Hidden Magic

My eyes open and I am awake. I am lying flat on my back in the middle of a pavement. A storm has rolled in, hitting with clashes of silver and blue. Rain drops hit my skin fiercely like sharp stones. I can feel the stinging pain of cuts across my arms and legs.

Jumping to my feet, I run through the bleak streets, gazing quickly over my shoulder. The whirring wind sweeps the debris up off the footpath. Electric green light zaps through the air, flashing in the shape of a zig zag. There is no shelter available to seek refuge in. I am exposed to the harsh elements that surround me.

The sound of music pierces through the wind. I can feel the heavy beats of a song reverberating through my legs. The music must mean something … what?

My stilettos scrape against the concrete, nearly slipping on the wet ground. They are making me lag far behind. Onyx left a while ago, the purple streak in her black hair flickering in the wispy wind. I had no energy to stand and follow her, my body cemented to the footpath. She looked back at me with a sly grin and a wink before turning to face the electric green light.

I know that Onyx is highly skilled in levitation. A Mage in a quiet cabin trained her. It was during a spell of electric silver light, a highly auspicious time for learning new magic crafts. At the time, Onyx was experiencing recurring visions which disturbed her sleep. She was unable to control them and was afraid of the deep secrets they wanted to share with her.

The Mage taught Onyx how to focus on her visions and to begin to control them. While meditating, Onyx could raise herself off the ground and let visions spin around her.

Onyx’s recent visions were rapid and strange. Faces, bodies, streets and apartment blocks … it was as though her mind was attempting to locate something specific. Her face was strained, etched with lines of stress. Sweat pooled on her forehead and dripped down her cheeks. Her hands clenched the edges of the wool blanket she sat on and her knuckles turned white.

One day Onyx's visions shook before releasing themselves from the spinning circle they existed in. Soaring high into the air, the visions roared and flew, each taking their own journeys through the world.

Onyx woke, coughing and gasping for air. She stared into space, her eyes vague and distant. “My knowledge has left me,” she sighed with fatigue. She watched as the visions disappeared from view into the vast, distant sky.

Looking up at the sky now, I peel strands of golden hair away from my face. The rain teems down, showering me with drops like shards of ice. The electric green light still flashes, its zigzags more bold, cutting through the fierce wind and rain.

Standing still, I take a deep breath, blocking out the noises of the wind and the rain. I can hear my heart pounding as it realises that something has shifted. Looking around me, I notice that a woman has frozen mid walk, staring at the ground. The wind has also stopped billowing in my face.

Time has frozen.

Glancing around me, I see the icicle raindrops frozen in the air. A mystical sound emanates from them, building in pitch until it reaches a soaring height. The icicles separate from each other, forming a gap and enabling me to focus on the vision behind them.

The vision is of Onyx, climbing the façade of an apartment complex. I can read the number 126 on its front entrance doors. Onyx’s long fingers grip firmly onto the golden brown bricks. She wears a determined expression, pressing forward to reach a great height.

Bursts of clouds escape from the apartment windows, releasing showers of rain as they float. The wind blows ferociously but this does not stop Onyx who pushes ahead, climbing up higher.

The clouds disappear as quickly as they arrive. There is a stillness left and the blue sky is accentuated with a streak of green. The streak shimmers like a ribbon swirling in the air. It binds itself to Onyx’s black hair, transforming the strands into a vibrant green. Onyx’s eyes widen, startled with a new alertness. Standing tall, she walks up the façade confidently with long strides.

As Onyx reaches the roof of the apartment complex, her green hair strands zigzag like lightening. Clapping her hands together, she releases a shock of electric sparks into the air. The sparks fall on top of the roof, burning a large hole, which splutters with a smoky haze. Onyx’s eyes narrow with fierce determination as she steps into the hole and disappears from view.

The icicles drop to the ground, shattering into millions of tiny pieces. Suddenly, I am sliding across the ice, heading down the sloping street. Gritting my teeth, I try to control my legs and slow down my speed. My feet seem to have a mind of their own and accelerate my sliding, pushing me further down the pavement. The world around me becomes a blur and I seek a familiar sign or building as I zoom passed.

This world is not one I know.

Snow begins to fall and pile itself across the street. It makes the ground even more slippery and I tense my toes, willing myself to stop moving. Suddenly, I am thrown forward, landing on my stomach in the snow. Pressing my hands into the snow to brace my fall, I feel a chill shooting its way up my arms.

Standing slowly, my gaze falls to my right. On the snowy ground lies a golden brown snow brick. Stepping forward, I approach the brick and pick it up. Examining it, I notice that it is the same colour as the bricks on the apartment façade that Onyx climbed.

