept at sports). Now, however, Anthony has taken to accompanying his mother on her walks. Mother and son greatly enjoy them, and have taken to traveling further and further afield. Sometimes, on weekends, Sara drives them into the countryside so they can indulge in long, lazy hikes.

Personality:

Saying that Sara is a wallflower would be an understatement. Sara is a person cursed with an extremely low self esteem and chronic shyness. She simply refuses to believe in her own strengths but, unlike others, who may moan and sink into manic depression, Sara merely accepts her shortcomings with resignation, learns to live with them, and moves on. It is this extreme belief in her weaknesses that make Sara shy away from notice. She feels that she is inferior to people and therefore does not wish to make herself noticeable for fear that they will judge her and find her unworthy. It is the same with her opinions. She seldom speaks up for fear of being judged and being found wanting so most of her acquaintances would consider her ‘dull’. Her failed relationship with Stephen did nothing to alleviate the problem. If anything, it exacerbated it. Now Sara feels that it is entirely her fault and believes that no one in the world could possibly love her. Given that Sara is a romantic at heart, this is an exceptionally painful belief to hold!

In addition to her inferiority complex, Sara is a loner by nature. At parties or gatherings she tends to fade into the background by choice, simply because large, noisy groups of people bewilder her. She feels happiest when she is with one or two people whom she really cares for. Sara is introverted. She doesn’t generally wear her heart on her sleeve for the whole world to see, and she finds it difficult to make new friends or to share her feelings with others.

For all that she presents a boring, unimaginative front to the world, however, Sara is a truly emotional person. She feels things very deeply, but seldom lets on as to how deeply she feels them. A stirring piece of music, for instance, may very well move Sara to tears, but the tears will all be on the inside. A person who didn’t know any better might even call her ‘unfeeling’. Because of this inability to show her sensibility to the world, Sara has suffered greatly. She is very sensitive, and people, mistaking her outward stoicism for an abject lack of emotion, have said some very hurtful things to her.

Sara is a very caring, extremely loyal friend, mother and lover. In some ways she resembles Hester Prynne, the heroine of the Scarlet Letter, in that she gives her whole soul to whomever she cares for, and expects nothing in return and continues to love as ardently as before even if she has been wronged. It may be said that her emotions are not said, but shown. She can be very endearing once you get past all the inhibitions; she dispenses a largesse of hugs and kisses to Anthony every day. In short, when Sara gets attached to something – and she does so easily – it’s an attachment that lasts forever. In that sense there’s an element of the self-sacrificing martyr in her.

She may be a romantic but she is anything but flighty. Sara has, deep within her, a reservoir of strength that she refuses to believe is there. It is this strength that allowed her to cope with Stephen’s leaving her and the then unborn Anthony. It is this strength that allowed her to survive her mother’s debilitating illness. It is a quiet, rock-hard strength that nothing, not time nor extreme sorrow, can erode away, and it continues to slumber deep within Sara’s soul, there during a crisis, unnoticeable when not called upon. It is also this strength that allows her be independent in her thought and actions. Again, this independence is not a flashy thing; it is a quiet quality that is seldom remarked upon, or even noticed, by anyone, but it’s there.

Social life: As a child Sara was always considered too dull to invite to parties, and in any case she wouldn’t have gone even if invited. ? As an adult, Sara’s life revolved around her studies and Stephen. No one else mattered. When Stephen disappeared, her near fanatical love was transferred to Anthony, her son. Now her life revolves around work and her beloved son. She has no time for anyone else other than some members of her family and a very few close friends. As such, her social life isn’t much a social life. She doesn’t even go out for meals with her colleagues. She finds it too hard to connect with people and to make new friends, so it isn’t likely that this will change anytime soon.

Love life: Sara was never the sort to get casual crushes on guys; it’s all or nothing with Sara. ? If she gets into a relationship, it’s serious. Stephen was her first boyfriend and his disappearance pretty much convinced Sara she is worthless. As such, she wouldn’t notice an admirer even if she fell over him as he was proclaiming his love for her to the world. In any case, Sara goes nowhere and meets no one. A bit difficult to get a boyfriend in such conditions isn’t it… As for sexual orientation, although she doesn’t realize it, she’s bi… She’s just really never had the chance to explore this.

