Apprentice Alex Devries

Life had not been easy for Alex Devries. His father passed away unexpectedly when he was young, leaving him as the man of the house to care for his mother.

As an only child in a remote village, Alex missed out on a normal childhood as he and his mother worked hard to scrape out a meager living. He was resigned to living out the rest of his days in this village, giving up any hopes of seeing life in the outside world.

That’s how it would have played out, had his mother not remarried. Tom became more than a step-father to him and adopted Alex as his own. Had it not been for Tom stepping in as the provider of the family, Alex would have been obligated to stay at home and care for his mother for the rest of her life. Instead, Alex became the happy recipient of some very unexpected news.

“Tom has arranged an apprenticeship for you,” his mom announced one morning.

An apprenticeship? Alex could scarcely believe his ears! Apprenticeships were few and far between and reserved only for those who had some kind of social connections.

His mother gave him even more unbelievable news: he actually had his choice of apprenticeships.

Alex’s mother explained that Tom called upon his connections from his years of serving in the royal guard, and instead of just one apprenticeship opportunity, which Alex would have eagerly accepted without even asking about the details, he actually found himself in the unprecedented position of having multiple opportunities.

His mother beamed as she said, “You’ve worked so hard to take care of me, Alex. I can’t think of a better birthday present for you than to let you choose which of these opportunities to take.”

Birthday? Alex looked at his mom in surprise.

She laughed. “Have you truly forgotten that it’s your birthday? Today you are 18 years old, and you are a man!”

Alex’s head was spinning. This all just seemed too good to be true!

He considered his options for an apprenticeship, and made his first decision as an adult.