Chapter 4

Chapter 4 : Ridgeway

            “Hey, Dad, you’re home early.  Hope you don’t mind Kirk coming home with me… we’re going to head down by the park,” Aiden called to his father.

            “Sure.  Hey, Kirk, what’s happenin’?”

            Kirk stifled a smirk.  Bruce Brande greeted all of Aiden’s friends this way every single time, so eventually it became a running joke between Aiden, Kirk, and Dylan to make fun of it.  Bruce was tall with a bit of a lesser-rustic build.  He sported a bushy brown mustache and a tattered muddle of a hairdo that had a tint of orange to it.  His face was dressed in a mess of freckles that looked like a poor connect-the-dots puzzle.  It was evident where Aiden got most of his looks from, minus the fair skin from his mother.

            “Not much, probably gonna go toss a disc around,” Kirk replied.

            “Man, you guys and that Frisbee, huh?”  He paused for a second and drew a deep breath.  “Hey, Aiden… do you think it’s a good idea to be running around after yesterday’s events?  Especially if you don’t know what’s wrong,” said Bruce.

            “I’m fine, Dad,” Aiden said quickly.

            “Alrighty.  Just… take it easy, I guess.”

            “We’ll be back around dark.  Pizza tonight?” asked Aiden.

            “Before dark.  And yeah, fine with me.”

            “Okay, see ya,” said Aiden, opening the front door.

            “Later, Papa Brande!” chimed Kirk.

            The two began their trek to Ridgeway Road, which was only about a twenty minute walk from Aiden’s house.  It was an easy walk, too.  Aiden and Kirk’s small town of Quincy was pretty quiet.  Nothing exciting ever happened: nobody had a gigantic and immaculate house, no accidents ever occurred, there was practically no crime, no celebrities lived there, none of the school sports teams were any good, and the town was so small that everybody knew everybody.  In fact, the town was pretty boring, to put it mildly.

            They soon reached Ridgeway Road, which had to be one of the creepiest roads in town.  There were no houses on it and the street was long and twisted with many sharp turns, making it impossible to see who or what was coming around the corner.  There was a lone street lamp near the stop sign at the far end, but other than that, there was not a trace of light after the sun set behind the tall trees on the west side of the road.  The east side was even spookier because half of it was clad in thorny shrubs and cluttered trees, while the other was home to uncharacteristically long cattails, which supposedly blocked the view of the Quincy Bay.

            “There’s the guardrail.”  Aiden pointed.  “Is that where we go?” he asked.

            “Yeah, that’s it.  Just walk behind it and follow me along the stream real close… there’s a ton of sticker bushes that I’d rather not have to pull you out of,” said Kirk.

            After receiving a few shallow cuts on their arms from weaving through a hundred feet of jagged shrubs, the vegetation began to open up.  The high, three o’ clock sun painted quite a beautiful picture as it peeked its way through small gaps in the large tree branches overhead.  Aged leaves cluttered the ground and the clear stream sparkled in the sun spots, displaying a habitat of tadpoles, frogs, and small, yellow snakes that Aiden quickly moved away from… he hated snakes.

            “Pretty cool, huh?” said Kirk.

            “Yeah, but, um… a lot of this is flammable.”

            Kirk laughed.  “We’re not there yet.  Still about three hundred yards to go – haven’t even hit the split yet.  Just… thought I’d point out the scenery…”  He grimaced, so Aiden took a guess.

            “This is where you used to take Angela, isn’t it?”

            Kirk frowned, drew a deep breath, and sighed.  “Yeah, she loved it…”

            “Come on, take me further.  We’ve got magic to do,” said Aiden, grinning.

            At that, Kirk smiled, and they pressed on. 

            No more than five minutes later, they reached the split and went left as Kirk had instructed.  Judging by the amount of slithering reptiles they had seen so far, Aiden really did not care to see what was over to the right.  The stream began to close up and eventually reached a dead stop at a solid wall of six-feet tall, yellow grasses.

            “Over here!” called Kirk.  “It’s a bit thinner this way… less chance of getting Deer Ticks,” he chuckled.

            Aiden didn’t exactly find this funny, but humored Kirk with a grin and followed him into the tall grasses.  With some minor struggling, they reached a large, open field.  Ridgeway Field.

            It really was as Kirk had explained: big and full of a whole lot of nothing.  It was just about the size of a Major League Baseball field and it looked like one, too, with mixed patches of dirt and grass and a small mound in the middle with a chunk of concrete jutting out of the side.

            Aiden smiled.  “It’s perfect,” he said.

            The two made their way out to the middle by the dirt mound and stopped so that they were far enough from the trees and taller grasses.

            “Okay, now what?” asked Kirk, excitedly.

            Aiden paused.  It wasn’t until now that he realized that they had come here without a plan.  He still had no idea how to produce a flame at will, and didn’t even know how to go about trying again.  He was even starting to doubt that it ever happened in the first place.  Maybe he was going crazy and Kirk was just playing along to make him feel better.  What if something else caused the fire and the smoke had made him delusional?  He decided to be honest.

            “No idea,” Aiden sighed.  “I tried to tell you that before.  I don’t know where to begin.  Hell, I don’t even know if it even happened anymore.”

