⚡️-Eclair

When my left hand grabbed the brush, all I saw were the sparks flying from my hands as I attacked her. When I took the butter knife, I saw that knife-like glare in her eyes after she recovered from the first jolt. When I saw my dangling lantern, I saw his big brown eyes brimming with disappointment, anger, and surprise.

“Darling! You ready for breakfast? Bianca’s cooked your favourite eggs benedict! She brought some prata from nearby too,” said Mama as she knocked on my door.

The paintbrush spilled onto the wooden floor, staining it with gold and silver. I turned and nodded my head. I untied the back of my apron and draped it over the swivel chair before heading downstairs.

The pungent smell of Mama’s famous cheese platter was the first thing to hit me when I entered the dining room. Bianca stepped out of the kitchen with Dani and laid out all the good things for us on the glass-top table. But was this right?

“So, my little angel, how has orientation been so far?” asked Papa as he poured some fresh earl grey tea into his cup.

I kept quiet, trying to get my mind off the Malay girl’s beautiful face. Even when enraged, there was this dignified beauty to her with her large, round eyes and how they balanced the sharpness of her boyish haircut. And I had not only hurt her in front of her twin brother, but in front of someone who trusted in me.

“What? You already don’t like it? I knew we should have just let you stay in international school,” said Papa as he placed his fingers over his forehead.

He then gestured for Bianca to sit down and join us for breakfast. She turned to face the almost-full sink and apologised, but he insisted that she had to eat first.

“Papa, I think Éclair’s just tired. I mean, orientation can be very draining for an introvert like her. Once regular lessons resume, I’m sure she’ll be back to normal!” Dani insisted with a fist-pump.

“You didn’t have to go out of the way to lie on my behalf,” I whispered when she sat back down.

She dipped the egg prata into the curry and munched away, pretending that she did not hear that. When she was done though, she just gave me a sad look and ushered me out of the dining room and into the outdoor backyard.

The jacuzzi wasn’t bubbling, but the steady stream of water from the koi pond’s fountain was enough to soothe me. We soaked our bare feet in the plunge pool and let the water cool us down. Dani placed both her hands on my shoulders before pulling me into a hug.

“Éclair, you can leave if you want,” she said as she let go of me.

I admired the way the water distorted the images of our pale shins within it. It was so mesmerising, like looking through a kaleidoscope. I pulled the hem of my dress to my mid-thighs and heaved a sigh.

“It isn’t that easy, Dani. I made a contract, remember? Even when we were back in Melbourne, he still insisted that we update him. We can’t escape,” I said.

Moisture hit me smack in the face, washing away some of the crumbs over my lips. My bangs clung to my forehead. Dani had splashed me with water. Her chest was heaving and her eyes puffy with tears.

“You’re not the type to hurt people, Éclair. He’s making you hurt people! How did you feel after you electrocuted that girl?! Éclair, please. This has gone too far,” Dani begged.

My distorted reflection stared back at me in the water. She was right. I wasn’t the type to hurt people, but I had done precisely that. The way she screamed and begged for it to stop…the way her twin cried out for her.

“No, I have to stay with him to protect you, Mama…Papa,” I said as I got up.

She screamed my name again as I walked towards the sliding door. I turned a little to face her, but seeing my older sister, my idol, begging me was too much for me to bear.

When I returned to the dining room, the adults were still engaged in merry banter. Papa asked Bianca how her kids in Cebu were doing whilst Mama helped out with the dishes. Nobody was aware of the great powers that they hid within themselves. How was I able to accept this normalcy when I had another life altogether, hidden away from my parents?

🦜-Nora

“No, Ibu and Ayah absolutely cannot know that I almost died and that we ran into some crazy mat salleh with electrifying powers,” I said as I climbed down from my top bunk.

“But Ayah can help out with the bird, right?” Adik asked as he pointed at its little temporary cardboard box dwelling.

I lifted my shirt as I stared into the mirror, double-checking to see if there were any leftover scars. Well, the chick couldn’t do much about the scratch scars on my toned legs, but I guess whatever scars I had from yesterday were more or less gone. Ibu did ask about why my uniform looked rather singed though. Thank goodness I was going to throw it out anyway.

Andi carried the box with his two hands as I opened the door. My face fell when I saw Ayah still typing away on his laptop. It was Saturday for crying out loud! Ibu was in the kitchen, the hefty aroma of coconut milk tempting Andi and I to dip our fingers into the broth and taste it.

“Ayah! Boleh tolong kita?” I asked as I tapped him on the shoulder.

He finally let go of his laptop. I spied on the display and saw that he was working on the previous year’s wildlife audit. Adik pushed the box in front of him, letting him see the chick that we had gone through hell for.

“Where did you find this little guy?” he asked as he freed his palm so that the chick could hop onto it.

“Stranded on top of a banyan tree. Weirdest part is that there was no nest in sight!” I said.

He lifted the bird’s wing and stared at the thing that was lodged between its wings. Andi ran off to get the toolbox and first-aid kit near the television. With the help of pliers, Ayah removed the foreign object stuck there. It was a single glass shard. That has got to hurt.

