As the journey into the unknown continued, the group of curious explorers took in the incredible dispy of nature; teeming with life and mana. Wait… what even is mana? Hina decides to ask the kind sparrow, certain he would know something.
“Um, excuse me? Mister Sparrow?” She hopes her lisp doesn’t make a fool of her.
The kind sparrow turns to her, doing the closest thing to a smile a beak can do. “Yes, dear? What’s the matter?” He quizzically tilts his head to one side.
“What are those?” She points to some of the mysterious blobs.
The kind sparrow lets out a small chuckle. “My dear, those are little collections of what us magicfolk like to call mana! It’s a wonderful thing, truly.” He hops a bit closer. “Would you like to learn to use it?”
Hina, like most children, is quite verbose when she really wants something. This time was a little different, though. It felt as if every bone in her body was prepared, even desperate to know more. Neither words nor hopping up and down would be enough, so she uses her super secret emergency technique: offer her snacks as tribute.
“My, how polite!” He flutters his wings. “These are meant for you, and I have my own, so I’m afraid I must decline your kind offer, dear.” Fanning his wings out, he bobs his head down for a quick bow. “Come along, there’s much to show you!” Gesturing to Hina with his wing, he hops toward one of the blobs.
Jogging after the kind sparrow, she feels her heart beat with excitement. “Wait up!”
As they arrive, she pauses to catch her breath. “Hey, what’s your name mister?” She sits on a nearby rock. “I forgot to say my name! I’m Hina!”
“I have a long and boring name, so you may call me Cosmo.” He lowers his head slightly. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance. Now, what I want you to do is think happy thoughts and pce your hand into the mana, okay?”
Without thinking, Hina plunges her hand in, thoughts of her mom filling her mind. She expected it to be cold, but a warm and fuzzy feeling spreads throughout her body. Her fingertips almost seemed to glow, practically begging her to use the mana.
“Now, think of a shape you would like it to be. It can be anything; so long as you can imagine it, dear Hina.” She thinks of how cute he would look with a little top hat.
It took her a few tries, but she was able to get the bubble to take shape. A half scale model of Cosmo came to be, a little top hat adorning his head.
“You’ve done it! Well done!” Hopping about, he sings his praises of Hina’s success.
She looks to tell her friends, but they were taking a break up ahead; waiting for her to join them. Cosmo turns to hop toward them, gesturing for her to follow with a tail flick. After climbing over some rge tree roots and through fallen tree trunks, the pair arrives at the little camp. The sparrow urges her to sit down, pointing his wing at a moss-covered rock next to her friends. Hina gdly takes a seat, her legs wiggly from all the walking.
“You all must be tired, so I brought some refreshments. Adventures are hard work!” He opens his bag and pulls out a picnic basket, which Hina finds to be quite weird. It’s way bigger than the tiny satchel it came from! She had to have one.
“Cosmo? How did you pull the basket out of that teeny bag?” She points at the basket. “I wanna do that!”
He chuckles. “One day, I will show you how to make your own. For now,” he pulls out a tray of snacks. “you must eat and rest those tired legs.”
The sparrow passed out some crackers and peanut butter to hold them over. It was so good– it reminded her of after school snacks at home. She began to miss her mother, a telltale sign that her adventure was coming to a temporary end. She began a tough goodbye, her friends and Cosmo promising to see her again. She gave them all a hug as she slowly drifted back into the impossibly blue sky, feeling herself slowly return to consciousness. She awoke to her mother, who had just entered her room, followed by the delightful scent of pancakes with little blueberries in them.
“Good morning, sunflower! Did you sleep well?” She leaned in to kiss Hina’s forehead as she gave her the traditional morning bear hug.
“Yes momma! I had this cool dream…” She yawned as she tried to recall the details. “There was a sparrow and my friends and this biiiiig forest with bubbly things that I made into a birdie!” For some odd reason, she couldn’t remember the name of the bubbly things.
Dorothy chuckles and pats Hina’s hair. “Well that sounds wonderful, honey. Now, let's get you some breakfast before we start our big day!”
“Okay!” Hina climbed out of her bed, admiring the giant pluto on her bnket before skipping to the kitchen table.
The rge, oval-shaped oak table in the dining area of the house was adorned with beautifully made blueberry pancakes, fluffy eggs, crispy bacon, apple juice, fkey biscuits, a pitcher of Mama’s famous (well, famous to Hina anyways) maple syrup, and honey from the bees in the backyard. As her mother used her secret magic trick to bring the ptes and cups from the cupboard, Hina rushed to grab the forks and knives, eager to help.
