Beyond a Reflection

Chapter 3: The Risks

"Welcome home, Kei!" Grandma greeted me as soon as I opened the door of our house and showered me with smack kisses all around my face down to my neck while making those weird sounds like; "mwa" "hmm" "hmph" things. She keeps repeating how cute am I.

I gently pushed her away and furrowed. "Granny, I'm not a kid," I reminded her with a bit of annoyance in my tone.

What would people think if someone see us?

I plopped my weightless bag on the sofa and seated on one of the chairs, facing our dining table. I rest my head above the table, using my arm as my pillow while taking pieces of grapes in the bowl.

Grandma chuckled as she head towards the kitchen and started cooking. She took her wand inside her puffy pink polka dress and waved it. In an instant, bowls, plates, and pans started floating in the midair and dishes started washing on their own. This is just a normal scenery that I have seen day by day.

"How's school?" she asked and sat right in front of me.

Behind her was a bowl, whisking himself with a manual mixer. Our house was too far from civilization. Grandma said when I was young, we are the only witches living in this world and our other relatives were already wiped out by the witch hunters that's why we need to hide for the time being and let them think that they already wiped out the existence of witches in this planet. Normal people would see us as monsters and certainly, they will be disgusted. This house of ours was located in the countryside but the school I'm attending is ten kilometers from here but thankfully, I have found some shortcuts that I used every day for convenience.

"Still standing," I answered boldly while playing with the grapes in my mouth using my tongue.

Grandma chuckled again while motioning her wand in the air and finally, a plate of scrambled eggs and orange juice was placed on the table, making me sit straight. The first and foremost etiquette of this house was; Respect the food more than you respect yourself.

"An expected answer coming from you. Here, eat up," Grandma offered and moved the plate closer to me and sat on my parallel side.

I prayed before digging in. I noticed that Grandma is looking at me the whole time since I have started eating. I was about to take a bite when I noticed that she's still looking at me. It made me uncomfortable that's why I stopped my hand midway and put the spoon back to the plate making her eyes wonder with mixed concern.

"Why? What's wrong? Do Grandma's scrambled eggs taste bad?" she asked worriedly and took my spoon and took a bite.

"Of course not. You haven't put poison there, aren't you?" I asked her with doubt making her eyes widen and moving the plate back at me.

"Don't be silly, dear. Killing you is like killing myself too," she answered unbelievably.

Perhaps she was just flabbergasted by what I had said. I should really limit myself asking her unbelievable questions. I don't want her to die due to a heart attack.

I raised my eyebrows and continued eating using the same spoon. I'm almost finishing my meal when Grandma suddenly mentioned something making me choke from my own food.

"You've used your magic, aren't you?" I coughed while holding my throat and immediately grabbed the orange juice and drank it right up.

I looked at Grandma with widened eyes. "D-Don't jump to conclusions!" I sounded so defensive.

Grandma just shrugged her shoulders and looked at me again. Her dark green eyes sparkled as the moonlight created such a reflection. "I can smell from you... I can smell your magic leaking from your body."

I put the spoon on the plate and looked back at her. I tried to meet her gaze and expecting that our staring match will last a minute but it didn't even last a second when an electric-like green light emit from her eyes. Suddenly, the environment became gloomy and the lights began flickering at the same time, I could see outside the window a green thunder.

It made my eyes widen and I could feel it glowing too when she stood up from her seat and started walking towards me. I can't move any limb from my body right now as if I'm under her spell. For some reason, I started to get nervous.

"Where did you use your magic from?" she thundered.

I wanted to gulp. I wanted to move a single inch but I couldn't. I'm powerless against this witch right in front of me. The daughter of the most powerful witch I have known— Isabella Grueli.

"Answer," she commanded and chanted some inaudible words. Suddenly, my mouth opened and speak in its own will without even me controlling it.

"Isaiah asked me to," I answered, losing control of my own body.

This is the most annoying spell that she's using against me from time to time. Confesiasah. That's one of a hundred spells that I have learned from my elders a long time ago.

I was back in reality when the lights became stable again and I could feel something inside me clicked, making me able to move again. The environment became lighter than before and the thunders outside already vanished. It left a peaceful yellow-orange sky.

My grandma's face lightened up a bit when she heard the name of her grandson.