            “Stop – it did happen.  You said it did, and I believe you.  And the hospital?  That wasn’t a trick lighter or something.  You did it.  It’s real.”

            Aiden thought about this for a moment.  Kirk was right.  “I guess so, yeah,” he said.

            “Good, now why don’t we just start out with things that we do know,” Kirk said matter-of-factly.

            “Alright.”  Aiden paused to think.  “For one, both times, I was really sweaty.  Maybe that’s important.  Also, I was really, really mad… and kind of embarrassed at the same time.  So… I’m not really sure how that fits together,” he confessed.

            “Well, let’s just start with the first one, then.  Come on, catch me.” And he instantly took off at a run.

            “What?  Are you serious – Hey!  My old man told me to take it easy!” he yelled.

            He was only wasting his breath, though.  Kirk was a good distance away, taunting him.  Aiden charged after him.

            To paint a clearer picture, a kid who was average-at-best at anything that involved physical activity was chasing one of the school’s top Track runners.  It was like a small pickup truck trying to catch one of those NASCAR vehicles all decked out in Tide colors and Cheerios emblems – All he could do was wait for Kirk to run out of gas.

            Which could take hours.

            Or days.

            Or maybe never.

            Ten minutes later, Aiden hunched over to catch his breath and waved one hand, signaling that he’d given up.

            Kirk jogged back over and looked as if he’d only just walked up a small flight of stairs.

            “Good enough?” Kirk chuckled.

            “Ya think?” Aiden panted.  His face was beaded with sweat.

            “Okay, give it a shot.”  It was easy to see that Kirk was excited.

            “Jeez, man… I’m not a runner like you.  Can’t I get a minute to catch my breath?” he heaved.

            Aiden paced around in a circle with his hands on his hips for a long minute.

            “So, now we just wait?” asked Kirk.

            Aiden shrugged and did just that.  They waited in silence, hopeful and attentive.

            But nothing happened.

            No fire, no spark, not even a glow.

            They both sighed.

            “You’re useless.  I don’t even know why I bothered wasting my time with you today,” said Kirk.

            “Excuse me?” said Aiden, clearly startled.

            “Yeah, that’s right.  You’re just a nutjob.   I mean, really, magic?  What, are you six years old again?  Grow up!”

            Aiden couldn’t believe his ears.  His best friend, of all people… He was furious.

            “You look like you want to hit me,” said Kirk.

            “Yeah?  Well, maybe I do right now.”

            “Ha!  You’d have to catch me first, though.  Not that you ever could –“

            “WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM!?” Aiden yelled.

            And then Kirk smiled.

            “Good.  It worked,” he said.

            Aiden was confused.  And he still really wanted to punch Kirk in the face. “What?”

            “I was only trying to get you mad.  You said you were angry both times when it happened.”

            “Oh… I suppose it didn’t work then.  Did anything strange happen to me?”

            “No, but for a second there I really thought you were going to slug me,” said Kirk.

            They both laughed.  And then Aiden had an idea.

            “Hit me,” said Aiden.

            “Huh?”

            “Just do it.  I have a plan.”

            Kirk gazed at him skeptically.

            “Come on, man, we’re losing daylight here.  Sock me.”

            “Don’t be an ass.  I’m not going to hit – “

            “C’mon, pansy.  Just do it!  Don’t be a – “

            WHAM

            Kirk’s fist connected with his chest.  For a small guy, he really packed a wallop.  Aiden shoved Kirk in retaliation, as if to say Keep going.  Kirk got the message and continued brawling with his best friend.

            Aiden had an idea.  Maybe it wasn’t the best idea, but it was an idea nonetheless.

            He balled his fists in rage and stared at them, feeling the full assault from Kirk completely unguarded.  His knuckles were white.  He strained so hard that he thought he might pass out.

            Any second now he thought.

            His face was pouring with sweat and veins protruded in his neck like a complicated pipeline on the verge of bursting.  He focused harder than ever on his fists.  Kirk gave him another heavy shot to the chest and Aiden fell to the ground.

            He was drained.  Kirk didn’t look too hot, himself.  He took a knee to get level with Aiden.

            “Now why the hell did you make me do that?” said Kirk.

            Aiden was wincing and struggling for breath yet again.  “I don’t know.  I thought… it would work.  I was focusing on my hands and everything.  Desperate idea, I guess…” he sighed.

            “Hey, man, don’t worry about it.  We’ll figure it out.  I’ll come here every day with you if I have to.”

            “You know, I’m starting to think that you want this more than I do.”

            They laughed.

            Kirk had always been that way, though.  Determined like no other.  When he put his mind to it, there was absolutely no stopping him, no matter how many times he had to fail before he achieved success.  That’s probably why he was so athletic.  His confidence was unparalleled.  He made a great coach, which was good for Aiden – most of the time he needed it.

            “Here,” said Kirk, helping Aiden to his feet.  “A few more tries, but I’m not beating you up again,” said Kirk.

            Aiden smiled.  “How sweet of you.  Gonna take me out to dinner afterward?”

            “Funny… Maybe I should hit you.”

            After an hour’s worth of sweating, straining, and frustration, no progress was made.  They decided to call it quits and head back to the Brande’s for dinner.