She noticed that her mother always pulled out 4 sets instead of 2, cooked more than the two could ever eat in one sitting, and sat at the table longer than Hina did, seemingly waiting for something. Hina couldn’t bring herself to ask, scared that momma would get upset if she got too curious. Her mother never shed out in such a way, regardless of how bad she was, but something about the way the air around her seemed to hold her made Hina feel like it was a bad idea. It’s okay though! She has a pn, and her pns always work.
“Momma?”
Dorothy almost drops the pan she’s holding. “...oh, sorry, I must've been lost in thought.” Putting it down, she bends over to be on eye level with Hina. “What is it, sunflower?”
“Can I bring some breakfast to share with my friends?”
“Sure sweetie. I’ll pack it up so it stays nice and fresh!” She turns to open a cabinet with sealing takeout boxes. “Do you remember how to spell each of their names?”
Her mother began to smile a little bit again. Mission accomplished! Another fwless victory for the undisputed champion. Hina giggles as she imagines what games she might be able to py with her new friends today. Would it be another game of group tag? Or perhaps groundies? She had always wanted to py that one. As she brainstormed further, she caught her mother out of the corner of her eye, wearing an expression that Hina had never seen her with. It was like surprised, but with a level of worry attached. She was muttering something to herself, but before Hina could ask, her mother seemed to catch herself.
“Oh, sorry sweetie! Momma just got lost in thought, that’s all.” Dorothy ruffles Hina’s hair, deciding that what she saw must’ve been a mistake. She’s never heard of anyone awakening this early, let alone gain any sort of control of it. She decides her eyes must’ve been pying tricks on her.
As they arrive at the school building, Hina starts getting excited. Today was gonna be the first full day of having friends! Eager to see them, she scans the crowd of kids. Onyx took notice of this, sneaking toward her with the stealth of a spider. Dorothy sees him in the corner of her eye, but honors the mission he’s currently engaged in and remains silent.
“Boo!” He throws his arms up, waving them like crazy.
Dorothy did a very good job raising Hina, teaching her all about things like stranger danger and self defense. Unfortunately, that training bore its fruit right here and now. She swings her leg back, nearly kicking his leg out from under him.
“Hina!” Her mom snatches her off the ground, holding her tight until she calms down a bit. “Sweetie, isn’t he your friend?” She points an elbow at a very confused Onyx.
“What just happened?” Guilt creeps up on her, something deep within her saying everything is her fault. That she’s wrong.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare her! I was just having some fun…” He rubs the back of his head, looking away from his friend.
“She just gets startled when someone sneaks up on her, honey. No one is mad.” She hoists Hina up with one arm, petting Onyx’s hair with the other. “Is your name Onyx? Hina here was telling me about her friends yesterday, and I’m gd to see she’s met such a kind little one like you!”
He’s not like Him! Hina battles with her inner thoughts, a battle she’s won many times. He never said mean things, he never took my toys… Eyes squeezed shut, she deals the final blow. He’s my friend, so back off! The school bell went off, as if it were waiting for its turn to speak. Her mother pnts a kiss on her forehead, setting her down and sending her off. Brains are mean. She decides she’ll have a word with it ter.
“Stick close so you two don’t get lost!” Dorothy waves, bracing herself for another half day without her baby.
“Okay!” Speaking in sync, they race towards the door, their buddies waiting for them.
Today, they kicked off css with a counting song that involved apples. Ms. Peaches and Ms. Mudi were both in apple-themed outfits, dancing to the silly tune. Hina didn’t know the lyrics, but mumbled along anyways. Today is gonna be good!
As css went on, talk of finger counting filling the room, Hina began to daydream again—she wanted to make more fish and say hi to Cosmo. Cozying up in a quiet corner, she closes her eyes so she can focus. This time, she dove from the sky, thoughts of pying with mana filling her mind. I’m gonna do a superhero nding! She nds it perfectly, a crater bsted into the ground under her. How did I do that? I don’t have super bones… or do I? Barely getting to brainstorm even one superhero name, Cosmo comes swooping in, worried out of his tiny little mind.
“Hina! I saw you drop from the sky like a rock!” He hops in circles around her. “Are you hurt? What happened?”
“I did a superhero nding! Did you give me super bones? Can I shoot sers from my eyes?”