“Nora, calm him down. I’ll bandage that wing up,” he said.

I nodded my head and patted his little head as Ayah rolled out the bandages. A glass shard…That man. He said the bird possessed incredible levels of magical – No, Nora. Magic is not real. It’s just some lie told to make our childhoods more magical. That man was probably someone with delusions of grandeur. Still, it was strange that the tree had no nest in sight. Maybe it really was being chased after.

“Judging by the wing structure and the shape of its beak, it’s an oriental-pied hornbill. This is a very rare breed. You were lucky to have spotted it! I’ll contact my co-workers, and we’ll see what we can do about this little guy. In the meantime, you and Andi go get some mealworms for him. Faisal will get the other supplies,” said Ayah when he was done getting the bird back in shape.

“Well, when we come back from the pet store, should we ask Ayah if magical healing powers are part of this rare breed too?” Andi whispered.

I laugh-snorted and covered my mouth when it got out. Ayah stared at me and gave a disapproving look as we retreated back into our bedrooms. My handphone sat on my personal desk as the notification light blinked.

It was a message from Minori. He asked if I was alright with a smiley face emoticon. I smiled back. I hoped I would see him again in SJC. But what if that crazy mat salleh would be there too? I groaned at that thought.

“Should we give the little guy a name?” asked Andi.

I crouched beside him and watched him attempt to peck off some of the fruit that we put in his temporary housing.

“Well, I’m scared that we’ll get too attached to him and will pester Ayah to let him stay with us if we give him a name. He’s a wild bird. He belongs in the wild,” I said.

🌟-Mei Xing

“You know, it’s kind of weird for me to be here. Not alone. Yeah, with people,” I said as the elevator climbed higher through Parkview Square.

Kenny pressed his palms against the glass, admiring the view of Rochor and the surrounding precincts. Luqman leant back instead, choosing to focus on the mechanisms that were visible to us through the capsule’s glass dome.

“How long had you been a mage for, Mei? Or were you just born with it?” asked Kenny.

We arrived at the 16th floor of the building and stepped out of the elevator. Kenny was the first to run out, only to stop in his tracks when he saw that we were at the ordinary part of Divyane. Well, it did look ordinary at least. Its logo hung high over the reception area, where Amrita was answering back-to-back phone calls. There were a couple of lounge chairs and a nifty aquarium at the waiting area, but that was about it.

“You said this place was for mages? I don’t see any magic here,” Kenny whispered.

“Aiyoh, lah, Kenny. Sabar,” I said.

Amrita was still on the phone. She did acknowledge my presence with a nod and smile though. She hung up and apologised for being so busy that day.

“You know, since we have to contact all the successful internship applications and whatnot. Whoo! So many entering uni, and for some reason, they chose to hire a guy with an O Level cert. Who am I kidding? Anyway, Mei. How can I help you today?” she asked.

I gestured for Luq and Kenny to come over. They did and gave a shy wave and an overly enthusiastic ear-to-ear grin respectively.

“I’m here to register them. Luq just found out he has magic powers and Kenny? Well, he saw us using said magic to save our asses,” I said.

“Ah, I see. Let me call up the respective departments in-charge. Meanwhile, you guys can wait over there by the aquarium? Help yourselves to the tea. Thank you!” she said as her dusky fingers reached for the telephone once more.

We sat back down and sank into the plushness of the sofa. Kenny seemed rather taken aback by how soft it was, patting its surface constantly. Luq on the other hand just admired the art deco interior design.

“I think I was about five when it happened? I rescued a kitten from a longkang and the next thing I knew, I was already hurling starbursts at the people who bullied me,” I said as a delayed reply to Kenny’s question.

“How do you think I got my powers, Mei?” Luq asked right after.

I stared at him and noticed that he had a rather top-heavy figure with muscular calves showing through his Bermudas. His droopy eyes made him look like he was perpetually sad. I only spent two days with him, but he seemed decent enough.

“Maybe you did something good and an Anima Magi just chose you without you knowing. The Anima Magi chooses the host after all,” I said, tapping into my limited knowledge of Divyane’s workings.

The huge double doors leading to the heart of Divyane finally swung open. Greeting us at the doorway were a woman and a boy? Since when did Singapore say child labour was okay?

“Mei, meet Morgan Koh and her intern, Frankie. They’ll take you to the relevant departments for registration,” said Amrita.

The woman with a messy bun shook my hand, giving me a full-on smile accented by her dimples. Kenny and Luqman looked at Frankie, likely wondering what a child was doing here working as an intern.

“This was, please. I will take you to the Registrar’s Office,” said Morgan as she pushed the gigantic doors.

When the floating escalators came into view, Kenny more or less ran straight into the main lobby as suppressed squealing noises yearned to break free from his sealed lips. Luq walked in, his pupils dilating at the sudden wonder surrounding him. Morgan inserted her access card into the slot at the edge of the chasm. An escalator glided towards us.

