We climbed the stairs at a slow pace, the shiny wooden boards barely creaking beneath our weight. As we left the first floor behind, the atmosphere changed significantly, becoming more still. The surrounding sounds died out one after the other, being replaced by the low hum emitted by the small lamps fixed on the walls. Their yellow light was gentle to the eye.
After going up two flights, we reached the second floor. This one was comprised of a large corridor with doors to the rooms on each side. A single lamp was placed between each one on the stylishly carved wooden walls. No sounds could be heard from the doors despite it being around 18:30. A single window at the end of the hallway let a stream of sunlight in, the summer sun being nowhere near setting time. We made our way to the last room in the hallway. Sunlight bathed the door and the surrounding temperature rose several degrees higher than the cool, air conditioned first floor.
Eiea slid the key she was given into the lock, opened the door and motioned me to enter first. It was a relatively large area, comfortably holding two double beds, a small table big enough to host four people and a bathroom. The bedsheets were nice, the table was ornate and the bathroom looked similarly luxurious.
I was starting to seriously wonder how in the hell this inn could make enough to afford all of this. It didn’t seem like the customer base was huge. After all, besides Geoffrey, we didn’t see any other person since we got here. It was a three-story building but it wasn’t vast. From the second floor we were in, the maximum number of rooms there could be was definitely not over twenty and absent signs of life suggested most of them were empty. I almost felt like this was a bigger mystery than what happened earlier today.
Eiea closed the door behind us, locking it. She then walked up to one of the bed and sat on it, gesturing me to sit on the second one facing her. As I did so, I was surprised at how comfortable it was, deepening the mystery. We stayed silent for a little while, both not knowing how to start that conversation. I was staring down at her legs and she was facing me but her eyes were on the bed under her. Surprisingly, I was the one who recovered first. Having resolved myself and assembled the swirling thoughts in my head to a slightly more coherent mess, I took a deep breath.
Maria : Eiea.
She pried her eyes from the bed sheets and locked them with mine.
Maria : What happened?”
That question couldn’t have been more vague, but she understood what I meant. I wanted to know what had truly happened earlier today. She took a similar breath to mine before answering. By now, the tension in my body was fading as I was prepared for anything she might throw at me.
Eiea : In resume… today, you became a witch, Maria.
Silence permeated the room while I tried to digest the news. To be honest, I wasn’t that surprised by it. During the car ride earlier, my mind continuously considered possible explanations for what had happened. All the fantasy novels I had read throughout my life mingled as hundreds of possibilities. Of course there was also the possibility it was a normal, down-to-earth explanation, but it flew out the window quickly enough with Eiea’s attitude and her conversation with Geoffrey earlier. I had pretty much already concluded I wasn’t to be considered a “normal human” anymore. There was one thing though that surprised me.
Maria : Became? Not “you were a witch all along”?
All of the hundreds of possible scenarios my brain had come up with since the accident involved being secretly different in some way or another. After all, how rare is it in fantasy novels that a protagonist isn’t special from the very beginning, even if said protagonist doesn’t know? The only other popular alternative to it is the “just a normal human” protagonist. But normal humans don’t create shockwaves by screaming.
Eiea : Yes, you became a witch. You were a completely normal human this morning.
Maria : How does that even happen?
She seemed to think for a moment, trying to find the best way to explain it.
Eiea : You see, there is this thing called a “seed of sin”. I can’t exactly describe what it is since it normally doesn’t have any material aspect to it. It is believed that around 98% percent of the entire human population has it in them, lying dormant. This “seed” itself doesn’t do anything.
I leaned forward in interest.
Eiea : Sometimes, extremely rarely, this “seed” will germinate into a “fragment of sin” during an episode of great emotional turmoil.
I was definitely in a lot of emotions during that conversation. Something in that answer got my attention.
Maria : So that’s why you said that earlier! Why the plant terminology though?
She shrugged.
Eiea : I think it was coined by an ancient witch who researched it? I’m not sure, but it has been around for so long that it’s the accepted terminology for the whole world. Now, as I was saying, when that seed germinates, the person who had the seed in question becomes a “witch” or a “warlock”, the collective term being “sinner”. Each fragment of sin has a unique effect that the sinner can use for themselves.
Maria : So, if I follow correctly, mine would be the ability to create shockwaves?
Eiea : Not exactly. We can’t say for sure at this point what it is. The limits of what you can and can’t do are not always clear cut, they can be changed with training and practice. For all we know, your fragment could be “pressure manipulation”, “shockwave creation”, “wind manipulation”, “sound manipulation” or even something else entirely. And no matter what it actually is, you won’t be able to use it consciously at the start either.
I looked at my hands for a moment. I really didn’t feel any different than normal. I didn’t feel like I could use a special power or anything like that. When it happened during the argument, I felt more like something happening despite me compared to because of me.
Eiea : It takes a long time to be able to use it at will.
Maria : How about you? You’re a witch as well, right?
I couldn’t say for sure if she was a witch as well, she could also be this knowledgeable for a different reason, but all the evidence in my possession pointed towards her being like me. In fact, now that I thought about it, many things made sense. When I called her to my house, it took her less than 5 minutes to arrive. Counting the time to get in her car and drive from the bookstore to there, it was too fast. And just after that, she crossed about 10 metres from the car to the front door in what felt like less than a second…
She smiled at my question and convinced expression.