He fps his wings, distracting her from realizing she could just try. “Now, now. Eye sers are a very hard spell to perform, I’m not quite sure what super bones are, and what do you mean by ‘superhero nding’?” How is this possible? I’ve never heard precedent of this… If he had brows, he presumes they would be furrowed.
She imitates her nding position. “Supergirl does it! She comes in like boom and then sers the bad guys away! It’s sooooo cool and I wanted to try it!” Her cheeks flush pink, smiling bigger than the moon.
“Well, as long as you're safe. Come, come! We have much to discuss.” He motions her over to a bubble near some tree stumps. “It’s time for day 2 of your lessons.”
They py with mana for what seems like hours–making all kinds of shapes, details gradually growing finer, sharper. Boat-in-a-bottle was her favorite, Cosmo adding some water and wind so the ship could move. His handiwork is the definition of beauty, of calcuted grace. The tiny animated crew members rigged sail lines, swabbed starboard, moved various boxes of cargo to and from the hold under deck. Mesmerized by the intricacy, she doesn’t even realize the daydream was ending. A light tap on the shoulder brings her back to reality, the st thing she sees being a wing waving goodbye.
“Hina? Why are you in the corner?” Olivia and Mia are standing in front of her, concerned for her.
“Oh, I was just thinking! It was easier to do over here cause there was no one.”
“Your eyes look sparky… are you sure you’re okay?” Mia sits to the right of Hina. “Did you put your finger in the wall thingie?”
“Mimi, why the heck would putting your fingie in a wall thingie make you sparky eyes? Did you drink a know-nothing-about-eyes potion?” Olivia clutches her stomach, ughing at her joke like it’s the funniest thing she’s ever heard. Which it is, because she believes she’s the funniest person ever!
“I bet you drank the think-like-a-boy potion! You can totally be super from the wall thingie, Vivi!” She giggles and blows a raspberry, challenging Olivia for funniest person ever.
“Oh, so you think you’re funny?” A very sassy hand is pced on Olivia’s very sassy hip. “Well, I’m the queen funny, and I hereby say that you are anti-funny!” A yellow flower pencil her royal wand of denial, waved at the unworthy she stares down her nose at.
“Oh, yeah? Well I’m knight of I-don’t-care, and I sy your funny bone dragon!” Drawing her holy dragon-sying bde—sword of inch and centimeter—she plunges it into the heart of the beast, dealing major damage to her foe.
“Nooooooo! My baby! My sweet, innocent baby!” She should get an award for this! Hina leans forward, eager to see what’s next. “You fiend! You dare, to kill my child? I’ll have your head!”
Casting aside all previous weapons, they draw the foam bde of old—a sacred dueling weapon. Walking in a circle, noting each and every move, they recite the dueling rites in unison.
“By foam I fight, and by foam I die. By honor, by truth, this duel will settle everything once and for all! En garde!”
The song of foam and foam rings through the air, the naked eye only privy to mere afterimages of the epic battle, or so it was told. Lunch time cut things short, to be continued on another day. No victor was decided, but this fight, this grudge—vengeance will be mine! The pair shakes hands, thoughts in sync but swords at odds.
Today’s menu includes: spaghetti with tiny meatballs, a fruit cup with mango slices, an assortment of juice boxes, and the softest brioche roll Hina had ever id her hands on. Taking a table in the corner of the rge lunchroom, the gang is busy shoving the incredible food into their faces. No words were exchanged for most of lunch, except for the occasional joke from Onyx while everyone else was chewing.
“I didn’t know spaghetti could be so good!” Mia wipes her mouth with her sleeve.
“Mimi, don’t use your sleeve! It’ll get crustyyyyy!” Olivia snatches Mia’s sleeve away from her mouth and rubs the sauce out.
“Don’t those two kind of remind you of how our parents act?” Onyx leans over to whisper to the rest of them.
“We’re kids, rock brain! Marriage is for adults who wanna py all the time, anyways.” Penelope shrugs, going back to nibbling on a slice of mango—resembling a fruit-loving bunny rabbit.
“I thought marriage was when adults hold hands in the same bed…” Hiro looks dejected, as if someone had taken something precious from him.
“No, no, that’s how you make a baby! That comes after getting married, I think.” Mia skips over, her sleeve finally free from Olivia’s grasp. “We could totally hear you, by the way.”
“Why would I get married? I have too much on my hands, too many children to raise.” Olivia sits next to Hiro, ying her head on her folded arms.
“Power Rangers aren’t children, goofball.” Mia picks a fight yet again.
