A Magical Light

The world is magical.
Not just since Harry Potter.
And before Morgana and Merlin.
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Casia was enrolled as a student at the Università di Pisa in European History and Italian Literature. Her plan was to complete her Laurea degree (similar to the Bachelor) in five semesters and then start studying to become a teacher in Germany.

After graduating from high school, she did not initially know whether she wanted to do an apprenticeship or study. The professional direction was completely unclear to her at the time.She used the social year and some internships to try out different professions. During this time, she opted for pedagogy.In Italy it was more difficult to become a teacher than in Germany because there was no extra training like the German state examination. For this, the interested candidates had to undergo competitions that were to filter out the most capable among them. If it were up to her father, she should go back to her homeland after she graduated.

But in the one and a half years that she had been here, she had fallen in love with Tuscany and could easily imagine living here. Perhaps she would still take the tests at one of the local schools and present her father with a fait accompli. It would not be easy for her, because since the death of her mother six years ago, he has been her only family. He had let her move to Italy with a heavy heart, since he never refused any of her wishes and fulfilled them as far as possible in terms of his financial means.

After the lectures, Casia mostly made her way to the botanical garden, which was famous for its collection of historical trees, the so-called arboretum. Many corners enchanted them in a magical way, which they knew from no other place and which they pulled again and again into the several hectare park. Here she could dream and forget and get away from her everyday problems. One time she thought she was in another world, the other time in another era. As a historian, it was easy for her to dream of long forgotten times. Sometimes she felt watched as she roamed the park, imagining herself a secret agent and saving the earth from evil. That was the time for them to take a break from reading spy thrillers, their preferred reading.

In February the winter semester was almost over and Casia had to take a few exams in the coming week.She had been buffing all Sunday and now enough of learning. She has always been a loner and lived alone. Sometimes she envied other girls with her best friends. Although she was liked and accepted by everyone, she never had a close confidante.

For several months she had been training to study in one of the city's older fencing clubs. Here she had met some young women with whom she occasionally did something. But fencing was in the foreground for her. For as long as she could remember, this sport had been her great passion and her goal of participating in Olympia. So this remained the only topic of conversation between them and they no longer remained as good acquaintances.

Despite the frost that rattled the windows of her small student apartment, she was drawn outside. Packed thick in her coat, scarf, hat, gloves and boots, she walked through the streets of Pisa. There was hardly anyone to be seen and so she first went to Piazza dei Miracoli with the leaning tower. Otherwise she avoided the square in front of the Torre pendente di Pisa because it was crowded by tourists during the day. But not today and so enjoyed the sight of the bright building ensemble. Less than five minutes later she was standing in front of the gate of the Orto e Museo Botanico. Despite the freezing temperatures, she walked along the paths for an hour until the closing time came and she had to leave the park. It was already getting dark and outside the walls the street lights came on.

A light like white LED candles shone through the shady leaves of the winter evening and distracted Casia. She thought that an event was taking place in the botanical garden that she hadn't noticed and went into it. Suddenly the glow hopped there like a small child, as if it were happy about the sunshine, although in the meantime it had become dark like a deep cave. Fascinated by this sight, she followed the light deeper and deeper into the park. But before she could get any closer, it went out. Casia never saw this phenomenon again, although she left no stone unturned and came back every day. At 22nd, she no longer believed in fairy tales. However, she thought she saw a wisp.