The Book Of Letters

On the other hand, Piper has been leaving the house too early and came back later at night. We didn"t go to the back alley where she was working with the bicycle, but Percy insisted that there was nothing to worry about. Benjamin stared suspiciously at his friend, probably thinking that both of them are dating.

"What is the use?" Benjamin cried on the counter. "I only did that so I could get her to sing with me, but now it took a turn for the worse."

"What"s more, you don"t even care Evangeline helping Postmaster in the mailroom," I said, looking at Evangeline putting a bundle of letters in her satchel. She walked out of the room and tugged Benjamin"s shirt.

"These need to be delivered," said Evangeline.

"I am in no mood to do deliveries today," he said without looking at her. At least, his hatred towards children was intact. Postmaster patted my shoulder and handled me a pink parcel decorated with pressed flowers.

"This is for a hospital patient," he said. "Take Benjamin with you. Evangeline and I will do the normal deliveries for him."

I accepted the parcel and tugged Benjamin out of the counter. I refilled my broomstick"s canister before we set off.

"Can you fly low?" he requested. "I"m afraid of heights."

We were flying really low that our feet almost touched the ground. He didn"t want to go higher, even slightly. I couldn"t complain about it since he was still in a bad mood.

The hospital wasn"t as large as the one in Lavender City, but I was awed by the architectural. The centre window which took up two floors was colourful stained gla.s.s, which I remembered Benjamin told me before that the picture on the window was a renowned healer in Gloxinia Town history, Amelia.

We stood in front of the receptionist counter. "We have a package for Sheena Hemmington."

"Ah, the special patient," the receptionist said. "She is in room fifteen, at the second floor and at end of the hall to your left."

I asked Benjamin about Sheena as we walked up the stairs. He simply shrugged and said "All I know is that Sheena has been living in this hospital for all her life now."

Her room was left open, so we went in. Lying on the bed was a girl about fifteen years old with long wavy blond hair. She was sleeping, so I decided to leave it on her table. Other than flowers, there was a note and a pair of goggles on the table.

"Please wear when visiting," Benjamin read. I inspected the goggles, and noticed there was two tiny stones on the rim. I put on, and a girl suddenly jumped in front of me.

"Ha ha! Gets everyone every time!" she said. Noticing how she had the same hair as Sheena, I realized she was the same person. Benjamin put on another goggle and jumped.

"So you must be Sheena," I said. "And you"re-"

"An astral projection of that body," the girl pointed at her sleeping self. "To be exact, half of my soul is in there. It"s been like that since I was born, but my body is still growing."

"I wonder how they realized that half of you is like that," said Benjamin.

"They can hear my voice, but can"t see me," she said. "Imagine hearing me cry as a baby at night but my body is asleep. Creeps the heck out of people."

I immediately remembered that the two stones on the goggle was a magical stone that could make any nearby gla.s.s reflect invisible things. I didn"t think it could be used as goggles.

"Anyway, who are you?" she asked. "Usually Postmaster do the delivery, but I never seen you two."

"I"m Kurai, and this is Benjamin," I told her. "I got transferred from Lavender City."

"Well let me tell you something about what Postmaster usually do when he comes by," she put her hands on her hips. "Since I can"t touch things, he usually help me unwrapping that parcel."

I picked up the parcel and ripped the wrapper. Inside it was a box filled with three bundles wrapped in paper.

"Benjamin, can you take out the sc.r.a.pbook out of the drawer?" she requested. Benjamin took out a leather-bound book and flipped through the pages. It was filled with pressed flowers from different countries.

"My dad is travelling right now," she said. "He heard that this rare case happened before and he is looking for a healer who can do it. He even asked Postmaster to help with the sc.r.a.pbook."

I noticed how he labelled each bundle with the names of city or town. Same goes to each section of the sc.r.a.pbook. He had ventured from Gloxinia Town to Rose City, from Lavender City to Peony town and so many more.

"This is Postmaster"s handwriting," Benjamin pointed out the beautiful cursive writing. "And it is nicely arranged. So aesthetic!"

"I"m really particular with the arrangement so bear with me," she said.

"Is it okay if I try?" Benjamin asked. Sheena looked at him with disgust, but reluctantly let him as long as he doesn"t stick it.

He set the sc.r.a.pbook on the floor, opening to the blank pages. He took out the first bundle that was labelled "Orange Blossom City". He opened it and started carefully arranging it on the pages. Sheena and I watched as his lips curved upwards and his eyes remained focus. It was as if he was in own zone. Even Sheena was impressed by his skills.

"It"s done!" Benjamin showed it to Sheena. Sheena clapped her hands and praised him.

"It looks better than I imagined!" Sheena tried to nudge me. "How come Postmaster never introduced him to me?"

"Well I think it"s because-" I heard someone sobbing. I looked down and saw Benjamin crouching on the floor, holding a dried white and green flower.

"IT"S ALL MY FAULT!" Benjamin cried. "I SHOULDN"T HAVE EXIST IN THIS WORLD. I"M SORRY!"

