"How was your day, kiddo?"
A raspy voice drew my attention from where I was standing blankly beside the silver minivan.
"Great, Dad. Haven't had this much fun since I can't remember when."
-Yawn.
Letting out the yawn I had been holding back for a while, I dragged my exhausted body into the vehicle.
"Glad to hear that. Would you three like to have lunch now, although it's quite late into the afternoon already, you must all be starving, right?"
"You can't even begin to imagine how hungry I am! Thanks!"
Grabbing a sandwich from the basket atop the wooden table just beside where the minivan was parked, Jacob began gorging himself on it and a packet of crisps.
"Gimme one too, mom!"
Leah also reached out, and when handed one, began nibbling on it.
Trish, on the other hand, just sat at the bench not far away with a sandwich in her hands that had a single bite taken out of it, drooping her head over backward, staring up into the vast cloudless sky.
"Great weather we're having. I guess luck is on our side this time."
"Don't jinx us just yet, Trish," Jacob replied to her as she mumbled out those words.
Biting down onto the chicken and egg sandwich in my hand, I wondered if I could really prevent the 'tragedy' from happening while an eerie sensation gripped onto the back of my mind at her words.
'There's no room for 'if's, I must...'
Laying on the leather seat of the van, I dangled my feet over on the side with the door open and curbed all the negative thoughts from overflowing as I shifted through the several-year-old information of my novel, mesmerized by the clarity of the memories- probably a result of the Resilience ability of 'The Magician' card.
Resilience in its essence meant "the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties", so any owner of 'The Magician' would have faster recovery in almost all aspects, whether it be related to the body, mind, or soul.
As a result, my vision had been more than passable in the darkness of night, and my memories from several years ago were recovering, although they hadn't all returned since I still couldn't remember much from before sixth grade. Resilience was also why my body got used to the cold, causing the 'stunt' I pulled yesterday, and probably also why I didn't feel as much pain as I had expected when consuming the Frost Tongue.
Resilience was similarly the key behind why I could utilize Frost as I did this morning, even when there was not a single thread of Quanta on Earth as of yet. The moment I thought of using Frost, The Magician filled in for the lack of Quanta by expending the stored chemical energy from my body, and its Resilience ability refilled that loss, albeit not completely- the only reason for why I was only slightly exhausted currently and not completely knocked out.
"Once you're done, let's get going," Dad announced while glancing over us all.
***
"Keith, we're here, wake up." A gentle voice pulled me out from the realm of dreams.
-Yawn.
"Thanks, Mom."
"Finally awake, sleepyhead? I don't remember you ever being like this."
"I guess I tired myself out a bit too much since I finally got to move my muscles after such a long time..."
"I'm glad to see that you're doing better, but please don't overextend yourself."
"I'll keep that in mind, thanks."
"I'm going ahead, so take Leah to the cottage. Trish is gonna stay back, and you can leave Leah with her. She's been clinging to you the entire trip back, and I didn't wanna disturb her, so I didn't wake her up. Also, try not to wake her, but if she does, then bring her along to the campfire if she agrees, and try to convince Trish to come with as well."
"Mhm...noted. Enjoy yourself."
"Well, now I must since my dear youngest son asked, after all. See you there."
"Oh, is Jacob going?"
"Yeah, he already went ahead with Alan, he missed yesterday's one already, thus he wanted to be there earlier for today's one."
Supporting the fragile body that was resting lazily on my shoulders, I got off the seat and walked out into the cool of the chilly winter night, and locked the car after retrieving my travel bag from the trunk.
Watching Mom following behind Dad and Jacob while whistling a tune to herself, I made my way towards the fourth cottage on the right. Standing at the gate, fumbling with the keys due to the thick woolen gloves she wore, was Trish.
"Here, let me."
"Thanks."
Approaching her, I politely took the keys out of her hands, and opened the door before heading inside.
"You sure you don't wanna join?"
"No, it's fine. Plus, I'm quite tired myself, and unlike a certain fortunate someone, I lack the ability to sleep while on the move. So, I'll rest for a while."
