Neil looked at me like I was weird. Then, he told me to watch out and wandered into the kitchen. I walked down the hall until Neil called me back into the kitchen. I stumbled into the room and said, "What do you want?" He was facing the window just above the sink.
He looked over his shoulder and said he knew I was jinxed. I didn't know what to say. He also said that he was the one who broke my knife. "Why would you do that?" I shouted. He said that the knife was false. I asked him what he meant by that. He said that whoever cast the spell bewitched it.
"What does that mean?" I asked. He explained that the term means a spell was placed on someone or a thing. I grabbed the knife shards off the floor, placed them on the counter, and said, "Grandmother made this for me." He aimed his wand at the shards and used the purification spell on them.
The shards deflected the spell, and a purple barrier covered the pieces. Neil looked mesmerized and asked, "This magic is different. Who jinxed you, Kalon?" I told him I didn't know. He said that I wasn't under an ordinary spell. He asked me if I had told our parents. I told him that I had not.
He asked me if I was going to. I denied that I was, and he didn't like my response. Finally, he sighed and said, "Well. If you don't say something to them, be careful at school. You know no one will be there to watch you."
"It's not like anyone was watching my back anyway," I replied. Neil shook his head and exited the room. I grabbed the pieces and hid them in my room.
Later that day, my family was having dinner, and my grandparents joined us. I kept eyeing my grandmother, and she made frequent glances at me. Finally, my mother told them we would start the new school in two days.
My grandparents congratulated us. My grandfather told us that this school would open a doorway to new skills. My older brother agreed. My parents mentioned that Neil was going to work with the Magic Corps. My grandparents congratulated him on his accomplishment.
While everyone was talking, I swore I could see someone looking at us in the corner of my eye. I turned my head, and it was gone. I gaze back into the conversation, and right behind my grandmother's head is my other self. My body jumped out of shock, and I screamed at the top of my lungs.
Everyone went quiet and just looked at me like I was crazy. I just glanced around and then excused myself from the table. I went to the restroom and went to the sink. I splashed water into my face and took several breaths. I turned to grab a towel, and something seemed off. In the corner of my eye, I could see my reflection. The only problem was that it didn't move with me. I turned back, and suddenly, my reflection was in sync with me.
I shook it off and dried my face with the towel, and as I walked away, My reflection was staring at me wickedly. I returned to the mirror and asked, "What do you want from me?"
My other self replied, "All I want is to return what is mine." Followed by, "You hold a fundamental key that can help me... Help both of us."
Chills were sent down my spine. My reflection explained that a dormant place was found between our reality and the world of magic. He says that within this realm, a magician can restore anything. He even said someone could go as far as building their reality over an existing one.
"This can't be true. This kind of magic doesn't exist," I said.
"This is real. I've seen it first hand," My reflection said.
Then he said, "The rules of time don't apply here. It would be like you never left."
He reached his hand through the mirror and asked me to see it for myself.
"How can I trust you? You've attacked me so many times," I asked him.
He told me he needed to use fear to trigger my hidden magic. He pulled his wand out and told me to repeat after him.
"Hazahm."
I repeated the spell, and the mirror started spiraling. His hand was still visible through the swirl. He shook his hand, indicating that I had grabbed it. I looked at the picture of my family hanging on the bathroom wall and said, "Sorry."
I grabbed his hand, and just like that, I was on the other side, and everything was in black and white. Once I regained myself, I looked at my other self, and he said, "Welcome to our home."
"Where are we?" I asked.
He said that we were in a place called the mimic realm. I cast the light spell, and strangely, the light didn't travel.
"Some spells don't work here, Kalon," he said. Followed by, "I only brought you here to show you a memory from my past."
He waved his wand, and the area around us transformed. Moments later, we were standing inside of a dark place.
A cloaked figure rushed into the room with a strange-looking book in their arms. Following the person was a loud group of people.
Through the window, we could hear people shouting and holding various weapons. These included pitchforks, stakes, and other sharp weapons.
We could hear them shouting the words murderer and killer. I asked my other self what was going on. He explained that this was him in the past. He said that he was being hunted because there were rumors of him being a wizard.
Then it hit me. I realized that this wasn't in the world of magic. Regular humans were hunting him. They knew about magic's existence.
"How did you get caught?" I asked him. But before he could answer. A spearhead pierced him, sending him to the ground.
Moments later, the horde of people burst through the door and brutally beat him before dragging his body away.
He looks at me and says, "Let us follow them."