Magic Awakens (very rough copy)

[scribbliz]

I woke this morning and the world had changed. Something fundamental had shifted in the darkest hours. I could feel it, singing inside me, and I KNEW the world would never be the same again. Cranking on the radio, I grabbed whatever clothes were handy. I needed to know what was different. Music blared from my stereo, but no announcer came on to announce world war three, or any major eruptions. Logging onto my laptop, I surfed the news sites. There weren't any earthquakes or tornadoes, or anything. But there was something different.

Downstairs my roommate had already taken off. She would have been at work almost two hours ago. I sent her a quick text as I ate; maybe she has heard something? There's nothing on the tv either, and out the window, everyone seems to be going about business as normal. I shake my head in wonder, almost wondering if this was all just a dream.

I step outside, and stop dead. The air is alive, glowing, vibrant. It's charged with power somehow, the wind through my hair feels electric. Yet, everyone is walking along with their heads down. I breathe in, and I feel the power in the air being drawn into my lungs. I can feel it settle there, inside me, and wonder why no one else can feel it?

Shoving through the doors of my college, I'm suddenly surrounded my noise and meyhem. Chris and Sue are there, pulling at me like they always do, hurrying on to class. I can tell they don't see it either. They chatter away, flirting back and forth like a new couple, but all their talk is meaningless. We slip into our seats, and I see our professor walk in. He has an announcement, he says, and I sit up to take note. Surely he can explain how the world changed overnight. Surely, our teachers know what the change is. But it's about a change in the location of an upcoming dance. Meaningless. The morning continues the same, a barrage of useless information and mounting noise.

No one seems to know the world is different. Don't they feel it? The balance of the world has shifted; the air is electric. I can feel the charge in me, curling in the pit of my stomach, waiting. Every breath I draw in builds this feeling in me. There is a current under my skin, a buzz in my head and it's getting stronger as we sit to eat. Chris and Sue are all abuzz with the news about the dance, and the upcoming football game. Our table fills with the usual characters, but the conversation doesn't improve. It doesn't matters, none of it matters. I want to scream at them. Why don't they feel it? Are they blind to the glow in the air? Can't they feel the power on the wind??

I shove myself to my feet, knowing only that I have to get out, away. I need to be away from their meaningless prattle. I need to feel the air, to draw in the power as I breathe, to feel the wind move through my hair. I need to feel the head of the sun on my skin, and feel the living earth beneath my hands.

I step through into the school's greenhouse, and move quickly towards the garden doors. I see another there, through the glass. I don't know him, but the way he moves feels familiar. I slip out the door and walk to the center of the garden. The other one is beside me, and we drop to our knees in the dirt. Digging my fingers into the soil, I feel the current under my skin leap to life. I gasp in sheer pleasure, the sensations overwhelming.

He turns towards me, dark eyes and hair, skin like moonlight, glowing. His voice is soft as velvet as he speaks. "you feel it too?" he asks, as his hands seek the soil. I can only nod as I feel the energy racing through me, singing through me.

"what is it?" he asks, " what in this world has shifted?"

Finding my voice and breath, I answer, "I don't know" I say. "But why can't they see it?" I ask, nodding towards the students milling around the school fields.
He shrugs, and shakes his head. Then, his hands find mine under the soil. I feel an explosion deep inside me, the current under my skin roars to new heights and I hear him gasp. My breath stills, and I know him, Eric. I KNOW him. I've always known him. We are both a part of this, whatever this is. And it is vital! But it's not just us. We look at each other and we know there are others, and we have to find them.

Eric drags me to my feet and we start to run. Hand in hand, we run, laughing like children. We turn a corner and see the park next to the college. It's an old park, with rolling hills, and huge trees, streams and lakes and the softest of grasses. We wander through the park in awe. The grass has never felt so soft, and without a word to each other, we both stop and pull off our shoes and socks. Leaving them behind, we walk on. The water gleams and sings. There are voices in the streams. The trees around us are amazing! They are richer in colour than I have ever seen trees before. They feel more real, more THERE then they did yesterday. Their leaves are lit up, like they have been kissed by lightening.

And through the trees we can see others. There is a clearing up ahead, and we are all headed towards it. There's quite a group of us, under a dozen of us, all in pairs. We gather together, knowing we are stronger together, and that simply being there will strengthen us all, and help us to do what needs doing.

Eric is still holding my hand, and I look around. He is not the only one I know. I know them all. I have always known them, though I have never seen them before today. There is Nikki and Jake, both seeming to hold the wind in their hands. Maegan and Ryan are with them, and I can feel the earth welcoming them. Kyra and Dwayne are on the other side of them, nearest the streams. Eric and I walk towards them, and the current under my skin flares ever stronger, a fire in my blood. I know Eric feels it too, and I know he feels the pleasure in it. I lean my head on his arm as we approach the others.

