Anyways…

“What should I read next?” frowning, my eyes darted around the room, until an interesting book caught my attention. The only downside to this was that I couldn’t reach it. So I did what any normal child my age would do when they wanted something really badly. 

I obviously climbed the bookshelf–

I’m joking! I’m not stupid, please, I grabbed a chair and stood on it. 

You can say it. 

I’m so smart right? I know, thank you for the compliment. 

While trying to pull the book off the shelf I nearly fell to my death but I have super senses now and caught myself. Imagine if I died. Smiling, I quietly laughed to myself, “I already did…” Standing there, the smile gradually faded as the words repeated in my head. 

I died… 

Pushing back the emotions that threatened to come out, a soft laugh escaped in an attempt to drown out the voices. Shaking away the negative thoughts that were creeping in, I quickly sat down in the chair. 

In a low tone I read the title, “Basic History of magic.” Carefully opening the book, I looked through the pages reading what I could understand and leaving out what I didn’t. That was until I came across, “ah, the introduction. I don’t know what those first few pages were. Must have been in another language.” 

Humming I ran my finger along the page, magic comes from every corner but only a few have access to it… blah blah blah… much like mythic beasts we have a magical aura that is released but it’s only after the awakening process… 

“That’s lame,” I muttered, flipping the page immediately going back to reading. The awakening process: the first awakening process begins around the age of six. During that time a mage would begin to form a mana seed also known as a nucleus, that is at the center of the body… takes…  “six months for the root to grow? What the heck? Why does it take so long? And we can’t leave our homes once it starts? What if you need to go somewhere? You’re stuck?” I whispered, glancing at the door to make sure no one was there. 

“That’s crappy,” and here I was thinking it would be a quick and easy process like on tv. “What the– There’s a second awakening?” Oh it’s during adolescence, makes sense. “It’s only four months.” that’s not that bad, it’s growing with the body so I don’t mind that, but the first one is overkill. I thought, shaking my head. 

“No one really needs that much time right?” muttering to myself, I continued reading through the book. I came across all sorts of different things magic based. For example, there were different stages of magic and they were separated by six tiers. Each tier having its own respective color gradually making its way towards a similar goal. That goal being to reach a complete pure white. But according to the book not many people manage to get each tier to that colorless state. It’s… and I quote, “rare for a mage to have every stage turn completely white before going to the next tier.”

The growth and strength of the mage is shown by the lack of color on each tier they’ve reached at their current age. Tier one is represented by the color brown, since it’s supposed to be the very beginning of a mage's growth. Tier one is the hardest stage to go through since it’s the beginning of a person’s life as a mage. According to the book it normally takes a mage reaching the second awakening to get the second tier to be triggered. 

Using magic in tier one is difficult but not impossible. At least that’s what it says. The reason being is that the mana seed is protected by a shield since the growth of the mana bed is in progress. “It usually takes a year after the first awakening to be complete, plus another three years for the nucleus to fully mature which in return triggers a second awakening.” 

Wow, that’s a lot. Should I even read the rest of this? This book is huge. Taking a deep breath, I went back to reading. 

Humming, I smiled, “tier two.” Most things in tier two were similar except a few things, one being that using magic is easier and it won’t cause overexertion of the mana seed, lessening chances of damage. 

Sadly, it said nothing about what happens when you reach a colorless tier for each stage. Maybe it just hasn’t been done yet. With that thought I went on to the next topic. 

“Tunnels?” Squinting I kept reading, tunnels are what plants would call roots. They travel through the arms, legs and in rare cases the head of the body. These “roots” come from the mana seed planted in the center of a mage’s body. “Oh, we’re plants, no wonder my mom named me Lotus. It all makes sense now.” Shaking my head, I rolled my eyes at the obvious reason for my name. 

But it sucks that only mage’s of high tiers can see these tunnels.

“I wonder at what level you can see them.” Turning the page I squinted bringing the book closer to my face, “do I need glasses?” 

Um… mage forms? “We have forms too?” Magical beings are separated into two forms, the first being dicot, which is a mage that absorbs energy and converts it into magic. “Oh, it’s not what I was thinking.” 

The second form is called a monocot… these mages use the energy stored in their bodies to convert it into magic. All forms are naturally determined by the flower said mage possesses after their awakening. “So how do you know what flower you’ll get? Is it genetics? What if your parents have two different flowers, what happens then?” 