I held onto Benjamin"s shoulder, and he turned around looking very frightened. He dropped the flower and ran off.

"Wait Benjamin!" I began to chase him to the other end of the hall. Though he was showing his back at me, I could tell he was crying.

"I-I"m sorry, I just remembered something I should have forgotten," said Benjamin, wiping his tears. "Is it alright if I get some fresh air?"

"Are you really alright?" Sheena asked. "You can just let it go if you want to."

"No, I"m fine," he said. He looked down, covering his face. "No...I"m not fine at all. I"m so sorry mother. I"m so sorry father. It is my fault. MY FAULT!"

The atmosphere changed the moment he started to blame himself. The air felt heavy and it was getting darker as if something ominous was about to come. I looked at Benjamin, glowing in aqua blue. My eyes widened in fear. I knew the kind of people that releases such aura, but I could not believe such person would be Benjamin.

"Step back Sheena!" I told her. "He is going to release his familiar soon, and it will affect you too!"

Sheena quickly hid behind me, but before I could do anything, an explosion pushed me away. I could hear the gla.s.s breaking and cackling electricity. The smoke was too thick that I could only see a glowing blue silhouette flying away from us.

I turned around and looked at Sheena. She was crouching, head almost touching the floor and her hands over it. I noticed she was trembling.

"Are you alright, Sheena?" I asked her.

"I f-felt a strong aura," she said, keeping her head down. "It was as if it had a killing intent, but different. It was something else."

I snapped my fingers, calling out my broomstick I placed downstairs. "Stay here Sheena. I"m going to chase him down."

She looked at me and nodded. I got on the broomstick and flew out of the hole Benjamin made. I had so many questions about his ability, but I had to focus on finding him first.

There was a trail of fire on the roofs, and the firemen were already working on it using numerous magical spells and charms to summon water and dispelling fire. I saw Piper running around and called out to me.

"Why do I have the feeling you"re involved in this?" Piper crossed her arms.

"I think you should come with me," I told her. She climbed on and we began to follow the trail of fire. I explained everything and she too was stunned to hear about it.

"He never told me about this," said Piper. "Then again, he wouldn"t want to."

The strength of a familiar depends on how the user is able to control their emotions, and it seemed that Benjamin couldn"t handle all the emotions stirred within him. It was as if something had triggered a past trauma, and it was something that had made Benjamin unable to forgive himself.

The trail had led us to the abandoned train station, where we saw an object glowing in the same aura as before. As we got closer to it, we saw its actual form; a jellyfish enveloping Benjamin, who wept his tears on the train tracks.

"Benjamin?" I tried to reach out for him. "Are you alright?"

When he turned at me, his jellyfish raised its tentacles and almost zapped me. I leapt and pulled Piper out of the way. I looked at him again and saw how dead his eyes were. His eyes glowed in blue and his pupils were invisible.

"His guilt has taken over him," I said. "We have to snap him out of it."

"How we"re supposed to do that?" Piper questioned. I had almost forgotten I was keeping my magic a secret.

"Er... well... I read from a book that at times when a familiar user can"t come to their senses, they have to be defeated in two ways; talk to them or knock them out."

Piper took out a spanner from her tool belt. "Option two is doable."

I panicked. "Why don"t we do that as our last resort?"

Piper clicked her tongue and put back her spanner. Defeating him with magic was the best option actually, but I felt it was too risky considering mine is black magic. I cautiously stepped closer, hoping not to get blasted by him. I knew that he was trying to sense whether I was an enemy or a foe, but since familiar users can only detect magic when in trance, that meant I was a foe to him.

His jellyfish unleashed another blast of lightning at me. I rolled over the train tracks and got my uniform caught on it. I had to tear it off before Benjamin attack me again. Piper had her spanner ready in her hands. She was a few feet away behind him, expecting me to create a diversion just so she could get an opening.

"Piper! Magic must defeat magic!" I warned her, avoiding another attack.

"I don"t see talking to him is working over there or even called magical!" she yelled back.

I was so frustrated that I almost used my magic on her instead. "Then talk to him!"

She threw her spanner and it bounced off from the jellyfish. Benjamin turned around and Piper yelled again. "Hey Benjamin! Look here!"

Without hesitation, she ran towards him, and slapped him on the face. Benjamin probably thought she wouldn"t do that because he didn"t react. Piper had her hands on his cheeks and their eyes met. I slowly stepped closer to Piper"s side to see Benjamin"s face. His blank eyes were fixed to Piper.

"I"m sorry," she said, exhaling. "I"m sorry if I"ve been ignoring you since that day. The truth is, I know that song is about us since the day you started writing it, and since then I still don"t know how to react if you ever confess to me. I don"t know if you are listening or not, but I want to tell you this; I have never fallen in love with someone before but I like you too!"

Then I saw, as the jellyfish was fading, Benjamin"s eyes flooded with tears. He put his arms around Piper and this time, Piper didn"t hit him.

