Everyone now in Tom’s house became preoccupied in their own tasks. Barton was helping his mother prepare breakfast, while the others waited in the den. Leo used the opportunity in telling his friends about all the strange things happening to him. From hearing the voice in the training grounds yesterday to meeting Morphos in his dream. It started off rather uncomfortable, but the sorcerer managed to get through his explanation.

“And that’s it,” Leo said, finishing his story. “So…, what do your thoughts?”

His friends were all silent as he waited anxiously for their opinion. The young sorcerer felt the urge to just run out of the room to avoid any embarrassment. Especially with how they appear to look at him like he’s gone mental somehow. Fortunately, though, his cousin Kazu was first to break the silence.

“Uh, let’s see if we have this right,” he began, “You heard a voice call your name in the training grounds yesterday morning…”

“Had a some mysterious being appear in your dream last night…” Celine added.

“And it gave you a gift without telling you what it is?” Concluded Tom.

Leo brushed through his hair as he awkwardly nodded to their summary. Hearing the details repeated back to him sounded ridiculous even to himself. The sorcerer looked at each of them and saw the expressions upon all their faces. Either showing concern for him or looking for an answer that best fits what they’d heard. Still though, nobody laughed at Leo about it, which was what he was hoping for.

“I don’t know, Leo,” doubted Kazu and considered, “To me, it sounds like you just had a crazy dream.”

“I want to believe that Kazu,” Leo sighed sadly. “But it all felt so real, I can’t shake the memory of it.”

“Maybe it was,” proclaimed Tom.

All three magic wielders turned to the older man sitting with them.

“You’re not serious, are you?” questioned the Kagemusha.

“Of course, I am,” he stated. “I met a woman once in Aiden who said she was hearing voices like Leo.”

Leo looked more surprised Celine’s brother, who sat casually in his chair. For him, it sounded too good to believe that another person had been in his shoes. But he may as well take it, considering that his friends were still showing doubt.

“Really, Tom?” Celine queried in disbelief. “She could’ve have just been a witch like me?”

“She wasn’t,” Tom smirked, getting up from his seat, “In fact, you can go in the kitchen and ask her yourself.”

“Breakfast is ready!”

A woman’s voice chimed just when Tom was exiting the den. The trio remained skeptical over what he had just said as they followed behind him. Though, when reaching the dining room, they became mesmerized by what laid before them. Large assortments of freshly prepared food were sitting undisturbed atop a wooden table. Leo, Kazu, and Celine felt their mouths water with immense hunger.

“Are you three just going to stare at the food I prepared?” Jested Tom.

While his friends went to sit down, Leo noticed the woman standing beside Tom. She wore what appeared to be a silk, red dress decorated with numerous small jewels. Her black hair was long and wavy under a see-through scarf placed over of head. Barton came out and clung to the woman’s lower half, sharing a small resemblance to her.

“You must be Barton’s mother,” Leo guessed matter-of-factly.

“Why, yes I am,” She answered in captivation. “My name is Aesha, and I’m very happy to have you all here with us.”

The sorcerer nodded before sitting down at the table with everyone. They all began eating together peacefully, then went on talking about random topics. Most of which were about what the trio would expect from their exploration in Stone Cross. Once they were finished with their meals, Tom and Barton went to the kitchen to clean dishes. Leo, Kazu, and Celine remained seated in the dining room with Aesha.

“Oh, my gods!” Immensely sighed Kazu. “That breakfast was delicious!”

“I’m so glad you enjoyed it,” Aesha said gratefully. “I’ve practiced years of learning to cook after leaving Aiden.”

“You’re from Aiden!?” Celine reacted. “That’s incredible! Is it true there’s a large desert city built around an oasis?”

She confirmed with only a nod, making the witch gasp in astonishment. But Leo’s thoughts were more on the conversation they had with Tom earlier in the den. About how he talked of meeting a woman who claimed of hearing voices like him. And he even mentioned to them that they should go and verify his story with her. Aesha did just say that she herself was from Aiden, which could only mean one thing…

“Um, Aesha,” Leo called and said, “Do you mind if I ask something?”

“About why I was hearing voices?” She questioned back. “I overheard Tom tell you when Barton and I were setting the table.”

The sorcerer was stunned to hear Aesha corroborate her husband’s story. Kazu and Celine were listening, but they seemed dissatisfied in believing her words. That’s when she decided it was better to show evidence of it to the trio. Aesha placed both her hands over the table, leaving a small space of air between them both. She calmly took a deep breath one after another, until a flame suddenly lit before her.

“Wow, fire magic!” Commented Celine. “Can you teach me to do that?”

“It’s not a spell,” Aesha pointed out. “This is a psychic ability known as ‘pyrokinesis’.”

The trio looked dumbfounded as the woman extinguished the tiny flame.

“You’re a psychic?” Reiterated Kazu. “You mean the kind who use crystal balls to tell people’s future.”

“You’re thinking of fortune tellers,” Aesha corrected. “Most of them are not real psychics, like me and Barton.”

“Barton?!”

They shouted the boy’s name in unison as he came out of the kitchen. He made eye contact with everyone before running to the other side of the table. And much to their surprise, Barton stopped beside Leo and just climbed up on his lap. Astonished, the sorcerer did nothing to keep the child from clinging tightly onto him. 

To be continued...