Appearance:

Even her physical appearance conspires against her by making her so commonplace. Sara is of average height (160 cm) and build, neither willowy nor voluptuous. There is nothing noteworthy at all about her looks – she is neither stunningly ravishing nor is she extremely hideous. Her hair is moderately wavy, glossy black and falls halfway down her back when left loose. Her fringe is the same length as the rest of her hair, and her hairstyle isn’t fancy – no layers or partings or anything. Sara usually puts her hair in a simple ponytail to get it out of the way. At work, her hair is firmly and neatly held by pins into a bun at the nape of her neck. Sara’s face is a gentle oval. Her forehead is broad and smooth, her brows are fine but they slant downwards slightly in a ‘V’, giving her a perpetually sad look. Her eyes are huge, almost too big for her face, and fringed by gloriously long lashes. The irises are a deep, melting brown with warm amber highlights when the sunlight hits them just so. She used to wear glasses, but went for corrective surgery a few years back. Anthony was forever pulling her glasses off her nose and she didn’t want the added bother of wearing contacts. Her nose is long, straight and patrician looking. Her cheeks are smooth and not particularly outstanding, and her jaw gently rounded. Her mouth is neither too wide nor too pinched, and her lips are full.

Her complexion is a deep, rich shade of nut brown, and wonderfully smooth and clear. Her limbs are long and well-shaped. Standing or sitting still, Sara has a tendency to hunch into herself, as though trying to evade the attention of others. Her walk is rapid. Her movements are all somehow quiet. There is an air of the cornered predator about sometimes; she doesn’t fidget. If anything, Sara is sometimes too still, but there’ll definitely be the sense of wanting to be elsewhere. Physically speaking, while Sara is quite fit, she is rather inept when it comes to sports and her hand-eye coordination is somewhat lacking, so she walks with rather less grace than would be expected of someone her build. She doesn’t quite scurry, but her gait is definitely hurried. It is only on her long, relaxing walks – alone or with Anthony – that she settles into long, flowing strides.

Sara’s taste in clothing is very feminine. She likes soft, nicely decorated clothes, and can often be found in pretty blouses and genteel skirts. However, all her clothing is practical and serviceable, and not too expensive, since Sara cannot afford an extensive wardrobe. In fact, she alters and patches up all her clothes herself. She is always neat and her clothes scrupulously clean. Sara may not care for what’s in vogue, but she is extremely fastidious. She does, however, make it a point to try and accessorize. In terms of shoes, Sara will wear anything except heels which go above three inches, because she feels the pain is uncalled for.

Family:

• Narayanan Adridurga – Sara’s father. ‘Adridurga’, incidentally, means resilient rock. ? This is precisely what he resembles. He’s a grave, meticulous, rather taciturn fellow with a great love for ancient Indian mythology and history, which eventually led him to become a historian. He is patient (if rather distant) with his children but has rather conservative ideas and is set in his ways so he never quite forgave Sara for having Anthony out of wedlock. He isn’t very close to his kids either; his work always kept him too busy to really get to know them. He is a professor of history at a university in England.
• Nalini Kaur – Sara’s mother and her role model. Nalini went to university in her native India, but was always a throwback to the homely women of the centuries before feminism raised its banner. After her marriage, she was content to stay at home, keeping house and raising her kids, while her husband brought home the bacon. As such, her relationship to Sara – who shares so many of her characteristics – is the closest. Her health, however, is extremely poor.
• Anushya – the overachieving eldest child of the family. A breathtaking beauty and a stunningly successful businesswoman, Anushya has given absolutely no trouble to her proud parents. However, she is fiercely ambitious and independent and flew the coop the moment she could (that moment being her high school years). The ties between her and the rest of her family are tenuous at best; Sara hasn’t seen her older sister in years.
• Ramanathan – the second child and the rebel of the family. Rama is aggressive, stubborn, and inherently rebellious, the exact opposite of his cold, calm older sibling. At twelve, he was playing truant and terrorizing his schoolmates. At sixteen, he ran away time and again, only to come back when his cash ran out. Two years older than Sara, he never managed to get a college degree, but moved out at the age of twenty to be a sailor. Sara and he were never close; Sara was always a little afraid of her loud, angry brother.
• Vimala – the baby of the family. Vivy (as she’s known to Sara) is a full six years Sara’s junior. The sweet, sunny child matured into a gentle, happy-go-lucky young lady who was, after Nalini, Sara’s greatest support. Vivy and Sara are very close. She often confides in her older sister. Currently she is studying Fashion Design at the Lausanne Academy for Fine Arts. She lives at the AFA campus and visits Sara and Anthony regularly. She was the one who suggested that Sara move to Lausanne.
• Anthony – Sara’s seven year old. A rambunctious, talkative, sweet little bundle of energy although he’s small for his age. A teeny bit spoiled thanks to his mother’s near fanatical love, but such a sunny tempered and precocious child that no one really minds. Anthony is very compassionate and is forever bringing in little creatures. He seems to sense when something goes out of sync within their bodies. He has also shown a remarkable capacity for singing. In this point he resembles his father, who had a beautiful voice as well. Anthony also has his father’s open, warm personality and makes no end of friends. Sara is just a little possessive, however, and is forever worrying about Anthony.

