Blop!
The faint sound of water opening up echoed in the hollowness of the night. A few meters from the shore into the lake, the water ripped. Rings were drawn in the water, expanding outwards for a brief moment before the lake retook its state of calmness.
"Hmph." John snorted humorously, eyes focused on the water's surface. Or more exactly, what was underneath it. "It got scared away." The boy muttered, observing as a small fish, just a brook trout, swimming away in the cold water.
As his words escaped his mouth, John noticed the small cloud of cold air coming along as well, drawing the boy's attention.
Hm… An idea popped up in the boy's mind, making him quickly reach out with his hand towards the scattering heavy air.
With his hand now standing in the middle of the disappearing air, John observed with calmness as the cold air abruptly stopped going away. Instead, almost immediately after it stopped moving out in all directions, the air converged into the boy's open palm, forming a small, trembling sphere.
Holding it, John's gaze over the sphere intensified. And following this change, some others were noticeable in the small conglomeration of air.
Though not intended by the young man, John felt the surroundings of his hand getting colder, and not stopping. The breath held in the air was suffering changes as well. Slowly, the moisture went from transparent to a blurring mist, reduced in size when compared to its previous state.
And even a few further moments ahead, what remained hovering about the boy's palm wasn't anything similar to air in appearance. It wasn't moisture nor mist, but incredibly small sparkling crystals of ice, weakly reflecting the moonlight bathing them.
"Cool…" John murmured, the fascination of what he achieved consuming his eyes. "Don't you think so too?" He asked, listening to the light footsteps behind him moving in his direction.
John looked over his shoulder, taking sight of the figure approaching before fully turning around so he could face Hope.
"And what do you mean by that?" Hope asked, crossing her arms which were hidden beneath the wool of her sweater.
Bringing his arm forward, the boy displayed for the girl what he meant.
Getting closer to him, Hope cast a glance over the objects leisurely floating in the boy's hands. "Are these… ice crystals?" She asked under a murmur, taking a thorough look at the objects.
"Yes." John nodded, a smile of satisfaction taking his lips when he saw the girl admiring his work.
As she retreated her sight from the ice, Hope let escape a weak sigh between her lips. "I find it unbelievable. Honestly, I think it's bullshit that you-" She turned to look at the young man. "are capable of doing all of this on your own, with no magic at all."
"Careful there. Jealousy is not a good thing." John said, letting the crystals fall off his hand.
Hope rolled her eyes in response at the boy's comment, which just earned her a chuckle from the young man as well. "Are you ready?" She asked, changing her tone to a more casual–with a drop of seriousness–tone.
It was John's turn now to sigh. However, his was to release all the anxiety he has been holding up. "I think I am."
"You don't need to stress yourself so much. We are going for a normal spell, nothing that will bring harm." Hope said, offering a gentle smile to attempt to get the young man calmer. "I will be here if anything goes wrong."
"Believe it or not, I am calmer because of your presence." John chuckled, taking a deep breath once again.
Hope faintly shook her head at the boy's words, the phantom of a smile threatening to take her lips. "Come on." She reached her hand out at her back pocket, pulling out her phone. "Are you ready?"
"I think I am." John said, but quickly shook his head. "I am. Certain that I am."
"Good." Hope replied, pointing the phone's camera towards the young man. "Recording in 3… 2… 1…"
_
[John's PoV]
_
So, here I am. For the first time in my life, I will be attempting magic – real magic.
I looked at Hope, and sincerely, I wished to do something grandeur with her watching. However… better stick to the basics.
Air escaped my nostrils as I exhaled deeply, and then, I willed my eyes to change. And thus, my vision peered into a hidden world.
Never would I be tired of seeing this magnificent sight, of seeing the world as it really is. Magic flowed throughout every corner of existence, influencing and being influenced by everything it came in contact with. These influences… some bore results I could perceive and other individuals could feel. Others were so tiny and insignificant, that even I couldn't notice the results of it. Maybe nothing happened at all, or I wasn't yet capable of perceiving it.
My eyes rested on Hope, and… it was impressive, to say the least.
Her phone, put between us, and even her clothes were of no deterrent for me to see what laid within her, to see the magic coursing through her veins.
It was dense–brighter than anything else–and even then, the word alone wasn't enough to describe it. It was different from all other witches' magic, different from the world's magic.
But right now, that wasn't my focus.
