My arrival was not smooth.

I must have misjudged something, or the height from sea level was different, because I fell a short distance onto the roof of a building somewhere in the middle of London. The view is pretty good though. People milling around beneath me, muted noise wafting up to me from the street.

A loud chime to my right turns my gaze. Big Ben In all its-er-his? Uh, majestic glory (is it a him?). The time was almost one in the morning. I’m surprised that there are this many people out right now, but I guess every city has its nightlife. It’ll give me a good chance to explore the city unnoticed.

But before I do that, I have to get off this building. And with my luck, I ended up on the second storey too. I look over the edge of the roof. Maybe I can lower myself onto that window ledge? And hopefully not freak anyone out or kill myself in the process. That would certainly be an interesting headline.

“Ok, easy does it now…” I slide myself slowly over the roof’s edge, bit by bit, feet dangling in the air for a couple of long seconds before they make contact with the narrow ledge beneath me. My arms are getting tired. With trembling hands, I grab the window frame and curl in on myself, trying to minimise how much I’m hanging in the air.

I take a peek at the other window below me. Except it’s not a window. It’s a shopfront, with a red and white striped awning. Which I will most definitely go through if I fall. Or put any weight heavier than air on it. So that’s not an option.

Wait. Why is this so hard? I can teleport. I sag against the window. I’m so dumb. I teleport from the window to underneath the awning. Good thing I figured that out before someone noticed me. That would be an awkward conversation. ‘Hey, what are you doing up there?’ ‘Oh I just teleported on top of the building and I’m trying to find a way down.’

I double check that I went unnoticed, and set off. I pass a couple of people, some drunk, and wondering why none have paid any attention to me. I’m not looking for any, but surely you would still glance at the person you’re walking by? Or is that just me?

I get my answer when I walk by the entrance to a nightclub. A group of young adults flow out of the entrance as I walk by. And promptly walk into me. I stagger away from them with a small shriek.

“Hey!-“

“Ugh, what just happened? What did I run into?” This comes from a girl splayed (unglamorously, as her ridiculously short dress had ridden over her butt) on the ground. I was about to give her a piece of my mind, but one of her friends spoke up.

“Bitch, you drunk. There’s nothing there.” I literally face palm myself. I AM SO DUMB!

I’m still under the effects of the invisibility potion! Well at least there was no way anyone saw me hanging off that window. It also meant I wasn’t going to get harassed by anymore drunk millennials. Or any creep walking around at midnight.

Well, if no one’s going to see me… then maybe I can try transforming again? After last time, I’m excited to see what cool outfit I get now. Please be cool, please be cool… it’s weird, I’ve never been this excited about clothes before. That breeze is killer. Shit, it’s cold; I still hate that transformation sequence. Bloody magical girl cliché.

While I’m under the potion’s effects, I can’t see my reflection, but I can still get a good idea of what I’m wearing. It’s… interesting to say the least.

The first thing I notice is the bright silver cloak. On closer inspection, it’s a reversible cloak, with a maroon underside. Underneath that, I’m wearing an off-white hooded tunic and black trousers. To finish it all off, I have brown riding boots and black leather fingerless gloves; and at my neck, I can feel a choker.

Throughout my inspection, a voice at the back of my head was commenting on how I could see my clothes though not my body. I thought it was all meant to be invisible. Maybe it’s because the clothes are magic? But I think no one can see me, because I haven’t been getting any strange looks or shrieks of terror as I continued my exploration.

I wander around the city for a couple of hours. At sunrise I have an incredibly uncomfortable experience. It’s horrible. I suddenly feel, vulnerable, exposed. A shudder racks my body, and forces me to double over and fold in on myself.

The feeling passes as soon as it came. My mouth is dry, and my legs are shaking. Ugh, I feel horrible. Maybe I need to sit down. I stumble backwards onto a door step, and rest a couple of moments while my head clears and I continue on again.

Now that it’s morning, there are more people about. And every one of them I passed stares at me. I think it’s safe to say the potion wore off. Probably would explain that horrid feeling earlier. Ok, I’m starting to get sick of the stares now. I’m an introvert, this is like, one of my versions of hell. I stop briefly to turn the cloak inside out, so it’s maroon and not blinding anyone. After that, the stares lessen.

Of course, I only get a couple moments peace before I hear alarms, screams and gun shots. And of course, against my better judgement, I run towards it.

I shortly arrive at the scene, which is turning out much like I expected. Some loser is robbing a convenience store, and threatening to shoot people.

I’m going to have to stop him. Right now, I’m the only one who can. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” I close my eyes briefly and get in a starting position; I set off running at him, unsure of what I’m hoping to achieve with this, cloak flapping behind me. His attention and gun turns to me.

People scream. Somehow, I make a running jump and kick him in the chest, sending him flying back. His gun goes off and more people scream. He gets back up and takes a swing at me. I only just manage to get my shield up. It’s all adrenaline now, everything’s a blur. I remember knocking him out almost immediately. I remember someone asking for my name. I also remembering answering.

“Silver Witch”.