★

「Those with n.o.ble blood run through their veins, are those who are more special than others.」

That was something Benjamin learned at the age of six. His family was the distant cousin to the royal family of Rose City, which Benjamin at that time didn"t think about bragging over it. He had an elder sister, named Annie, who was five years older than him and the pride of his family. She was a prodigy who was able to fuse and control her familiar.

"Come on Benny! Just be confident and concentrate!" his sister yelled as they stood at their training field. Benjamin could feel the tension coming from his parents who watched from outside the field. They were watching him with strict manner, making Benjamin more nervous than ever.

Then his father stepped into the field, unleashing his eel familiar. "If he doesn"t release his familiar, then he is as useless as those non-magic users."

Quick as lightning, he charged towards his son. Benjamin lost his balance as his father abruptly stopped in front of him.

"They say fear is the best way to release a familiar for the first time," his father spoke, with a menacing voice. "Show no mercy, Annie."

Annie gulped. "Isn"t this technique a little harsh on him?"

"A world full of magic is a cruel world," her father said sternly. "Those who bear rare magic are those who are being targeted the most, regardless of age. If he doesn"t learn it now, then he will never learn how to protect himself."

Annie sighed, feeling reluctant. She had no choice but to follow her father"s orders. She unleashed her familiar, a jellyfish burning in green aura. As she fused with it, her blonde hair glowed into white. As soon as her father left the field, Annie began to strike.

"Stop!" Benjamin begged as he dodged his sister"s attack. "I can"t do it!"

"Just try it!" she rea.s.sured him. Benjamin knew his sister purposely restrained herself from actually attacking him, but he couldn"t help but think that she would attack him seriously.

Then, Benjamin tripped after running and at that moment, Annie"s static-covered fist was about to hit his face. Benjamin could only remembered closing his eyes, and opened them again to see his sister in his parents" arms. They tried to wake her up, but she didn"t respond.

"Don"t come near!" his mother yelled at Benjamin as he tried to approach them. Benjamin froze. He could see that Annie didn"t move a muscle. In fact, she wasn"t even breathing.

★

"After her funeral, it was then decided that I should move here, living under a different surname and as a non-magic user," Benjamin told us whilst we all sat down at the train stop. "My father said it was for the best, but I knew it was for his pride. I couldn"t recall what I actually had done, but it was a good thing I can"t. However, when I saw that white and green flower, it reminded me of her fusion form."

I empathized him. Like Benjamin, I hid the fact I was a magic user just to avoid using it. I was amazed how Benjamin managed to keep it as a secret for more than fourteen years.

Piper stood up and slapped him on the back. "Enough reminiscing the past. It wasn"t your fault to begin with. You simply had a difficult time back then."

She pulled Benjamin back to town, and did not respond to Benjamin"s questions whether it was alright for him to return after the destruction it had caused. When we got to the town square, we saw a smartly dressed man standing on a higher ground than the crowd. They sounded really angry. We saw Postmaster standing few metres away from him.

"What"s going on?" I asked.

"They want to find out who caused the fire," said Postmaster. "Although it didn"t cause much damage to the houses, but the patients are, ironically, losing their patience when a part of the hospital building got it so badly."

The crowd yelled about the problems arise from the damage and Benjamin shivered upon listening to it. The sharp-dressed man tried to calm them down.

"Settle down!" he shouted. "I know we are all disappointed about the damages and want to bring justice to whoever caused all of this and so therefore I, the mayor, have appointed Lucas Flint, chief police of Gloxinia Town, to investigate this case."

The anger of the crowd turned into joy when a policeman stood next to the mayor. He had a serious look on his face, as if he could kill you with a single glare.

"This is bad," Piper whispered. "Why does it have to be Lucas of all people? He has no mercy on whoever the perpetrator is. Even more menacing is that his familiar is a giant spider."

"What should we do?" Benjamin grew more wary as soon as we got home. "I can"t turn myself in when Lucas is in charge! Have you seen his spider? I heard it ate someone"s head off!"

"Wouldn"t that be a crime?" I questioned. "Anyway, calm down Benjamin. If you just live normally as you always do I"m sure–"

Piper put her arms around Benjamin, trying to comfort him again. "Just put a little faith on us, Benjamin. When things get difficult, just remember that we"re here for you."

❤︎

「When I was writing this letter, it was already late and I thought they were asleep. Then Benjamin knocked on the door and entered. He closed it and sighed.

"If you just live normally as you always do, I"m sure n.o.body suspects you," Benjamin quoted what I was going to say earlier. He figured that I was going through something as well. I was surprised, wanting to ask him how much he knew, but I prompted that it wasn"t the right time yet. I could only tell him that if there comes a time I would be in trouble, then don"t hesitate to save me. Benjamin didn"t understand what I meant, but he was more than willing to help.

Benjamin decided to take a day off to avoid Lucas and on the other hand, I decided to visit Sheena again tomorrow to apologize to her what happened, which sort of reminded me to ask you to contact Mamoru if he knows anything about it. Maybe he could help Sheena getting back to her body.

And with that, I end my letter with a kiss x

Kurai」