After a while, we decided to stay. Yet, we didn't find what we wanted. On Mary's slow computer, there was no information about anything strange happening. Even when we tried to go down the conspiracy rabbit hole, everything seemed normal without anything strange showing up.
Despite having such drastic changes to our lives, it seemed like the world hadn't changed at all. Walking out of the house I can't help but wonder if we were somehow special. The only two who have wished upon a magical shooting star.
Nowhere online was there any talk about anything similar. Maybe we didn't know where to look, but everything seemed... normal.
Walking out of the house and saying our thanks to Mary, I walked alongside Zara as we tried to figure out what to do now.
"How about we go to town?"
Zara looked nervously behind her as she shook her head and spoke softly, "Not yet..."
Not thinking much about it we simply went back to my place. This was the only plan we had in mind. Everything else was in the air. Now that we had lost our lead and Zara didn't want to go to town I did the only thing I knew. I got to building the house again.
Zara on the other hand decided to focus on learning to fly.
It all seems strangely natural. So many years building houses and now with wings and new strength it all just becomes easier. The most difficult part is the simple fact that I keep slamming my wings into every doorframe.
Yet as I realized what kept happening I fixed it. I made every doorway big enough to walk in with wings. After that I fixed up everything while making and drying out the wood. Everything is fast. In fact I started using more manual tools as the machines were slower than doing it all by hand..
Machines make it easier, faster, and more precise for regular people, but as it no longer made it easier or faster, I was only losing some precision which can be fixed by slowing down a bit or doing a bit of extra work making it look nice.
Quickly the day flew by and the stars soon lit up the night sky. Deciding to take a moment to relax, I laid down on my newly installed wooden floor of my room...
I tried to relax my muscles... Why does it always have to be a try?
I felt greatly uncomfortable lying there. I had felt a slight discomfort while building inside before, it felt like someone making a soft unpleasant sound constantly, but now. Now that I was trying to relax the discomfort felt like something was making that unpleasant sound right next to my ear making my muscles spasm in discomfort.
After less than a minute I rushed outside.
The discomfort disappeared immediately... 'What is wrong with me?'
Before I could question anything more I spotted Zara next to the lit fire pit. Yet something else was happening.
Her fingers played with the fire. The red flames danced like a snake between her fingers. As she flipped her hand, the flames gathered in the center of her palm and twisted into different shapes.
While I watched in awe she noticed me and smiled, "Hey, are you done with the renovations for today?"
"Um" Trying my best to snap out of it, I answered as fast as I could, "Yes! Even if I don't know if I will be able to live there anymore."
"?? What do you mean?"
"Uhh... Well, whenever I am inside I feel a strange uncomfortable feeling. Do you want to come in and see if you feel the same?" Completely forgetting to ask about her new ability, I invited her inside.
Zara took one step inside and immediately nodded, "Ya, I can feel it too."
"Try to sit down and relax."
She nodded and followed my directions before just as quickly jumping up on her feet as she ran out the door.
Breathing slightly roughly, she spoke with an apologetic face, "Sorry about that it just that the uncomfortable feeling is too much for me if I try that."
"Don't worry about it, I feel the same way." I gave her my own apologetic face, "I am sorry for putting you through that, it is just I was curious if you would feel the same as me, but I should have at least warned you what would happen."
"Don't worry about it, besides I... I don't think I will ever need a house again." She spoke softly while looking down to the ground.
I could hear the slight shame in her voice as she spoke. Unable to understand I asked, "What do you mean?"
"I... I haven't felt tired... at all..."
Hearing her say that I realized I hadn't become tired either, I only thought to relax because I thought it could make me feel better as it did when I was younger. "Well, neither do I. You still need a place to put anything you own."
She looked at me in shock as she seemed to realize something. Houses aren't just a place where you sleep. It is a place where you store your memories.
Standing there at the doorway to the house I decided to break the silence, "Why don't you tell me instead what you were doing with that fire."
Zara seemed to become sadder as she explained, "I have truly become a demon. I can now control fire like it is a part of me."
Not wanting her to keep becoming sadder I tried to cheer her up, "Why do you keep thinking like that? Just think of the holy fire in all the myths and current religious ideas."
She seemed a bit happier, but she still didn't get back to normal. Still, I didn't push anything and instead talked a bit more about the power itself, "I think it is so cool you can control fire. It is amazing. I wish I could get a campfire to stay warm whenever just like yo-"
She suddenly interrupted me as she asked with a tone of urgency, "You have felt cold?"
"...No..." My eyes widened as I realized I didn't feel cold anymore. The heat of the sun or the cold wind of the night. All of it I understood. I could tell when something is cold or hot, yet... I spent the entire night yesterday next to the fire and even away from it, but I felt nothing.