            Kirk was being so encouraging that Aiden did his best not to show it, but he was bummed.

            “We’ll get it.  I mean, it’s just like anything else, really.  Can’t expect to be a professional after two days,” said Kirk.

            And it was fairly true.

            Aiden and Kirk spent the remainder of the week completely focused on magic.  They did nothing but conjure new ideas in their classes and went to Ridgeway every day after school until dark to practice.  Despite their efforts, they made no discoveries and were nothing short of exhausted by the end of the week.  Friday night’s session ran well into dark and Aiden got home later than usual.  He wolfed down his dinner, took the world’s quickest shower, and went right to bed.

            He flipped his pillow over and fell asleep almost immediately.

            He was sitting on a large chunk of rock, with his toes in the sand, looking out at the sunset across the calm sea.  The sound was soothing.  It was warm and slightly breezy.  Maybe it was like paradise.

            And then she was there.  Myriah. 

She was walking over to him.  She smiled and waved.  Her hair was let down and was swaying gently in the ocean breeze.  She looked absolutely stunning.

            She sat down next to him and smiled again.  Aiden returned it as she leaned in close to him.  He took her hand in his and laced their fingers together.  He wrapped his other arm around her and brought her in even closer.

            For a moment, they sat in silence, watching and listening to the waves.

            “Don’t you wish we could just stay forever?” he asked.  “Leave it all behind.  Run away.  You know?”

            She turned her head away from the sea and looked at him.  She was so gentle, so innocent.  It was like she was melting in his arms.

            “Sometimes.  But I know we have to stay.  And I don’t mind.  You’ll keep me safe,” she said in almost a whisper.

            There was a longing in her eyes, bluer than the sea they sat by.  Aiden smiled as she leaned her face in closer to his.

            “And… there’s something I wanted to tell you…” she said.

            She closed her eyes and was suddenly only an inch from his face.  He closed his, too.

            Maybe their lips met.  Aiden wasn’t exactly sure.  It had been a long time since he’d kissed a girl.  Maybe he had forgotten what it felt like.  It seemed weird.  Like his body was being sucked through the sand.  The sound of the sea faded.  The warmth left his body.  The sunset disappeared.

            He was sitting on a green and white checkered couch, awkwardly holding a pillow.  He looked across the table in front of him and saw the old man smiling and giving a small laugh.

            “Perhaps I should have waited another minute to bring you back,” he said.

            Aiden felt his cheeks turn a pale shade of pink.  “You… saw?” he asked.

            The old man nodded.  “Yes, and it’s part of why I brought you back.  You hardly know this girl and you’re already dreaming of her.  Maybe you should talk to her once before you continue doing such things.  It is a bit odd, you know.”

            Aiden felt quite embarrassed.  “Gee, thanks for the advice.  What are you, my grandfather?” he asked sarcastically.   

            “No, but speaking of him – well, why don’t you get comfortable and we’ll talk about the real reason for why you’re here.  Have a cookie.”

            Aiden obliged and took one.  It was just as soft and delicious as it had been last time.  Aiden looked at the old man and gave a nod of approval.  “Okay,” he said. “But before we get started, who are you?”

            “I told you before that I do not wish to tell you just yet.”

            “Alright, fine.  What about a nickname or something?  I can’t just call you Old Man or Gramps,” said Aiden.

            The old man chuckled.  “I am not fond of aliases, but I do see your point, Mr. Brande.”  He paused for a half minute.  “You may call me Cafaran.”

            “Nice to meet you, Cafaran,” said Aiden.

            “Thank you, Mr. Brande.  Now, let’s get down to business, shall we?  I have been watching you all week.”

            “What do you mean?” asked Aiden.

            “I meant what I said.  I have been watching you.  And Kirk.  And what you’ve been doing at the meadow.”

            Aiden was taken aback.  How did he know?  How was he watching him?  His heart began to race from nervousness.

            But this was only a dream.  Wasn’t it?  Isn’t that what Cafaran said last time?

            “You look a bit shocked.  Let’s just say that I am a very old, but very wise man, and in many ways, I am like you.”

            “I don’t know about wise.  Cryptic, more like.  You never make sense,” said Aiden, truthfully.

            “Come now, Mr. Brande.  You are more intelligent than that!  But, alas, you have had a long and tiring week.  I will put it plainly… I am a mage, just like you.”

            Aiden was not sure why, but this made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

            “Mage?”

            “Yes, a mage.  Magic user.  Wizard.  Warlock.  Whatever you’d like to call it, but we refer to ourselves as mages.  We have extraordinary powers, as you might have noticed during your locker room incident.”

            “So it was real.  Or, is real, rather.  Good to know I wasn’t just hallucinating,” said Aiden.

            “Ah, but this is just a dream after all.  Maybe you can’t be certain.”

            “Why must you rain on my parade?” asked Aiden.

            Cafaran chuckled.  “I am merely poking fun.  Lighten up, Mr. Brande.  This is something worth being excited about.”

            “Excited?  More like frustrated.  I can’t do it anymore.  It was a one – well, two time deal.”

            “Oh, but you can.  That brings me to my next point.  I am going to teach you how to control your magic.  Would you like that?”

