Midas Journal 6

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Part 6, and the last one I've made so far unfortunately. Hopefully I'll come across some inspiration soon and get back to writing this or at least another caption.

Entry: Mar 24

School was mostly uneventful. Carla noticed I was a little nervous; I told her about the note and insisted I was going..she was a little confused that I thought she'd argue against it. The new...catgirl...seemed just as cheerful as...ever? I guess, definitely as cheerful as yesterday.

After school I went and found the address. It wasn't a house or an apartment—it was a coffee shop. There was something a little weird about this place, I thought. For one thing, the name 'Magic Java' sounds more like you're talking about the computer program or something with stronger stuff than caffeine. And for another, I noticed at least three or four cat-people among the coffee shop's several customers.

Rio was off in a corner, and waved to me when I came in. She seemed perfectly happy, and I wasn't sure what to think of that, so I sat down. The first words out of her mouth?
“I just wanted to thank you for the other day.”
Huh? I thought. “...Which other day?”
“Last Friday, of course. I don't know how you did it, but I'm really grateful. Actually, I'm a little curious too, about, well, how you did it. See...” she dropped her tone and voice quite a bit. “I'm an apprentice witch now, and I've never even heard of magic than can make so many changes like that.”
I tried to think of the best way to phrase it, a thought process which made an awkward silence, and made me feel like I really needed to fill it as soon as possible. “Um..look...I really don't have any idea how I did that. Since my last birthday a little over a week ago, you're like..one of four people I've done something like that to, and I still have no idea what's going on. And now I'm starting to see cat-ears on people, so I'm really worried I'm going insane.”
She paused at this, a very interested look on her face, and again I had no idea what to think of it. Another awkward pause went by, and finally she said, “Oh, wow, it must be some kind of inherited or universal stability power...and you're not crazy. Those people do have cat ears.” She pointed over toward some of the people who I'd seen with cat ears. She pointed at some other people, a couple having afternoon coffee. “And those two over there are werewolves, can you see their tails?”

“Uh...no.” There must have been something like, “I'm really stupid so please explain this” written on my face, based on what she said next.
“Oh, I see. You're a normal human. If you didn't have that power you wouldn't know about any of this kind of thing...Look, I'll tell you first, there's magic.”
“..Okay,” I said, willing enough to accept that.
“And secondly, there are magical people—not just witches, warlocks, mages, wizards and sorcerors, but people who are magical like elves, werewolves, nekos.” She pointed to the cat-eared people again.
“But why haven't I--”
“Ssssshh! I'm getting to that! There's also a kind of magic that keeps normal humans, who either have no powers or are ignorant of them, from seeing or hearing magical things they don't believe exist. Usually it only changes if it's forced on them, or their power acts spontaneously, and even then there's a chance a person could be driven insane if they don't accept what's in front of them. But I think you're not one of those people.”
“...Good to know...but then, couldn't I just say I believe there are werewolves, like, and look over there and see something different?”
“No, it isn't just belief on a conscious level. A person can believe with all of their conscious might that something is there, but if their subconscious doesn't fully accept it, the magic still works to keep them from seeing it. That's why there are paranormal researchers who couldn't see a full-scale magic battle happening right in front of them—that, and those sorts of people tend to believe the wrong things when they do believe.”

I nodded...and then sort of put my head down, putting my hands over it, trying to get my brain around all of this. She apparently knew better than to interrupt me, until, a few minutes later, I finally looked up. “So...you're okay with..you know...a completely rewritten life, complete with a different body and maybe even mind?”
“Yeah.”
“...Why?”
“Because, it's a second chance. In my old life, I threw away my chances, or I wouldn't have been trying to do what I was. I know it won't be easy, but I know I won't give up this time. However you did it, you gave me something I barely even knew I wanted.”
“Okay, that's probably the best reason I've heard.”
“What d'you mean?”
“Well...as I said...I've been doing that...by accident, to people since a couple of weeks ago. Three people. All three of them seem happy with it, and one of them happens to be my best friend, and can't give me nearly as strong an explanation. I know I wouldn't be happy with something like that, so I don't get why everyone else seems so happy with it.”
“Hmm...Well it probably isn't a coincidence. Maybe whatever your power is only targets the right people.”
“I hope so...I guess...”
She stood up. “Look. I'm going to ask my teacher, and do some research, and see if I can find out what that power is. Alright? I'm glad I could talk with you. And...all of the people who come here are supernaturally aware, the ones who aren't can't see the entrance, so don't worry about talking about magic in here.”
“Alright..” She ran off.


I left not too long after, and noticed the owner's eye was on me, just a little bit. I dashed home, and got to work on my usual routine, still trying in the back of my head to process all of this. There's magic, not just of one kind but several, and magical creatures running around, and everyone I know is either in on the secret or absolutely blind to it? Ugh...it gives me a headache just to think about.