Together we stand, and we know that the answers will come. We must be patient, we must stay hidden for now. We know that our time will come, and we will do what we must, but the others, those who couldn't see, cannot know yet. They cannot know what we are, what we have become. They cannot know that WE are what is different. We personify the fundamental change of the world. We carry the magic of the world, we breathe it in, and it has changed us. Us, and the other groups around the world.

[Freedom]

Very nice. Excellent tension-building, and excitement at the ending. I like the premise, and want to know ... MORE!!!

[scribbliz]

lol, it was originally intended as a short story, but I have shown it here and to two other people....and everyone who has commented has told me to write more...so I guess this is a prologue to a story

[scribbliz]

Holding hands, Eric and Jess slowly approached the others gathered in the park. It was with a sense of shock that Jess realized she kenw them all. She had never seen them before this day, but just as she knew Eric, she knew the couples gathered here. There, under the largest tree were Nikki and Jake, the wind moving softly around them. Petite and blonde, Nikki was gazing up at Jake like he was the newest part of her. Maegen and Ryan have already reached them, the earth itself seeming to support them. Kyra and Dwayne were coming from their other side, walking along the banks of the largest stream. The water sounding like laughter.

Jess leaned her head against Eric's shoulder as they approached the group. The current under her skin flared even stronger as they draw closer and she knew they all felt it, felt the pleasure of the building charge.

They reach the others, and Jess feels whole, for the first time in her life; it feels like she was the last piece of a puzzle that has finally been found. The connection with the others was there instantly; they fit together. Like they were made to.

Eric brushes a kiss across the top of her head, almost as if he knows what she is feeling. 'Maybe he does?' Jess wonders, and watches as a slow smile spreads across his face. One more quick kiss to her forehead and Eric turns to the group. "Does anyone actually know what is going on here?" he asks, his voice barely above a whisper.

Nikki shrugged as Jake replied, "Not a clue, my man, but I know it's a good thing. Surely you can feel that?"

"Course we can, Jake" Dwayne burst in. "I don't really think we need to understand it all. I mean, if we NEEDED to know, surely we would. We know each other after all, and we knew to come here."

"How does that work, anyway?" Nikki asked. "I can feel the connection between us, especially with Jake. It's like a breeze, a soft wind moving through me, and then I KNOW."

"Does anyone else here know anyone else?" Jess looked around at the group. "I mean from before today?" When everyone shook their heads, she ocntinued, "Ok then, we can assume this is part of what has changed in the world. I can feel it building in me every time i breathe, like a fire inside me, burning hotter and hotter. It must be changing me as it burns, I know it is."
Eric was nodding as she spoke, but Kyra jumped in before he could speak. "It's not fire," she snapped, "it's a flood. And it's filling us up, like water behind a dam. Only soon there's going ot be too much, and it's going ot burst the dam, and tear through us. And when it does, it's going to sweep away whatever is in it's way, and leave behind only what i tcan use."

"You feel a fire," Nikki said, looking ot Jess and Eric, "and you feel a flood," she continued looking to kyra and Dwayne. "Jake and I feel it like a wind moving through us, inside us. What about you two?" Nikki asked, turning towards Maegan and Ryan.

Maegan half shrugged, looking to Ryan. His brow furrowed and he chose his words with care. "It's different with us, different than any of you described. It's not something pouring into us; it's more..." here Ryan hesitated, looking down at the petite brunette looking up at him.

"...more of us expanding outward," Maegan continued for him. "Only not out into the air, down. Like we have roots or something, I can feel myself stetching down into the ground. I can feel the earth beneath me, but at the same time all around. I've never felt so...so solid, in all my life."

Eric wrapped his arms around Jess, and rested his chin on the top of her head. "Earth, Water, Air, and Fire," Eric began, punctuating each with a nod towards a couple. "All four elements. I'd say we're dealign with some kind of magic."

"You mean like spells and stuff?" Dwayne mocked. "Yeah, right. There's no way."

"No," Jess interupted, "that's not what he means. Not spells. It's something more basic, something in us has changed. I think it's deeper than we realize. I think we're going to see and feel things we never have before. I think we're going to keep changing, and I think we're going ot need each other. We need to learn who, and what we now are."

"I think you're right, Jess" Maegan smiled at her. "I think we need to take our time here. There are others like us, too. All over the world. We can feel them. But we need to be cautious. This isn't the return of something old. This is something new, and we need to be careful. There will be those who won't, or can't understand, and we need to know what we are before we share it with those who can't see."

Heads all around the group nodded, and agreement was reached. Silence to the outside world. But Jess needed to know. They all needed to know. She knew in the coming days they would need ot know how they had changed; and they would need to know why.

[Freedom]

Like the elements and the way you introduced them, as the feelings inside each couple.

I also like this:

"Course we can, Jake" Dwayne burst in. "I don't really think we need to understand it all. I mean, if we NEEDED to know, surely we would. We know each other after all, and we knew to come here."

However -- they may not need to understand, but I want to!