"Isaiah? Why? What happened?" she asked concernedly and sat back.

Grandma knows my brother very well since she is the one who looked after him too ever since he was a child while my parents are working their a*s off for our future, but it seems like everything is still f****d up. Even though my brother sided with my mother, Grandma didn't hold a grudge towards him since he's still her grandson after all.

She also knows that Isaiah won't ask me to do some magic if there's nothing up.

"It's about Kia," I answered pertaining to my mom.

My grandma's face became emotionless and it literally went poker face after I have mentioned my mom's name.

"Oh, okay," she stated uninterested.

I just shrugged and took my bag on my sofa and stick my index and middle finger together and put them both on the side of my forehead like a salute and looked at my grandma who is still thinking deeply about what I had said. I just shrugged.

Maybe she could figure something out. She is my amazing grandma after all.

"I'm going to take a bath. Ciao," I said and head to my room.

I immediately closed the door of my room and plopped down on my bed while my bag was on the carpet and random things were messed around the floor. I even saw one of my clothes hanging on the vanity table. I looked at the glow-in-the-dark stickers stuck on the ceiling while started thinking about the things that my brother had mentioned to me earlier.

"No... impossible," he muttered while looking at me with his widened eyes.

I just looked at him without any emotion and shrugged. It is not my problem if he won't believe me. I have lost my magic long ago and it is still useless even though I can use an ounce of it. I could even die if I push myself just a little bit.

"No," he muttered again and shook his head, and looked at me with full of determination in his eyes.

"Just do what you can do. I will really appreciate your help! Mom is really in a critical state right now and you are our only hope." He tried his best to be calm but he cannot. He can't hide his desperation to save Kia as if in a few minutes he is already on his knees, begging me to help him.

"Even though I can, what else can you give for me in return?" I asked him seriously.

Nothing is free in this world anymore.

I am just restraining myself to give in. I'm not cruel like the others think while in fact, I'm the most soft-hearted one here. I'm just trying to use my delinquent facade of mine so that people will avoid me and less the chances that will discover my true identity. I can't join in proper conversations since I can't help myself mention some suspicious stuff.

"I'll give you the only thing that our great grandmother left behind."

And with that, I opened my eyes, revealing the familiar ceiling in my room. I sighed and get up from the bed as I head towards my vanity table and threw my used top that's hanging there. I saw a haggard face of mine that made me frown in disgust. I grabbed my comb and started combing my straight blonde shoulder-length hair. As I combed my hair while looking at my reflection directly in the mirror, I was stunned when my bright green eyes suddenly glowed and a series of memories started flashing right before me.

"You will be their last hope," a soft voice said while combing my hair right in front of a body-sized mirror. I'm sitting on a wooden stool while she's sitting on a familiar red couch.

Who is this woman?

Suddenly my vision's got blurry and the sceneries have changed. We are now in a stoned wall room with torches attached to the walls. I'm holding a 9-inches wand while this old lady is sitting on a red couch while watching me wave my wand from left to right.

"I'm glad that you've inherited this blood. I'm counting on you... for the future of the other world."

I didn't catch a glimpse of her face in that scene when everything went black and I could hear my grandma's and dad's weeps while hugging a body-sized mirror while I am just standing from afar, holding my wand tightly.

"What happened? Why are they crying?" That's probably my thoughts when I was younger when that incident happened. But now, I completely understand why they are crying and why my grandma's hugging that mirror.

Because my great-grandma was inside of it and she will never come back. That mirror serves as her momentum as a great and magnificent witch. For me, she is the bravest witch that I have ever known after she sacrificed herself for the people living beyond that mirror.

I'm finally back in reality. I put my hair down and started preparing for tomorrow's class even though it is still night. My great-grandmother's mirror is staying right now at my mother's house, in her keep since Grandma doesn't want to see it here. Even though how awesome my great-grandmother is, it doesn't change the fact that she left her family just to save other people's life. Grandma keeps holding that thought of her ever since almost a decade passed after that incident happened, causing my dad's death also.

It's too much for her to bear after witnessing her mother trapped inside the mirror, her only son died. I understand her more than anyone does. If anyone's suffering because of her loss. She's suffering twice as our pain.

But for some reason, there's a part of me that wanted to see the mirror myself. Maybe I could just agree with my brother's condition.

Even though I have a high chance of killing myself.