“I gave birth to them with my alien mind powers, Mimi. How many times do I have to say this?”
“Oh, right, I forgot. So how many were there again?”
The bell for recess cuts her off, the main event of the day. Everyone splits off into little pods this time, many games going on at once. The gang sets off to create their own game, though they don’t really think to name it yet. They grab two long jump ropes, draw three hopscotch lines next to each other, and discuss the rules.
“Okay, so this is hopscotch and double dutch in one. Everyone know the rules to those?” Everyone but Hina nods at Penelope. “Well, we’re gonna make new rules. The two swinging the ropes have to swing the ropes fast enough to trip whoever is jumping, and the jumper has to do the hopscotch while jumping rope. You’re out if you get hit three times, and the rope people win if they get two people out. Sound good?”
“Yeah, lets do it!” Onyx is pumped, a new game being the best way to get his spirits up.
They started out slow, the rhythm of actually pying a bit harder than they initially anticipated. After 5 rounds of tripping and facepnting, Mia marks history as the first kid to ever complete this game of dexterity and precision. Truly a day to celebrate for generations to come!
Soon after, they all make it through. Now, it’s time to up the ante—Speeding things up. Only Hiro and Mia made it through before Ms. Mudi called for the students to gather for head count.
“Gather ‘round, children! I gotta do head count for snack time.” It watches as the children come running, snacks being one of the few things worth more than pytime.
They collect into a group in front of her, panting and giggling. She finishes the count, turning around to walk back inside. “Follow the leader! It’s snack time!” The css marches back inside, Ms. Peaches hopping into the back of the line to keep an eye on things.
Today’s snack is fish-shaped crackers, purple grapes, and cups of apple juice. A rare quiet bnkets the room—the pair of teachers finally given a proper moment of rest.
Penelope, a future speed eating champion, finishes first and asks Hina a question. “Hey, how did you make your eyes sparky before?”
The whole group turns to look at her. “Um, I don’t know… I was just daydreaming, I promise!” Hina feels like she’s lying, but she genuinely doesn’t know. They might think I’m crazy!
“Aw, cmon! I wanna make my eyes sparky too!” Onyx has a glint in his eyes, an interest that won’t be satisfied without a straight answer.
“Yeah, I wanna be sparky too!” Penelope scoots closer to Hina, hoping she’ll be taught first.
“Guys, I really don’t know! I didn’t even know I could do it until you pointed it out…”
“Well, what were you thinking about so hard, then?” Mia joins in, her curiosity taking over as well.
Hina looks to Hiro, who mouths ‘sorry’ and continues to say nothing. Not him too! She’s not sure if they’ll believe her, but here goes nothing! “I was in a forest, and you all were there! And there was this sparrow named Cosmo, and he showed me these cool bubble things, and I made some fish and stuff! That was the st one, but the one I just had-” The school bell rings, marking parent pickup time. She loses her train of thought, her mother’s comforting embrace filling her mind instead.
“Okay children, your parents should be here to pick you up! Don’t forget your bags!” The teacher pair directs the children to their cubbies, eager to get home and rest.
“Hey Hina, do you wanna come over today? My mom got me this super cool bike, and I wanna try it out with y’all!” Olivia is wearing a proud look on her face.
I’ve never gone over to a friend’s house before! I gotta say yes! But… “I have to ask my mom. Gimme a sec, okay?” Hina runs off to go find her mom.
Her heart is beating out of her chest, happy and scared swirling around in her tummy. What will she say? She shakes her head, pushing away the mean thoughts. Even if she does say no, I can just see them tomorrow! She hopes her mom says yes.
Dorothy stands at the corner she drops Hina off, messing with her phone in an awkward attempt to seem ‘chill’. It serves as quite the poor distraction, as she immediately notices her little angel running toward her. I wish she still had her baby smell… I could use some baby smell right about now. Sighing, she brushes the impossible wish to the side.
“Momma! Momma, I got invited to a house!” She breathes out the words, still a bit tired from Penelope’s new game.
“Who’s house, sunflower? Do I know their parents?”
“Come meet them! Cmon, I wanna go!” Hina grabs her mom’s hand and starts pulling her over to her friends, who are now surrounding a tall and attractive woman she’s never seen before.
“Mom, that’s her!” Olivia jumps up and down, pointing at Hina.
“Ah, the friend you wanted to come visit? Hello there! My name’s Margaret. I’m this little rascals momma.” She snatches Olivia off the ground, ticking her with a free hand. “And you must be…” A broad, calloused hand reaches out for a shake.
