Chapter 75: Pardi’s Story
Forty-seven years earlier, Pardi Carvaress was born. His mother died giving birth to him. This was unusual considering the high standard of healthcare available in the Capital Region, especially for the wealthiest Linap.
His father, Earl, was the main owner of the Carvaress Company. Earl was very busy with the running of the company. He would often spend twelve or more hours every day at the office or laboratory.
Pardi saw little of his father when he was young. He was left to be cared for by the Sapiens his father employed. Pardi was forced, from a very young age, to shapeshift to hide his true form from the Sapiens who looked after him. He hated doing this. It was exhausting for him to maintain another form for hours at a time. It was even more difficult when he was sick, which was quite frequently when he was young. He deeply resented the female Sapiens who took care of him. His carers treated him well. However, in some ways, that made his resentment for them even worse. He felt he could not justify complaining about them.
Earl Carvaress liked Sapiens. He treated them with the same respect as the Linap. He had promoted several Sapiens to high positions in his organisation. Pardi was frustrated with his father’s affection for them. He would often invite his senior scientist and his wife to dinner. Again, Pardi was forced to take the form of a Sapien child. Pardi wanted to confront his father about his anger and his growing hatred for Sapiens, but he could not bring himself to raise the matter.
When he was older. Earl insisted on sending Pardi to a school that had both Linap and Sapien students and staff. Again, Pardi was forced to shapeshift. It was easier now that he was older, but he still resented doing so. Pardi lacked athletic ability and was plagued by illness. This made him more irritable. Some of the more athletic Sapiens teased him about his inability to play sports. This annoyed him greatly.
One evening, Pardi approached his father. He told him how he hated the school and how he hated having to hide his real identity. He even told Earl that he hated Sapiens. Earl was deeply saddened by what his son told him. He realised that he was to blame for his son’s anger. He agreed to send Pardi to an all-Linap school. The Capital Region was the only region that had such schools. Here, Pardi could be himself, or more accurately, the self he wanted to be.
Finally, Pardi began to enjoy school and his education. His academic performance skyrocketed. He topped all his classes. The other students did not make fun of him. Instead, they respected him. He fully enjoyed this experience. On his days off, Pardi would help his dad in the laboratory. He did not mind shapeshifting for a few hours a week. Earl soon realised his son’s talent and passion for the family business. He was very proud of him.
When Pardi was fourteen, tragedy struck his family. Pardi was working late with his father. There was a problem with the water inflow into the building. Pardi was going to call someone to check on the problem. Earl told him that he would check himself. He believed it was unnecessary to get someone else to look at something he could do himself.
They went outside to check the pipes. On the side of one of the venting towers, a pipe had become disconnected. Water was spraying everywhere. Pardi saw an employee walking past. He called out to him to turn the water off, as he was next to the valve. Earl then instructed him to wait while he and Pardi attended to the pipe.
Earl and Pardi climbed up the stairs and then a ladder that got them in close proximity to the detached pipe. Pardi held the pipe in place, and Earl attempted to reattach it with his riveter tool. While they were working, Pardi noticed the pipe next to them was also very loose. He was concerned it might break as well. Pardi called down to the employee to turn the water off for the other pipe as well.
The employee made a mistake. Instead of turning the water off, he increased the flow of water. This caused the pipe to separate. The strong flow of water hit Earl in the face. This knocked him off the platform, causing him to fall to his death. Pardi screamed in rage at the employee. The employee ran away in fear.
The loss of his father caused Pardi to slip into depression. He began to experiment with chemicals in the laboratory. This caused him to hallucinate. He enjoyed the hallucinations, as they allowed him to escape the pain he was suffering.
Pardi was temporarily placed in the care of his aunt, but he did not like or respect her. She did not like him either. Despite his problems, Pardi still managed to perform well in school. However, he had become far less social.
There was a girl named Milly. She had been friends with Pardi for some years. Since his father’s death, Pardi had grown distant from her. She wanted to help him. One day, Pardi opened up to her. She was the first one he was able to open up to about his feelings. It was not long before their friendship blossomed into a teen romance. They spent every day together. Finally, Pardi appeared to be over his long grieving period.
After graduating from school, Pardi took over as head of the Carvaress Company. He employed Milly to work with him. They both also attended workshops conducted by senior scientists to learn about the work of the company. Pardi even let Sapiens teach him.
A couple of years later, Pardi married Milly. They pushed their wedding to be a little earlier as they wanted Milly’s younger sister Lily to attend before she went to the West Region to become trained as a philosopher for the House of the Divine Knowledge. Pardi teased her about the funny robes she would be forced to wear. Milly was sad, as the training was very strict, and she knew she would not see her sister for many years. Lily was convinced it was her calling. Pardi often joked with Milly about how he was glad she was not like her crazy sister.
A couple of years after they were married, Milly became pregnant. Everything seemed to be going well. Pardi was the happiest he had ever been. Sadly, tragedy struck again. Milly was rapidly becoming very ill. Her body was reacting very badly to the baby. She was rushed into the medical centre for an emergency operation to remove the baby. Pardi was frustrated that there were no Linap medical professionals available at the time to operate on her. Milly reassured Pardi that everything would be fine.
Milly was taken into surgery. Pardi waited for several hours. Eventually, a medical expert came out. He told him that Milly had died during the operation, but they were able to save the baby. Pardi was devastated. He remained seated for hours in the waiting room. He felt paralysed. His whole world had imploded on him again.
The medical staff asked him if he wanted to see his newborn daughter. He was hesitant at first, but agreed. She was lying in a crib in the nursery. She was very big, considering she was several weeks premature. The medical staff asked him if his daughter had a name. Pardi nodded. He told them she would be called ‘Orcilla’ after his mother. He and Milly had agreed on that name several months ago.
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