I did not have the slightest idea of what was going on. So, I was silent, my mind using all of its power to sober myself up to start thinking about my situation. Thankfully, I didn’t need to because my dad spoke up.
“Twenty-two is the age agreed upon as the minimum age requirement to be introduced to the not mundane world. To be in this world is just the knowledge that it exists. It is not dangerous here as stories portray it. I chose to live my life without power, so that I may live and die as a human. I was supposed to be a figurehead, but I wanted a normal life, so your uncle Dimitrios took my place.”
Uncle Dimitrios added, “You’re a Metaxas, so you are a part of this world, but you can choose if you want to live a normal life or not. If you choose to live without magic, I will ensure that nothing disturbs you. If you choose magic, I can teach you a pinch in the morning, before my flight. I have a follow-up business trip, but don’t worry, I’ll be back in a week, and I can set some time aside when I come back to teach you everything about your powers. ”
I had been totally silent. So many thoughts and questions were going through my head at the moment, and I was unable to voice any of them.
Even with my head cloudy, and my thoughts racing, I knew this is what I wanted. I wanted power. I craved adventure. My favorite pastimes all involved fantasy, the unknown. It defined my interests and my hobbies. It was not my craving for another life, I loved my life, it was my love of the unknown, my love of understanding new things. To learn and to grow.
“Can all of the Metaxas do this?” I asked
This was a massive bombshell he dropped in the middle of his explanation. Did this mean my father could as well? My Siblings?
“So can everyone see the glow?” I quickly followed up.
“The glow?” My uncle and father asked at the same time.
“The glow that shows people’s emotions.”
My father took a moment before he understood what I asked, but my uncle understood faster.
“You mean Aura.”
“I thought about calling it that, but aura should have a more tangible feel to it right? It just doesn’t sound right to have some fantastical force not have any power to it. All I can see is a person’s emotions. If it was an aura like in a book, it should tell me about the person… right?”
It made sense to me, but I realized half-way through that I was talking about a real aura, and comparing it to my understanding of a fantasy definition. I was still a bit more than tipsy, and arguing with myself was all it took for me to see the irony and let out a big smile again.
“I mean aura.”
Both my dad and my uncle laughed at that. It was contagious. I joined them.
I had already made up my mind. “Would you teach me?”
Uncle Dimitrios smiled “Yes.”
He went to the kitchen, grabbed 3 empty glasses, passing one of the empty glasses to my father and one to me.
“To clear the clouds.” He said.
The glass wasn’t empty.
“Um…” was all I got out before my father interjected.
“It will clear the alcohol. Family recipe.”
I drank it, feeling clarity return to my mind as quickly as it went down my throat.
“Woah… that’s helpful…” I said, looking at my uncle. I wouldn’t show it, but I was starting to bubble with excitement.
I was still confused where the liquid came from, but I’d rather hear what he has to say.
Dimitrios walked over to the front door. He gave me a little come over here gesture. And he started to explain.
“Our ability is innate to our souls. It is simple to explain, and it is the sole reason the Metaxas name has weight. In your soul, there is a door. That door goes anywhere. Pretty simple right?”
I was just staring at him, eyes half closed in exasperated disappointment. “That doesn’t really explain how though?”
He gave me another not-too-serious smile.
“Stand still.” He said as he raised his hand. Finger pointing to me. He poked my chest, right above my heart. “The heart is the anchor of the soul.”
His hand on my chest went from a finger to a palm. “I will pass some energy around your heart, since this is the closest we can get to your soul, this will be the fastest way for you to find it.”
He was right. I could feel the energy, it was warm, kind of like warm tea. It was rejuvenating and comforting. When I felt it, there was something it parted around. Concentrating I was starting to feel it. The closest sensation I can equate it to, is when you have cut off circulation to an arm by sleeping on it weirdly, not being able to move it, and then as the blood flows back into it, regaining the arm’s senses and mobility.
My soul was waking up. I could feel it. It was strange, kind of like my mind had another muscle. It gave a strangely tangible feeling to my thoughts.
“Follow that anchor, from your heart to your soul.” He guided my mind with his words.
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I did. It was strange. Being able to perceive my soul. It wasn’t my mind. It wasn’t my body. It was my nature. It remembered everything about me, and it showed me its infinite potential. As I was admiring myself, inspecting every part of my soul, I found my door.
It was sitting right in the middle. It looked just like my bedroom door. Like when the blood circulates through the sleeping limb, my mind started to flow through my soul, waking it up.
I had no fantastical feeling or power rush through me, just the awareness of my soul very much like the spacial awareness of my limbs, or unfortunately, manual breathing.
I did not remember closing my eyes, but I opened them when I was ready for uncle Dimitrios to continue. He let out a small playful grin, one I knew too well. He was going to mess with me, I could never tell where his fact or fiction started.
Then, with no hesitation from the moment I opened my eyes he continued, “Open the front door, but use both your body, mind, and soul. Your body opens the door, your mind chooses the location, and your soul makes it happen. Picture something close-by, I’d recommend your bedroom, since it’s close and familiar.”
