Mages And Dragons

Boxes and Letters

“I am she,” I replied to the woman’s call. The woman stared at me through her black veil. She didn’t look please to see that I was the person she wanted to see. I couldn’t help it if I liked to wear baggy shirts and jeans.

“Where are your parents?” the woman asked.

“Not here,” I said. I had nothing else to say.

“I realize that, but where?” she asked again.

“Mom’s at work and Dad’s in New York, I think.”

“I see. You are here alone?” That sounded more like a question than a statement.

“Yes.”

“Okay, I will give you this then.” The woman reached into her back pocket and there appeared a letter in her hand. Also, she took out a box that looked too big to fit in one back pocket. She put them gently down on my bed, as if it might explode if she just dropped it there. She stood and backed up to the wall. I was wondering what was in it. A weapon? Jewels? Candy? A bad grade?

“It’s a scholarship,” the woman said, as if she read my mind.

“For what? Did I get kicked out of school?” I asked. It felt strange to talk to someone whom I don’t know the name of. It also felt very awkward to ask the name of a person whose eyes were their only visible feature and whom had barged into your own house.

“No, it’s to a school where you belong.”

“I don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I know what kind of potential you’ve got. And about your powers. I’ve been watching you from a distance. You belong in a school with other gifted ones such as you. In the sky.”

“Excuse me? Did you says in the sky? Where birds fly?”

“Yes, I believe birds fly in the sky.”

“But why?”

“We do not want mortals to know about us and what we do. It is of great danger if any mortal knows about it.” That was her last word before she suddenly turned and left. There were so many questions unanswered, so many things to reveal.

I looked at the box the woman gave to me. It looked like a mini treasure chest waiting to be opened. As tempting as it looked, I opened it. Out came a swirling vortex with colorful flecks of light surrounding it. Inside the vortex was a vision of a beautiful mystical looking place. It reminded me of my drawings of my imaginary place, except this place was real and in front of me. It was on a hilltop and looked like a bit of earth dangling from an invisible string in the sky. It was floating in just mid-air. No supporting strings, no people hanging it up, nothing. It amazed me that it can do that.

I wanted to go to that place, but when I tried to touch it, my whole hand disintegrated before my eyes. I screamed and tried to bring my hand back. Luckily, my hand returned back to my arm and nothing happened. I realized that it was a portal to that castle. This wasn’t just any ordinary thing. It was a discovery.

Suddenly, a knock came on the front door. The woman was probably coming back to check on me. I was wrong. My dad’s face was behind the glass door, with a look on his face that showed he was hiding a secret, but I already knew what that secret was. It’s just that he didn’t know that I knew.

“Hello, Amy. How was school?” He started the conversation.

“It was… okay,” I lied. Sometimes it was easy for me to lie in front of my parents. Especially my Dad. But, then again, there’s always that time when he was on my case and wouldn’t leave me alone until he got the whole truth. Luckily, this wasn’t one of those days. His hair was all in different bunches and his clothes were covered in sweat. He pushed me aside and flung himself onto the couch nearby, as if his whole weight just increased.