I looked at my hands and watched the magic swirling around my fingers, dancing, almost as if it was urging me to use it. And I intended to use it, to practice magic for the first time with it.
"What is the first you are going to use?" Hope asked, her eyes following my every movement. I feel like she is animated as well, even if very slightly.
"A one word spell, one to produce some source of light." I replied, watching as the magic slowly moved by my will.
When I was younger, there was always a doubt I had in my mind–the impact words could have over magic.
And along the years I spent consuming different works–movies, series, videogames–I slowly comprehended why of this. And now, after spending roughly an entire day reading books containing real knowledge about the mystical arts of magic, I comprehended it even more.
It wasn't the words per se… but the meaning we pushed into it when casting the spell.
The magic running around my hands disappeared, absorbed by me. And the energy that replaced it was equally absorbed, and the process continued as I willed my body to return to its normality.
"Huff…" I exhaled again, clearing my mind of unnecessary thoughts.
My intention was clear as I raised my right hand, index finger reaching upwards. The magic in me, grasped by my soul, moved as ordered. And my mind… I never felt so certain of what I wished to do.
"Lux."
A simple word, really. But my intention behind it was a little more complex, one the energy gathering in the tip of my finger understood.
The magic pulsed, and I didn't understand much why. But my curiosity for it was crushed when the phenomena I wished to come into existence rose from the tip of my finger.
It… reminded me of a star, a white one with an iridescent halo surrounding it, pushing away the around darkness lurking under the night.
… It was strange, really. Realistically, it was nothing grandiose, almost insignificant even. Maybe a little more than what I imagined, but just a change from a matchstick to a small lantern.
However, for me, it was one of the greatest moments in my life.
[3rd Person PoV]
"Hope, I did it." John blurted out, his eyes fixed on the source of light.
"I can see…" Hope's lips parted in a soft smile at seeing the boy's expression. "Are you happy?" She asked, dropping her arms as the flash of the camera turned off.
"Happy?" He lifted his eyes at her. "Yes… I feel happy." His eyes retreated to the sphere pushing away the nearby darkness. "and maybe a little bit euphoric."
Hope stepped forward, approaching the light. "Better than the first time I remember casting a spell."
"How was it?"
"A little… destructive." Hope's response earned a chuckle from the young man. "In my defense, I didn't know what I was doing. It was mostly instinctive."
These words inserted a certain curiosity in the boy's mind, making John raise his brow. "How was it? The first time you used magic."
"Well, to be honest, I don't know." Hope answered, raising her eyes to meet the boy's. "I was young, too young. Mom said I wasn't even one year-old before I first used magic."
"I guess we have a prodigy here, don't we?" John smirked.
"Don't exaggerate it." Hope shook her head, but her smile was enough proof the young man's previous words brought some amusement to her. "I don't know the exact details, wasn't curious enough to question it. What I know is that I was with… a friend of the family when I did it. Apparently, I turned off her car's motor."
Right. She prevented Camille and herself from going near the house before it exploded. "Well, isn't it a cool thing to do as a baby? My mother once told me I used to throw food on the TV to feed the characters I saw in it."
"Pft." Hope held down her laughter. "Isn't that a cute thing to do?"
"I guess it is." John softly responded, his right hand falling to his side.
And the light, upon losing the source which provided the energy needed for it to exist, slowly faded into nothingness. Its existence scattered into motes of light that floated absently before forever extinguishing.
Seeing the darkness consume their surrounds again, the young man snorted weakly. "Thanks for helping me with this, Hope. It means a lot."
Hope smiled. "I'm just doing my job." She very weakly nudged him in the arm, playfully. "After all, you decided to call me a friend, right?"
John chuckled. "I guess I did." He said, a sigh escaping through his teeth. "Come on, werewitchre. Dinner will be up soon and I am slightly hungry." Gently, John grasped the young woman by her shoulders and turned her around, giving her a light push as both started walking.
"You do know that nickname sucks, right?" Hope casually commented, her eyes trailing the young man's figure as he stepped forward to walk by her side.
John chuckled, nodding. "Yes, I know. But the idea of using it to mess with you every once in a while is entertaining."
"Is that what I signed up for? I think I am starting to prefer to be the lonely girl again." She exaggeratedly said.
"I think it's too late." John looked at her with a smile. In a movement that seemed to take longer to happen than it actually did, the young man raised his arm at the girl's height, but when reaching it, there was hesitation in his movements. "You are stuck with me for the foreseeable long future." Slowly, the young man rested his hand over Hope's head, patting it.
