I woke up, unfortunately, to find myself having fallen asleep while studying. I noticed that some of the Graphien books I took from the basement were gone and in their place was a note reading:
I'll give them back to you after I'm done - Phuong
I groaned, wiping the sleep from my eyes. Just wonderful. I stood up, feeling my back aching from last night. I walked over to the window, opened the curtains to let the sunlight in, and then immediately regretted it. I closed the curtains, returned to the only table in this room, grabbed the Graphien books that hadn't been taken, and began flipping through them although they didn't give me much to work with as all of them were advanced copies. It also didn't help that I couldn't read those symbols for shit.
After an hour of studying, the fruits of my suffering amounted to naught, for the fates were apparently against me this fine morning. But the road to learning isn't always the easiest; just endure and push forward.
I continued studying, taking notes, and, most importantly, practicing. I got the hang of a few characters but unfortunately couldn't put many of them to use. On the bright side, there were some very concise explanations of the different effects of spells and their origins, which were always interesting. For example, a man created a spell that made storybooks and put on a type of mini light-show when being read. The reason this spell was created was that his daughter was scared of the dark and couldn't go to sleep without a bedtime story, but he knew he wouldn't always be there to tell her one every night because of work. So, he created this spell just for her, so she could get a good night's rest. And I think that's quite nice for a father to do for his child. It left me with a good feeling.
As I finished up with my second book, I leaned back on my chair. What time was it? I looked at the window, the sunlight shining through the curtains. I needed a break. I got up and started organizing my notes, making the bed, making sure the place stayed clean. I quite enjoy cleaning, it gives me a sense of safety when I'm stressed. I finished smoothing out the bedsheets and reviewing my notes, but alas, I still couldn't come up with shit. Then an idea sprang into my idiotic mits, I should've just reviewed the journal to understand this better. I didn't exactly finish it, and only annotated about thirty percent of the book; might as well finish it. I need more distractions anyway.
I proceeded to leave the safety of my room, bracing for the horrors and annoyances of human interaction as I did. Praying to a god that I had, at this moment, lost complete faith in ever existing that I wouldn't have to run into any new strangers today. I stealthily made my way to the basement, where from memory I had left the journal I half-assily read.
I entered the potions room that I now called my own; I called it mine because I doubted a dead person would have any use for it now. What are they going to do, haunt it? They could try, but they would fail. Why, you might ask? Because the only thing that I found terrifying was that I had no choice but to live with the fact that I could never sleep my problems away, and in the end, they would bite me in the ass. I searched the bookshelves and easily found the journal I had left behind the day before and then hurriedly returned to my room before anyone realized that I had left it in the first place. It was too early for socializing.
I flopped onto my bed, book in hand. I took my trusty pencil, which was surprisingly holding up quite well, and started annotating where I left off. Thumbing page after page, I searched for some remnant of information to grasp. As much as I found the construction of the Golem to be a topic to research, I was not looking for that right then.
Eventually, I was able to find smitches of intel on how the inventor used Graphien text. Turned out, he didn't know shit either, all of his knowledge on the subject was just second accounts and ancient texts that had long been for repair. Good to know I wasn't alone in my confusion. Guess that was another thing why I used to call my sister weird. Anyway, after finding that out, I came to the conclusion that my chances of learning Graphien - let alone using it were slim to none. But, even so, I'm not someone to give up so easily. Like my grandfather always said, there's always another way.
I eyed the Graphien symbols written in the journal, and an idea finally came to me. I set the book to the side and reached for the ink bottle that had been sitting on the table for days now, along with a quill, rolled up one of my sleeves, and dipped the quill in the ink upside down. Trust me, I knew what I was doing. I took the quill from the ink and, following one of the Graphien books I had on hand, and carefully inked the symbols for various spells on my arm. After I finished sketching out a string of symbols, I flipped the quill right up and with a deep breath, pricked my finger with the pointy end of the quill. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. It was like taking a shot at the doctor's, just don't think about it. I cast the quill aside and let my blood drop onto the written symbols on my arm. If this worked, then I was a genius!
Sure enough, when my blood dripped onto the symbols, they glowed white, lifting off my skin, and gathering into a tiny ball of fire, which then started changing colors from blazing red to a soft purple flame flickering about. I couldn't stop admiring my handy work before it extinguished into sparkling particles. I look at my arm. Faint red patches popped up from where the written symbols once lay. That's probably fine. It's only a little swollen. I'll deal with the consequences of my actions later. I looked at my still-bleeding finger. There wasn't that much blood, just a scratch, in my opinion. I pressed on the wound and the bleeding stopped for now. Rolling over to the other side of the bed, I reached into my school bag and took out some bandages that I wrapped around my finger. Congratulations me, I took care of myself for the day.
I rolled down my sleeves and put the ink bottle away. Lying back on my soft bed, I stared at the ceiling, at the same time reminding myself that I shouldn't get too comfortable. My brain was racing. The people here want to kill you and your sister, no one can be trusted, not even that princess. The only reason you let her in on the plan was because you had been ratted out and she's useful enough to keep around. I swear if she betrays us, even if I had to drag Phuong away from her, I'd do whatever I had to. I sighed, looking out the window again. The sun was now setting, the cool breeze making the stray leaves dance in the wind. Three weeks left, three weeks until we have to leave this place, three weeks until we're on the run. I exhaled again. I need a distraction. I'm gonna go look for Phuong.
Side Story Dated - 13 yrs
School
I sit quietly at my desk, watching my classmates messing around in the classroom. Phuong is out sick today, so it's just me. I wanna go home, I don't wanna be here. When will class start already? I look at my watch, ten minutes left, just wonderful. I reach down to take my sketchbook out of my school bag, I open it to a fresh new page and start sketching. I drew a portrait of Mẹ with lots of flowers in her hair. Is anyone watching me? I look up from my sketchbook to find a girl in my class looking down at my sketchbook. "Did you draw that?" she asked. Excuse me, I don't know who you are, please go away. But I nod, mumbling a yes. The girl smiles and says, "Okay," and then leaves me alone. People are weird. After I finish sketching, the teacher comes in, and class starts.
After class, I sit at the bench, waiting for Grandpa to pick me up. I look at my watch, he's late. I sigh, taking my phone out and calling him. Of course, he's not picking up. I stare at the other kids running around and playing games in the schoolyard. It's a cold day, and small patches of snow color the ground. It's too cold and too loud- my least favorite things. I take out my headphones, plug them into my phone, and listen to music. Eventually, Grandpa comes to pick me up and we go home. I still don't like school.
A/n
Hi everyone, thanks for reading my story. I'm really grateful that you've enjoyed my writing enough to continue reading to this point. And for that, thank you!
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