“Frankie, I understand that this isn’t your official first day of work, but would you like to join us for today? You know, just to get a glimpse of our operations,” Morgan proposed.

“Sure thing! I need to familiarise myself with this place too,” he said with his rough voice that sounded a little too deep for a secondary school student.

When the escalator reached the main lobby area, we hopped on. Morgan closed the gate and off we went, gliding above the archives – the only known place in the world to use teleportation technology. A flying carpet zoomed over us. Luq and Kenny ducked down before they poked their heads out, stared at each other, and screamed ‘Aladdin’ at the top of their lungs. Beside me, I could feel Morgan cringing.

“The registrar is going to have a fun time with them,” she groaned to herself.

The escalator parked itself at the fifth floor of this space (I guess that was the official 21st floor of this building?). It began to move again and sent us to the upper landing. When all of us were out, it floated away again, waiting for its next user.

“Okay, Luqman. You saw a glass monster. An ang mor with psycho electric powers, and now, you just got off a flying escalator. Anything new?” he chanted to himself.

“Anything new? Wah, sia. Bring it on liao!” Kenny said with a jump.

How long ago has it been since I went inside the Registrar’s Office? Judging from the look of the hallways, it seems like they really gave the place a facelift. The carpet was replaced by a zen wooden floor and the white walls were now made of some wooden sliding too.

“Luqman, you’ll have to come with me for your medical examination. Mei Xing, I trust that you’ll handle Kenny on your own from here?” Morgan asked of me.

I craned my neck to meet Kenny’s eyes and nodded my head. We watched as Luqman followed Morgan into the medical wing of the Registrar’s Floor. I guess, just like the first day of orientation, it was just me and Kenny again.

🌼-Luqman

Dr Leong allowed me to put my shirt back on. I got up from the examination table and watched as she placed the glowing worm that just a few minutes ago, slithered over my chest in search of an Anima Magi, onto a weighing scale. Then, she headed straight to the computer where a series of lines and signatures intertwined and intersected each other in the programme.

“Pamela, please open up the database,” she said into the pager.

With my shirt on, I stared at the projector that reflected what was on the computer screen. And the memories of that time with the glass monster ran through my brainwaves. The green lines looked like vines and roots – the same lines that ran through me when I healed myself.

“Anima Magi detected. Type: Dryada,” said the computerised voice.

Dr Leong’s mouth was agape, like she was witnessing something unbelievable. She turned to me and stared at me with wide eyes. She picked the worm up from the scale and presented it to Morgan. It was shrivelled up and dry – barely moving.

“This boy has great potential. An elemental Anima Magi has chosen him. That’s only one level below an actual Elemental. Luqman, when did your powers first start surfacing? Any recollection?” asked Dr Leong.

Frankie and Morgan sat beside me on the sofa, with the former inching closer to know more. I looked up at the pendant light hanging from the ceiling. Elemental…earth. Then, I looked at my hands. They were still grimy with dirt from the morning’s gardening session.

“There was that one time when I was taking care of the plants in my school’s garden last year. There was a dry spell and many of them died. I begged for them to come back to life, and somehow, they did,” I said.

I ended up clutching my sides. Then, I felt a small hand on my shoulder. Frankie shook me a little and told me to calm down. But when? When did it choose to bond with me?

“Luqman, I think we’ll have to put you through a training regime to gain better control of your powers. If unhandled, they might become destructive,” said Morgan.

My hands were still trembling. The next thing I knew, I was in a room registering my details and surrendering my NRIC to some sort of scanner. It burnt Divyane’s camphor flower insignia onto it with a white flame before disappearing into sparks. They handed my NRIC back and made me sign over eleven different forms. They ranged from confidentiality agreements to parental waiver forms. That was when I raised my hand.

“What if I don’t want my mother and grandma to know about magic? My Nenek is quite superstitious. I’m scared she’ll call the bomoh, leh,” I said as I put the pen down before writing down Mak’s contact details.

The officer raised an eyebrow at me. Then, he asked me to present my NRIC again. He scanned it into the system, searching for the limited information that they had about me.

“Hey, ah boy. You never told me your father was a mage too, and part of the SPF’s occult division some more,” he said with his raspy voice.

Frankie gasped from behind me. My jaw hung at that instance. Bapa? When was the last time I had spoken to him? I knew he was a detective but occult division? That existed? And all those memories burst out from the ground.

I stood up and apologised for the rash thing that I was about to say. Frankie looked at me with droopy eyes, clicking the tip of his pen aggressively.

“If my father is a mage, then, I don’t want to have anything to do with magic. I don’t want to see him or even bump into him. Do you know how much pain he caused for my mother? How we had to hop from house to house after we got kicked out? Frankie, please tell Mei that I’ll be waiting for her at the lobby. I…I can’t handle this,” I said before storming off back towards the main lobby.

As I ran through the white-washed hallways, I could feel my eyes turning moist. Yes, they told me that mages cannot be biologically produced. They have to be bonded. Nobody is born a mage. But if this is the one thing that he had to leave behind for me – to navigate through this new world on my own – I did not want it one bit.