– JAMES – Second Chance
After meeting her the first time I had told myself I would not go back to the causeway. Having her see me had been strange enough, but for me to not immediately realize she was human was even more unsettling. When the lightning had struck I knew there was too much magic in the air, it was dangerous and so I left, not wanting to inflict magic on her if I couldn’t control it. It had been a long time since I had felt out of control when it came to magic. When I arrived home after disappearing from her I had told myself that would be it, but that entire night I replayed our interaction over and over. How had magic been so heavy in the air? After years of working with it, I knew when I was drawing and channeling magic. How had I so carelessly created so much right in front of a human? Not just a spark either, Enough to draw true lightning. After analyzing for hours, a bizarre realization began to take hold. As the dawn broke it occurred to me that I hadn’t been producing the magic, something else had. Now I had to return to the causeway.
As soon as I saw her, I couldn’t help but say her name again, and hope she felt even an ounce of the intense connection that I felt with her. “I hoped to see you here again” felt too forward so I opted for simple, “Good evening Sinclaira”. We’d only just met the night before, although it felt as though we had met long ago. “I’m surprised to see you here, to see you at all actually” she said blithely. Clearly she had not forgotten that I had disappeared from her last night, but there was no hint of anger in her tone or mannerisms. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t come here wanting to meet you by chance again.” it was easy to just be honest with her, everything in me wanted to be transparent with her, even though that went against pretty much everything I had been told about humans. I was breaking the code already just by speaking to her. The entire experience of us being near each other was so unlikely that it shouldn’t be possible. Flying blind, which was new for me, I decided I had to come back, I was too enchanted by the situation to stay away. She was a human and the ability to see me once shouldn’t have been possible, but here we were for a third time. Humans were typically only familiar with my realm in stories, afterlife legends or at the very least the fairytales they outgrew when they moved beyond childhood. They were told the stories were metaphors for more realistic aspects of their life. As if that was the truth. Humans had, for centuries, allowed their senses to grow dull to the presence of the magic around them. Which is why they only ended up in Everlore after death, if they had any magic in them. That lack of magic is what was believed to have caused the separation of our realms to begin in the first place. “You came here to see me? Are you assuming I would want to see you again?” She was more sure of herself today, it could have been intimidating if her energy wasn’t so magnetizing. “Yes, I came to see you, but I can leave if you prefer.” It would be like moving through quicksand to try and go, but I wouldn’t force my company upon her. There was a pause while she studied my face, “I was hoping to see you too,” she said quietly after a moment. There it was again, that humming, shimmering charge in the air. Magic. As those words slipped out of her lips the energy between us multiplied. There was a strange feeling in my chest when she spoke, some ancient feeling that I couldn’t place. It went beyond my heart, to my soul. She was still looking at me as I said, “Lucky I was here then.” I smiled and teased her. I could see something in her eyes, something like fire, I wanted to see more of it, but then she smiled and it was gone. “Lucky for you.” she said.
Although the weather was overcast and the sun was low in the sky, standing here with her was like feeling the sun on my skin for the first time. Regardless of what happened after this moment, I would never forget the feeling of being around her. Human or not. We walked in companionable silence for a stretch, both of us aware of the atmosphere between us. “You’ve never seen anyone else here?” I asked her, it seemed like a harmless way to start the conversation. I had wanted to know more about her from the first word she had said to me. Evaluating me again, she finally responded, “No. After coming here almost every evening for years, I’ve never seen anyone. Until three days ago, when I saw you at the far side of the beach.” She looked at me and there was a question in her eyes. I had seen her too. When I realized she was able to see me, that’s when I had left, dissolving into the air. She was so sure of what she had seen, definitely not the typical human. I already wanted to tell her the truth, but now was not the time for breaking a barrier rule. The sun was slipping below the horizon and before she could ask outright whatever question that was in her eyes, I said, “Can I walk you home?”
Tonight had been the best night I could remember. The magic seemed to be coming from our interaction, rising and shaping itself to whatever was happening between us. After walking her to the gate that led to the manor house of the school my senses were humming. This time I waited until she was out of sight and went back to the causeway before disappearing. When I reappeared on the steps at home, my head was swimming with questions. How is it that she can see me without me choosing it? I can tell she’s human, I can sense it. But there’s something magnetizing about her, I’m drawn to her in a way that feels inexplicable. Walking through the massive carved doors and I was greeted by Loreena, the head of the house staff. She had been the keeper of this castle for centuries and I had known her since I was a boy. She was from the territory of Dialabi and as was the case with many from that territory, her magic was in homekeeping, nourishment, and healing. “Master Evers, are you well?” She spoke with care as she took my coat. “I think so, maybe better than ever.” I said to her with a smile as I left the front hall and walked towards the veranda that overlooked the ocean. I couldn’t get Sinclaira off my mind as I stood looking out at the waves in the pale moonlight. Her eyes were so blue and intense, an ocean of their own, but than there had been that blue flame that had appeared. Who was she and why did the magic in me respond to her so powerfully?
Thanks for reading Chapter 2! For Chapter 1, click here.
You can follow me on Instagram here, or TikTok here.
Leave a Reply