            Aiden nearly fell off of the couch.  Hopefully this wasn’t one of those dreams that ends right before the good part happens.  He’d had enough of that already.  This dream seemed different than the last one, though.  It was more real.

            “Well, yeah, of course,” said Aiden.

            “Good.  Now I must commend you for your efforts so far.  You are…what is the expression?  Close but no cigar?  Anyway, you were right to think of your hands.  You may thank that which you are fumbling with at this very moment.”

            Aiden looked down and realized that he was toying nervously with his gold ring.  He stopped and held it up, puzzled.  “This?”

            “Indeed.  Your grandfather’s ring is your Intagrum.”

            “My what?”

            “Intagrum.  It sort of means ‘connection’ or ‘link’.  It is an ordinary object, treasured by the owner, that augment’s his or her magic abilities.  In your case, it is your grandfather’s ring.  Unless you care to disagree?”

            Aiden carefully examined the ring, thinking about Cafaran’s words.  “I suppose you’re right.  I always wear it.  I think of it as my good luck charm and – ohhhhh, now it really makes sense.  The ring didn’t melt when my hands were on fire both times!”

            “Precisely!  See?  You are quite intelligent, Mr. Brande.  Yes, the ring did not melt because it is what drew out your power in the first place.”

            “So, all I have to do is use the ring?”

            “Patience, please.  Let me finish,” said Cafaran.  “The ring is significant, yes.  Casting spells is no easy task at first, but like many other things, it eventually becomes second nature after doing it enough.  It takes a great deal of emotion to cast your first spell.  And usually the second and third as well.  The sensation of great anger, sadness, determination, and so on will typically cloud the focal process of a cast.”

            “Not sure if I’m following.  So is there an incantation or some phrase I have to say or something?  I don’t quite get it.”

            “To put it more simply, it involves great focus.  Think about what you want to do.  Let the spell form in your mind, and then follow it through your bloodstream.  Depending on your level of focus and the type of spell, it will grow stronger as it passes through different chambers in your body.  Watch it travel through you and release it through your Intagrum.”

            Aiden took in every word.  “So, I did all of that when I was angry?”

            “Probably not all of that.  That is why the spell was out of control and you nearly torched your entire school.  Focus is an essential part to control.  Why don’t you give it a try?”

            “Here?” asked Aiden.  “Aren’t you afraid that I’ll burn your house down?”

            “No.  For one, I trust you.  And two, I am a mage, as I told you before.  I could put out any flame you could muster right now.”

            “Gee, thanks for the confidence booster.  So, I can do magic in dreams then?”

            “Some dreams are more real than you’d think.”  He winked and gestured Aiden to stand up.  “Go on, try it out,” he said with a smile.  “I will guide you through it.”

            Aiden stood up, straight and tall.

            “Let’s try to create a fireball.  About the size of a baseball will do.  Form the image in your mind.”

            Aiden nodded.  I want to create a fireball, he thought.  Small enough to throw or catch.  I want to feel it in my hand.  And a picture of a flaming ball appeared within his head.

            “Close your eyes, it will help,” said Cafaran.  “Now, let it travel through you.  Be direct.  Right from your mind to your left hand and out through your ring.”

            Aiden kept his eyes shut tight.  The ball of fire began to move within his mind.  It rolled down his neck, as if he were swallowing it, and moved through his heart from chamber to chamber.  It didn’t bounce, but rolled quite smoothly down his arm.  He could feel the hair standing up on his forearms as it rolled down to his palm.  He pictured the ring, glinting with the reflection of the flame.  He felt a small surge of heat.

            “Open your eyes, Mr. Brande,” said Cafaran.

            Aiden did as he was told and saw exactly what he had pictured in his mind.  A fireball about the size of his palm floated just an inch above his hand, soundless and warm.  It danced around and spun in his hand as if it were bending to Aiden’s very will.  The feeling was incredible.  His eyes lit up and he was grinning wider than ever.

            “Now, let us find a use for it.  Throw it at the wall.  Don’t worry, you won’t cause any damage,” said Cafaran.

            Aiden was slightly startled by this, but he did not break his focus.  He nodded in agreement and took a step to his left to face the wall of many clocks.  He took aim at a twelve thirty with a brass pendulum and wound up his arm like a pitcher.  He threw with a great force and watched the fireball leave his hands, soaring through the air with grace.  The ball connected with its intended target and ignited the clock.  It began to melt underneath the flames.

            “I’m sorry!  You said it wouldn’t –“

            “It is alright.  Just watch,” said Cafaran quite calmly.

            He waved his arm and it looked as though an invisible bucket of water dumped itself on the clock.  The flames were doused and the clock was steaming with a steady hiss.  Cafaran waved his hand once more and the clock began to reform.  Within seconds, it looked the same as it did just moments ago.

            “Excellent, Mr. Brande.  Very good indeed.”

            Aiden could not help but grin.  “Thank you, Cafaran.”

            “Any time,” he said.  “Oh, dear, speaking of which, I have kept you for too long again.  Forgive me, Mr. Brande.  Do well to remember what I have told you.  I am certain that we will meet again.”  He smiled his usual smile and nodded.

            He felt like he was being sucked through the floor.  The last thing he saw was the warm smile.

