“Can I get you anything, Miss?”

I think I’m finally calm. It’s amazing that I managed to lead her into the waiting room in my previous state. I even offered to keep her cloak for her, but she declined.

“I’m fine, thank you.”

She looks over the trinkets scattered across the room.

“The good doctor has quite the interesting taste, doesn’t he?”

She says that as she glances at the ivory sculpture at the corner of the room.

“Well, I don’t really know what it is. It’s just a souvenir that Dr. Silva brought back.”

“It’s a satoa: a very special kind of wolf with a crest on its head. It used to be revered as a god back in the day. It was said to have saved the Akki civilization from collapse a long time ago.“

I don’t know half of what she’s talking about. I’ll most likely forget about this stuff in a day.

“Of course, people regard that as a fairy tale now.”

“You know a lot about history, don’t you, Miss?”

“You flatter me.”

I’ve only come to notice now, but the way she talks is very monotone. It doesn’t feel like she’s too enthused by our conversation.

“So, is there anything you can tell me about Dr. Silva’s work?”

She suddenly wants to change to a completely different topic to that little history lesson.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t really say that I understand his work well. I don’t even know the basics of magic, you see. I only help around the house while they’re away.”

I think my mention of not knowing a thing about magic has her wide-eyed.

“Not even the basics, you say? No wonder. You don’t even know why I’m here then, do you?”

“I don’t, Miss. I’m very sorry.”

“Would you like to know?”

I’ll be lying if I tell her I don’t. I don’t really want to sound rude to her, though. Maybe I’ll just try declining in a polite manner.

“Come on. We have quite a bit of time until the doctor comes back.”

I think I missed my opportunity to say no.

“Well, if you insist.”

“Close your eyes.”

She wastes no time in telling me what to do. I comply and do what’s instructed.

“Just focus on your body. Feel what it’s doing.”

I try to interpret that as best I can. I feel the breaths I take, the small rocking movements my body makes, even my eyes twitching while I try to keep my eyes closed. Then, I feel something while I inhale. It feels heavier than air. I feel it flow through my body. It’s kind of invigorating.

All of a sudden, I see white ghosts around me. I open my eyes in shock. The woman laughs at my reaction.

“What you just saw was mana: the most essential element to magic.”

“You mean those ghosts? I can still see them.”

I look around the place and see mana everywhere close to me. The sculpture the woman had talked about is probably letting out the most.

So this is what it feels like to know magic. I still don’t care much for it, but it did catch my eye for a bit.

“Correct. Now, try looking at my mana.”

I stare closely at her, but find that there’s no mana flowing from her.

“ I don’t sense any, Miss.”

“You’ve got it. That’s why I’m here.”

She’s patronizing me. I’m starting to feel a little annoyed by her just withholding information that I can’t possibly know.

“I'm afraid you lost me.”

“When you can’t sense someone’s mana, that more than likely means they’re cursed. That, or they don’t know a thing about magic.”

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

Curses are another foreign concept to me. I still don’t get how the doctor’s going to un-curse her or whatever. There aren’t any plants that I know of that could help her in this situation either.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but isn’t that kind of stuff kind of outside the realm of medicine? Shouldn’t you be going to a mage for help?”

“Trust me, it’ll all make sense when the doctor comes back. In the meantime, would it be fine to visit your yard outside? I think we both could use a change of scenery.”

Can she read minds? I’ve been thinking that for a while now. I might find more comfort there.

I lead her to my little green paradise fenced from the wild forest at the back of the house. I’m quite proud of this place. I’ve seen most of these plants grow from sprouts to the titanic beasts they are today.

It wasn’t easy, either. I need to take into account each and every plant’s needs: how much water they were getting, where I placed them so they’d either be getting sunlight or not, even the perfect way to face them so people get to see their beauty. It was like a very hard puzzle, but it was worth all the trouble.

“Quite an amazing garden.”

Though she still sounds uninterested, I’ll still take that compliment. I look over to admire my own work and notice something significantly different; I can now see the mana coming from my plants.

