The concept of sleeping has become difficult over the past few days. The constant sound of unknown voices coming from outside has taken away my well made sleep schedule. 

So when this long awaited night came along, I followed my sister blindly into the unpredictable forest. Much like when I woke up that first day, Amelia told me I didn’t need my shoes. Walking outside barefooted was oddly comforting. The grass beneath my feet was cool and refreshing, giving off this relaxing energy. 

I guess nature has always had that effect on people, but now I could actually understand what it was like. Being outside like this had the same effect as just coming out of a massage room. You felt better and all that stress that built up over all that time was gone. Not to mention, being outside and having my freshly formed mana seed made my senses ten times better. My hearing was so clear that I could almost see the light bugs flying around on the outskirts of the forest. 

“Lotus, come on. I wanna show you something.” Amelia waved me over as we stepped past the barrier between the forest and our home. The moment I crossed over, the light sound of the waterfall hit my ears, causing me to stop in my tracks. 

Amelia smiled back at me and pointed to her ear, “you can hear it too?” Only giving a nod, a short breathy laugh escaped her mouth, her smile growing wider. “Come on, it sounds better up close.” 

Better how? 

Confused, I followed her further into the forest. She was a lot faster than I remember– or maybe I just got slower. Either way I still ate dirt with a single misstep, gotta love that. 

“Are you okay?” Amelia asked, extending her hand out for me to grab as she pulled me to my feet. “Yeah,” I muttered, embarrassed, motioning for her to keep going. Act like you didn’t see that. 

When she turned around and kept going, I decided to just follow in her footsteps, mimicking every move she made so I wouldn’t fall again. Stepping over rocks and branches with ease. Now that I was simply copying what Amelia did, it made the trip to the waterfall feel like a breeze. Not to mention that my steps were lighter, making it easy to actually keep up with her. 

My body was no longer dragging me down. The empty weight I was carrying around before was gone, now that I had this mana coursing through my entire body. 

The further we traveled into the forest the more I noticed how there weren’t as many animals around like before. Did they leave the forest while I was asleep? Or are they just resting? “Mimi, where did all the animals go?” I decided to ask, since I knew she had come out here a few times while I was unconscious. 

At first she didn’t answer, which made me concerned but then the silence was filled. “I don’t know, they just stopped showing up one day.” 

That’s odd. 

“We’re here!” she cheered, pointing ahead of us, “do you hear it now?” Squinting at her confused, I shook my head, “hear what?” 

“The waterfall’s song.” 

Song? Shaking my head I tried to listen for whatever she was talking about, but to no avail, all I heard was water running. Clicking her tongue, her hands cupped my ears. “Focus on just the waterfall, ignore all the other sounds around us.” 

With a nod, I attempt to do as she said. My eyes fell shut while I listened, gradually cutting out all the other sounds around me. My ears adjusted like a radio trying to find the right station. When all the static and unwanted commercials stopped collapsing onto one another, the music played like a perfect symphony and I just smiled. 

The song was so pleasing to the ear. My shoulders loosened up with the increased serotonin my body was receiving through the waterfall's music. Opening my eyes, Amelia was doing the same, enjoying the music just like I was. 

For most of our walk through the forest, I kept my ears focused on the waterfall. It was to keep my mind at ease, when we passed strange shadows that didn’t make pleasing shapes in the dark. 

Subconsciously, I held onto the back of Amelia’s shirt so I wouldn’t get separated from her. My grip only tightened when we made our way towards the back of the waterfall. Though at some point I had to let go so we could crawl behind it without getting wet. 

“Lotus lookup.” 

Lifting my gaze, my eyes widened and a bright smile formed on my lips. The cave was brightly lit with so many light bugs, all different colors. A soft, “woah,” was all I could say in response as I was lost for words. It was so cool, I had no idea so many lived behind the waterfall. 

So this is where they all go. 

“How did you… When did you find this?” I whispered, trying to not scare them away. She only shrugged, “you were asleep for almost a year, I had time.” Was I really asleep for that long? It didn’t feel that way. 

Glancing over at Amelia she grabbed a jar buried under some flowers and dirt handing it over to me. “This is for you.” 

Holding up the jar, a few of the light bugs flew around, inside. The light flickering showed that they were still alive. “Will they be upset that you trapped them in here?” I decided to ask since I was worried they’d get aggressive if I let them out. “Nope, mommy said that Lumons aren’t violent or deadly.” 

Lumons? That’s what they’re called? Interesting. 

“Do you like it? I know you like stuff like that so I tried my best to catch some.” she shuddered before quietly adding, “happy late birthday, L.” 

“Yes… thank you Mimi.” 

As time passed, we continued to wander around the forest. Searching for new areas we hadn’t yet explored. At least that was Amelia’s reason for going deeper into the unknown. I, on the other hand, was searching for my next obsession now that lumons have been acquired. 

This is for scientific purposes, obviously… not so I could scare Amelia with the next creepy bug I found, of course not. Don’t put thoughts in my head. 

Following in my sister’s footsteps, I walked on the same path she did while staring down at my jar of new light bulbs. “How long can I keep them in this jar before letting them out?” 

Amelia hummed with a light shake of her head, “you don’t have to let them out, they live off mana. Just feed them yours and they should be okay.” Knitting my brows together I looked between the back of my sister’s head and the jar, interesting. 

“How long do they live?” 

“However long you can feed them,” she shrugged, soon coming to an abrupt stop, causing me to bump into her and fall back onto my bottom. “Amelia why did you–” 

“Shush.” she whispered, staring at something ahead of her. Leaning over, I tried to figure out what it was that made her stop like that. My hearing that was still focused on the waterfall got cut off immediately once I realized what she was staring at. 