Friends:

• Helene de Morengieres – Sara’s friendly next door neighbour. Her name means ‘bright light’. Helene is a lecturer (medieval French history) at UNIL so the two get along well. They met after Anthony denuded Helene’s plants (she keeps a few pots of them outside her door) of most of their leaves. To Sara’s great relief, the tall, blonde woman wasn’t at all angry, and even invited Sara in for a chat and a coffee. They’ve been friends ever since. Helene is warm and understanding and helps lift Sara out of her self-imposed solitude.
• Ezra Reno – Vivy’s good friend from AFA (he studies fashion design too) and a sweet young man who’s always hard up for money. He comes over sometimes to baby-sit Anthony. He isn’t really a close friend, per se, but they get along relatively well since he’s good friends with Vivy. ‘Ezra’ means ‘helper’, and that’s what he is, no more and no less. ?
• Adelina Aloin – ‘Noble friend’. Sara’s landlady and a formidable character. She is caring, capable and no-nonsense and will gladly beat you up if only to get you to a doctor. A widow in her late fifties, she has taken a special liking to quiet, shy Sara and has offered to take care of Anthony when Sara is at work. However she is also a woman who knows when to let well alone and never infringes on Sara’s privacy. Anthony loves his intelligent, active caretaker.
• Rose Frewin - Sara’s oldest and closest friend. They’ve known each other since age thirteen. Rose was a small, skinny girl who was pretty much an outcast, like Sara, and the two of them were thrown together a lot. So they became friends. ? Rose is very quiet, and very dreamy, and the two get along well together. Sometimes they can simply enjoy being in the same room and not saying anything! They went to different universities, but still managed to keep in contact. Now Rose owns a swanky boutique in London. She and Sara correspond by phone and by email.

History:

Sara was born in Kerala, India, but two years later Professor Narayanan was offered a job at a small university in Southwest England and the family emigrated there. Sara was always a shy, retiring child who never needed more than the occasional moment of warmth from her mother. Ironically, it was this quietness and reticence when it came to expressing herself that caused her parents to, while not actually neglecting her, ignore her most of the time. She was simply too quiet! She was always average. In school, she didn’t do either well enough to be showered with praise or so badly as to need correction. At home, while she wasn’t as angelic as Anushya, neither was she the ‘bad kid’ who needed constant supervision, like Rama. Her days were stiflingly boring; if she wasn’t at school, she was in her room, reading, or tinkering around in the kitchen with her mother.

Things didn’t change when she hit puberty. Her isolation merely increased as her classmates began to throw parties, to hang out together at malls, and to get interested in boys. Thankfully, she met Rose, and the two spent many a quiet afternoon at the library together. It was all this enforced loneliness that, ironically, gave Sara a head start in the study of history. Given her father’s interest and profession, it was easy for young Sara to become interested in history as well, but by the time she was ready for college, her interest soon became focused: she wanted to be able to read historical accounts firsthand, and to do that, one had to be proficient in the ancient languages they were written in. Hence her decision to delve deeper into philology. Her deep focus and perseverance paid off as, for the first time, Sara realized that she was doing quite well in school, well enough, in fact, to skip a couple of grades so that by the age of 17, she had obtained a place at the prestigious Oxford University.

She didn’t get to Oxford till three years later, however. Because, in that weird limbo that exists between the sitting of an examination and the time when the results are released, Sara fell in love.

She met Stephen through, irony of ironies, her dad. Stephen was a historian (specializing in 14th century English social customs and architecture) who was working with Professor Narayanan on a historical dig site on the university grounds. The good professor liked Stephen’s conscientiousness and erudition and invited the young man home to dinner. While Sara was initially her usual shy, discomfited self the charming stranger soon got her interest with his knowledge of quaint old English customs. The rest, as they say, is history.

Her parents strongly approved of their relationship (they were wondering if Sara was destined to become an old maid.) Stephen and Sara appeared to be made for each other; for a time, they were deliriously happy. And then, just weeks before Sara was to leave for Oxford, Stephen disappeared. He simply vanished from the town. And the week before Sara was to go, she made the terrible discovery that she was with child.

