I stepped out into the garden, looking up at the stars, the hazy clouds drifting like veil, and the crescent moon engraved against the black sky. The night wove its magic around me as I drifted towards the fragrant magnolia tree in the centre of the garden. My heart was brimming with a mix of emotions - joy, anticipation, apprehension, excitement - I had just turned 18. The age when I would know if I was worth anything. It could be revealed to me today, or any day in the next six months. If nothing happened, I was doomed to a life of ordinariness, serving the more privileged.
It was nearly midnight on the day I turned 18 and till now nothing remarkable had happened. Except for being told by the guests at my birthday party that I glowed, I had not felt anything different about me. I had tried lighting fire at a glance, but the lamp had remained stubbornly unlit. I had tried lifting things through the power of my mind, but the gravity was stronger. I had tried reading minds and had drifted into my own world with no remarkable clarity... it was the usual dream about meeting the Prince Charming. Even his face did not reveal itself with any clarity. Premonition was useless - I had not anticipated the fight between my two best friends over something as trivial as who should have the cherry.
I wandered aimlessly, and as time went by, it dawned on me slowly that I was not even missed. No one came looking for me. Either they thought I needed the time, or they had not noticed my absence. How typical!
I sat under the magnolia tree, drawn by its fragrance and the carpet of flowers on the floor. I was warned against doing that time and again, to avoid getting bitten by insects, but I loved the tree and everything it offered.
I leaned back on my arms, trying not to feel anxious about the absolutely average day this had turned out to be when a star seemed to wink at me through the leaves. I moved my head this way and that, wondering at such a bright star that I had never seen before and realised that it was an object shaped like a star, stuck in the tree. Maybe some tinsel from the birthday celebration. I reached out to examine it more closely and withdrew my hand sharply as I felt a mild electric current. I got up and pushed the branches aside, wondering if it was part of some special decoration for the evening. I could not see any wires connected to it. Warily, I touched it again and felt the shock jolt me. But as I withdrew my hand, it seemed to ride on my clenched fist, sitting over my knuckles. I was about to jerk my hand and dislodge it when it winked at me - yes, there was no doubt about it. I brought it closer and my night was filled with light - pure light and nothing else.
For a few minutes, I let the light swathe me and relished the humming of my soul. It was tuneless but joyful. When I felt a sense of fulfillment, there was total silence. I blinked and I was back in the dark night. The star... The star! Did I lose it? I scrambled to look for it on the ground, but there was nothing anywhere. I looked up, but only the distant stars winked feebly.
I rushed back into the house and found it still noisy. The bright lights and the loud music drove me to the relative silence and darkness of my room. I sat down and closed my eyes, trying to recollect all that had happened. There was nothing remarkable still that could be called a power! Had I just dreamed it up?
I lay back, tears flowing down my cheeks as I realised what an utter failure I was, a big disappointment to my fire-breathing mother and stormy father. I knew at that moment that I had not inherited any remarkable powers and would have to spend the days in embarrassing anonymity. Maybe my parents suspected that too and so had not cared to look for me.
I lay back and must have drifted off to sleep. When I woke up, the day seemed bright, almost white. I shielded my eyes but I was surrounded by the white and total silence. So much whiteness that I couldn't make out any of the objects in the room, not even the bed I was on or the clothes I was wearing. I sat up and realised that I was back in the star world, for want of a better word to describe the place. Was I dreaming? I pinched myself and felt the pressure of my fingers.
I looked around as silence filled my heart. Slowly the white turned golden and then I could see the other colours, I could make out the outline of the things in the room and then they all came back into focus.
I sighed in disappointment. I had contracted some 'white-out'. I sat up just my mother walked in with a smile that looked like bad news. "Breakfast?" she asked brightly, clearly a sign that she was trying not to show how disappointed she was. I smiled back equally brightly. "In a few minutes." I wanted to actually throw a tantrum, but I felt very small. My mother was about to turn away when she paused to peer at me closely. I shied away, pretending to rush to the bathroom and pouring my heart out with the tap open. Again I had a white out. It was a funny feeling, to go to that white land, not at all like blacking out. Here I felt heightened awareness unlike during black outs when I felt out of control. But when I came out, the world was still with me, as if awaiting my return. That's what I hated the most.