            Aiden rolled over in his bed and opened his eyes.  The sun was up.  This was good enough for him.  He snatched up his cell phone and began dialing furiously.  He waited patiently for someone to pick up.

            “Hello?  Aiden, it’s like eight in the morning, dude.”

            “Kirk!  Get up, we’re going to Ridgeway.  I have something I need to show you.”

Chapter 3

  Three: The Man and the Cottage

Aiden found himself sitting on a green and white checkered couch in a cozy little living room.  One wall was clad in portraits of many unusual people from different time periods.  Some wore long beards, some wore Victorian dresses, and some wore Hawaiian shirts and sunglasses.  A different wall was covered in about three dozen clocks, each of them telling a completely different time.  The windows were dressed in red and white curtains that resembled a picnic blanket.  The coffee table in from of him held a tray of chocolate chip cookies stacked in a perfect pyramid and they smelled as if they were freshly baked. 

Just then, an old man with a balding head and a long, white goatee entered the room.  He wore navy blue slacks with dress shoes and a white button up.  Aiden thought that he looked sharp for an old guy.

The man smiled at Aiden and raised one hand as if to wave at him and made his way over to the brown reclining chair directly across from him.  He sat down without saying anything.

Aiden was thoroughly confused. He had never seen this place before.

Was he dead?  Did people really go to cottages with cookies and weird decorations when they died?

“Um, hello.”  Aiden cleared his throat.  The man gave no reaction and just kept on smiling.  “Sorry… I have no idea how I got here.  Is this… your house?  I could leave if I’m-“

“No, no, my boy.  You may stay for a bit.  Help yourself to a cookie,” said the old man, still smiling.

 Aiden hesitated for a moment and then bit into the cookie.  It was the softest and most delicious cookie he’d ever had.  It tasted so real.  Aiden paused.

“Am I… dead?”

The old man laughed.  “No, far from it.  This is only a dream” 

He moved over to the window and pulled the curtain aside.  He stared outside with a hollow gaze.  Then he turned back to Aiden.  “So,” he said. “At long last, you’ve awakened.”

“But, sir… didn’t you just say this is a dream?”

“It is, my boy”

At this point, Aiden was utterly bewildered, completely confused, and downright lost.  He screwed up his face and tried to think clearly, but found it to be impossible.

“Okay, I don’t get it…”

“Oh, you’ll figure it out soon enough.  It’s something worth being excited about, though,” he said with a warm grin.

There was a short pause.  Aiden felt like he had seen this man before, but he couldn’t figure out where.  Maybe it was the very welcoming environment and that smile that made him believe that they had met at an earlier date.  Still thoroughly perplexed, Aiden decided that it was a good time to ask questions.

“So, where exactly am I?”

“Tough to say.  I haven’t left this house in ages.”

“Who are you?  Do I know you?”

“That is not important right now and quite frankly, I’d rather not tell you just yet.  You have enough on your mind as it is.”

Aiden opened his mouth to speak but the old man held up his hand.  He looked over at his wall of many clocks.  “Ah, it seems that I have already kept you too long.  I promise to fill you in next time.  Take care, Mr. Brande.”

“Wait! What do you mean by-“

But his words were soundless and suddenly it seemed like his body was being sucked through the floor.  The room was stretching far above him and the last thing he saw was that warm smile.

*                      *                      *

The room was bright and quiet except for a periodic beeping noise.  Both his eyes and his body felt extremely heavy, as if he were being pushed into his bed.  To his right stood Dylan and Kirk, who were gazing absent-mindedly around the room.  It was Kirk who noticed him first.

“Hey! He’s up!” he shouted, nearly scaring Dylan half to death.

Speaking proved to be quite difficult for Aiden. “Where…?”

“Your Mom is on her way.  What happened, dude?” said Kirk.

It was then that Aiden glanced down at his hands and noticed that there were no burn marks, no bandages, nothing.  Alarmed, he ripped off his sheets and inspected his legs, feet, and arms.  No burns. No bandages.  Not a scratch.

Did he imagine the whole thing?

“Whoa, whoa, easy!  Let me go grab the doctor,” said Dylan who quickly left the room and shut the door behind him.

“Okay, what’s going on, man?” Kirk asked.

He couldn’t have imagined it.  It had to be real.  He remembered the flames.  He remembered the sprinklers.  He felt it all.  He had to tell Kirk.  He was his best friend after all, and he would definitely want Kirk to do the same if he were in his position.

“I… don’t really know how to explain it.  I got really mad and started punching a locker and then… well, a fire started.”

Kirk looked thoroughly confused.  “Yeah, but how?  Someone must have had something flammable in their locker like a lighter or something.  Do you remember whose it was?”

“No, Kirk, that’s not it.”

He paused.  “It sounds crazy but… I think that I made the fire.”

Kirk’s eyes began to widen with skepticism.

“I tried to rip the lock off and it melted in my hand.  Dripped right on to the floor so it’s probably still stuck there.  My hands and arms were on fire.”

Kirk raised an eyebrow. “Uh, I don’t think so, Chief.  Look, I won’t tell anyone if you torched the place on purpose but-“

“No, I’m serious!” he shouted.

Kirk stepped back a bit, alarmed.  “Okay, okay.  You’re serious.”