My brain already hurt, I had to pick what he meant from whatever he was using to dilute his lesson. I think I kind of understood what he meant, with the last part. I wanted to try to do it before I asked for another explanation. I reached for the doorknob, I tried to pretend like my bedroom was on the other side. I opened the door.
It was my front yard. The nice shore breeze passed by. I closed the door. Looked at my uncle. And said nothing. My disappointment on my face.
Both my dad and uncle laughed. Uncle Dimitrios opened the door again, and it was my bedroom. Then closed the front door again. “You used your body to open the door. And you did. Did you have your bedroom pictured in your mind?”
“Yes.” I said. A little bit of disappointment on my voice.
“Then you need to open the door inside you. Make your soul think the door in front of you is the one inside you. You don’t need to convince yourself, that is why you tell yourself the other side is your room. You need to make reality accept it. Existence has no eyes except the ones it is seen with.”
I was staring at the door, just thinking about what he said. It made sense. A door can’t think, so why should space be able to?
I reached for the doorknob again. I focused, and I opened the door.
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Alexios
I had so many emotions and thoughts going through my head. I had almost known for certain that my son would want to pursue magic, but I hadn’t expected him to jump on the opportunity so quickly.
Dimitrios, my younger brother, had been the same. While I had wanted a peaceful life, to raise a family, have hobbies and interests other than business and ambition like the rest of my family. When I was younger I wanted romance and adventure, but I quickly discovered that I wanted love and stability instead. When I told my family they were shocked, almost outraged, but they accepted my choice.
I had decided that I would give my children the same choice. They could choose which world to live in. I would support any decision they choose. Now that it was actually happening, I was worried about Felix’s safety. I was worried about anything and everything that could go wrong. We have enough power to ensure that Felix is safe in this world, but I was a father. I had seen all the reckless things he could do. With magic? I can remember all the reckless things my brother and I had done. I would trust him. Like I always have. So I watched as Felix failed and got another cryptic message from his uncle, not showing my amusement on my face.
It was simple really. To use the door, you had to move the door from the soul to reality. It was like moving your hand to the handle and turning. It was something we barely had to think about, but Dimitrios was messing with his head. He was adding magical theory, soul theory, and gibberish to his explanations to make himself sound profound.
It really is the nature of younger siblings to cause chaos. I smiled at that.
Damn it… I thought to myself. Felix saw that. I could see the confusion on his face as well.
I sighed, looking away from Felix so I wouldn’t laugh at his struggles.
“Tell him how our dad told you.” I said, still trying to keep the laughter out of my voice.
My son had opened and closed a door probably close to twenty times so far. And Dimitrios clearly still wanted to mess with him, but I could see the frustration on Felix’s face.
Magic is fun. It is an adventure. It can be frustrating, but a good introduction with just the right amount of fascination is what would be the difference between someone who stagnates and someone who thrives. I wanted my son to thrive.
Dimitrios finally gave him the short explanation, an apology written on his face as he looked anywhere but Felix, who on the other hand, went even more blank to the face, and opened the door to his room. First try.
He looked at Dimitrios. He stared at Dimitrios.
Dimitrios awkwardly smiled and told him sheepishly, “It was funny.”
I could see the indignation flood Felix, but he also kept glancing at the door.
“We should go to bed. Felix, Dimitrios will teach you a bit more in the morning, and then when he comes back from his trip. Don’t play around with it too much. You need to be awake in the morning if you want to learn.”
I got up from my favorite reclining chair and headed to take a nice warm shower before I fell asleep.
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Felix
I was shocked. I had been so thoroughly played by my uncle that while I was indignant, I was also impressed. I usually only heard him talk about all the bizarre encounters he had, I never thought he could bullshit ramble on the fundamental pieces of existence, if that's even what they were. I had no idea where the bullshit and the facts were in anything he said. It was so thoroughly mind tripping that I was just stuck in shock when I opened the door. I was even doubting it working when it actually did.
I took my dad’s recommendation to go to bed. So I closed the door and started to walk towards my room. But before I even finished turning around.
“Just use the door Felix. Don’t you want to go through it now?” Uncle Dimitrios sheepishly laughed at me.
I was stunned by those words. I think I was actually losing my sanity at this point. I had opened a magic door to my room so that I could close it and walk to my room. I closed my eyes with a mix of shame and self-disappointment, opening my eyes again after a nice deep breath. I opened the door, and went to bed.
I was wide awake, so I figured I would take a melatonin and crash. I could just teleport now couldn’t I?
First Mistake. Do not teleport into bathrooms. I closed the door. My uncle was taking a shower. Thankfully the shower curtain was opaque, because that would have been a costly mistake.
Can I knock on the door first? Would that even work? Which door am I knocking on? I would have to ask later. I opened my eBook reader on my phone while I waited for the bathroom. I was going to grab a melatonin to help me sleep. Between the espresso martini and the excitement I wouldn’t be able to sleep.
Did the magic drink clear the caffeine from my system? I really wondered. I don’t think so, I felt wired. I couldn’t tell if it was excitement or caffeine. I wanted to be well rested though.
It took another 15 minutes before I got the melatonin, so I grabbed a midnight snack and read a book in bed until I felt tired. I added the virtual bookmark and fell asleep.