Mark blinked a couple of times and looked backwards. Nobody was there. He turned back to Lea and said, 'You're speaking to me?'

Lea nodded.

'My name's not Hunter,' he said

Lea sighed. 'Yes, it is...'

The ground underneath her glowed a pale golden colour and the spear shattered. The ground returned to normal shortly after that, but Mark was still on guard and alert. Lea, though, was nonchalant about it, as if it was as normal as breathing.

'I'm sorry if I ever scare you again in the future,' she said, 'but things like this will happen a lot. Will you trust me?'

For all he knew, she might stab him next with that weapon of hers.

'I have no reason to,' he answered.

'Well, your memories are fake,' she said.

He ignored her, turned around and walked away. 'You're mistaking me for someone else.'

'Wait! Wait. Wait. Wait.' she hurried towards him and blocked his way. 'You honestly don't find me familiar?' she asked.

'If I say no, will you leave me alone?'

Lea shook her head. 'No, you need to hear this, especially after what just happened.'

'I have no reason to trust you,' he repeated.

'If you don't hear me out, how will you know?'

That made sense. So far, she looked like the only person who knew anything of what just happened. Might as well invest some time with her.

'You have three minutes to impress me,' he said.

Lea's face brightened. She dug into her trouser's pocket and took out what looked like a coin, but with nothing written on neither sides.

'Please keep this with you,' she said. 'It will keep those monsters away from you.'

'What were they in the first place?' he asked as he took the coin from her hand.

Lea looked upwards again at the sky and made a humming sound.

'Is that her thought pattern or something?' he thought.

'Why don't we speak about this while walking?' she suggested after she looked back at Mark.

Mark nodded and they did as so.

'That thing is the manifestation of a person's feelings,' she said.

Mark raised a brow. 'What?'

'Someone's feelings took the form of that girl. There isn't much harm when something like this happens normally, but it grew too large, so it had to be eradicated,' she said.

'So you didn't do that to save me?' he asked.

'Don't get the wrong idea. I knew you were there, so it was partly to save you.'

'Partly...?'

Lea nodded awkwardly.

'A minute lapsed,' he said after a while, ignoring her completely.

Lea panicked but continued talking. 'Did you hear of the idea that everything in the world is divided into two; the good and the evil, happiness and sadness, the yin and yang?'

'Some people say that,' he said indifferently.

'Now, it's true, and in order for everything to go smoothly, the right balance needs to be struck between the two. Evil takes form in a lot of things, including events, magical creatures and even human. We usually let it be, because life can't go without both hardship and ease, right? If it grows too strong, though, something has to be done about it, and that's how balance is struck.'

'You're supposed to be somebody who strikes that balance?' he asked mockingly.

Lea shook her head. 'No, but if I encounter something wrong, it's my duty to do something about it.'

'Your second minute is almost over,' he said.

Lea's heartbeat increased and her eyes widened. He wasn't even listening to her seriously.

'Any... Anyhow, I'm Lea Goldhawk, mage of the realm of light, and you're Hunter Hawethorne, also a mage of the realm of light.'

Mark raised his brows. 'You're telling me you're a witch.'

Lea's jaws dropped. 'How dare you! I'm not a witch! Witches are evil and wicked and cruel and they use all sorts of dark magic!'

'What's the difference?' he asked.

'I just told you! Besides, didn't you ever hear of mages? Get a clue, you birdbrain!' she yelled out, her looks and character turned a sudden sharp turn.

'Excuse me, but I don't think anyone who is not a wit- a mage will know the difference.'

'Now you know, I hope you don't insult me again.'

Mark coughed and looked at his watch. 'Your third minute-'

'What...? It's your fault! Don't count it!'

'... is passing by. It's not over yet,' he said with a flat face.

Lea gasped. 'So, please keep that with you until tomorrow,' she said while gesturing at the coin, till tomorrow when we talk things over.'

'I'm still not interested, so I'm not speaking to you tomorrow,' he said.

