Chapter Eight

Breakfast Alongside the Sun

It had only been around forty-five seconds when my father burst into my room with one of his hands out in front of him with an ethereal orange-brown glow to it and the other with the same glow as well as a light ring of silver indubitably a byproduct of his metal manipulation magic. After the original fog of confusion passed from having him burst into my room, I yelped in surprise as well as a healthy dose of fear. I was thinking to myself why did he just burst into my room when my father asked in a panicked voice, “are you ok? There was a blast of mana. Do you know what it was,” cutting me off from my previous thoughts.

With his attention away from me I was able to fully take in the change in my body. While I didn't have bad vision even before it seemed like mana enhanced even that, not to mention that it felt like I just drank an energy drink, I felt like I could run a marathon. It had slipped past my thoughts earlier, but I could see the mana surrounding my father's hands, I also just remembered that my father was waiting for an answer on where the mana surge came from.

“Uhmm… It was m-me,” I stuttered back.

Hearing this my father took a step back and began to strain his eyes. I could almost feel him staring at me. Well, it felt more like he was trying to gaze through me as weird as that sounds.

“What the hell, you’ve awakened. How is that even possible,” My father exasperated after a loud gasp. “That’s even earlier than me… How is this possible?”

Not knowing what else to say I tried to console my father by saying, “Maybe I’m special.”

“I don’t know. Maybe you are special.” When I heard him say that I felt slightly guilty. Not because I wasn't special, but because I was special in a way that he would never be able to comprehend.

Just loud enough to be heard from my room my mom yelled, “Boys. Time for breakfast,” still oblivious as to what was happening in my room.

Hearing that breakfast was ready my dad and I both looked at each other, smiled, and without even saying a word knew that we had to give my mother a surprise, after all, she didn't know that I had awoken yet.

“So little man how do you wanna tell mom?” My father asked with a devious grin on his face.

“I wanna do magic to surprise mom!”

You could tell this caught my father by surprise by the way he stumbled back just a hair before he coughed and said, “Well buddy I don’t know if you can learn magic in like one min-” Suddenly he stopped himself before quietly exclaiming, “Well maybe you can. Can you say ‘wind blow’ for me.” After telling me what he wanted me to say he gave me a demonstration of what he wanted.

It was an extremely simple spell just an extremely small gust of wind would fly out of his hand. It was mesmerizing to watch the green mana particles wobble up to his hand before being launched forward and dispersing into the air. It was also weird I could see the mana that my father used in his spell, but only when I was super focused on it, if I let my focus slip too much the particles would start to fade.

After watching my father do the wind spell three more times making four in total he told me to give it a shot. At first, I just said the incantation for the spell without thinking much of it, but that didn't work. My father seemingly realizing that I didn't even try to imbue mana into it said, “You cant just say the words, you have to think about what they mean. I know it’s hard but if you wanna impress mom you got to try ok buddy.”

Genuinely confused I said, “think about what they mean?”

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In the most helpful tone, he could muster my father said, “Next time you say ‘wind burst’ try to feel the words not just say them like I just did.”

That seemed to light a spark within my brain. As cringy as it sounds it seemed like the words had told me how to use them properly, but I also understood that it wasn't a common thing for somebody to just be told essentially exactly how a spell works.

I gave the spell another shot, but this time using the instruction that the spell had given to me to cast the spell, and it worked. The spell actually cast. It wasn't quite as strong s my father’s spell, but I had still done it. I had successfully used magic for the first time.

After I had cast the spell I began to freak out. Not in a bad, scarred type of way, but in excitement. Quickly my father tried to call me down saying, “Ssshhh. Be quiet or your mom will hear this was supposed to be a surprise genius.” Him saying that seemed to sober me from my excitement. I instantly stopped bouncing around and screaming. Inside I was still ecstatic, but I just couldn't show it till I was at the kitchen table with my mom.

As if she had been queued by my thoughts my mom asked throughout the house, “Michal, Adam, what are you two doing? Oh, and breakfast is almost ready give me like five more minutes.”

My dad hollered back, “It was nothing I was just playing with Adam and we’ll be out in just a sec,” quiet enough to where only I could hear he added, “And make sure you surprise mom.”

I tough that what my father had just said was a rhetorical so I didn't respond, but apparently, that was incorrect judging by his hand that was currently waving in front of him in a circular motion.

“Ok. I’ll suprise her.”

“Ok then lets go and eat,” my father said while ruffling my hair.

Slowly we made our way out to the kitchen with my mother looking at me and my trailing father suspiciously.

“You two were up to something weren't you?” My mother asked with clear suspicion, but since she couldn’t sense mana there was no way for her to tell that I had awakened as a mage. Following up on what she asking earlier she rephrased her question to, “What were you two doing?”

“We weren't doing anything now quit being suspicious and let's eat… Ok?” My dad said uttered suspiciously, which did not help our case.

Gradually we were able to convince my mom that nothing was going on and we sat down for breakfast. It was a normal breakfast for most of it. Occasionally my mother would still shoot my father and me a suspicious look, but it was going well.

For breakfast, we had a few eggs -courtesy of our neighbor Kresh- along with some bread with the most delicious homemade apple jam I had ever had. It wasn't an extremely glamorous birthday meal, but that wasn't even exactly what I wanted I just wanted to spend a peaceful morning with my family, as chagrined as that sounded.

It took some time thinking of when to do it, and my dad glaring at me attempting to convince me it was time for me to decide that I would show mom my spell. I tried to think of a way that I could incorporate it into something that I would need, like asking for the salt and pepper, but I couldn't find a way to do it to my satisfaction.

So instead I asked my mom, “Hey mom do you wanna see a magic trick.” Hearing this my father let out an almost unnoticeable sigh hearing that this was how I was executing our ‘plan.’

My mom thinking that I was just messing around sarcastically said, “Sure honey I would love to see your magic trick.”

I got up out of my chair to make it more of a performance talking about how great my magic trick is gonna be. Standing at the head of the table I said the incantation that my father and the spall itself had taught me. With that, I summoned a light gust of wind to wash across my mother's face.

Instantly she snapped her head to my father and asked him, “Did you do that or was it really Adam? I swear if you two are trying to prank me.”

“No mom it was me I can use magic!” I said happily, after all, it was the first time in both of my lives that I was able to use magic. After hearing that my mother bolted up from her chair and wrapped her arms around me in a hug that was neither too stiff nor too light.

The entire rest of breakfast was spent talking about me hopefully becoming a true mage and seeing as I was able to awaken at five it seemed quite possible that I would become a powerful mage.

After dinner, I did something that I never would have thought to do if I want in the spur of the moment, but I asked my dad to help me train, nothing too hard, nothing too easy. I wanted my dad to teach me magic.