Sunlight shone through the windows, with the birds chirping to their own tune.
They were all signs that greeted a new beginning, a new day.
The bluish-black haired young man’s eyes fluttered open, grogginess and confusion shining through the pupils.
‘…?’
He sat up. Albeit slowly. Looking around, he took in the state of the room.
‘The curtains were opened… Mana? Mom?’
He narrowed his eyes. Memories of yesterday flashed through his mind.
‘Wait…’
‘Waitwaitwaitwait.’
He got off from the bed, still pondering.
Instinctually, he focused on his left leg, carefully putting it in a space where he believed it wouldn’t roll over and make him slip.
‘???’
That sequence of actions puzzled him.
Why did he do that?
Was something there?
Had something happened?
…Did he forget again?
He looked out the window, squinting to adjust to the sunlight. The curtains were open, and so were the windows. He could easily peer over the thing and view his surroundings.
His eyes widened somewhat in realization, as he gazed at the tree stump outside the compounds.
‘That tree…’
A doodle of three people came to mind. A young woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties, a young boy, and a little girl.
Eon gripped the window frame tighter.
"..."
Then, a lightbulb went off in his head.
It didn’t light up his face though.
He managed his clothes, and walked down the wooden stairs. His thoughts had gotten somewhat muddled and cloudy. Chalking it up to the sheer bullshit that happened the day prior, he went off to take care of his hygiene.
On the toilet seat, a single thought came to him.
‘What happened yesterday?’
Soon, the toiletries were done. He washed himself and went back upstairs, changing from his white T-shirt and pant combo to a more segmented black hoodie and simple sleek-black trousers. His bluish black hair was messy, he fixed that up too.
Yet…
His face scrunched up.
After all, the fogginess hadn’t gone away.
Regardless, he went to the living room, finding his dad on the sofa as usual.
‘…’
Eon blinked.
Then, he rubbed his eyes.
Once, twice.
His dad wasn’t there.
‘Am I hallucinating now?’
“Are you?”
Eon jumped, frightened by the random, melodic voice that had whispered into his ears.
Well… not whispered per say, just spoke too close to the ears.
A blonde man with glasses and black gloves came into vision. He was immaculately dressed as always, and carried certain charisma.
Daemon Symfora had come to pay a visit.
He raised his eyebrows in interest. Then..
“Ah…”
He sighed softly.
“You guys still have that?”
“Huh? Have wha—”
Snap!
“…!!!”
Some of the brain fog immediately cleared.
“How…”
“You don’t know it? Ah! My bad. Right... so basically, you just snap your fingers really close to someone, and the morning fog clears away. It happens to everyone. It’s so annoying…” His voice neared a whisper as he finished his piece.
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
Eon, now with an actually functioning brain, immediately posed a question.
“Someone would probably come in everyday before you woke up, and just—”
Snap!
“—and then leave to do their own thing.”
He found an immediate answer to it before he could even ask.
"..."
Speechless, Eon looked around, and listened for any form of noise. Another question soon danced on his tongue.
“Then…”
“Where are they? Eon, today’s pray day.”
“What?”
“The World doesn’t force the people asleep for as long as normal on these days. Your family woke up early, and they’ve gone to the cathedral. As for you…”
[Mr. Pillar of Specialty.]
Eon immediately thought up an answer.
“Well.. that’s the gist of it I guess.”
‘Wait. What?’
“Anyways!” Daemon paced around the sofas and to the table before quickly picking up a brown book that had been there since god knows how long. “ You’re late. I didn’t see you there, so I asked your parents. Well… I tried to at least.”
He paused for a bit, then added, “But with you here now, maybe I can finally meet them.”
"..."
He looked at his book, then at the clock.
Then at him.
Then back at the book.
"..."
Eon maintained his silence throughout the entire interaction, simply observing Daemon, simply thinking. Simply waiting.
Then…
----------------------------------------
—Eon’s POV —
‘The fog’s finally cleared.’
I took a good look at my ‘best friend’ once again.
Who was this enigma? And why couldn’t he meet my parents?
He quickly picked up his black pen that had been lying on the table. Pocketing it, he moved towards the door.
“Come! You’re late as is.” He said as he glanced at the wall clock.
Of course I wouldn’t get the answers to my unspoken questions.
He quickly put on his shoes, and pulled out a small metal device. It wasn’t a smartphone, I had never seen any phone of that shape. Hell, it had a hole instead of a screen.
A long cylindrical body, with some plane jagged metal piece attached to the end.
He took the thing, and inserted it into the door; near the handles.
“…What are you doing?”
“Hmm? I’m unlocking the door? I always lock the door whenever I enter you know, it doesn’t kill to be safe. Hell, instead it prevents killing.”
Wait, unlocking? What, the door?
“Unlocking with what exactly?”
He paused for a moment, the smile falling off his sharp face. He blinked. Then, like a magician’s trick, the metal piece vanished from his hands. An awkward smile had returned to his face, and a confused one on mine.
"Sigh..."
“Can’t you let a man have his fun?” He spoke serenely while looking towards the ceiling.