It is a sign.

Continuing to step forward, I discover more golden brown snow bricks, lying in a trail. I follow their pathway, picking them up as I go. Once they land in my palm, they decrease into a much smaller size.

As I pick up the last golden brown snow brick, I see a flash of green light emerge from beneath a pile of snow. My eyes widen, curious of the light's source.

Stepping gingerly, I walk around the pile of snow to the other side. There, buried within the snow, is a glowing green light. It is a duller, warmer glow than the light in the sky. The light flickers slightly, like it is about to extinguish at any moment.

Piling the bricks I have collected into my left hand, I reach towards the green light with my right hand. The light stops flickering, its glow intensifying a little more as it shines onto my skin. I watch the light travel across my right arm to my chest, down my left arm and then pause as it reaches my left hand. Glowing over the bricks, the green light begins to hum the same tune I heard earlier on the street. The music with a heavy beat, which begins to reverberate through my legs again.

The light becomes brighter and shoots out multiple green beams, which land upon individual bricks. As each brick is lit, it jumps out of my hand and lands on the soft snow pile. I watch as the bricks group together and begin to build, forming the structure of a small hut. A hut with a dug open doorway, just like the hole that Onyx formed in the roof of the apartment complex.

The small hut casts an eerie green shadow on the snow. Sitting there, it seems to wait patiently for me to enter its open doorway. I inhale a deep breath, giving myself a moment to contemplate what may happen inside the building. Will I be safe inside? Would it lead me to Onyx?

My eyes spot some engraved marks on the frame of the dug open doorway. Squinting, I look closer and notice that the number 126 has been etched into its bricks. Another coincidence? Hopefully this place will give me some answers.

Still holding onto my breath, I step forward, entering the dug open doorway. It is very dimly lit inside the hut. A small, green lamp light shines on a coffee table. Behind the table, on a very old orange couch, sits Onyx, flicking through a notebook.

“Hello Uno,” says Onyx, looking up at me with her dazzling blue eyes. “You made it here safely.”

I look at her, my head spinning with confusion. “Yes,” I say. “It seems that you led me here.”

“The change has begun,” sighs Onyx. She stares straight ahead, gazing out through the dug open doorway. “It’s only a matter of time before we are discovered in this world.”

I say nothing. I watch as Onyx stands and reads from her notebook: “They came, with a storm of bursting rain, showering themselves upon us. We ran, trying to shut them out as best we could. Huddling in our homes, we kept each other warm and comforted. Outside, the storm would not relent. For 126 days, the storm continued to announce its wrath across the land. We waited patiently, shining our green light and hoping it would catch the attention of the one who could freeze time so we could be saved.” Onyx stares at me with dark and mysterious eyes.

I bite my lip, anxious at what the notes suggest. The one who could freeze time? It is I.

“Do you remember arriving in this world?” Onyx asks me.

I consider her question. The only thing that I can remember is my two feet landing on the stormy streets. A single name was etched into my brain: Onyx.

I approach Onyx, staring at her intensely. “Yes,” I say. “I entered a storm and found you.”

“You found a woman running away,” says Onyx, looking directly into my eyes. “A woman whose history you knew before you met her. The training you received before you arrived would have taught you all you need to know to complete your mission.” She closes the notebook. “You know you can help our world,” she says determinedly.

I nod, accepting my fate. “I can freeze time,” I admit. “You already know that though.” I cock my head to one side, studying Onyx’s reaction.

Onyx smiles and reaches out to touch my shoulder gently. “Yes, I do,” she says. “I have also been trained. I learnt that this world needs time to reflect on its ways of being,” she says. “We need your help to make it happen. The green light won’t exist for much longer, if we magic folk continue to be hunted down. The storm won’t relent until all magic is removed from this land.”

“The storm must be quietened,” I say. “I will do what I can to freeze and tame it. Keep your green light hidden for a while as it only aggravates the storm’s wrath. I will see you when I return.”

"Alright," agrees Onyx, reaching over to switch off her lamp. She smiles hopefully. “I will keep sorting through my visions,” she says. “They may give us some clues as to where other magic folk are.” She sits down on the snowy ground and closes her eyes, entering the world of levitation.

I step towards the dug open doorway, pausing for a moment to glance at the snow covered ground. The world is still frozen for now and carries my solid footprints as I begin my new trail.

I am not afraid of the storm that lurks in the background, waiting to unleash its wrath again. I sense that it is scared of magic and with guidance, may learn to tolerate it.