The Light Within (Unfinished)

Prologue:

Fly.

My body stayed on the ground, heavy against the blades of grass.

Teleport.

Time and space remained still around me. The only movement I was able to do was breathe.

Flame.

My hand remained cold as wind whipped between my fingers.

A pair of birds swooped above me in the bright, blue sky. I reached upwards, wanting to join them. Yearning for the feel of the wind against my face, to ride next to a plane, to break through a blanket of clouds and find the most beautiful of sunsets hidden beyond the dark. To control water, change people’s minds and actions, transform my body. To use my knowledge to the best of its ability. All of these dreams that should be everything but impossible.

It’s been almost twelve years since the witch had told me that I couldn’t ever have an ability. I wasn’t gifted with mystic blood. I was nothing but a human. There was nothing for me but an ordinary life like most of the world.

My mother and father were hurt when they heard I would only be human. They apologized, believing it was their fault that I wasn’t Mystic. That I was Muted. Two parents with exquisite skills – my father who could absorb memories and my mother who could materialize shields and barriers. Even James got his ability by the time he turned three – early bloomer, and he got a beautiful gift like most of them do.

Then they got over it. They were relieved that I was just human. They didn’t want me to have to hide or worry about anyone ridiculing me for my differences – at least the differences that came with being Mystic. They were satisfied with who I turned out to be.

I won’t ever be.

“Excuse me, Miss.”

I glanced to my side to find a young boy standing above me. He was around five or six years old based on his height and stature. He looked shy as he stared at me.

I sat up, so I could be closer to eye level with him. “Hey, can I help you?” I began to look past him for his parents. We were only in a neighborhood park, so one of his parents shouldn’t be too far away.

He shrugged his shoulders and kept staring at me. Then his eyes glanced upwards towards the tree I was lying under. I quickly followed, and in the branches was a small toy airplane. I was surprised that he was able to throw it up there. Most of the time, those things wouldn’t be able to do much but make a loop and go crashing back into the ground. I’m relieved he didn’t accidently hit me.

“Give me one moment.”

I got up and wiped some of the loose grass off my legs. For a kid only three feet tall, that plane was a mile high. For a girl five-foot-seven, it was an arm’s length away. And it only took a little hop to grab the tail between my fingers and free it from the branches. It felt nostalgic holding the plane in my hand, but I couldn’t recall the exact memory. James wasn’t very good at throwing them and hit me in the side of the head once – maybe he knocked the mystic blood out of me.

I snapped back from my moment and turned to see the boy staring at me. Once our eyes met, he looked down towards his feet. I knelt back down to be at his level and held the plane up.

“Here you go. Not a single scratch.” He still didn’t look up. “You got a good arm to make it up there.” I continued.

“Thank you,” he mumbled.

I waited for him to reach for his plane, but he wouldn’t move. He continued to shuffle on his feet. I urged the plane towards him again, but he continued to be reluctant.

My initial thought was that he was just a shy kid who maybe got punished a lot. That would explain his behavior from a rational view-point, but then I saw his shaking hands. For nromal people, he would just appear afraid. Maybe he was, but not for the reason humans would think.

His palms had the slightest bit of smoke coming off them.

It was faint, and through his clenched fists it was hard to tell if they were smoking or if it was my imagination. But he must have noticed my gaze because he quickly hid his hands behind his back, and I saw the trail follow.

“You don’t have to hide,” I whispered, leaning down to try and find his eyes from behind his blonde bangs. He lifted his head slightly with interest. “Do you like snow?”

He perked up more and nodded his head slowly. I placed the plane on the ground and held my hand out, palm facing up. “Give me your hands.” He hesitated again, and I saw that he was considering going away. “You aren’t going to hurt me if you trust me. And I’m not going to hurt you, because I trust you.”

The boy looked into my eyes again, then slowly brought his hands back out. The cold emanated from his palms in faint wisps of smoke, and his knuckles were ice cubes against mine. I couldn’t help but to smile.

I brought my hands together and cupped them around his. “Okay,” I whispered, “I want you to close your eyes, and think of the best, fluffy snow that you’ve ever seen.” My smile softened, and I looked at him with confidence.

He was concerned again as my hands grew colder against his, but he did as I instructed.

“Do you see it?”

“Yes,” he answered. A small smile appeared on his face, and his hands grew colder. It was almost painful, but I held steady.

“Now, condense that image into a ball. A perfectly, round, snowball.”

His hands became heavier in my hand. He felt the weight, and suddenly his eyes were open and bright. The boy almost pulled away, but I grabbed back. My hands were slightly wet now.

“Not yet. Keep that thought strong, though. You’ll see.” This time, the boy didn’t hesitate and shut his eyes close again. “Now, I am going to count to three, and I want you to expand that image outwards again. But this time, it is going to come outwards around us, like a snowball bursting on impact. You think you can do it?” He nodded. “Okay, one – ” I bounced our hands down and up with the count. “Two – ” another bounce. “And…Three!”

