Since my 12th birthday, life has been tough; not a day would go by where I wouldn't ask myself, “What's the point?”,  Some days it was hard just getting out of bed, but I somehow managed to, since there is this unknown something, this strange feeling that keeps me alive. Therefore, I though I might try and do something I have always wanted to do, magic.

I started by reading some of my father's books, since, I wasn't able to practice magic yet, but I could at least get familiar with it. One of the most important things that I learned was that not everyone could use magic; only around one in five individuals could use it. I was definitely worried at first, fearing my dreams would be crushed, the minute I started to pursue them. But I still had hope. I wasn't able to study 24/7; I had to take care of the house, the garden, getting food and water but whenever I did have time, I would study 

That's all life had been those few months: I would wake, then eat, study, then eat, study again,then sleep, and repeat. Until I came to a breakthrough, after a year of studying, I felt a slight tingle, and I was able to feel something I wasn't capable of feeling before, mana. You see, since the very beginning it had been clear to me that not everyone could use magic, and honestly, I didn't know why, but I did know that it should reveal itself during puberty. And so it did; I was able to slightly feel the mana surge through my body as I was filled with euphoria. 

I hadn't felt that way for a long time, if ever. From there on I would still study magic theory but only for the sake of practicing it, since I still wasn't able to do much. I wasn't able to manifest my mana in any way, shape, or form; I only achieved the potential to do so. I had to meditate for hours, concentrating, day and night, until I got a better feel for my mana but it was hard and unmotivating since I wasn't feeling like I was making any progress, yet I kept at it. Sometimes it would be hard to concentrate, and whenever that was the case, I would go to my parent's grave to meditate there. 

Their presence made me feel at ease, and eventually I did start to get a better feel for my mana; from there on, I accelerated. I quickly got better, being able to feel the magic flow through my body a lot easier, faster, and stronger, like a reflex. 

Eventually, after six months of meditation, I was able to do it, manifest my mana, but it still hadn't meant anything. By that I mean, I wasn't able to use my mana. All I did was manifest my mana; it was just a pretty ball of manifested mana, but of course, that still was a big step. However, I didn't know how to use my mana because I simply didn't have the necessary knowledge, so back to theory it was, and the first thing that caught my eye was a book called “Elemental Magic.” I immediately started reading it; the first thing I learned was that most people could only use one or even two out of five elements: fire, wind, earth, water, and electricity. 

Naturally, I was excited to know which I could use, and the easiest way to find out was quite simple. I had to basically see which elements my mana was attracted to; therefore, I had to manifest my mana first, then see if it would be attracted to fire, water, earth, etc. 

I started with earth; I just rubbed my ball of mana on the ground outside and checked if it changed, but nothing happened. Then I went to a pond and dipped my ball of mana in the water; nothing happened. Then again, I went to my fireplace and slightly held my ball of mana in the fire, yet nothing happened. I was left with two things, wind and electricity, and if it was wind, the ball of mana would have naturally changed, that left me with electricity. That was problematic; I mean, don't get me wrong, electricity is what I actually wished for, but there's just no way for me to interact with it, going by this book. 

It said that I need to expose my mana very frequently to the element, taking the role of a catalyst, until it can independently produce this transformed mana, but with electricity, that's difficult. I had to first find a way to get my hands on some electricity, and the only way I knew was through the weather. I had come up with a PLAN! In order to achieve this plan, there were two conditions; one of the conditions was a storm appearing at my location, and the other condition was... I needed to be struck by lightning. It should be possible if my mana is attractive enough to the lightning.

To achieve this, my manifested mana needed to be a lot more dense and after coming to this conclusion, all there was to do was practice. I practiced for months; a few storms passed by during that time; however, my ball of mana still lacked density. Another few months passed by, and my manifested mana was getting denser and denser, yet it still wasn't enough. 

However, after a total of 6 months, another storm appeared, but this time I had a good feeling. I got out of my home and went outside. I stood in the rain and closed my eyes. After this I was definently getting a cold, but it will be worth it. I manifested my mana, concentrating to get it as dense is posible while I steadily raise my arm. All I could hear was the rainfall and lightning striking the ground in the distance, and all I could feel was the rain on my skin as I waited in anticipation.

 

And eventually it happened: 

I was struck by lightning.