4 Magic Does Exist (1)

"Normal Thought"

'Inside Thought'

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Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.

-The Galveston Daily News

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"Children, don't forget to wash your hands first," said one of my favorite nannies in the orphanage, Miranda. "And use your utensil rightly,"

As the usual, the dining room was already full of the orphanage's inhabitant. Some nannies brought the food in while the other was ushering the children to wash their hands first.

As for a one-year-old like me, I could do it alone without the adult's help, using children stool, a 'godly item' that I depended so much. Moreover, I already finished my potty training with this children stool as my witness. The result, I might be the most independent child in the orphanage - and proud of it.

After washing my hands, I sat on the higher chair along with the other one-year-old in the toddler table. Some nannies helped them having their dinner. On the table laid various kind of mashed-food with different colors. Ew! Mashed-food was the real evil. I glanced at the older children table, was full of regular foods. I envied them. So. Fucking. Much.

"Timun Mas, stop playing with your food," Miranda snatched my spoon and wiped the mashed-food on my left cheek. "Aaahhh… open your mouth wide, honey,"

'There, gone all of my independence,' pouted me.

I opened my mouth, following Miranda instruction to my embarrassment. Why? Because, I was famous for being the most obedient child in the orphanage, never throwing a tantrum and had the heart of an angel. So, I would not give up my good reputation easily for a trivial thing such as being spoon-fed.

Not so long, I finished my dinner so as the other. Miranda and other nannies took the toddler group to the playroom. We usually gathered here to hear storytelling before the bedtime.

Miranda sat in front of us, opening a box contained wood mannequins.

'Mannequins? These are the first-time Miranda using them,' hummed me.

The first mannequin dressed in a greenish-blue gown made of soft, long and loose, looked-like a noble gown. The second mannequin had a feature of a king with a tiny crown wrapped around its head. Then, Miranda took several other mannequins with undistinguished-featured and started storytelling.

"Once upon a time, lived a beautiful princess-"

Miranda weaved her fingers, making the mannequin dressed in the noble gown moved. The princess-mannequin twirled around us, making all toddlers shrieked excitedly. It jumped according to where Miranda's fingers pointed. Later, the king-mannequin started to move too, walking toward the princess-mannequin.

All of the mannequins would look normal if not for the missing string. They were freaking stringless, but they moved according to Miranda's instructions. How could it be?

My bafflement was visible to the world. I could not focus on the story anymore, my attention fully captured by the strange occurrence that happened in front of myself. Different from me, the others did not find it as an oddity.

'What the hell is happening?' pondered me.

For now, the king-mannequin attacked by the other mannequins, struggling very hard for defending itself. From the other side, the princess-mannequin came for the rescue, its hands pushed out, releasing several white shafts of beams. The beam successfully made the other mannequins dropped down, indicating they were dead. However, before the last-mannequin dropped down, its hands ejected a long shaft of greenish-beam, making the princess-mannequin caught off guard. The beam pierced the center body of the princess-mannequin, restraining its movement. While then, the king-mannequin came to the side of princess-mannequin, holding its body tightly. However, the princess-mannequin life was too late to be saved.

"-and the princess became the hero of Nusantara Kingdom," finished Miranda.

In the blink of eyes, the story had ended, making me out of my reverie. Many questions popped into my head, how, how, and how.

I looked at my surrounding, one by one, the sleepy toddlers held by the nannies and took them to their rooms, leaving me all alone. I sat there, looking at Miranda who stored back the mannequins to their respective place.

"How?" blurted me. "How did you move those mannequins? How can they shot shafts of a beam?"

After closing the box securely, Miranda silently examined me. The knowing glints flashed through her eyes.

"You are too smart for your age, child," said Miranda. "You realize things that the others by your age do not realize,"

After saying those sentences, Miranda's face looked older by ten years from her real age. Her grey eyes painfully emitted sadness. A minute had passed, we silently looked at each other. When Miranda realized I would not budge from my place if she did not answer my question, she quietly signaled me to come closer.