They sat in silence for a minute.  It really did sound crazy.  Aiden didn’t really know what to think of it.  He decided to relate to the only thing he knew.  The only thing he wanted it to be.

“It was like… it was like magic.  Only, I didn’t try to make it happen.  It just sort of… did.”

The utter sincerity in Aiden’s voice alerted Kirk that he wasn’t just playing some sort of joke.  Kirk drew in a deep breath and released a long, heavy sigh.

“You know, part of me wants to believe you because for one, it would be awesome.  And two, I’d rather not think of my best friend as a lunatic, but I really doubt that that’s what actually happened.”

Aiden began to get angry.  “I’m not kidding!  I know what happened…  I was there!  I’m not some psycho!” he shouted, balling his fists in an attempt to suppress his rage.

“Alright! Just calm down for a sec and-“

But Kirk suddenly found himself unable to speak.  He turned a ghostly shade of white and looked as if he were going to fall over and faint.  With eyes lit up like a beacon, he raised his arm and pointed at Aiden’s fist, which now held a slow and steady flame.  Aiden was panting and sweating heavily as he stared at the flaming mass dancing around on his palm.  The fire extinguished itself and Aiden slumped back down in his hospital bed, exhausted.

“See?  Same thing… happened,” he heaved.  He turned to look at Kirk who was wearing an expression of absolute horror that slowly began to turn into a wide-mouthed grin

“No. Freaking. Way,” he beamed.  “How in the world did you just do that?”

“I don’t really know, to be honest.  So far, I’ve only been able to do it when I get really mad, so I guess that has a big part to do with it.”

Aiden hesitated for a moment.  Kirk looked entirely overjoyed.

  “Please do me a favor and don’t tell anyone about this.  I don’t really want people knowing because they’ll either think we’re both crazy or they’ll bug me about it,” said Aiden, frowning.

“Yeah, yeah, I gotcha, yup.”  Kirk was speaking quite quickly now.  “But you really need to figure out how to do it on command.  You know how cool that is?  This is the kind of stuff that we’ve always wanted to happen.  The magic in those fantasy books and video games isn’t fantasy anymore, it’s real!  This is just crazy!  You have to teach me, Aiden.”

Just as he figured, Kirk was not going to have a level head about any of this.  He was always like that, though.  When he got excited about something, there was no standing in his way.

“Okay, hang on just a sec.  I know this is awesome and all but I still seriously don’t know how to do it.  It was more of luck or a miracle or whatever than anything… Plus, it makes me really tired.”  He paused for a moment.  “I think I hear Dylan and the doctor.  I’m going to take a nap now so promise me that you will not say a thing about it to either of them while I’m sleeping.”

Kirk nodded and turned to the door as Aiden shuffled into a comfortable position in his hospital bed.  The doctor and Dylan were close now.

“-strange because his tests all came back normal… I just don’t understand what-“

Kirk met them in the arch of the doorway.  “Keep your voices low, please.  He said he was tired and really needed a nap,” he said.

“Yes, as I was just telling your friend, he should feel fine after some more rest and his mother can take the three of you home.  I will be down the hall for now, so be sure to come and get me when they arrive,” said the doctor.

Aiden closed his eyes and found sleep almost immediately.

His vision blurred heavily and he suddenly found himself sitting upright on a green and white checkered couch.  The scent of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies filtered through his nostrils as he looked directly in front of him to find the same old man sitting on a chair on the other side of the coffee table.  He nodded to Aiden and grinned.

That smile.

It was so comforting.  So relaxing.  He felt like he was being carried away by clouds and being sucked through the floor all at the same time.  Blackness consumed his mind and he found restful sleep.

            After a very frustrating car ride home, Lauren still had no idea what had actually happened.  Aiden did not dare tell her the truth, as he figured she would end up sending him to special classes or enrolling him in a mental institution.  He told her that he was lucky to escape the random fire and must have passed out from shock.  Hopefully the doctor’s story was similar.

  How could he possibly tell her that he created fire with his bare hands?  Or that the overhead sprinklers felt like a fire hose?  She would never believe him.  Aiden could hardly believe it himself.  Yes, it was best that nobody but Kirk knew. 

Kirk probably only believed it because he wanted to believe it.  He loved magic and all things fantasy just as much as Aiden did, and now that his best friend was living proof that all of it turned out to be real, he was probably exploding with excitement.  Aiden was sure that Kirk would be asking him to reproduce the magic several times a day and would definitely ask him again if he could teach him how to do it.  Maybe telling Kirk wasn’t such a good idea after all.

 Lauren and Aiden filed their way through the side door into the kitchen and took their shoes off.  There was an awkward moment of silence as Aiden made his way down the hall to his room.  He reached the doorway and found a folding table next to his bed with water, an ice pack, a can of Ginger Ale, and some pretzels sitting neatly on top.  This was Lauren’s typical “feel better” setup.  She was behind him in the doorway.

“You should probably get some more rest if you don’t know what’s going on.  Get food down and stay hydrated… we don’t want you passing out again.  Hopefully you’ll feel well enough to go to school in the morning because you really can’t afford to miss a day of school this early in the year, Aiden.  It will be too hard to catch up and-“

“Okay, Mom,” he interrupted.  “Thanks for the stuff… I’ll sit down for a while and just go to bed early or something like that.”

