The Land of Magic

Alex realized that the flying cat was the cat that stole his mail. "Hey!" he shouted, and chased after it. The cat then landed in front of him, and suddenly transformed into..... Tiffany! 

"Alex! This is the Land of Magic! Only witches and wizards can pass through the wall, ordinary humans would just run into it." Alex stared at her in disbelief. "Tiffany! But, what? How? Does that mean we're.." 

"Yes! That's right! We have magic blood! Mom was a witch, but dad wasn't. When they started dating, he didn't know. Only after mom gave birth to me, she told him. Dad was keeping it a secret from us this whole time!" 

"What are you talking about? Magic doesn't exist. This must all be a dream. I'll pinch myself to wake up then." Alex replied. He pinched himself, over and over again, until his whole arm turned red. "Alex, stop!"  Tiffany exclaimed while grabbing his wrists, "All of this is real. Pinching yourself won't help at all. Follow me, I will show you our new home." 

"New home? But what about dad?" Alex said nervously. "Don't worry about him, he never cared about us anyway." 

Tiffany led Alex to a grand-looking school. "This will be our new school. We are going to be staying in its dorms." Alex stared at the big building in awe. "This place is really nice! But... how will we afford studying here? We don't have money at all." 

Tiffany giggled. "Oh Alex! You really don't know anything at all, do you? Our mother didn't really die. It's just that after dad found out mom was a witch, he was furious. They divorced and he made up a story about how mom died. She's actually the headmistress of the school." 

"What ARE you talking about? Mom died! She can't possibly be alive. I saw her dead body. I was at her funeral. I still have nightmares about that night. There's no way she's alive. Stop messing around and let's go home. We have no chance if we live here. Come on Tiff, let's go." 

Alex grabbed his sister's arm and pulled her back to where he came. Tiffany resisted, but her brother was stronger than she was. When he reached the alley that he came from, he tried to go through the wall. Strangely, he just walked into it. He tried again and again. He just walked into the wall multiple times. "What is going on? I'm positive this is the wall we came from..." he muttered. 

Tiffany laughed. "Alex, you're supposed to chant a spell to pass through. That's what I did just now. The spell disables the barrier for a minute." Alex grumbled, "You could've told me that sooner." "But it was fun watching you walk into the wall!" Tiffany laughed. Alex started to get angry, but then smiled. He used to be as playful as her when he was at her age. "Come on Tiff, chant the spell and let's go". Tiffany shook her head. "No, Alex. I'm not going to. This is our land. This is where we belong." "Tiff, stop being so annoying. Let's go, you little brat. How would you even know if she's even our mom!?" 

Tears came into Tiffany's eyes. "It's because she approached me when I was heading home after school and showed me a picture of our family all together. She even knew all of your embarrassing moments. Of course she's our mom..... Alex.... You've never called me a brat before..... You're turning into dad!" 

Alex realized what he had just done. "No.. I didn't mean to call you a brat!" Tiffany ran away. "Tiffany! Come back! I'm sorry! I was just angry!" He chased her down the road. When he found her, she was hugging an elegantly dressed woman. 

"Tiff....Tiffany.....I'm sorry.....I'll stay here....with you..." he said, out of breath. Tiffany sniffed. "It's okay, Alex. I forgive you. Here, meet our mom." The woman looked at Alex. "Oh my! You've grown so much in the past 9 years! You've grown into a fine young man, I see," she exclaimed. Alex stared at her in disbelief. 

That voice. It was the same one that comforted him when he was down. The scent of a rose bush, triggering happy childhood memories. Those gentle, blue eyes that could calm even the most ferocious beast. There was no mistaking it, this was his mother.

"Mom? But... How? I was at your funeral.... How is this possible?" The lady laughed. "Alex, it really is me. I'm your mother. Those memories were fake. I used my magic to alter your memories a little. I had to do it." 

Alex's eyes were getting smaller. His head started to nod. "Oh, you're sleepy, aren't you, my child? That's right. You had a long day. All of this new information would be hard to take in. Come along, follow me. I'll show you your room in the dorm." Alex nodded, and followed his mom back to the school.