Her father was furious. While he was too civilized to throw his daughter out or to hit her, he did say (or rather, yell) some things at her that hurt her deeply. Her mother, never the fittest of women at the best of times, was going through a bad bout of illness at the time. The months before Anthony’s birth were the worst times Sara had ever lived through. Her father was refusing to talk to her. Anushya had, by that time, left the house to study abroad, and even if she were there Sara would never dream of approaching her cold, disdainful older sister. Rama – well, Rama was Rama. No help was forthcoming from that quarter. Little Vivy was only eleven then, and couldn’t do much to help. Except for Rose, Sara was utterly alone. Add to that the pain of Stephen’s absence, and her worry for him, and it was a pretty shattering time for her. She even briefly considered aborting the baby, but the thought of killing her and Stephen’s child was so abhorrent to her that she shoved the thought away quickly.

Nine months later, Anthony was born. Sara’s feelings when she first held her son were pretty mixed. Her ego, always a fragile thing, couldn’t really cope with the thought of bringing up a child herself, the situation at home being what it was. It was, surprisingly, her father who came to the rescue. The professor had thought it through carefully, and relented. In this day and age, such occurrences were hardly made a fuss over. So he assured his daughter that he would still provide for her and Anthony, as well as send her off to university once she felt ready to leave Anthony.

Sara eventually made it to Oxford two years later. She did well and finished a doctorate in double quick time (five and a half years). Her professors predicted great things for this silent, but talented young philologist. About the time she got her doctorate, Vivy was ready to start school in Lausanne, and suggested that her beloved older sister move to Lausanne. A change would do her good, she said. Sara agreed reluctantly. Shortly after she moved to Lausanne she was hired by UNIL as an associate professor and made her name in the field by providing some new and interesting insights on the early history of the Indo-European family of languages. After this she was approached by a representative of the Choi’sir’ee.

They offered her the Gift of Resilience, something which insecure Sara has always felt she needed even though she already has it. They also offered her the chance to do her beloved research in a place away from others, a prospect highly attractive to Sara because she finds it so difficult to interact with others. To add the icing to the cake, they offered her a huge salary, which would enable her to raise Anthony comfortably. Sara had always felt guilty for ‘abandoning’ Anthony while she went off to further her studies, and was desperate to make up for it. So she took their offer and became a Savant. Currently she lives happily with Anthony in a little rented apartment in the city of Lausanne, just a short drive away from the Savant research centre there.

On things -- IC:
Garlic. Fennel. Yes, there it goes. Ma never did like fennel much… wonder how Ma’s doing. Should call her sometime. Maybe later, after I pick up the laundry. No wait, can’t do that; Anthony’d be up by then. No one can talk on the phone with Anthony around. A fond smile flickers on her lips. Maybe I should just video conference Dad and Ma, let them see Anthony. He’d be glad to see his grandparents. He’d probably start chirping about that terrapin he found. Oh yes. The terrapin. Have to ask around, see if anyone’s missing a terrapin. Should ask Adelina about it on the way to the laundry room. A little nod. Yes, shall do that. Poor Anthony, his pets always leave him. Maybe I should give in and get him a cat. She considers the possibility, the extra expense, the cat hair all over the place… She shrugs. Anything for my boy. I don’t want him to feel lonely… The slender hands slow, then still. I don’t want him to be lonely…

Strengths:

• Extraordinary perseverance – Sara is nothing if not tenacious; this is one of the qualities that helped her do so well academically. Given the slenderest clue, the smallest hint, she will follow the matter till she is completely satisfied. In terms of life experiences, she never gives up even if she is an emotional wreck. The process won’t be pretty, but she somehow never gives up.
• Focused attention to detail – this probably stems from her domestic leanings. ? No detail is too small. Thus, she notices many things others don’t notice. And her attention to detail isn’t random either. It’s a focused ability; she thinks hard and long about all these things that others shrug and ignore.
• Extremely loyal – if you’ve managed to get past her walls and have become her friend, congratulations! You now have a true friend who’d do anything for you! Sara has very few close friends (two if you count Vivy ?) but for these, and for family (except maybe her older siblings) she’s ready to give up even her life.

Weaknesses:

• Almost non-existent physical ability – physically speaking, she’s utterly inept and has no hand-eye coordination whatsoever. She is nothing but a liability in a fight.
• Poor relationship skills – Sara isn’t exactly friendly. She finds it difficult to connect with people and so, there’s a certain amount of difficulty when it comes to working with people. She is too passive and lets others run roughshod over her even when she’s right. And she has problems expressing her views to others, so there’s always some miscommunication.