There was an awkward moment of silence once again.

“Yeah.  Just holler if you need something,” she said as she headed down toward the living room.

Aiden closed his door, slumped down on his bed and rubbed his eyes and head hard.  He had so much on his mind, so much to think about.  Why did this happen to him, of all people?  What did it mean?  Why was he having strange dreams all of a sudden?

That was just it; it was all so… sudden. 

Out of the blue, he can just perform magic.  Real magic, not the kind that involves trick cards, hats, and rabbits.  This was magic that had the power to help and to harm, to create and destroy.  Sure, he could light a candle without a match or turn the stove on without touching the dial, but he could also engulf a room in flames if he weren’t careful. 

Honestly, Aiden had absolutely no idea what he was even capable of.  For one, he did not even truly know how to produce a flame without getting angry or completely draining himself.  As of right now, this newly found skill was more dangerous than anything.  He had to learn to control it if he ever wanted to find a practical use for it.

He sat up and slid over to the edge of his bed.  Aiden gave himself a lot of credit for being able to assess this situation so calmly and logically.  It seemed like any other fifteen year old would be ranting and raving to his friends about how awesome he is now that he can do real magic.  Any other kid would be showing off his power and wouldn’t even consider possible consequences.  Maybe that’s why Aiden was able to do it…because he could actually handle it.

Determined, he stood up and paced back and forth across his room, desperately trying to think of where to begin.  How could he practice controlling his power if he didn’t even know how to produce it on command?  Aiden had never been one to give up, especially without trying a few times first, so he balled his fists and stared at them, wishing for something to happen.  He clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white.

But nothing happened.

He opened his palms and cracked his fingers as if he were getting ready to play a piano medley in front of a live audience.  Standing up straight and tall, he held his hands right out on front of him and focused intently on his palms.  Sweat began to fill his pores on his forehead from intense concentration, yet still, nothing appeared.  No flame.  Not even a spark.

Clapping his hands together, he started jogging in place and rolling his neck around in a stretch like athletes do when they warm up for a game.  It’s okay, he told himself. I can do this.

He stretched his arms out and made motions like a puppet master controlling an old marionette would.  He stared at his hands, focusing with everything he had, but nothing appeared.  He didn’t even feel any warmer, just discouraged.  The only thing he could think of at this point was to make himself angry on purpose and see if it came out again. However, he wasn’t sure about this for fear that he may lose control like he did in the locker room and end up burning down his parents’ house.

Maybe I’m just too tired, he thought.  Perhaps it worked exactly like it did in his video games and he was just simply out of Mana or Magic Points or something.  He wouldn’t be able to cast until they recharged over some time.  He didn’t feel any different though, which made him even more curious and still more dispirited.

Out of ideas, he decided to simply set it aside for now and get his mind off of it.  It was beginning to stress him out, as if he didn’t have enough on his plate as it was.  Any fifteen year old will tell you that high school isn’t exactly a walk in the park.  It’s sort of like a career except that you don’t get paid.  You have deadlines to meet with assignments, you have to arrive and depart on time or there will be some sort of consequence, and on top of that, you are constantly being assessed by not only your superiors, but peers as well.  There is just so much to think about, especially with the whole idea of creating and maintaining a healthy self-image that those guidance counselors always talk about.  Aiden had always been very ambivalent about his self-image.  One week he would be happy with himself and the next he felt like he was the world’s biggest nobody.  Coming off of an excellent summer vacation, he was feeling positive and confident. 

But now what?  He wasn’t even sure how he felt about his new ability. 

Was it something to be proud of?   Or did it just make him a freak?

Aiden turned his head to look at his clock… 10:13.  He had not gone to bed this early in years, yet he wanted nothing more than to crawl under his covers and clear his mind. 

At six thirty the next morning, Aiden’s alarm was a whirling tornado through his eardrums.  He tried to get up, but nearly fell back down on to his bed.  He was beyond tired.  The prospect of feigning illness and staying home from school suddenly seemed very appealing. He remained in a sitting position at the edge of his bed, struggling to decide what to do but, as tired as he was, he figured that he would probably be better off going to school.  If he were to stay home, he would do nothing but torture his brain and make several attempts at magic again which would only further wear him out.  On top of that, he was certain that Kirk would end up calling him at some point to ask him a million different questions as to why he didn’t show up today, so with great effort, he propelled himself to his closet and began getting ready for the day.

             “Wow, you look terrible,” said Kirk.

Aiden gave a deep sigh and faced the window. “Yeah, tired,” he said as Kirk sat down next to him.  He was thankful that the bus was quiet.  There was no way that Kirk could badger him about yesterday without being overheard.

Even Aiden couldn’t deny that he was seriously worn out.  He was so tired that his morning seemed to go by in flashes more than anything.

“-And a test tomorrow on Great Expectations, with special focus on everything we talked about today! Hope you all took excellent notes!” called Mrs. Prang as the bell rang.

Perfect, he thought, considering that he just spent thirty nine of the forty minute period sleeping on his desk.  His day was not about to improve, however, as he had Chemistry to look forward to in six minutes.

