Chapter - 3.3

"It's not that I don't believe you, but I know that all those magic shows we went to as kids were nothing more than parlour tricks. You were the one who told me that and even performed the very same tricks in front of me, didn't you? Now out of nowhere, you claim to be a real magician. Isn't it absurd?" Nicole was confused by what was going on.

"What those people did was truly nothing more than some parlour tricks," Alexander nodded, "Well, leave that aside. How do you think I can make you believe that what I am saying is true?" Alexander asked.

"How would I know? You tell me. You dropped this bomb on me out of nowhere." Nicole said, throwing her arms helplessly.

Alexander then looked at the popsicle in her hand. With her being distracted, it had started to melt. Nicole also followed his gaze to the popsicle in her hand. And in front of her very eyes, the melting popsicle froze again.

"Unbelievable," Nicole muttered.

"Do you believe me now?" Alexander asked.

"No!" Nicole instinctively blurted out.

Alexander looked at her with his brows raised, "What more do I need to do? Grow horns on your forehead?"

When Nicole saw Alexander looking at her annoyed, she hastily said, "I believe you... well, partially believe what you are saying, but tell me, if magic is real, why have I never encountered someone..."

"Not everyone can wield magic. You can say only one or two in a million people can do so," Alexander replied. Since she was finally willing to consider what he was saying, it might not be that hard to convince her now. "This is what differentiates us from them," Alexander said, pointing at the people in front of them.

"Is that so... Wait... wait... wait... hold on a second. What do you mean by us? Are you saying I can use magic too?" Catching the key point from his words, Nicole asked with surprise.

"To be honest, I have never seen you do that, but you must have used it subconsciously. Because to control it, in the beginning, you need this," Alexander gestured towards the short stick in his hand. Nicole did not even notice when he pulled it out, "This is called a wand."

"Hold on... Let's go over it slowly. So you are saying I can use magic, but I need this wand to use it?" Nicole asked.

But Alexander shook his head, "You can use magic without a wand. And you must have experienced things that might have happened to you without you even knowing it. The wand, on the other hand, is a means to point your magic more precisely. A wand also helps amplify your magic. There are a bunch of other uses as well." Alexander explained.

"But the most prominent of the pieces of evidence that you can use magic is this, " Alexander said and pulled out two letters from his jacket.

"...Otherwise, you wouldn't have received the letter today," Alexander said, handing them over to his sister.

"You also got the same letter?" Looking at the names on the letters, she asked her brother.

"Hmm... I got mine today as well," Alexander nodded in affirmation.

"So, how long have you known about this magic thingy?" giving the letters back to Alexander, she asked his brother.

"It has been many years now," Alexander replied.

"Does it have to do something with that strange man who comes to our room after midnight?" Nicole asked, trying to confirm her doubts.

"You know about him?" Taken back by her words, Alexander asked. He thought that his master made sure that Nicole did not wake up when he showed up.

"I got to know about him recently, maybe about a year ago or so. And I don't know much about him. At first, I found it strange that you knelt in front of windows or chairs. So I would try to stay awake at night, but as soon as the man would turn up, I don't remember anything after that," Nicole unveiled the facts in front of him.

Alexander sighed, hearing her. There was no point hiding things from her now. He can share some not-so-important facts with her, "I met him on the day we came to the orphanage, and he has been helping me train for all these years. He is also the one sending supplies and donations to the church. So if you ever meet him, at least try to be a bit respectful and not your usual self. Do you understand?" Alexander lectured Nicole.

But since it was too much trouble for her, Nicole chose to ignore talking about the man altogether. Instead, she decided to think about the more pressing matter at hand, "So what now? Are we opening the letters?"

"Why don't you enjoy yourself for now. I will explain more about magic and stuff, as well as about the world of wizards, when we get back to the orphanage?" Alexander suggested while storing the bags they had in the small pouch he carried around with him, "After that, we can look into what is written in these letters. What do you think?"

"Oh... My... God..." When Nicole saw the small pouch gobble up everything thrown its way, she could not just believe her eyes, "This... This thing is so convenient. I don't even need to carry bags with this thing with me. Why didn't you show me this earlier?" Nicole asked as she grabbed the pouch from Alexander's hand.

"You weren't even aware of what magic was. And it would have been too troublesome to explain this to you as well others who might see me use this," Alexander explained to Nicole why he kept not just this pouch but other things hidden away from her.

"Whatever..." Not interested in hearing Alexander's explanation, Nicole stuffed the pouch back into his hands, "Let's shop a bit more," Nicole said as she got up and pulled Alexander along with her towards the streets.

And with that, the major obstacle in front of Alexander about what would happen to Nicole after he was gone was cleared up to a certain extent.

The siblings spent the next couple of hours again roaming around. But this time it was less about shopping. All Nicole wanted to see was Alexander show her his magic and prank people around them.

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