“Sorry, I was setting up a joke, but you cracked it.”
“…”
‘Blud, you’re gonna need to do better than that. When did you get a child anyway?’
Soon enough, my deadpanned face reflected off him.
“Alright, we’re wasting enough time as is.”
With that, he opened the doors, and went outside. I put on my shoes as well, before strolling out to our compound. The door automatically closed, and it seemed to have caught this blondie’s interest.
‘He’s taking his time staring at that door. Does he have a grudge against it or something?’
“Alright, let’s move.” And then he went off. I followed him as he quickly found a electric carriage (do the carriages hate me or something? Or is it the carriage drivers?) and gave directions.
We both hopped in, sitting on opposite sides of the side door window. The machines came to life as the driver directed the carriage.
“…”
“What’s wrong?”
How do I put it…
“That pen you have in your breast-pocket, it’s familiar for some reason. I can’t put my finger on why though.”
He pulled the pen out, spinning it between his hands as his head rested on the free one.
“Familiar huh? I got this from a friend of mine that just LOVES sending random trash to my place. Well… whatever annoys him a lot anyway.”
‘Trash? Why do you keep it with you then?’
“I don’t remember seeing you write with it.”
“Me neither.” He smiled.
"..."
‘Does everyone in the world like to collectively participate in the Eon’s BP increase campaign?’, I smiled in response.
Still…
The pen. It took my attention.
Daemon continued with his ramblings.
“It’s poetic, this pen.”
Okay, he was definitely rambling.
“I like writing poems you know, I have a collection of it. It’s a small one though, didn’t find much to write about before I slept for god knows how long.” He continued twirling it in the air, unafraid of it getting flung out the window.
“This isn’t the only thing I got yesterday though. At least, in the poetic department.” His smile deepened.
He peered out the window, noticing an old man that looked similar to how Dad had described our neighbor.
‘We haven’t even left he neighborhood yet?’
Regardless of my thoughts, Daemon waved to the old man. The old man raised his hands, presumably to wave back, but paused. In a look of confusion that stared down the blondie’s face, he scratched the back of his head.
It was amusing to say the least. What was going on?
There was something called a pray day today, with it specifically being our turn to head to the cathedral. The parents were gone, and they had somehow brought the chaotic feral child along.
“…ah.”
She… wasn’t a chaotic, feral child anymore.
‘What happened?’
“You two ended up thrashing her entire room on some random topic.”
Was it this? Our supposed fight?
“Did me and Mana ever fight?”
Daemon paused his pen spinning, his smile never leaving his face. His eyes however, they were suddenly and unnaturally calm. He resumed his pen spinning.
Thinking for a moment, he spoke. “What kind of fight are you talking about?”
“The wrong kind. We squabbled a lot as kids, we still do sometimes. At least I think we do. But none of it, is the FIGHT fight kind.”
“Hmm…”
“…”
He looked out the window, and so did I. I supposed that we were half way through the outskirt roads.
“I do remember you telling me about it. If I’m not wrong, it happened when you both very little? You specially.”
“Any reason for the sudden interest in your squabbles?”
“…Mana, she wasn’t this reserved of a child. She was the embodiment of fun. Now, look at her. Heh…”, I grit my teeth. “Now she looks like someone that has closed herself off from the world. As if she doesn’t care what happens to it.”
“…”
“..you sure have SOME care for your ‘sister’…”, he spoke in an inaudible manner.
“Huh?”
“Nothing, just thinking.”
“…”
Silence reigned supreme for a bit once more.
For a long bit. A long enough bit for us to reach the cathedral.
We got off, and he paid for the transport fees. He suddenly had a book in his hands.
“Am I missing the part where you became a magician?”
“Hmm??”, he looked over in confusion.
“No, your book just seems to disappear and reappear wherever and whenever. It’s somewhat confusing.”
“…”
We started climbing up the stairs.
"..."
He didn’t answer me. For the entirety of the walk up the stairs. ‘This is suffocating. Is he trying a social death experiment?’
Some minutes later, we were nearing the front gates. Daemon finally opened his mouth.
“Magic tricks, that’s what you called my book’s vanishing?”
“Hm… let’s show you a real magic trick. Go in.”
We had reached the front gates. Following his instructions, I took a step in confusedly, through the gap large enough to fit 3 people.
Running footsteps resounded behind me, and I hadn’t even completed my first step in yet.
Daemon jumped forward and into the gap from besides me, before—
“—!!”
He paused in mid air as if he were crouching on a slanted wall. It felt as if time had come to a stand still.
“He’s a man with many capabilities. Yet, the heavens hate him.”
I remembered the remarks my Dad said about Daemon during the lunch we had after visiting the grasslands. It had puzzled me and Mom quite a bit.
The man in front of me still hovered in the air, but soon enough, he shifted. Emerging from his half-crouching position, he pushed one leg forward. Then, the next leg.
Slowly but gradually, he made his way down to the watery floor. He turned around, amidst the somewhat flicker-esque and dim lights.
“See? That, is what you call a real magic trick.”
He smiled, once again.