Message From Grams

He saw it the moment he raised his head, but it was so faint that he subconsciously ignored it. Taking another glance, the assumptions came gushing into his mind like a river.

It almost looks the same, but this looks more like him. He looked around the class, but the hazy figure only appeared behind Eyva and Rick.

His mind worked quickly and came up with an explanation. At this time, he had closed his eyes, with this head on the table. Rick awakened his element yesterday… Eyva was most likely to awaken hers first… That is the common factor between them… That means I can see the awakened state of a person.

A bold assumption with no proof, however, it raised another question. Why can I see it? He had gone to the market the day before. Many people there had awakened an element, but he did not notice the hazy figure behind any of them.

His mind was about to be submerged in the endless question every assumption raised when a teacher entered the class.

"Settle down"

It was at this moment that he heard someone pull the chair in front of him and sat down. He knew that was Devin. He had wondered for a second why Devin was so late; only for a moment before he put the thought away. He planned to ask when Devin eventually arrived.

"Congratulations Rick. You now hold the record for the fastest awakening in the town"

"Thank you, sir" Rick answered with his head raised high.

"I am looking forward to all your awakenings. Hopefully, you all awaken your elements by the end of the week… That would be another record"

"That aside, Starting today, we will be going in deeper into our study of magic. A quick recap, what is magic?" He asked

He heard his name after a pause. The class fell silent as he stood up. He looked at the teacher and the man repeated the question. A very good question. He knew the textbook definition, and he could imagine the concept of magic; he had seen it.

"According to the textbook, it is the medium that enables our communication and control of the world"

The whole class was staring at him. He couldn't help but laugh in his mind. Who did they think he was? Had they never thought of the reason his score was the same since they knew him?

"Correct… Don't sleep in my class"

That was his reputation. The worst student in class; not because he had the lowest scores, but instead, he was the worst because he never did anything. He slept through classes and only did the bare minimum when it was mandatory.

He sat down and listened to the teacher give a summary of everything he taught, things he never learned. This was the science teacher and just before he ended the class, he introduced the basics of creating magic circles.

This theme carried on to the rest of the classes. The teachers all taught some magical version of the normal subjects they taught. He was half-prepared for this and had accepted the change, as bizarre as it was. He believed he was either in a very deep dream or the world had actually changed.

Considering the things he experienced, he was inclined to believe that he was in a dream. He was not going to fight it and if he found a trigger, he planned to wake himself at that time.

The classes came non-stop with one break before classes ended for the day. During that break, Devin explained why he was late. As it turned out, he thought he was going to awaken an element because his body ached when he woke up. His parents had waited to see what would happen, but it was only pain from climbing a roof the day before and nothing mystical happened.

Even as he walked out of class with Devin, he could still see the hazy figures lurking behind Eyva and Rick. He had made a bold assumption and it appeared to be correct.

Devin always had something to say and he led the conversation as they walked to the school gate. Barely halfway to the gate, Eyva caught up to them and stated simply.

"You looked at me nine times today. That's more times than you glanced at me in the last two weeks. What is your question?"

While he was surprised by the accurate number, it was not enough to change his expression. He answered simply, "I think you already awakened your element. I was looking for clues to support the claim"

The first part of that statement had Devin turning to look at Eyva immediately. He was even more surprised when Eyva did not deny the claim and gave an ambiguous response instead.

"Why do I have to tell anyone what happened?"

"You know walking with us is going to bring a lot of trouble… For me and Devin specifically"

"It's not my fault that you haven't awakened an element" She responded without care.

Devin frowned, looked back and saw Rick glaring at them. He wasn't surprised that Rick was angry, he was only concerned because things were different now… Even though Rick only just awakened his element, it was a qualitative change that gave him the ability to beat a grown man easily.

"Don't worry about him. Besides, I am here for you" She said to Sam.

"What do you need from me?"

"We received a message yesterday night. It was from your grandmother… I'll let Uncle Dan explain it to you" She said. They were at the gate now, and Uncle Dan stood to the right. He nodded to Sam and immediately explained the rest.

"Good afternoon, Sam. Master Hayes received a message from your grandmother last night. It was delivered via spirit transfer. As a result, Master Hayes has asked that I invite you to see him per your grandmother's request. I believe the message she sent is quite important"

How important must the message be for Grams to send through Eyva's dad? Also, how does she know him enough to send such an important message?

There was silence for a split second before Uncle Dan spoke. He seemed to pick out Sam's state perfectly.

"It would be best to see Master Hayes right now, that's why I am here" He continued.

"Okay sir, please lead the way" Sam replied after another moment. He turned to Devin and bid him goodbye. Devin understood and wore a playful smile as he turned and left.

"Very well, if you are ready, let's go," Uncle Dan said.

He was phenomenal at restraint, so he did not ask the question he had in mind. Thankfully, he did not, because the question was answered instantly.

The Hayes had a car that took Eyva to and from school. The car was missing this time, but as it turned out, they did not need one. Uncle Dan pulled out a small device with complicated patterns on it. He pressed a button on it and translucent symbols burst out, forming a circle that was engraved in the ground.

From this circle, a carriage appeared, built from the ground up in seconds. Restraining his surprise at this exhibition, he entered the carriage following Eyva when Uncle Dan opened the door. There was no horse and no sound save for the wheels grinding their way through the street.

This is magic as well? That was a magic circle? Like any normal person, he was intrigued and it showed on his face for a brief moment.

Eyva noticed this change that quickly faded away. "Until yesterday, I didn't know that your grandmother knew my dad" Eyva broke the silence. "I had no idea as well" Sam responded.

The ride was about ten minutes since the house was located on the edge of town and as he looked out of the window, he saw the mansion. It was like a small city and the sight dug up memories he had buried.

The mansion was almost at the same scale as the one he spent his childhood in. That house would be someone else's at the moment and that thought made his expression drop.

Eyva had seen him look out of the window, so she caught the drop in his expression. She was surprised to see this and in her thoughts, only one thing could cause such a reaction… Sam's parents.

It was momentary and he recovered himself just as they came to a stop at the door. He opened the door and stepped out. The house was quite tall even though it was only two stories.

"Miss, it's all been prepared as you like," Uncle Dan said to Eyva before turning to Sam. "Master Hayes will be waiting; please come with me"

He nodded and followed Uncle Dan into the house. They walked past a few rooms before they arrived at the study. A black door that felt like an iron gate, gatekeeping everyone who approached.

Uncle Dan gestured for Sam to enter. Seeing that, he knocked three times and pushed the door open. The door opened to reveal a middle-aged man with sharp features. He exuded an air of authority without saying a word.

He had raised his head the moment the door opened. He smiled lightly, gesturing to one of the chairs in front of him.