Eiea : Of course.
Maria : Then, what is your power?
I stared at her with excitement, feeling like a little kid who asked a magician for a magic trick. I was incredibly curious as to what it could possibly be. Without saying a word, she pulled out something from her pocket and showed it to me, holding it in front of my face with one hand. It was the key to this room. I gave her a perplexed glance, to which she responded with a nod towards the key. I stared at it intensely, trying to pick up anything weird that could be happening to it. It didn’t take long before the key started… bending? It twisted on itself and bent towards me in a bowing motion before slowly returning to its previous shape. Eiea was just holding it by the head, there was no way she could bend a metal key without even touching to bending part.
Eiea : My fragment can bend and twist stuff. That is my power.
Maria : Bending and twisting... stuff? Isn’t that way too vague?
Eiea : There are other limitations and the like, but that’s the gist of it.
That didn’t really explain the feats she accomplished a few hours prior but I didn’t ask more.
Suddenly, a knock was heard from the door. Eiea invited the visitor to enter and Geoffrey opened the door, two plates full of food on a metal plater balanced somewhat precariously on his left hand. He walked up to the table and put down the two plates on it.
Geoffrey : There you go! Hope it’ll be to your liking.
Eiea : There’s no way it won’t be, everything you make is delicious.
She answered matter-of-factly, raising from the bed and sitting at the table instead. I followed, sitting just opposite to her, when a thought hit me.
Maria : You’re a sinner as well, right Geoffrey?
Geoffrey : Haha. Geoffrey, warlock of drunkenness, at your service!
He laughed, giving his belly a light slap.
Geoffrey : You got to the point pretty fast, eh?
Eiea : Beating around the bush wouldn’t get us anywhere. And besides, she can take it.
Geoffrey : She does look like she has a good head on her shoulders! By the way, are you planning on staying here awhile? An important guest will be coming here in a few days.
He put the accent on the “important guest” part. Eiea thought for a moment before answering.
Eiea : It depends on when her mother will wake up, but I doubt we’ll stay here more than 2 days. Don’t worry, I don’t wanna be seen either.
Geoffrey : I don’t really mind if you come back of retirement you know? Everyone would surely be ecstatic. But I understand why you would be reluctant to do it.
Eiea : ...yeah not for now. Thank you Geof.
She looked gloomy for a second before putting back on a normal face and started digging through her plate. Geoffrey shrugged, showing a wry smile, before heading back to the door.
Geoffrey : Just tell me when you’re leaving ok?
He didn’t stop to wait for an answer and left the room. His steps could be heard going down the hallway slowly in direction of the stairs. Silence came back, accompanied only by the sounds of us eating. Eiea was right, it was delicious. After taking a few bites, I bit the bullet.
Maria : Why would it be bad if that “important guest” were to see you?
She paused mid chew, trying not to look my way, before finishing it and answering.
Eiea : I’m kind of... retired you could say. Only a few people even know i’m still around, and if someone like that “important guest” were to see me, I might be forced to come out of retirement.
That seriously sounded like a sensitive topic. I took the decision to put the other related questions on ice for now and asked a one I thought would be unrelated.
Maria : How is this establishment so rich anyway? It doesn’t look like it has a lot of customers.
However, that was a poor choice. Eiea answered it with the same gloomy face she showed just before.
Eiea : Because it is a haven for sinners, funded by our “governing body” which that “important guest” is part of.
I was happy to have an answer to the biggest mystery of today but grimaced interiorly at the misstep. I needed to change the topic quickly before the mood turned permanently sour.
Maria : You said earlier that it was extremely rare of seeds of sin to germinate, right? Is it that rare?
The gloom cleared away slightly, replaced by some eagerness.
Eiea : Yes, rarer than some rare diseases in fact. The number of sinners worldwide stayed at a bit less than 15k individuals at all times throughout history. We make up around 0.0002% of the current world population.
Maria : That’s tiny! Why is it so rare?
Eiea : Nobody really knows. The only criteria we can be sure of is the episode of great emotions. It’s the only consistent factor that can be found. Not even genetics seems to have an effect, since most sinners have an entirely normal family.
Wouldn’t that lead to the existence of sinners becoming widely known pretty quickly? Obviously that wasn’t the case. Then did it mean that you couldn’t tell your family when you became one? No, even if that was the case, there is no way there were enough sinners around to enforce that rule on every new one. There was something else. We finished our dinner in silence. Eiea went downstairs to give back the plates and prepared herself to go to sleep when she came back. It was quite late by now. She slipped into her bed and so did I.
Eiea : There are 2 more important things that I need to tell you, but i’ll wait until we are with Veronica.
Maria : We’re telling mom?!
I had already convinced myself that we would need to keep it from her. Sadness was already accumulating inside my mind when I imagined not being able to share this with her.
Maria : I thought doing something like that would be forbidden or something…
Eiea : It’s up every sinner if they’re gonna tell their family or not. Sometimes it can become a problem, but I’m certain she will take it in strides. Well, maybe not everything… But yes, we are telling her.
A large burden on my conscience was cleared up as I heaved a large sigh of relief. The sadness that had appeared changed into happiness knowing I would be able to share this new world with her. This feeling carried me gently to sleep as my consciousness dimmed.
