The Infinite Guide (Chapter Twelve)

Chapter 12: Magic is Real

The almost British sounding voice made Fiona jump off the couch the moment she heard it. She landed on the rug, shrieking at the top of her lungs. Her parents immediately came to her side, kneeling beside her, and trying to care her down.  “Oh dear! I didn’t mean to frighten you, Mistress.” The voice spoke again. Fiona frantically scanned the room, but couldn’t locate the source of the voice. She screamed for the owner of the voice to reveal themselves. “I’m on the couch, Mistress.”

Fiona stood up and looked at the couch, but all she saw was her beloved pet cat, Jinx. He was staring at her with a certain look on his face; it almost resembled a smile. “J-Jinx?” She asked cautiously. “W-was that…you?”

The cat answered with: “Yes, Mistress, it was.”

Another bloodcurdling shriek echoed through the apartment as Fiona ran to hide behind her father, who had stood and turn around, placing a hand on his daughter’s head. “Fiona!” He shouted. “Calm down!”

“Yes, Mistress, do calm yourself so I can explain.” The cat said calmly.

Fiona began to scream, but it was silenced by her mother, who had rushed to place her hand over her daughter’s mouth. She began to hyperventilate into her mother hand, her eyes growing wide. She gripped the fabric of her father’s shirt with her shaking hands while he soothed her with tranquil tone as he petted her head. After a minute or two, Fiona inhaled and then exhaled through her nose. Her mother asked her if she was calm and Fiona nodded. Carefully, Patricia removed her hand from her daughter’s mouth while Gabriel gently removed Fiona’s gripped on his shirt. Her parents stood beside her, holding her by the shoulders in fear that she might fall again.

Fiona took a step toward the couch and with a shaky voice she asked: “Jinx, can you really talk?”

“Why, yes, Mistress, I can.” Said the cat.

It took all her willpower to stop herself from screaming. She sharply inhaled through the nose and continued speaking. “Could you always talk?” She asked.

“No, Mistress, not until tonight.” Answered the cat. “I did, however, had the ability to comprehend what was being said around me.”

“I wish I could comprehend what’s going on…” She said in a low murmur, as she placed a hand to her forehead and slowly sat herself on the floor, her father gently guiding her with his arms. She sat with her legs spread out in front of her. One hand was pressed against the hard floor while the other was pressed against her forehead. “How…how is this possible…”

“It is like your mother and father said, my Mistress.” Jinx said as he stood on all fours. He walked toward the edge of the couch and hopped onto the coffee table. He sat down on the small table, his slender, black tail waving in the air. “You are a witch, and I…” He lifted his left paw and placed it his furry chest, his head held high as if pride was coursing through his body. “…Am your faithful familiar.”

“What…on earth…is a familiar…?” Fiona asked, shock still evident in her voice. She felt a hand on her left shoulder and looked up to find her father looking back at her.

“I know that you have a lot of question, my dear.” Said Gabriel. “And I promise to answer them as best as I can, but first you must understand something.” He kneeled in front of her so that they were at eye level. He placed his other hand on her right shoulders, bringing her to face him. “I gave you that ring because it, too, was magical. It had the power to suppress the magical abilities within it wearer. In order words, wearing it would make you a normal human.”

“But…why?” It was the only thing she could think to say.

“Your mother and I decided that it would be best if you never discover your powers.” He continued. “We thought that your life would be easier if you never known you were a witch, but now that you know, I have to teach you the dangers of using magic.”

“But magic isn’t really real.” She protested. “I mean, all those tricks that magicians do are just tricks, right?” She looked from her father to her mother. Either of them said anything, instead they looked at her with sorry expressions. “There’s no such thing as magic, right?” She said in desperation. “Magic isn’t real, right?!” As she shouted, she threw one arm to the side in a frantic gesture. The moment she did that, the cereal bowl flew off the coffee table and smashed into the wall behind the TV. Milk spattered across the wall; some droplets of milk slid downward, leaving trails. Rectangular shreds were imbedded in the wall while other shreds fell onto the floor. Fiona held her hands against her mouth, her eyes wide in shock.

“Yes, it is.” Said Gabriel. He then raised one hand toward the mess on the wall. Suddenly, the shreds began to violently vibrate, as they did a sound that sounded like a slight hum was heard. Fiona watched as the shreds removed themselves from the wall and float toward them in midair. The shreds on the floor levitated upward and met with the shreds that were previously imbedded in the wall. The milk lifted off from the surfaces that it had stained, forming white oscillating spheres; some were large while other were small. The milky spheres came to levitate alongside the shreds. In a matter of seconds, the bowl mended itself back into its original form as the milk settled inside of it.

As Gabriel lowered his hand, so did the bowl with the milk. It gently floated down and landed lightly on the coffee table. Fiona, her eyes wide in disbelief, covered her mouth with both hands to keep herself from screaming. She had watched magic shows on the television before, she seen magicians lift things without touching them before, but what her father seemingly did was different from the usual tricks she saw before, though she didn’t know why it was different. It just felt different. There was a certain je ne sais quoi. She knew that no one could fake something like that with smoke and mirrors. She removed her hands from her mouth and looked back at her father. “So…magic is really real?” She asked. Her father nodded.

Fiona looked down at her hands. She stared at them as many thoughts ran though her head. She had just witnessed magic. She had just used magic. She was magic. A sudden sensation shook though her body like electricity. It started at her feet, then raced up her legs, to her stomach, until it finally reached her fingers. Minuscule sparks of electricity flickered on her fingertips, dancing on top of her nails before disappearing as fast as they appeared. Upon seeing the sparks, Fiona yelped and fell onto the floor once again, her knees close against her chest. She held her raven hair in her fists as she shook her head feverishly.

“Fiona?” Her father asked worriedly.

She didn’t acknowledge his voice, for she was preoccupied with repeating a silent mantra: “No way…no way…no way…no way…no way…no way…”

Both parents sighed defeatedly. It was clear that their daughter was not yet ready to accept this newfound knowledge. After a minute or two of silent, saved for Fiona’s chanting, Patricia approached her daughter, placed a hand on the young girl’s trembling shoulder, and spoke. “Listen, princess, you had a rough couple of days, plus it’s pass your bedtime.” Fiona stopped her chanting to look out the transparent glass door that led to the balcony. She saw that the sky was black and the windows of the nearby buildings were illuminated from inside. It was night, not morning as she had assumed earlier. “Why don’t you go back to bed?”

Fiona looked up at her mother. She then removed her fists from her hair and pushed herself off from the floor. “Ok.” She said, though it sounded like a whisper. She took a step toward, but her legs could no longer bare the weight of her body and she tumbled to her knees. Once again, her parents raced to her side.

“Fiona?!” Yelled her mother.

“Are you all right?!” Asked her father in a panicked voice.

“I’m fine.” Fiona said in a trembling voice. “I think I’ll need some help, though.”

Her father nodded, then, in one fluent motion, he lifted Fiona off the floor. Carrying the young teen in his arms, Gabriel walked up the steps to Fiona’s bedroom; Patricia and Jinx followed closely behind him.