'I'm sure if you speak with your family, they will understand,' she said quickly. She wanted to convey as much information as possible in the short time she had. 'The charm that was used to seal your memories and magic broke. This is the only way to explain any random memories you get...'

'20, 19, 18...'

'... or nostalgia in unfamiliar situations...'

'14, 13, 12...'

'... or any presence you feel...'

She did it.

'Presence...?' he asked.

Lea blinked stupidly at him. 'Yes, presence...'

Mark narrowed his eyes. 'How is that supposed to feel like?'

'It's hard to explain,' Lea said. She looked upwards again. 'Sometimes it's a nagging feeling in your chest if a weak creature is nearby, sometimes it's just your body knowing something is wrong and dangerous if a strong creature is nearby and sometimes it's just feeling like... like... you sense something... You know what I mean, right? Especially the last part...'

she answered like a lost child, with a stupid smile on her face.

'No, the last part is the one I understand the least,' Mark said.

'Really?' Lea asked, surprised. 'Then, how about now?'

He got it then. It was a new feeling, not anything he sensed before. There was something in the air. He knew it though he didn't sense it. It was something he felt from the inside, as if it stemmed from there, but because it, he knew there was something wrong in the air. They were two different places, but he knew that one was the cause of the other.

'You feel it now, right?' she asked.

Yes, he did, but it only increased his confusion. He stopped walking and shot a confused look at her. 'Who are you?' he asked, not sure about anything anymore.

Lea smiled. 'I told you. I'm Lea Goldhawk, a mage of the realm of light,' she said and then pointed at him, 'and you are Hunter Hawethorne, also a mage of the realm of light.'

###

'So, how was school today?' asked Ian.

Mark stared at his plate. There was lasagne, which he loved very much, but he didn't have the appetite to eat anything, and only played around with his fork, cutting the lasagne and moving it around his plate.

'Fine,' he mumbled.

Ian was better that night. He didn't have his white shirt or necktie on, nor did he fill the table with coffee mugs, though Mark spotted a mug with what looked suspiciously like coffee on Ian's side of the table. He insisted it was hot choco, but Mark thought otherwise. Who drinks hot chocolate with his dinner? Either way, Mark didn't plan on telling Ian of his excess stimulants intake those days.

'Well, that's good to hear,' said Ian.

He was back to his cheerful mood and that was what mattered, so Mark didn't care about his coffee intake no matter how much it increased.

Soon enough, Ian's stories for the day filled the room, but Mark's mind was somewhere else. Normally, he would try his best to listen to Ian's stories, but he couldn't take his mind off of his conversation with Lea.

'This is my presence, that thing you just felt. It's different than anything else you felt the past days because it's human energy,' she explained. 'I can control it at will though, so you shouldn't worry about getting that annoying feeling often.'

'Mark,' Ian said when he noticed Mark wasn't listening.

Mark snapped out of his thoughts and stared at Ian.

He was always aware Ian wasn't his real father, but if what Lea said was true, he wouldn't be able to look at Ian the same way anymore.

'You're not with me. Anything new happened at school today?'

'Not really,' said Mark, with an indifferent smile he mustered with effort, 'I just talked with the new girl in our class after school today.'

'You didn't tell me about a new student in your class,' said Ian.

'No, I didn't,' said Mark. Let him be a wizard or whatever Harry Potter story she pulled out, but his memories couldn't be fake. 'You'd know either way, though, if what she told me today was right,' he said, 'about my memories being fake or some story like that.'

Ian didn't reply.

Mark's face fell gradually as the seconds passed, and Ian still didn't reply.

'It's true?' he asked.

Ian sighed and rubbed his eyes. 'Yes,' he said with an exhausted voice.

Now Mark really did lose his appetite. He left his fork on the plate and slumped back in his chair.

'Since when?'

Ian stopped rubbing his eyes. 'Excuse me?'

'Since when were they real? What was real?' Mark asked.

'The past three years,' answered Ian. 'Everything before didn't happen.'

It gripped his chest.