They’re not as lifeless as the mana from inside the house. A slew of colors flow around the garden. It is an amazing thing to witness: like we’re at the foot of a rainbow.

“At least, that’s what I’d probably be saying if I could see it for what it really is.”

I look at her with bewilderment.

“What do you mean?”

She turns to me with a somber look on her face.

“Being cursed also means that I can’t see mana.”

If It were the me of just a few hours ago standing here right now, I wouldn’t understand how she feels. But now that I’ve seen the world through the eyes of magic, I can’t help but sympathize with her. I can only imagine how the reverse of my experience feels.

Not only that, but she’s the reason why I can sense mana now. She gave me that power: that power that she herself can’t have. No wonder she speaks in such a colorless manner.

“I’m sorry.”

“Can you stop apologizing for everything? It’s not even your fault.”

“I’ll help.”

She expresses a serious demeanor after hearing my words.

“What?”

“I’ll help you.”

“What happened to ‘Why don’t you go to a mage for help?’ ”

“I’m serious. If there’s anything I can do, anything at all, I’ll do it. I owe you at least that much.”

After that, she goes back to her usual smug grin. It doesn’t bother me anymore.

“Alright, I think I may have some use for you.”

She pulls out what looks to be a journal hidden within her cloak and begins writing.

“Answer a few questions for me. Then, I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”

“Dad, wake up. We’re back.”

My mind has grown accustomed to these late afternoon wake-ups from my daughter. My body, on the other hand, is still very much in a deep slumber.

“Dad, come on.”

Hold on. I can’t even discern whether I’m talking out loud or not. Did she hear me?

Strange. I feel like I’m floating. I think my body just completely shut off.

“AAAAGHHH!”

All of my senses came back to me at once. I can speak, my eyes are open, and, most importantly, I feel a sharp pain in my back.

“Dammit, Sofia!”

“What? Didn’t I warn you that I’d throw you out of the carriage if you ever oversleep on me?”

“What kind of daughter threatens their old man like that?!”

“I didn’t threaten you. I was just encouraging you to not oversleep.”

“I could ground you for this, you ungrateful child.”

A scowl forms on her face. I know where this is going. I cover my ears preemptively.

“I’M TOO OLD FOR THAT! SHUT UP, YOU DEADBEAT!”

And that’s where our argument ended. I can never win against my own daughter in these anymore. It was nothing but silence as we walked home from the town. It’s always a winning bet that she’ll rush to Soren when we get home and complain about what a bad father I am. Honestly, this girl will never grow up.

“I was just worried, you know.”

This is a surprise. I guess for once I lost my made-up bet.

“You’re not getting any younger, dad. You need to keep your strength up. You have to wake up on time or you might not even…”

She stops walking and starts trembling. She’s about to cry. I gently approach her for a hug.

“I’m fine, Sofia. Don’t you know who you’re talking to? If I’m ever feeling something, I can always operate on myself.”

“I’m sorry for throwing you out of the carriage.”

She lets out a very faint smile.

“You’d better be sorry! You might just be the reason for my death, you know!”

“I SAID I WAS SORRY.”

“SORRY’S NOT GONNA CUT IT, YOUNG LADY!”

“FINE! WHAT DO YOU WANT?! COME ON, SPILL IT!”

I smirk at her.

“Well, you can smile. Let out your biggest smile. If you can’t do it for me, do it for Soren. He misses us both, you know. What would he think if he saw you all sad when you come running through that door.”

That might’ve done the trick. The Soren card never fails.

I’m really glad I found that boy. When I’d heard that he didn’t know a thing about magic, I knew that he was perfect for our family.

A few moments later, we arrive home. Sofia runs straight in, leaving me in the dust. I take my time walking as if my legs were made of glass.

“Dad, I think you have a patient.”

How curious. I haven’t had anyone come to me in years for anything more than a couple of herbs. My glass legs hardened to steel as I made my way faster to the door.

“Alright, what— “

My heart sinks as I see who this “patient” of mine is.

“Hey. God, you’ve grown old, Lambert.”