“What– what is that?” I whispered, my voice trembling while trying to quickly get to my feet before it noticed us. “Lupo… not the friendly kind,” she whispered, slowly stepping backwards, her hand gripping my arm as she pushed me back the way we came. 

There's friendly versions of that thing?

With soundless hits to my arms she spoke up in a low whisper, “run… run! Go!” she pushed as the animal lifted its head in our direction. Its glowing eyes were the last thing I saw before my feet dug into the ground and I took off down the path we came. 

My grip on the jar in my hands tightened the faster I ran. Amelia was a lot quicker than I, so she eventually passed me up. Normally I wouldn’t mind that, but my little feet couldn’t keep up with hers. 

I really don’t want to be its next meal. 

“Run faster!” she shouted, jumping over a tree branch with ease– how? Is it magic? She has to be using magic.  

“Mimi I can’t run as fast as you,” I blurted out, watching my footing, to prevent myself from getting caught. At first I thought she didn’t hear me with all the stress we were under but she glanced at me, with her hand extended out for mine. She didn’t slow down, forcing me to speed up so I could grab onto her hand. I hadn’t realized how close that lupo was until she pulled me forward and the empty snap of its jaw was heard behind us. 

Bro I almost died! 

“Try to keep up,” was all she said before letting go of my hand again. Wait! Damnit! Scrunching up my nose I had no choice but to try and use my mana in order to run faster and actually be at the same pace as her. 

I have the body of a three year old, I’m not as agile as she is. I feel like she doesn’t realize that. Running past the waterfall and through the field of flowers, Amelia ran her fingers through the water and grabbed a handful of flowers on our way out, crushing them in her hands. 

When we were getting close to that mana barrier she came to a complete stop and turned around, wet hands full of the crushed up flower petals she grabbed on the way. 

What is she doing? 

“Amelia run!” I yelled before my foot got caught and I tripped, scraping my leg on a toppled over branch. Gritting my teeth I pushed myself back to my feet, picking up the jar that slipped from my hands. An injured leg only slowed me down, making my run move more like a quick hobble as I dove across the barrier. The moment I was safe Amelia’s body began to glow, the mana tunnels leading to the core of her magic ran along her arms and legs like a tangled up and confusing map. 

“Lotus, go home.” she demanded, her eyes locked on the animal running towards us. “Let me help you–” 

“No, go home.” 

“But I–” 

“Go!” she shouted, that threatening aura I felt once before causing me to flinch back. 

…wanna stay with you. 

Upon turning around, she threw the petals in the air and much like when she was cutting up vegetables she moved her fingers like an artist. 

The petals now being sharp blades cutting through the air as she flung them towards the wild beast charging at her. Her golden curls followed her every move and for a moment it seemed like she was dancing with how graceful her movements were. 

It didn’t make sense how she was so well at adapting to her environment and even mastering her abilities in such a short amount of time. Does it really only take a year to get to that level of mastery or is my sister just really gifted? 

It was then when I realized I really was the weaker one of the both of us. I want to blame it on the fact that I was younger but, even when she was my age she was better at her control. 

A hollow thump pulled me back to the scene and Amelia came running across the barrier, grabbing my arm in the process. “Let’s go,” she pulled me toward the house, blood staining her face and hands as I stared in horror. 

Did she kill it?

“Amelia, did you–” she shook her head, “it’s hurt, get inside.” 

Stumbling through the door, we silently went our separate ways. Amelia headed to the bathroom to clean her hands and face while I walked to my room, placing the lumons under my bed where it was dark for them. My injured leg stung as it rubbed against the fabric of my blanket, but I ignored it trying to fall asleep, without that image of Amelia covered in blood traveling through my thoughts. 

I hope she’s okay… 

I somehow managed to get a few hours or less of sleep before my sister’s voice woke me up. “L, it’s time for breakfast,” she sang, yanking the blanket from my cold body. She is way too cheerful for someone that was covered in blood last night. 

“Get up! Mommy said we’re going to the market today!” Ah that’s what it is… Wait– “really?” 

She only nodded and ran out of the room. Getting up to follow her, the moment I added weight to my legs, a sharp pain shot up the injured one, nearly losing my balance. 

Did I really hurt myself that bad? 

Biting my lower lip, I pushed through the pain. Forcing myself to walk to the kitchen like nothing was wrong. 

“Good morning my flower,” Lydia smiled and I rubbed my eyes muttering a quiet, “morning.” Climbing into my chair like every other day, the basic routine. “We have some things to discuss this morning,” Lydia began, placing our plates of food in front of us. 

Neither I nor Amelia dared to touch our plates, until our mother was seated and she took her first bite. It was after we had a few bites of food did she start talking again. “How would you both feel about moving to the capital?” 

The capital? Why would we move there? 

Amelia was the first to open her mouth, “but it’s loud in Indica.” she said after swallowing her food. “I know but you’ll have to start school at some point, Miya.” 

They have schools here? 

“Why can’t I go to school here?” she asked and Lydia shook her head, “you know why.” Amelia pressed her lips together in a frown, picking with the food left on her plate. Glancing between them, with a squint of confusion the conversation wasn’t making sense. Why can’t she go to school here? Am I missing something? 

“Do I get to go to school with Amelia?” I asked and her response was so quick it gave me whiplash. The blunt rejection was so unexpected I didn’t know if she was serious or not. Only judging by her expression I could only assume she was being serious. 

Then another question tugged at my mind and it fell out of my mouth, “why not?” This time Amelia answered instead of my mom, “because it's not safe for you.” 

“Oh…” sitting back in my seat they continued the conversation without me. “We will be leaving after Lotus turns four, we must be ready before then,” she stated standing up from her seat.

With concern Lydia stared down at my cut up leg, “how did you get this?” 

Should I lie?