This time, I let his hands go and pushed them up into the air. The boy extended upwards, and for a moment I saw a snowball fly. Then a second later, that ball exploded and showered us in big, white snowflakes. They unfortunately evaporated before hitting the ground, but there was enough to shower us for a few seconds.

The boy was completely different from the kid that asked me for the airplane. He was laughing, jumping, and spinning in the snow. Although it didn’t last long, a basic projection that would have no effect to the world, his energy illustrated how this was going to change his reality.

My mind suddenly wandered outwards of our little realm and looked around the park. There weren’t many there, and luckily it seemed everyone was distracted by their phones. Sometimes I wonder if Mystics have to hide at all – the rest of the world is hiding behind tiny screens to see anything worth their time.

Then I finally saw the woman rushing over to us.

“Elijah,” she snapped. Her voice was shaky, and her eyes were scanning the other areas of the park.

The boy could have died right there. His energy dissipated as faster than the snow melted into nothing. The woman grabbed his arm and pulled him closer. She gave him a look, but then her gaze shifted to mine.

“I don’t know who you are, but don’t you dare talk to my boy again,” she hissed.

I quickly stood. My energy turned, and I could feel anger course through my blood. This is one of those moments that I wished I could intimidate her, but I knew that wouldn’t make this any better. So instead, I just held myself confidently and stared into her eyes.

“I was just showing him that he doesn’t need to be afraid of himself or of other people. Did you see-”

I was cut short when she suddenly came close enough to touch my nose with her own. I expected to feel cold radiate off her, to feel a sense of power, but there was nothing but a presence of another body. Of empty, afraid eyes. Of a human mother.

“Who do you think you are?” She snarled through her teeth.

I didn’t flinch. I kept my ground, and I didn’t let my heated blood get the best of me. “Someone who cares about who he is, who he can be. You may not understand, but he will be able to do beautiful things – ”

“You think I don’t understand?” She was in my face, glaring with tearful eyes. “What he can do is the exact reason my husband isn’t here today to help him. I’m trying to keep my boy from following in his footsteps.” The woman wiped her tears, and I lowered my stance. I misunderstood.

The woman suddenly laughed, and she was just staring at me again. “You’re human too, aren’t you?” I didn’t say anything and just stood, staring at her. I looked down at Elijah, and his eyes were on me from behind his mother’s leg. “You shouldn’t fool yourself.” My attention snapped back to her. “You won’t ever belong in their world. I tried…they didn’t want me.”

At that, she grabbed Elijah with a stronger grip and began walking away. I stood there for a moment just staring after them. My body suddenly felt empty. I felt weak, and alone again.

Then my eyes caught the plane. I picked it up and began to move after them, but the boy was already a few feet away from me again. Elijah just looked at me, and I handed the plane to him again. I could feel his mother’s glare on me, but I shook it off. I wasn’t hurting him.

He placed his hand on the plane, but he took no grip. Instead, I felt the plane grow cold, and frost began developing on its wings. He took his hand away, then smiled.

“Thank you,” he whispered. Then, leaving the plane in my hands, he ran back towards his mother.

I should have been happy for what I did. I should have been smiling and thinking about what kind of man he would grow up to be because of what I showed him. But I couldn’t stop thinking about what his mother said. How she lost her husband. How she wanted to hide her son from himself. How cruel society was for taking her husband away for being different. How I would never be a part of the world that destroys such magnificent possibilities, and always rejected by the world that hides from malicious power.

“Alex!”

I turned around to see James waving his arms at the entrance of the park from our street. I clutched the plane, that was defrosted from the summer heat, and ran towards him.

“Hey, Mom says it’s time for dinner,” James said as I got closer.

“Okay, thanks for coming to get me.”

“Woah,” he stopped me and picked my head up. “Who made you cry?”

I ran my hand across my cheek and felt a wet stream in my hand. I hadn’t even known that I began to tear. My mind was still a bit foggy.

“No one, I just am having hormone issues. You know, girl stuff,” I lied between my teeth. I looked at my hands and noticed the plane again.

“What is that?” James asked as he put an arm around my shoulders and walked us home.

“Could you?” I asked, ignoring his questions and lifting it up to him.

He stared at me for a moment as we walked, but then let go of my shoulders and grabbed the plane. He gave a casual look around for curious eyes, but the street was quiet except for our own footsteps. James then gripped tighter, let out a slow breath, and I could hear the usual cracking of transformation. When I looked at it again, the you had turned into a clear, shiny artifact like diamond. James handed it to me, and the weight was heavier, but it felt cooler to touch than just the plastic model.

“So, what happened?” James pushed again, this time putting his hands in his pockets as we walked.

I let the weight set in my hands, like the snowball that formed in that boy’s hand, and took a deep breath.

“Someone gave me wings to fly.”