I stood three steps away from Miranda. Miranda lifted her hand and began weaving her fingers, making the box flying. Instinctively, I reached out to the air between the box and Miranda's fingers. A foreign feeling spread through my fingers, then to my body. The sensation was similar to being electrocuted by static electricity.

"Electricity?" asked me a bit surprised.

Miranda only looked at me strangely.

"Elec-tri-city?" repeated Miranda. "What is that?"

Damn. I forgot there was still no such thing in this world. I racked my brain to find an appropriate answer.

"Energy." Okay, that might be not the best answer. "What I mean is the energy,"

Miranda still looked at me strangely, but now there was an amused glint in there.

"Yes, it is an energy," Miranda moved the box up and down. "More precisely, it is magic,"

'Magic? Magic as in pulling a rabbit out of a hat?'

"No, it is not that kind of magic. And it is a hand trick, not magic," mused Miranda.

"H-how? Do you also read minds?" said me alarmed.

"No, honey. You said it aloud," chuckled Miranda.

Miranda put back the box on the ground and began her explanation.

"Magic is the foundation of all energy in this world. Every living thing has magic inside its body." Miranda pulled my hands out.

"Human is special. We have two kinds of magic in our body. Imagine a jar of water. The malleable water protected by the hardness of the jar. It is the same for us. The magic inside our body called spiritual energy which protected by the magic in the exterior of our body called physical energy,"

Miranda gently pat my head and brought me to her embrace. A frown adorned my delicate forehead. I tried to accept the new logic of this world that how magic did exist here, and as natural as breathing.

Something sparked inside my mind, thinking about all the possibilities of using magic in the future. How I wanted to imitate spells from my favorite novel. Will they even work here? Do I need a wand to do magic in this world?

Magic was a breath of fresh air for me. I was born in the world where magic was only a work of fiction, nothing more nothing less. The budding of excitement toward a new thing shown on my face. Magic could make the impossible possible, like shooting shafts of a beam and controlling objects.

However, my excitement soon dimmed when remembering the mannequin's show of Miranda. While magic could bring excitement, magic also made murdering someone easier. You could call me naive, but for me, murder was never an option. Considering killing - no, hurting - someone would always make my mind unease, and I hate that feeling.

"Timun Mas, what are you thinking so hard about?" Miranda's voice pulled me out of my contemplation.

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The last two years of my life spent in this orphanage. I graduated from medical school and chose to work in the Anala Orphanage. I appointed as one of the medics in the orphanage. However, sometimes I also helped the nannies taking care of the children.

In the third year, I always thought nothing would surprise me anymore. I already used with the peaceful life of the orphanage. And how wrong I was.

I found myself staring at the most beautiful blue eyes I had ever seen. The pureness of the eyes was taking my breath away. The saying that eyes were the window to the soul was something I truly believed now. The feeling of protecting the owner of the eyes seeped into my soul. Preserving gem that already so rare in this rotten world.

"Hello, ma'am. Are you okay?" said the childish voice clearly.

I blinked my eyes repeatedly, focusing myself on the present. Stood before my eyes, a little girl not even reached my hips, her stance emitted politeness and looking at me with those beautiful doe eyes.

"What can I help you with, little one?" I crouched down from my position to even her height.

"I got lost, ma'am. I can not find the to-toddler p-playroom," pronounced the girl. The girl face scrunched up when she heard herself stammering at her sentence. What a cute little girl.

"Let me take you there." I was ready to pick up the girl when she tugged my hand tightly.

The expression of 'I can walk alone' clearly written on the girl's face.

'Well, if you want to walk by yourself, it's fine then,' thought me.

We started walking side by side, following the girl's walking pace. There was a moment of silence, but not the uncomfortable one.

"What is your name, little one?" asked me. "My name is Miranda Jagger,"

The little girl looked at me earnestly, contemplating either giving out her name or not.

"My name is Timun Mas, ma'am." The little girl introduced herself while glaring me.

"Timun as in the cucumber? That vegetable is your name?" said me without restraint. "And Mas that means golden? Hilarious, so hilarious, child.

