Chapter 1
Alicia was trying to calm her nerves by drinking a cup of chamomile tea, the family had finished dinner and now were sitting in the living room, finally her father would tell her the whole story. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t understand how her father, a man of science dedicated to finding answers to the mysteries of life, was so calm about all this.
“Dad, there’s simply no explanation for this, that boy, in case he really is a boy since nothing proves that’s his real form, from what I saw can literally change his genetic code, at least in terms of appearance, instantly. Which would mean that just by thinking about it his brain activates DNA mutations that are not even possible, with the option to reverse it without consequences” she said, almost gasping for air as she said everything in a rush.
“I know, it’s really amazing. Believe me, it also crossed my mind many times how all the wonders of that family were possible. But I came to the conclusion that some phenomena in life just don’t have an explanation, I guess that’s why it’s called magic” her dad explained with a smile.
“Father, I really didn’t expect someone like you to accept the concept of magic so easily and with such composure” Alicia replied with some incredulity.
“My dear, I grew up here” said Fernando laughing a little “I guess I grew up thinking it was normal to meet people with magic. In fact, when I moved to the city at first I thought it was strange that there wasn’t something similar. All this would’ve been avoided if I had told you everything much earlier, sorry”.
“Don’t worry dad, I understand your point, I saw it with my own eyes and I still don’t believe it. If you had told me, surely I would’ve thought it was a fairy tale” his daughter said, now calmer “but at least I would’ve been aware of the person capable of changing form. Of course, I would’ve been scared anyway, but maybe not much”.
“I don’t think I could have warned you about that Alicia, there wasn’t a Madrigal with that ability in my time. He’s most likely the son of one of the original three, so it’s very possible that he really is a boy” intuited her father “and it’s also very likely there’re more, each with a different gift”.
“So their powers are hereditary?” Alicia asked, allowing herself to be overwhelmed by curiosity.
“The boy with the ability you describe makes me think that’s right, the Madrigals I knew were children from my school, triplets, Julieta, Pepa and Bruno” he narrated “I remember that when they were five years old a great ceremony was held, doors with a golden glow appeared in their house out of nowhere. When they touched their doorknobs, an image of them was drawn on their doors in the same golden hue, symbolizing their new gifts”.
“My God, I have read and written hundreds of stories, but not even in my wildest dreams did I imagine that something like that could exist. It’s definitely true that reality is stranger than fiction” said Lucero, who did not lose the feeling of surprise despite having already heard the story while Alicia was walking “and you were a little boy with a very good memory dear, always intelligent”.
“Thanks honey” Fernando said to his wife with a smile “from that moment on, any food made by Juliet could heal any wound instantly with just one bite. I remember all the kids lining up at recess, whether it was for a scraped knee or something as small as an ant bite”.
“Pepa’s emotions were connected to the weather, her happiness invoked the sun; and his sadness and anger invoked rain, hail, or gales, depending on the intensity of the emotion at the time. The children were happy playing under the clear skies, but some secretly wished it would cause rain so they wouldn’t go to school”.
“But not me, of course” he said giving a small pause to the narration, his wife and daughter smiled as they looked at him suspiciously.
“I swear, let’s continue with the story” he added with a slightly nervous laugh “Bruno had the ability to predict the future, to do so he had to draw a wide sand circle for him and the person interested in seeing their future to enter. Once inside his eyes would turn green just like the sand, which would spin around in a kind of tornado, showing images of the future. At the end of his vision the sand always formed an impressive crystal engraving that even had movement”.
“Wow! I could also say everything that doesn’t make sense with that, but I guess it would be redundant” said Alicia in a calm voice, looking straight ahead almost without blinking, still trying to assimilate everything.
“You’ll get used to it, dear” her father encouraged her as he got up from the armchair “if everything is still in its place, it should still be right here...”
Mr. Hernandéz searched a cabinet until he found a jade-colored glass plate, just like the one in the story.
“Here it is! Your grandparents are not very fond of magic but ironically they made this a reality” he said showing the image of the crystal, a little boy next to a suitcase in front of the house they currently inhabited, when moving the image the little the boy was seen walking away with sadness.
“It’s you, dad” Alicia whispered taking the plate in her hands.
“Yes, my parents wanted to leave everything related to magic behind, and I hid that vision hoping to never see it again. It’s from a time I asked Bruno to read my future, it was like a game back then, I didn’t expect to see something like that” he stopped when he saw the expressions of his wife and daughter.
“Come on, why the sad faces? Maybe it confused me at first but this image really symbolized the beginning of many wonderful things, and I have the proof right here” Fernando said hugging them both.
“The one who really worried me at that time was Bruno, the poor boy was beginning to be feared by some of the townspeople, especially other children, who accused him of causing misfortune. Part of the reason I asked him for a reading was to disprove those rumors, but in the end my vision only made him feel worse even when I assured him I wasn’t mad and wouldn’t tell anyone”.
“A little boy going through all that because of something he didn’t ask for, is horrible” said Lucero, unable to hide her indignation.
“It is, sometimes kids can be cruel, and some parents supported their children instead of telling them that it was wrong. The ceremony made it clear that his gift was to predict the future, not create it, their accusations made no sense, and even if his gift was to design the future it does not justify treating anyone like this. Luckily that was a minority, I’m sure that remained as a kid thing”.
“Bad kids thing, not to mention it’s a terrible idea to upset someone you think controls the future” or someone capable of impersonating anyone Alicia’s eyes widened at that thought.
“Dear, is something wrong?” Her father asked, worried about this sudden change in her.
“Father I hit that person, surely I made him angry, he could take revenge on us and no one would know, we couldn’t do anything” she said on the verge of tears, all the calm she already had vanishing in an instant.
“Calm down Alicia, the Madrigals are not vengeful. The head of the family always made it clear, they would only use their gifts for the community’s well-being”.
“I understand father, but it’s been a long time since you lived here, we don’t know how’s everything today. Maybe I put you both in danger”.
“Alicia, if it makes you feel better we can leave tomorrow” proposed her dad.
“Dad, I don’t want to ruin this trip that you’ve been wanting to do for so long. We would have spent hours on the road in vain. If you say everything will be fine, I believe you”.
“We came here to have a good time, if you don’t feel comfortable it isn’t worth it. And about the hours on the road, we’re still on vacation, we can visit many other places” he tried to encourage her.
“Dad I don’t think it’s necessary, sorry for all my fuss”.
“It’s not your fault, it was irresponsible of me to let you walk alone without explaining everything. I think it’s been a long day, maybe we should go to sleep. I’m sure in the morning we’ll see everything more clearly”.
“Dear if you want you can sleep with us tonight” said her mother.
“Yes, I can move the bed, it won’t take long”.
“No please, I’ll be fine. I’m not a little girl anymore. Good night”.
Fernando and Lucero also wished their daughter good night, and with a hug they said goodbye until the next morning.
Alicia closed the door of her room on the second floor, the bed was right next to a wide window that overlooked the street. She leaned out for a few moments feeling the soft cold wind in her skin, it was a quiet night that would’ve relaxed her on a different occasion, but in her current situation it was a bit unsettling.
Laying her head on the pillow she wondered if it would’ve been a better idea to sleep with her parents, her doubt was answered when she heard a light knock on the window.