I went down, wearing my best clothes to make up for the lack of other drama. The house looked like a storm had passed through, which I could well believe. So many powerhouses consuming free drinks were bound to unleash at least some of their power. Many were in various stages of a hangover and were being attended to. My parents accepted it as a necessary evil, but the set expression on my mother's face told me of her true feelings. On seeing me, she again smiled and also opened her arms. I ran to her and let her envelop me in a warm hug. "Mamma!" I said and started crying.
"Never mind. It is not yet something to worry about. You have six months." I nodded as I let her comfort me. But again, I was in a white one and I didn't even feel her arms around me. When the light turned golden and slowly the colours returned, I found my mother and father staring at me from a distance.
"Why didn't you tell us?" my mother asked, whispered.
I was about to explain when I paused. This was it? This fading out and coming back? I sat down and looked at her in fear. "You meant this is my power? The white light?"
My mother frowned. "Is that what happens? You go into white light? We feel it as great, unbearable heat..."
A small sprig of joy sprouted forth. But the way she glanced at my father, it didn't seem like great news. "Mmm... is that a good thing? Is that my power?"
"Oh yes, honey," she rushed to me. "It is your power... We just don't know what it does..."
"Has anyone had this as a power before? How is it used?" I asked eagerly.
She looked at me with sympathy. "Your grandmother, my mother, was like that..." And she stopped. I felt dejected and looked down. Amongst my grandparents, her life story had been the least interesting. Caring for the family when my grandfather and the rest faced enemies. Serving the powerful ones. "Oh," I said in a small voice.
"It wasn't such a bad thing," my mother patted my back. "She kept the children safe."
'While the others fought more dangerous battles,' I completed her sentence in my mind. My mother's father had handled three particularly menacing demons who sneaked across the borders and been awarded for it. My mother's brother was an iceman, freezing some fire-breathing dragons after a fight for 30 days before dying from the wounds and being decorated posthumously. And my father's parents, oh, they were a snob. They were really high-ranking officials in the army who had risen because of their powers.
And my parents... How I have loved hearing tales about them. Not from them, but from others. They are always tight-lipped about it. But others who fought by them sing their paeans. And I love to hear the story of how as fire met water, their hearts united to become one.
Nobody spoke of the effect of seeing light. No one spoke of seeing light as any magical power. I could see a dark future.
My mom and dad looked alert as we heard some unusual disturbance. My mother sparkled, ready for combat. I felt my father gathering the winds. The two turned to face the doorway as I felt myself drawn into sheer darkness.
(To be continued)
It was nearly midnight on the day I turned 18 and till now nothing remarkable had happened. Except for being told by the guests at my birthday party that I glowed, I had not felt anything different about me. I had tried lighting fire at a glance, but the lamp had remained stubbornly unlit. I had tried lifting things through the power of my mind, but the gravity was stronger. I had tried reading minds and had drifted into my own world with no remarkable clarity... it was the usual dream about meeting the Prince Charming. Even his face did not reveal itself with any clarity. Premonition was useless - I had not anticipated the fight between my two best friends over something as trivial as who should have the cherry.
I wandered aimlessly, and as time went by, it dawned on me slowly that I was not even missed. No one came looking for me. Either they thought I needed the time, or they had not noticed my absence. How typical!
I sat under the magnolia tree, drawn by its fragrance and the carpet of flowers on the floor. I was warned against doing that time and again, to avoid getting bitten by insects, but I loved the tree and everything it offered.
I leaned back on my arms, trying not to feel anxious about the absolutely average day this had turned out to be when a star seemed to wink at me through the leaves. I moved my head this way and that, wondering at such a bright star that I had never seen before and realised that it was an object shaped like a star, stuck in the tree. Maybe some tinsel from the birthday celebration. I reached out to examine it more closely and withdrew my hand sharply as I felt a mild electric current. I got up and pushed the branches aside, wondering if it was part of some special decoration for the evening. I could not see any wires connected to it. Warily, I touched it again and felt the shock jolt me. But as I withdrew my hand, it seemed to ride on my clenched fist, sitting over my knuckles. I was about to jerk my hand and dislodge it when it winked at me - yes, there was no doubt about it. I brought it closer and my night was filled with light - pure light and nothing else.
For a few minutes, I let the light swathe me and relished the humming of my soul. It was tuneless but joyful. When I felt a sense of fulfillment, there was total silence. I blinked and I was back in the dark night. The star... The star! Did I lose it? I scrambled to look for it on the ground, but there was nothing anywhere. I looked up, but only the distant stars winked feebly.