So many questions and not enough answers. 

“Wait… I wonder what my mother and father are,” I muttered to myself, with a confused frown. “I know my dad meditates a lot so does that mean he’s a monocot? Or a dicot?” With that thought in mind I turned the page trying to figure out which one you would need to meditate for. 

“Familiar bonds…” dragging my finger across the page I began reading again, bonds or familiars are animal like creatures that guide mages and offer support. “Okay, so a pet with powers?” frowning I kept reading, and apparently you can only get a familiar after the second awakening, which makes sense. I guess it's because the body is maturing or the magic is mature? “I don’t know. 

“Most mages find it difficult to form a proper contract with creatures stronger than themselves.” Then what about when the animal chooses the mage? Stuff like that happens right? …Oh, here it is, “in most cases the familiar chooses its own master instead of the mage choosing for themselves…” I whispered, dragging my finger across the page, scanning through the paragraphs on the different types of contracts familiars and mages make.. 

After reading all that I paused trying to process all that information. “Okay so familiars aren’t just pets but they’re also a form of backup or where you can store mana for when you need it.” I muttered to myself trying to re-explain what I read in a way I could understand. 

Before I could even continue reading, a very loud, “Lotus!” came from the living room and the book in my hands almost fell to the ground. Luckily, I tightened my grip immediately and shut the book, quickly standing on the chair to put it back where I found it. My name was called again as I climbed off the chair, “yes? I’m coming!” I responded, pushing the chair back where I found it. 

Glancing around, I turned running out of the room before she came to look for me. Sliding across the floor I came to a complete stop, my mom’s hands grabbing my shoulders, “woah, slow down.” 

She softly laughed, pulling out a small cloth, wiping my mouth. Oh, that’s embarrassing, I didn’t realize. 

“Would you like to go see the garden with Amelia and I?” she asked, carefully tucking the cloth back in her pocket. When I opened my mouth to decline the offer, Amelia’s blonde hair bouncing as she nodded caught my attention. The pleading look in her eyes made me change what I was going to say immediately. 

“Uh… yes?” I tried to make it sound convincing or mostly believable, but I only received a frown from my mother. “Are you sure? You’ve never been interested before.” 

Continuing to stare at Amelia, she kept pushing for me to say yes. So I put on my best smile and proceeded to use my toddler features to be as convincing as possible, “yes, I wanna see the flowers.” Is she believing me? Humming, Lydia looked behind her at my dear sister, but Amelia had already looked away, picking at her nails as if she wasn’t even paying attention. 

You sneaky girl. 

Shaking my head at my sister with a disapproving look, Lydia clicked her tongue, a sigh following and she stood up. “Alright, make sure you have your shoes on by nightfall so we can go outside to watch the flowers.” 

Amelia did a little dance of victory, moving her arms up and down with a bright smile on her face. “I’ll be in the study, if you two make a mess make sure to clean it up,” her hand brushing across my head as she walked away. 

I can’t believe I was used in such a way. I thought that was only for funny jokes between siblings. Mom you just got finessed by a bunch of children, aren't you going to do something? 

Looking back at my evil sister, I just shook my head. Can’t believe this, you just dragged me into your little scheme to see some flowers? Really? Where did you learn this? 

She grabbed my hand and pulled me into the hallway, towards her bedroom, “I want to show you something.” My poor legs, bare with me please. While she was basically dragging me to her room we passed by the little library, Lydia is writing again. 

Why does she write so much? I wonder who she’s writing to. Maybe Elijah? 

Walking into Amelia’s room, something was glowing by her closet. Squinting I tried to get a better look as we slowly got closer to it. “Did you take mommy’s flow–” a hand was slapped over my mouth so fast and a very aggressive “shush,” came from my sister’s mouth. “No, it’s mine,” she whisper-yelled. 

Oh, why do I not believe you? Also– I pushed her hand from my mouth, scrunching up my nose, “what?”

“I found it,” she grinned, keeping her voice low, glancing at the door every few minutes. Found it? Humming, I leaned over to get a better look at the strangely colored flower. As of recently, I haven’t found any strange plants, but this one was the most out of the ordinary since it changed colors constantly. 

