Me and Mother went back inside of our house and just sat down while waiting for Father and Nexa to come back from the town. Though, they usually take until afternoon since they are basically scaling the entire mountain and then coming back up while carrying all of our stuff.
I reasoned that if they were going to take a very long time, I might as well do something with Mother that will help us pass the time easier. I tried to remember that one game that Nexa played with Mother when we were still younger. It was a weird game in which they would be talking about something like the elements.
Well, when I asked her about it, she said that Father was the one who taught her all of the names of these elements and pretty much lots of other scientific stuff. Of course, I'm not ignorant enough to not know about basic sciences, but Nexa is like, 15 and she's the type of person to learn as much as she can.
I, on the other hand, am 12 and I am more like the one who wants to play, just like what I said earlier. Since I don't know how to play, it should take lots of time and, hopefully, by the end of it, they will be back and I will already be very good at their own game and I will have another game I can become a master of.
And so, I walked over to Mother so that I could start learning how to play the game.
"Mother, remember that game you played with Nexa before? You know, the one where you were talking about the elements?"
"Oh, that one? Do you want to play it with me?"
"Yeah."
"Are you sure? It's because in this game, you don't win, you survive!-"
"Yes."
"...Okay. Then..."
I watched her as she went to get some paper from one of the drawers in her and Father's room. After that, she got a pencil that was lying on the table and started to draw something on that paper. Of course, I just waited patiently for her to finish what she was doing so that I could learn faster.
After around 25 minutes, she finished drawing and handed me the paper. I was a bit surprised, as I was expecting something else. Instead, I saw a whole table and, after scanning the whole thing, I counted at least 118 boxes. And, to add to all of that, there were small words and numbers right next to each of these boxes.
"Wait, what is this?"
"It's the table."
"Table for what?"
"The Periodic Table. Also known as the place where you will learn about the elements, just like you asked. And also the place where you shall undergo severe tribulations just to master it."
Oh. Ignoring all of Mother's odd comments, I realised that I may have bitten off more than I can chew.
"I... I didn't think there were going to be this many."
I now know that my family is way more advanced in knowledge than I initially thought. I don't think people down at the village even know what the heck just one of these element things are. What is Father teaching his kids? And why does Mother appear to know exactly what these things are?!
"... Do I... do I have to memorise all of this?"
"No. But,... you might accidentally embarrass yourself, you know?"
I realised I was played when I saw Mother sneak in a small smirk. She might act young, but in the end, I guess she really is a mother who wants her children to learn. It is a good thing then that I have an amazing secret weapon! And that weapon is...
"Alright, let's do this then!"
'H, also known as Hydrogen and, the first chemical element of the Periodic Table.
Atomic Mass: 1.0078 u
Melting Point: -259.16ºC or 13.99 K
Boiling Point: -252.87ºC or 20.28 K
Hydrogen is the lightest chemical element in the Periodic Table and is also the most abundant in all of the realms. One of it's main characteristics is that it is highly combustible...'
I look back at Mother and see her with a gigantic smile on her face as she watches me. What the hell are you teaching your kids?! Also, aren't you a bit too old to look and act so young right now!?
How the actual hell did Nexa manage to learn all of this?! Even though I have my secret weapon, I'm pretty sure that my sister has it as well, so it is not really unique or exclusive to me at all. I think it is actually pretty amazing, even though I am sure everyone in my family has it in some way.
That thing is our family's ability to learn at incredible rates and remember lots of stuff from the past. When I said that Nexa played this game when she was young, I meant, REALLY young. I think she was like 6 or 7 years old. And the fact that I remember all of that when I was probably only 3 is also proof of that, according to my hypothesis.
I mean, the reason I usually win at games is because I basically just dedicate all of my time to thinking of new and easier ways to win. Not to brag but I think we are all pretty special if we have something like this. Though, I could be completely wrong as I never did stray too far away from our house before.
"Are you having fun?"
"Mother... how old are you, really?"
With lots of hesitation in my voice, I asked that question. I know from Father that you should never ask girls that kind of question, but I need to ask right now to know how long it actually took her to learn all of this and be able to write all of it down. The thing is, me and Nexa actually don't know how old our parents are.
Even though they look and act all young, we know that they must be older than they look as they are ultra-smart and it is almost like they shouldn't even be here in a small house in the mountains. I feel like they should be sharing all of this knowledge with the people outside, but I don't think they do.
"Hmm. Let's see... I don't think I actually know after all! I guess if I believe that I'm young, then I will stay being young?"
"I know you also have a near-perfect memory as well!"
"But, the reality of the situation is that I have discovered the mythical fountain of youth that restores all lost years!"
*Sigh*
I guess I really will need to just suck it up and do this. I mean, I was the one who asked for this. Plus, Mother is looking at me with such intense power that I might have thought she was intimidating me into doing this if I didn't see her childish and innocent smile. Well, I still have quite a long time before Nexa or Father come back home with all our supplies.
I look at the calendar to check the date again and smile. Since it is already December 30, we have been getting ready to celebrate the New Year and mine and my sister's birthdays since they are also coming up very soon.
But, before any of those festivities happen, I'll need to beat my family at this game as one last challenge for this year.