“D-Dorothy. I’m her mother, Hina’s mother.” Fanning her face, she looks slightly to the side as they shake hands. “Is it alright if we swing by?”
“Well, maybe I should’ve dressed up a bit more!” Her ugh is deep and velvety, something that Dorothy takes deep interest in. “Of course you’re welcome!”
Olivia scowls at her. “Mom, stop being weird! Can we go, please” Tiny hands beat away at her broad shoulders.
“Okay, okay. Sorry, I just get a little carried away sometimes.”
Dorothy stares, the woman before her making her mind go bnk. She pces her daughter down, pces a hand on her cheek, and stares into Margaret’s eyes with a boldness she’s never felt before. How can one person be so handsome? So dashing? Caramel tanned cheeks tint a slight pink as her chistled jawline is traced. She has half a mind to propose right here and now.
“I admire your forwardness, and I very much would like to continue, but we do have 6 kiddos disapprovingly staring at us…”
What the heck am I doing? It was like my hands just moved on their own… but she’s so hot, I just… Dorothy’s face flushes red, reluctantly moving her hand away. Gods, am I stupid? And in front of our kids too? I wonder if there’s any nice holes to bury myself in nearby…
“I’m so sorry! I don’t know what came over me, I should’ve thought more before I moved… well I tried, but-”
“It’s fine, girl! Slow your roll, no one’s freakin out on you. Take a chill, deep breath for me.” She demonstrates. “See? Slow in, slow out.”
“Gosh, I’m so embarrassed…” Dorothy hides her face behind her hands, the only thing close enough that isn’t her daughter.
“Mom, am I gonna have to ‘go py power rangers for a few hours while mommy pys with her friend’ again? I only have so many bad guys they can kill!” Both parents faces flush bright red, choosing not to acknowledge the dead on guess from Olivia.
Her house is also within walking distance of the school, just in the opposite direction. Budding flower pots line windowsills, dogs chase rogue frisbees, neighbors greet the group as they walk by. The house they stop at is impossibly symmetric, down to the st brick. It looks like a movie house! Hina stares at one of the frontside windows, a cat sleeping in the sun shining through the gss. I wanna squeeze it…
The garage door opens, revealing the much anticipated bike in all its glory. White wall tires, pink chromatic paint job, rainbow princess decals and pink handle tassels topping it all off. Truly, a masterpiece that screams ‘coolest kid on the pnet’.
“This is my new ride, my sweet baby, love on wheels herself.” Penelope rubs her cheek on the handle bar, simir to how a cat rubs its head on someone it likes.
“Hey, Loopy! Monkey see, monkey do is a sham! What are you copying that for?” Pying it off like a joke, she ughs and hopes no one noticed her embarrassment. “That’s not even yours, ya goof!”
They all take turns riding, going up and down the street over and over. Margaret and Dorothy flirt here and there, sneaking kisses in when the kids have their backs turned. Many firsts happened that day, including Hina’s first time not falling off a bike. Goodbyes were stretched out, promises to see each other made, stronger bonds formed.
After dinner, which was corn dogs and an orange, Hina gets ready for bed. Tonight is Sailor Mercury jammies! She jumps onto her bed, eager to tell her stuffed animals all about her day. The conversation sts for hours, sleep taking hold of her before she gets to finish.
The forest seems more vibrant, more alive. It was as if several filters had been lifted, revealing a beautiful unedited shot. Everything seemed to glow, some brighter than others. Hina opts for another superhero nding, this one even closer to Supergirl. She considers attempting to fly, but decides against it when Cosmo glides in from a nearby tree.
“Busy day?” He helps her dust off the dirt, already used to her antics.
“How do I make my eyes sparky?”
“Sparky? Ah, you mean manifest magic outside of here? That’s quite…” He pauses for a moment. “Hina, were your eyes ‘sparky’?”
“Is that bad?”
“Nothing terrible, dear. Give me a moment, would you?” This is impossible! Simply preposterous! There’s no precedent! He hops a bit away from her to think. To think it would happen this early… is she the first? His mind races, what-if’s infecting his train of thought. What if someone tries to use her? Resolve made, he hops back over to her.
“What’s going on, Cosmo?” Worry blots her expression.
“It would seem that I need to accelerate your lessons, young Hina. You don’t have a fear of heights, correct?” If my hunch is right, life is about to get very interesting! He ruffles his feathers, overjoyed at the discovery of a Witch.