'So, you didn't take me in because you found me quirky?'

Ian didn't reply.

It wrapped itself around his heart, so hard he wasn't sure if it'll leave.

'You didn't berate me for not caring when I fell off my bike when I was 10?'

Ian still didn't answer.

It was heavy.

'I wasn't actually a loner, was I? That's why I don't remember having any close childhood friends?'

Ian kept quite again.

Whenever Mark recalled something that supposedly happened, Ian played along, but it pained him. It pained him to see Mark like that, before and now.

Mark didn't know how to feel. He cherished everything he thought had happened, no matter what they were.

Then there was Ian. He didn't actually know him before three years ago? He couldn't look at Ian the same way again. Three years is a long time, but he suddenly felt like a stranger.

He felt helpless.

Ian stood up and walked around the table till he reached Mark. He knelt beside him, but Mark didn't look at him. His gaze was fixed on the table.

'Listen, Mark. Even if almost nothing is real for you, you've always been-'

'Was she real?'

Ian's eyes widened.

'Was mum real?'

Ian looked down at the floor. 'She was, but for only two months or so...'

Two months was worse.

Mark basically didn't know her.

'Mark, look at me,' said Ian.

He didn't.

'Look at me. I need to tell you this, and I need to make sure you're with me.'

He still didn't budge.

Mark suddenly chocked out of nowhere and coughed.

It was that feeling again, the same one he got from Lea, but this time it came from somebody else. He knew it. It came from Ian.

Mark looked at Ian with a shocked face as he held his shirt's collar.

'Why...? How...?' He couldn't ask.

Ian shot him a serious, flat face and Mark wanted to fall down.

Soon enough, though, it stopped.

'Thought this was the only way I could get your attention, sorry,' he said. He held Mark's shoulders. 'I'm sure you already know you're somebody else, your real name and a lot of other things. That's why I feel I have to say this, and if you want to get mad at me, then get mad, but your parents are neither missing, nor dead, and I communicate with them whenever I want.'

Then it was silence.

None of them spoke after that for a couple of minutes. Mark's eyes were wide open. He felt completely helpless, but more than that, more than not living with his real family, he couldn't guess why did he end up being in this situation.

Did he do something wrong?

Was there something wrong in his old life?

Why tell him everything now?

'Why...?' asked Mark.

Ian took time to reply. 'Please let this sink first, Mark. I'm afraid it's going to be too much for you to bear.'

'I want to know.'

'Not no-'

Mark stood up. 'But I want to know!'

He couldn't understand. If Ian cared, why did he drop the bomb this way? Why would anyone do what they did to him if they cared?

Why did Ian have that sorry look on his face?

It frustrated him to no end.

'Please, Ian,' said Mark his breathing getting heavier by the second, 'if you don't tell me, I don't think it will ever sink. Please, I'm just holding on a thin rope now. I need you to tell me.'

'You're afraid,' said Ian.

He was right. It was the fear of the unknown. He didn't even know if he could trust Ian anymore. He didn't know who was he supposed to be or do.

Most of all, he felt like he lost his only family, Ian.

No matter how much he hated to admit his fear, he nodded.

Ian sighed and stood up. He looked down at Mark. 'Will you walk out on me?' he asked.

Mark looked up at him with a confused face. He looked down at the floor after that and said, 'I don't want to, that's why I'm in denial.' He took a couple of steps away from him. 'I still want to call you dad, but how can I?'

He didn't care about his real family in that second. They didn't feel real. Reality was right in front of him, but it was shattered a couple of minutes ago.

Ian shut his eyes. 'I'm Sorry they did that to you, Mark.'

He wasn't Mark, though. He was another mysterious, unknown boy called Hunter. He didn't want to be him.

Hunter should stay away. Hunter should leave.

He didn't want anything to do with him.

That couldn't happen, though, since they were the same person.

'Ian, just... just who am I?'

He gasped when the next thing he knew was being held in Ian's tight embrace.

'You're Mark. You're my son, and I'm very proud of you.'