How can your parents give you that name? Golden Cucumber, hilarious, so hilarious,"

"My parents were dead, and you can not ask the dead," deadpanned the girl. "However, my name gave by the old matron lady, you can ask her by yourself,"

The girl said in an indifferent tone. Making my heart aching.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I was insensitive. How about we start over?"

The girl looked at me suspiciously and nodded her head.

"Only if you don't mock my name again." The girl pouted her lips. "Timun Mas is not even my real name,"

The girl whispered the last sentence quietly as if it was not mean to be heard by my ears.

"Nah, don't be sad, child. Whatever your name was, there is nothing better than your name now,"

Surprisingly, an approval nod came from the girl. She was not even throwing a tantrum. This girl was such a filial child.

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Since that day, I met Timun Mas more often. The girl only nodded her head politely when seeing me, sometimes asking my health too.

I also got more personal information about the girl from the old matron lady. Timun Mas abandoned on the day she was born at the backyard of the orphanage, without a name tag. Not only abandoned by her parents the girl also left nameless. It was the same as hoping the girl to die. How could such a filial and prodigy child created by those ungrateful parents?

Timun Mas's background made me want to understand her more. Not only as a nanny or a medic but also as a friend. A girl who behaved beyond her age, yet the innocence still there. That kind of girl would let herself broke beyond repair rather than fix it, like me. And I did not want that happen to the girl.

Therefore, I requested the old matron lady to appointed me as one of the nannies who took care Timun Mas's group age. The old matron lady accepted my request without asking. This girl, she must already seize the old matron lady's heart unconsciously.

Months passed by fast, this month was already the last month of the year. I was just finished assisting other nannies, spoon-feeding the toddlers. I knew that Timun Mas did not need my help with it, but I could not resist myself to help her. Her reaction was always cute to see.

This time, I was preparing myself for storytelling time. However, it was not the same as the usual. Today, I was using mannequins to help my story. I opened the box and bringing out all those mannequins. Then, I started my storytelling, using the moving mannequins to capture the toddler's attention. Many of them shrieked in the excitement even Timun Mas's was awestruck with my performance.

Soon, I finished my storytelling and began to store back those mannequins while other nannies took the toddlers to their room.

"How?" a familiar voice interrupted me. "How did you move those mannequins? How can they shot shafts of a beam?"

The curiosity on her eyes painfully reminded me of someone I knew so much in the past.

"You are too smart for your age, child," said me. "You realize things that the others by your age do not realize,"

Timun Mas's curiosity and intelligence better to be unknown. Otherwise, there would be many cunning wolves clawing their ways out to her. Ready to take advantage of the girl's situation.

Then, I used my magic to float the box, weaving my fingers carefully. The girl even touched my magic bravely. To my amusement, the girl uttered a foreign term for my magic. Electricity. What is that?

I directly asked her, what electricity was. She flusteredly tried to deflect my question, and I let her. I began my explanation about magic. I explained it with the most simplistic definition and using an exemplum.

Various expression flashed through Timun Mas's face. Shock, disbelieve, confused, and excitement alternately. The girl was like an open book, easily conveyed her thought with her expressions.

However, Timun Mas's look suddenly changed into horror and despair. How could a child like you know those kinds of expression? What were you thinking Timun Mas? Were not you excited before?

"Timun Mas, what are you thinking so hard about?" asked me carefully.

Timun Mas seemed to murmur something with a small voice.

"What is it? You can tell me, honey."

"Hurting. It is easier for someone to hurt each other with magic," said the girl louder. "And I don't want to use magic to hurt someone,"

I stopped myself and examined Timun Mas earnestly. Then, I realized something.

"Ah, I'm sorry Timun Mas. Today's bedtime story must be a shock for you. You are more conscious and sensitive than any other child I've ever seen. Always contemplating things beyond your age, and it is not a bad thing to do.

To not accepting something easily is a good quality that will help you in the future. Sometimes killing is also acceptable to protect someone you love though,"

"No. Killing is never an option." Timun Mas denied my statement. "It is selfish and wrong,"

"When you are older, you will understand it more. And I hope the time won't come anytime soon," said me knowingly.

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