Stumbling back, I raised my hand to my face. There was some blood pouring out of my nose, but otherwise I seemed all right. “Who’s that?” the man demanded, stepping out from behind the door and drawing a syringe from his back pocket. He was wearing white robes, and there was a small staff by his side. His coworker stood behind him, looking somewhat frightened, especially with the huge pair of glasses she had on. “I’m Fernando,” I said, my hands up.

“Oh, right,” he said, giving a light chuckle.

“Pardon the unexpected intrusion. I only wished to check up on you.”

“Shall I take his vitals?”

“Leges Curtis Pulsation.” Her glasses seemed to become brighter as she uttered her spell.

“How does that work, exactly? Is all the information just... moved into her brain?”

“Ah, I can imagine the confusion. No, the read vitals spell works by taking in the physiological signs of a certain patient and translating them into numbers, which make it easier to compare between patients. All the information in stored in her glasses, which act as a storage item.”

“That’s pretty cool actually,” I said, beaming. Maybe it would be a good idea to at least try out for the medicine entrance exam, just to see if I would get in.

“All clear, doctor,” the nurse said, readjusting her glasses with one hand, as she took the syringe back to put into a little box. “Don’t mind him. He can be a bit paranoid.”

“Paranoid? It’s not paranoia if there really is someone out to get you.”

“Hmm, I’m sure you’re right. Anyway,” she said, taking me by the hand and taking me by the bed, “maybe you should rest a bit more; you still seem quite exhausted.”

“Wait a second,” I said, coming back to my senses, and letting go of her. “Where did you guys end up putting my uncle?” The doctor looked at me with a weary expression.

“Oh, your uncle didn’t make it.”

I felt my heart break into a million pieces.

“I’m just kidding! By the gods, you should have seen your face. Your uncle is fine, don’t worry. Just get some rest; we’ll come around to see you off both tomorrow.”

With that remark, and without letting me get a word in, they left.

“You’re an asshole, you know that right?” I heard the nurse say as they walked away from the door.

“Oh come on Joyce, you smiled, admit it.”

There was a small pause. “You’re still a dick.”

“Maybe you’re right,” he said, their voices fading into nothing. I closed my eyes, but was unable to fall back asleep. I kept thinking of my uncle, wondering if those people were trying to kill us, and if there was actually another Amrita lying in wait. Medication and meditation did not help much, and when I did fall asleep, it was heavy and beyond compare.

I reunited with my uncle in a giant meeting room, many security formations littering the place, with way too many chairs to comfortably stand around, and a musty smell that seemed to originate from everywhere in the room at once. I saw down on one of the tables, cleaning away some of the dust first. My uncle appeared from one of the main doors, looking none the worse for wear.

He sprinted over to me, lifted me up from the table, then pulled me tight and started spinning me round like when I was little kid. He finally placed me down and looked right into my eyes. “I’m just glad you’re okay,” he said, his face seeming much older than ever, but his eyes sparkled nonetheless. “Me too,” I said, and I hugged him back.

The next day, I stayed in room all day to wait for Marcus to show up. I even helped my uncle in the kitchen instead of continuing my training the field. Of course, I still did my routine in my room until I had to change t-shirts, and I noticed I could do even more sit-ups and pushups that before.

Maybe it had something to do with the many times I’d cycled mana. In fact, I felt like my mana pool had grown slightly. Perhaps the fact that I started so young had helped, or maybe it was my past life. That was not the only effect my memories of what had happened had on me. It also really made me appreciate being alive a lot more.

Maybe it was the fact that I’d technically already died once, but every moment I still lived felt like a miracle, every breath like a personal gift from the universe. When he came through the door, I jumped up to hug him, and we fell back into the hallway.

“Woah, I’m glad to see you too,” he said, patting me on the back. He started to giggle. “That was like what my dog does whenever I don’t come home for a while.”

I started to laugh too, and we just sat there for a bit, like two idiots with nothing to worry about in the world. Eventually, we decided to continue with the schoolwork we’d left the last time we’d seen each other.

“Maria said she needed someone to go with her to check her father’s new field, to see if the harvest is good to go,” Marcus said. “Apparently she’s really not skilled at that sort of stuff, all those bugs freak her out. Maybe she should just give in and buy some spell formulas. ”

“Crazy to think that there’s anything Maria isn’t super skilled at. She could probably do a whole talent show for the school just by herself.”

“Come on, there’s no reason to go that far just because you like her.”

“I just think she’s nice, that’s all there’s is to it,” I said, shoving him, but that didn’t stop him from groaning in fake pain like I’d really hurt him.

“Oh really, is that the case,” he said, and snatched up a pillow off the bed.

“Um, do you think you’re doing with that?” I said, moving back.

“Just... this!” He took the pillow and hit me upside the head with it.

“Ah! Shoulda known.” I took another pillow and kept hitting him until we were both full of feathers from top to bottom. Afterwards, we went outside to do laps around the yard. We both started heaving after the fourt lap, the afternoon heat making it hard to keep going. Maria passed us, but we were too for away for her to hear me. She seemed to be going towards the residential area.

When uncle came to tell us dinner was ready, we both rushed down together and started to dig into the food like it was the nectar of the gods.