“Isn't it pretty?” she asked and I only nodded trying to figure out how it was changing colors like that. Is it magic? Amelia doesn’t have magic yet though, right? Glancing at Amelia, I squinted to see if she had any floral marks on her anywhere visible but she looked normal. Plus I’ve never seen her use magic. 

“Don’t tell mommy or daddy,” she suddenly said and I placed my hand over my mouth to show I wouldn’t say a word. You don’t have to worry, I'm not a snitch. 

Sitting down next to her, I tilted my head, “Mimi, why do you have this?” pointing at the flower I waited for a response. The answer I was expecting was completely different from what I got. “Because it’s pretty.” 

Of course, completely understandable. I keep forgetting you’re like five. 

We watched this flower change colors but when I went to touch it, out of curiosity, my hand started stinging. The reason for this was, “don’t touch it, you’ll kill it with your dirty hands.” she glared at me, my hand still hurting from the smack. 

“My hands aren’t dirty,” I immediately said without much thought as I stared down at the red mark she gave me, that freakin hurt. 

“Yes they are!” 

“Nuh uh!” frowning, I rubbed my hand, easing the pain with a confused expression on my face. “Look at them! All boys are icky.” 

Shaking my head, I channeled my inner toddler, “says who?” This girl looked me dead in the eyes and said, “says daddy.” 

Oh, okay fair. You won that one. 

It was faint but the animals outside were fully awake tonight. Pushing myself up I ran towards the window to hear them better and the sky was so different from what I was used to. It’s a double moon. “Mimi there's two moons in the sky,” I whispered, staring in awe. I don’t know if I was scared or amazed by this but it gave me an unsettling chill and I couldn't tear my eyes away. 

Amelia was excited but I was terrified by the sight of two moons. What is the purpose of two? 

“A lunar tandem,” she muttered, staring up at the sky with amazement in her eyes. Lunar tandem? “What’s that?” when she looked at me her eyes had stars in them, it reminded me of a galaxy. “Mom said that it’s when two full moons show up at once, but it’s only for one night before the other moon hides behind the first one again. It won’t come back again for another ten years.” 

Ten years? That’s a long time. Why does it even show up in the first place? Staring out the window a loud howl was heard from the forest behind our home. Soon multiple sounds of different animals followed suit. They were oddly energetic tonight, it must be nice to have so much freedom. 

“Lotus, you hear the animals?” Nodding I stared out the window, listening to them. They all seemed to harmonize in a way that was so familiar yet so foreign. “You want to see them one day?” she said, but I wasn’t sure if she was asking me or stating that I want to see them, so I only gave another nod as a response. 

“We’ll get to see them soon.” 

“How?” I whispered and she only smiled, placing a finger against her lips, “it’s a secret.” her lapis eyes seemed to glow as she smiled at me. “A secret?” She only hummed, turning her attention back towards the sky and we sat in silence watching the moons slowly raise higher in the sky. 

The moons reminded me of eyes watching over us, and it made me question if I actually knew anything about this world. 

By the time the moons were at their peak in the sky Amelia stood up, waving for me to follow her down the hall. I forgot we were going out to see the flowers.  “Lotus, Amelia are you both ready?” Lydia called as we ran into the living room, grabbing our shoes. 

Pulling on my sandals, Amelia reached for the door knob as our mom walked into the living room. She kneeled down helping me buckle up the shoes, making sure I had them on the right foot. “Amelia, wait,” she muttered after both shoes were secured on my feet. “Are your shoes on the right foot?” 

She nodded and Lydia waved for her to go ahead. I stood up following her out the door. I wasn’t sure how the weather here worked, but so far it seemed to be similar to the weather I was used to in some ways. Though when it gets hot, it’s hot on an extreme level. It’s only good to go out around this time of the summer since fall is right around the corner, along with my birthday. 

Upon walking out the door, I froze since the energy was completely different from usual. Amelia had already run pretty far to get to the flowers but I felt so… overwhelmed by the colors that my brain stopped working for a second. Is this why she wanted to see the flowers so badly? 

It was a bluish undertone to all the flowers, but they were all different shades. “Go ahead,” Lydia placed her hand on my back to gently push me forward. With that boost and factory reset, I ran towards the garden to get a closer look. 

If I had known this would be my new life I would’ve done research on flowers before I died.