Mountain of Memories

1. Taking off

"Mom, I told you I'm going to be fine" Mrs. Burns took a step back after tugging and ruffling Winston's hair, trying to tame his wild curls.

"You keep saying that, Sweet, but you've never really even left this house and now you're just going to... go off on your own?" She moved on from tugging at his hair to tugging at his shirt and he brushed her off.

"Mom, it's not that uncommon that kids leave by themselves," he turned away, suddenly annoyed that his mom didn't think he could handle himself.

"Winny, you've never even had an interest in magic. You don't know how to use it to fend for yourself."

Winston was about to protest when his dad entered through the door, "Cuxar may have been loony, but he took care of that damn thing till the day he died."

His dad had been doing the last checks of the caravan that Winston would be used to go on his trip. Winston's uncle, Cuxar, was an eccentric wizard who had a passion for collecting memories. He traveled around the world looking for rare memories and funded his trips by selling the ones he had to people looking to enhance their lives. He had recently died of old age though and left all of the collected memories for Winston with his last dying wish that Winston goes off and finds some of the memories he had never found himself to complete the collection. 

Winston had argued with his parents for months to convince them to let him go. It wasn't uncommon for kids his age who used magic to go off on their own to figure out what they wanted to do with their lives, but Winston had never really learned to use magic and so his parents were very hesitant.  

"I still really don't like the thought of you leaving while being so inexperienced," His mom said. Winston shrugged grabbing the last of his bags before leaving through the front door. His parents followed behind him.

He'd been preparing for a couple of months now. Sure, he wasn't as prepared as the kids who'd been practicing magic their entire lives, but everyone needed to start somewhere and technically, his mom would never think he was ready.

"You remember how to drive the caravan right?" His back was facing his parents, so he took the moment to roll his eyes in secrecy.

"Yeah, mom. I've got this."

"And you remem-"

"Tunia, he's ready. Leave him be." Winston's dad came to his rescue and pulled his wife to his side by her waist.

"I'll make sure to keep you guys updated and I'll be back before you know it!", he tried reassuring his family. 

"Yes, you must! Don't forget to tell us which memory you settle on looking for!" His mom pulled out of her husband's grasp and engulfed Winston in a hug, "Be good. Be safe. And if you don't think you can do it, there's no shame in coming home empty-handed."

Winston knew his mom meant well, but coming home empty-handed would be disappointing for everyone, even her, though she wouldn't ever say it.

Winston said his last goodbyes to his dad before jumping into the caravan and sitting in the driver's seat.

Right.

His uncle had left him only a couple of instructions when he died and passed on his life's work to Winston, one of which was a suggestion to travel to Petuque to visit Cuxar's old friend, someone who also collected memories. 

He turned the dials of the machine, flipping switches, and buttons and calibrating it to steer towards the island, and then he was off on the adventure of a lifetime.