Pacing through the similarly structured cottage to the one I stayed at, we arrived at the left room.
"Should I ask the food to be delivered, or should I bring it myself?"
"It'd be best if you brought it yourself."
"Okay, then I'll be leaving Leah in your care, and text me when you feel hungry. And even if you don't, I'll drop by before the fireworks, you don't wanna miss those, do you?"
Placing the dozing princess on the bed, I turned to look at Trish behind me.
"Fine, fine. Now get outta here, I won't forgive you if you make your beautiful sweetheart wait any longer."
Displaying a clueless expression on my face that read, 'What're you talking about?', I tried not to pay heed to her teasing words as I stepped back out.
"Well, I'm off."
***
"Alas, we meet again. Simon, was it?"
"Yes. But, I thought you guys left?"
"Oh, no. We just went on a short trip to the ski resort north of here. We'll be staying here for the next week or so."
Leaning against the tree at the edge of the lake, I looked at the youth around the same age as me, crouching down behind the tent with a plate full of food in each hand.
"Woah! You gonna finish all that?"
"Uh...I guess..."
As if not knowing how to respond, Simon stared blankly at me for a while before shrugging his shoulders.
"Damn...it's nice to know that I finally found someone who can match me in appetite, though I've been forcing myself not to eat as much lately."
"Hmm...I don't get it yet, but why exactly are you trying to get so close with me, when it's quite clear I have no intentions of doing so?"
"Does that matter, really? I just thought it'd be good to have someone to chat with, I guess you don't agree. Though it feels great knowing you're as straightforward as you show."
"No, it's not that I have any issues with that, I'm just a bit sensitive, is all."
"Oh, I'm cool with that. Nothing I haven't dealt with before."
-Buzz. Buzz.
At that moment, the phone in my pocket vibrated rhythmically a few times.
[ 08:49 PM ]
---
[Trish]
[U don't have to come.
Jacob delivered the food already, and I already told him that I can't make it.
Cuz Leah's still asleep, and she's too cute to wake up. Wanna see?
{IMG.jpg file}
I told mum and dad too.
And...how's going with your lovely date? I'm expecting great things from you!
*iy
*it
Anyway, be prepared to tell me all about it when you get back, even if it takes all night, got it?]
---
When I checked what was the cause, my screen flooded over with a string of messages from none other than my older sister.
---
K.
---
Simply replying to the texts, I put my phone back in my pocket.
"Say, do you, you know, puff puff?"
Gesturing with his hands, which were now already empty and rid of the paper plates, and bringing his left hand's index and middle finger close to his lips and moving them up down, Simon subtly asked.
"Ah, I don't quite catch what you mean."
"So, you don't, huh? Wanna try?"
"I can't comment on something that I have no knowledge of."
"Well, follow me."
'Ah, yes. This...this is the crooked character I created. Well, saves me the trouble of having to make up excuses to take him somewhere isolated.'
I knew very well what Simon meant. Simon, although roughly the same age as the current me and only a teenager, led by his circumstances, had become a chain smoker, and would, later on, develop even more detestable qualities to alleviate the emotional strain of the bloody path that lay in his future. And the major contributor was one of the two cards in his possession, yes two- where only one in several hundreds of millions are lucky to obtain one, he was the not-so-proud owner of two such cards, which was 'Death'.
Each card had its own unique ability that would be available to the user even before the card awakened, and unlike the ability of Resilience that came with 'The Magician', 'Death' granted no such mythical ability, but rather one that was bound to make the life of the owner both Heaven and Hell at the same time, which was Amplification.
Amplification was an ability that was as absurdly negative as it was positive- since just as it increased the physical, mental, and soul-related specs of the owner, it also made the strain on the body, mind, and soul, the pain, the suffering, any and all emotional trauma just as strong, which was why Simon, who had been in possession of the 'Death' card since birth had been bound to grow up to be how he was, especially due to the complete lack of proper teachings and affection from his parents.
Moreover, if he awakened that card, the situation would only get worse for him.
'And that's why I must save him before his world becomes Hell, and before he decides to make everyone else's world Hell as well.'
"Sure, lead the way."