50

Your grandma lets out a small breath and gives you a hint of a smile.

"Actually, I think it's very scientific. Magic exists around us, and we can use it—so why can't we study it like we would study anything else? Even if magic doesn't necessarily abide by the same physical laws as the rest of the world, but that doesn't mean we can't apply the same scientific method. Whatever magic is, it's real; we both know that. So that means there are things about it we can observe, and even experiment with. And based on the results of those experiments, I can speculate about how it does what it does, or where it comes from, or maybe even what it is."

She pauses, chewing on one of her nails as she glances briefly at the computer monitors.

"So yes. Even though there's still a lot I'm not certain of—I think I have succeeded in discovering some things I didn't previously know. Including…"

Your grandma hesitates again. As somebody who usually has no difficulty finding the right words, you can't quite imagine what it is that she doesn't know how to say.

In the end, however, she forces herself to open her mouth.

"Including the fact—that our magic may not survive if enough were to happen to the forest."

You blink and look at your grandma with wide eyes.

The forest—your magic—

"I should say that it's only a possibility," your grandma quickly adds. "I don't know for sure, because it hasn't happened yet—but I do think there's a chance. I won't go into the full details, but suffice it to say that I believe our magic—the magic that you and I use—is intrinsically linked to this forest. There may be other magic in the world, but our magic only exists here. So, if anything happens to the forest, there's a chance that the magic it holds might not be able to exist without it. If there's no forest, there's nowhere to store the magic."