There was a slight pause in the young woman's movements when she felt the large hand encompassing the top of her head. "John…" Hope muttered the boy's name gravelly.
And listening to it, a tinge of worry made way into the young man's eyes. Did I still overstep? He questioned himself. I sometimes forget people here are not so-
The boy's thoughts and worries couldn't continue as the young woman's words caught his attention. "Did you forget what I said earlier, of what I would do today?" Hope asked, her eyes calmly lifted up to look at him.
Looking at it, the boy didn't see any anger in it despite the appearance of an angry look. In other words, it lacked any real sentiment of anger in it.
Unconsciously, John's mind processed Hope's words and did a rewind of the day, remembering the things she said today that could potentially earn him this reaction. And, almost immediately–for this was one of the first things she said that day to him–the young man remembered the exact words.
"…Well, I did think your hair seemed prettier and glowing than earlier." John retracted his hand, delicately adjusting the strands of hair that got messy at the parts he touched. "Sorry about it. I sometimes forget people here are not as touchy as in Brazil."
"Touchy, you say?" Hope muttered, not caring about how the young man's fingers gently coursed through her hair now as they temporarily stopped in their steps.
"Yes." John nodded, pulling his hand away from her. "Friendly in nature, of course. Caressing someone's hair without deep meanings, hands over the shoulders, this kind of things." Suddenly the boy smiled gently, his eyes losing a certain focus.
"What happened?" Hope noticed the sudden shift in the boy's emotions, leading her to ask what happened.
"Nothing much." John shook his head, lightly. "I just… remembered of some friends of mine." He said, slowly resuming his walk back to the school.
"Do you miss them?" Hope asked, blurting out the question as she walked alongside the young man.
"A little." John nodded, melancholy accompanying his words. "Unfortunately, they are in the past now. I can't visit them."
"Why not?" Hope asked, genuinely interested. "I remember you said it before, you can go anywhere in the world if you wish to." She remarked, softly. "So why not visit them?"
"It's not so simple." John pursed his lips, exhaling profusely.
Momentarily, Hope was quiet. "Is it because… of what you said yesterday night? The fact you never existed officially in the world." She asked.
"Basically." John nodded, but his tone carried a bit of uncertainty. "Just… they are just out of my reach right now."
For the first time, in the little time they've known each other, Hope saw what could be labeled as sadness resurfacing in the young man's expression. His eyes, his facial features, everything in him that could express his emotion shifted slightly to demonstrate the sentiment he felt right now.
"When things happened… My mother left me a pack of letters." John lifted his head, his eyes piercing at the sky before him. "She wrote me things I should be careful with. Topics of my new life. One of them is that I should keep my distance from where I lived the part of my mortal life."
"Why?" Hope asked, her voice carrying a sincere search for the answer.
John trailed his eyes to the witch. "Tsk… They are out of reach now, and not in a matter of distance." He apologetically, gently smiled at his friend. "There are other reasons but… sorry, I can't share with you right now."
"Right now?" She asked.
"Yeah, right now." John nodded, trying to change his emotions as he put forth a smile on his expression. "Who knows the future? Maybe tomorrow I will share it with you." He said, but his words didn't carry any weight to them.
"… Okay." Hope said, now her eyes lifted to the skies. "But not tomorrow. Reserve it for a good day. Tomorrow will be difficult." Her words echoed when her eyes landed on the pale moon hanging in the sky, knowing its zenith was approaching. "We've got much to do tomorrow."
"We?" John remarked, looking at the girl.
Hope nodded. "Yes, we." She turned her eyes to him. "When the night approaches, I normally help Dr. Saltzman. I make sure everything is in place and the students are out of danger."
"Hm, I see." John commented. "Well, if that's the case, I don't see why I shouldn't help." The boy said, his eyes landing on the approaching building, the lights from within it escaping through the windows and the walls doing almost nothing to hold the jovial noises from its residents.
Out of the corner of his eye, the boy stole a glimpse at the girl, a thought surging in his mind.
Now, not hesitant nor purposefully slow, the young man carried his arm around the young woman's back, his right hand resting on her shoulder.
"Thank you, Hope." John said, pulling her closer to him as he expected for his words to successfully deliver his message.
Giving a quick glance up at the boy, the girl's lips bloomed in a smile. A beautiful, gentle smile. "You are welcome." Hope said, unbothered as she leaned her head on him.
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