He entered the lab room and took his seat next to Kirk.

At this point, Aiden was simply waiting for Kirk to begin bombarding him with questions when the bell finally rang.  He wasn’t sure if he should be relieved by this or not because he was in no mood to do Chemistry work, or deal with Hazzlok, for that matter.  Aiden scanned the room and saw that he had not arrived yet.  He turned his view to the storage closet, half expecting him to come bursting out of it like he did on the first day of class.

The door remained shut.  He was fashionably late and the class broke into chatter.

“So – er – any luck with…?” asked Kirk.

Aiden gave a short laugh. “Figured you’d ask me sooner or later.”  He paused for a moment. “To answer your question, no.  I spent the greater part of my night trying to do it again but couldn’t figure it out.”

Kirk knew he’d hit a sore spot already and thought it best not to ask him any more questions about yesterday.

“So, it’s five after… where do you think Hazzlok is?” Kirk asked.

“Don’t know, and honestly, I don’t care.  Not really in the mood for him today,” Aiden grumbled.

Various gossips continued throughout the classroom over the next few minutes.  Nobody seemed to care that their teacher was missing.  For some, especially Aiden, even sitting in silence for forty minutes was better than doing Chemistry work.

Just then, the storage closet door flung open and Mr. Hazzlok emerged.  His long, black hair was teased on one side and his ridiculous suit jacket was looking quite disheveled.  He glanced down at his watch and hurried over to the front of the room.

“So sorry everyone.  The bell doesn’t come through in the closet there and I was rather intent on finding our materials for today.  As you can see, I am empty handed so consider today a free period,” said Hazzlok.

There were a few small cheers from the class and the side conversations resumed.  Aiden looked up to see Hazzlok shuffling through papers on his table very quickly.

He turned to Kirk. “Is it just me, or does Hazzlok seem a little frazzled today?”

“What do you mean?” asked Kirk.

“Well, he looks like he just completed a decathlon, he’s rummaging through his papers furiously, he spent at least five minutes in that closet, and he hasn’t found a way to embarrass me yet.”

Kirk chuckled.  “That’s true.  Now that you mention it, he does seem pretty unorganized.”  He dropped his voice to a whisper.  “But anyway, back to what we were talking about before… I want to help.  Can I?”

Aiden shifted in his seat.  “I appreciate it, man, but I really don’t know if you can.  I wouldn’t even-“

“Come on, magic is not something we can just ignore.  Let’s spend some time on it after school this week.”

As frustrated as he was with magic in the last twenty four hours, Aiden could not decline Kirk’s request.  After all, he was right; he couldn’t just ignore it, and he desperately wanted to harness this new power.  Not to mention the fact that Kirk stayed with him at the hospital for hours like a good friend would.  The least he could do was humor him. 

“Alright,” he said, grinning.  “We’ll start tonight.”

Out of the corner of his, Aiden saw that Hazzlok was periodically lifting his head and staring in his direction.  He suddenly seemed much less interested in the papers on his desk.

“Look, he’s staring at me.  I give it thirty seconds until he breaks the silence and completely embarrasses me.”

“Maybe he thinks you’re cute…”

“Oh, funny…”  Aiden twisted in his chair to stretch when something caught his eye.

It was Myriah.

Aiden didn’t even realize that she was in the same class.  Why didn’t he see her yesterday?

She really was gorgeous.  She simply glowed with beauty.

Oddly enough, Aiden could have sworn that she really was faintly glowing.  Their eyes met and she quickly turned away, trying to look busy.

There was something mysterious about Myriah.  Maybe that’s why she was so attractive.  Aiden knew virtually nothing about her considering that they had never had a conversation, yet he sort of liked her already.

But he didn’t even know she existed until yesterday.  He couldn’t possibly like her already.  That would be a little creepy.  Maybe “crush” was a better word.

Yeah, a crush.

A pair of fingers snapped in front of his face.

“Yo, Earth to Aiden,” called Kirk.

“Hmm?”

“I said, where are we going to practice tonight?”

“Oh, right.  Well, wherever it is, it has to be a place where nobody else can see us.  If I go all Human Torch again, I don’t want someone to freak out and call the fire department.”

“Good point,” said Kirk.  “What about Ridgeway field?”

“Whatway what?”

“Ridgeway field… don’t tell me you’ve never been there.  If you go down Ridgeway Road, you’ll see a stream running under the lone guardrail.  Follow the stream through the woods and it leads you to a big open field.  It’s perfect.”

“Works for me.  Can’t set off any smoke alarms outside, either.  Okay, just get off at my bus stop later.  This way we can get a few hours in before dark.”

Aiden looked up to see Hazzlok staring at him again.  Although this time it was much more obvious.  He had stopped everything he was doing.

“Hang on, I’m gonna use the bathroom before he can call me out for something stupid,” said Aiden.

Aiden got up to leave and that’s when he finally saw it all.  More than half of the people in the room were watching him walk out.  What was with everyone today?  Why were they all staring?

And then it hit him.  Of course they would all know already.

He stormed out of a locker room yesterday covered head-to-toe in flames and didn’t have a single burn mark to show for it.  It simply wasn’t normal.

Then again, as of this time yesterday, he was no longer a “normal” boy.