Scientia:
Philology is the study of ancient texts and languages. Sometimes it also describes the study of a language as well as its literature as well as its historical and cultural contexts. Linked to this is Paleography, which is the study of script (ancient or otherwise, though Sara specializes, of course, in the study of ancient and medieval script). Sara studied the two disciplines and is now equipped to read, decipher, and analyze any ancient text she gets her hands on.

Her role as a Savant is to provide other instances in human history where magic was used, or even alluded to. Now we all know humans never had magic, or did we? Given the case of the Kalla, the Choi’sir’ee aren’t too sure. Sara is basically in charge of hunting down any historical account with magic in it (yes even silly fairy tales), translating it, and then analyzing this in regards to how the humans came to have this power, how they used it, and, most importantly, if there’s any way to strip them of it. Basically her job is to provide a condensed background of humanity in relation to magic, which just might turn up some clues as to how the Kalla came about.

Other abilities: None, actually, unless you need a housekeeper or a nurse. Actually, Sara has pretty darn good organizational skills, and the patience necessary to pull her plans through. Don’t know how helpful this will be, though. Maybe if someone needs a clerk or something…

Character secrets: Anthony is a Latent. His Primary Aspect is Rhythm and his Secondary Aspect is Melody. Stephen was a Kalla (Primary Aspect: Melody, secondary to be decided by whoever plays him ?) but never let on about it. He was captured by the Savants, but was sent to another research facility, so Sara still has no idea what happened to him. Given that her employers have told her enough about the Kalla and the Latents, Sara is slowly beginning to realize that her precious son is showing some very disturbing signs… She isn’t sure what to do as yet; she isn’t even completely sure she’s reading the signs right. All she’s doing now is praying fervently that Anthony doesn’t show more signs of being Kalla.

Writing Sample:

“Mo-o-o-o-om…” Anthony’s clear soprano sailed out of his bedroom and into the kitchen where Sara was carefully putting two large sandwiches (peanut butter and jelly – yum!) into his lunchbox. Straightening, she swiped at a strand of hair that kept falling over her right eye and called back in a tone of resignation, “Yes, love?”

“There’s a bird in my room. I think it’s dying!” A quick pitter patter of slippered feet precluded Anthony’s bursting into the kitchen. “Come quick mommy!” He grabbed her hand with his own small one and proceeded to tug insistently. “Come see!”

Slipping off her apron, Sara followed her child into his room. True enough, a sparrow cowered in the corner formed between the bookcase and the desk. Seeing the two large creatures enter, it swelled out its chest threateningly and twittered. It didn’t look sick. At all. Sara turned to Anthony.

“It looks fine to me, Anthony. Look, it’s chirping at us. It just needs to get out.”

Anthony shook his head violently, brown curls flying. “Nuh-uh. Something’s wrong with it.” His hand sketched elaborate pirouettes in the air as he tried to explain to his mother what he instinctively felt. “It’s all wrong… inside.”

Sara stared at her son. Her voice grew soft, reflective. “Is it now…”

As Anthony darted forward to try and coax the sparrow to calm down, Sara bit her lip. She considered the boy, her boy. This was not the first time such instances had happened. Nor, she thought, would it be the last. But what this meant, however, might prove dangerous. She thought about her mysterious employers, the offworlder Choi’sir’ee, and their determination to hunt down and experiment on the Kalla they found. Kalla… that meant ‘called’ didn’t it? Called – but to what purpose, and to what fate? A chill ran through her. She knew enough about the Kalla to recognize the signs. She remembered Christmas the year before, when six-year-old Anthony had dazzled all the inhabitants in their apartment building at their party with an exquisite rendition of ‘Pie Jesu’. Everyone had felt it then, the strange power that flowed out and touched them as he sang, but it had been quickly forgotten in the whirl of mundane activities that followed Christmas. Only Sara remembered. She could recall in fine detail the joy on his face as he’d sung, the strange light in his green-brown-gold eyes as he wrapped his young – but already immensely powerful – voice around the sparkling notes of the piano and the paler voices of the rest of the (adult) singers. And what did it all mean? Sara frowned. Melody. Accursed word, that.

“Mommy, mommy!”

Jerked out of her reverie, Sara dragged her attention over to Anthony. “Hmmm?”

The sparrow lay in his cupped hands, quivering. Anthony still looked worried, however. “He’s sick, Mommy, really. Can we take him to an animal doctor?”

“You mean a vet, Anthony,” she reminded him gently. Smiling, she ruffled his hair. “Yes, let’s.”

They took the sparrow to the vet after Anthony returned from school. The bird was ill; its insides had been damaged by internal hemorrhaging.

That night, Sara tossed and turned in bed, unable to go to sleep…