I rushed back into the house and found it still noisy. The bright lights and the loud music drove me to the relative silence and darkness of my room. I sat down and closed my eyes, trying to recollect all that had happened. There was nothing remarkable still that could be called a power! Had I just dreamed it up?
I lay back, tears flowing down my cheeks as I realised what an utter failure I was, a big disappointment to my fire-breathing mother and stormy father. I knew at that moment that I had not inherited any remarkable powers and would have to spend the days in embarrassing anonymity. Maybe my parents suspected that too and so had not cared to look for me.
I lay back and must have drifted off to sleep. When I woke up, the day seemed bright, almost white. I shielded my eyes but I was surrounded by the white and total silence. So much whiteness that I couldn't make out any of the objects in the room, not even the bed I was on or the clothes I was wearing. I sat up and realised that I was back in the star world, for want of a better word to describe the place. Was I dreaming? I pinched myself and felt the pressure of my fingers.
I looked around as silence filled my heart. Slowly the white turned golden and then I could see the other colours, I could make out the outline of the things in the room and then they all came back into focus.
I sighed in disappointment. I had contracted some 'white-out'. I sat up just my mother walked in with a smile that looked like bad news. "Breakfast?" she asked brightly, clearly a sign that she was trying not to show how disappointed she was. I smiled back equally brightly. "In a few minutes." I wanted to actually throw a tantrum, but I felt very small. My mother was about to turn away when she paused to peer at me closely. I shied away, pretending to rush to the bathroom and pouring my heart out with the tap open. Again I had a white out. It was a funny feeling, to go to that white land, not at all like blacking out. Here I felt heightened awareness unlike during black outs when I felt out of control. But when I came out, the world was still with me, as if awaiting my return. That's what I hated the most.
I went down, wearing my best clothes to make up for the lack of other drama. The house looked like a storm had passed through, which I could well believe. So many powerhouses consuming free drinks were bound to unleash at least some of their power. Many were in various stages of a hangover and were being attended to. My parents accepted it as a necessary evil, but the set expression on my mother's face told me of her true feelings. On seeing me, she again smiled and also opened her arms. I ran to her and let her envelop me in a warm hug. "Mamma!" I said and started crying.
"Never mind. It is not yet something to worry about. You have six months." I nodded as I let her comfort me. But again, I was in a white one and I didn't even feel her arms around me. When the light turned golden and slowly the colours returned, I found my mother and father staring at me from a distance.
"Why didn't you tell us?" my mother asked, whispered.
I was about to explain when I paused. This was it? This fading out and coming back? I sat down and looked at her in fear. "You meant this is my power? The white light?"
My mother frowned. "Is that what happens? You go into white light? We feel it as great, unbearable heat..."
A small sprig of joy sprouted forth. But the way she glanced at my father, it didn't seem like great news. "Mmm... is that a good thing? Is that my power?"
"Oh yes, honey," she rushed to me. "It is your power... We just don't know what it does..."
"Has anyone had this as a power before? How is it used?" I asked eagerly.
She looked at me with sympathy. "Your grandmother, my mother, was like that..." And she stopped. I felt dejected and looked down. Amongst my grandparents, her life story had been the least interesting. Caring for the family when my grandfather and the rest faced enemies. Serving the powerful ones. "Oh," I said in a small voice.
"It wasn't such a bad thing," my mother patted my back. "She kept the children safe."
'While the others fought more dangerous battles,' I completed her sentence in my mind. My mother's father had handled three particularly menacing demons who sneaked across the borders and been awarded for it. My mother's brother was an iceman, freezing some fire-breathing dragons after a fight for 30 days before dying from the wounds and being decorated posthumously. And my father's parents, oh, they were a snob. They were really high-ranking officials in the army who had risen because of their powers.
And my parents... How I have loved hearing tales about them. Not from them, but from others. They are always tight-lipped about it. But others who fought by them sing their paeans. And I love to hear the story of how as fire met water, their hearts united to become one.
Nobody spoke of the effect of seeing light. No one spoke of seeing light as any magical power. I could see a dark future.
My mom and dad looked alert as we heard some unusual disturbance. My mother sparkled, ready for combat. I felt my father gathering the winds. The two turned to face the doorway as I felt myself drawn into sheer darkness.
(To be continued)
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