“Why do you seem so tense?” Aaliyah tapped me on the shoulder. I jumped.

“Oh. Uh, I’m not,” I lied, badly. She noticed.

“Tell me.”

I sighed, “I’m just… I don’t like having to sneak around all the time so I can come here. I wish there was a way to tell everyone the truth.”

“Ah, yes. I know what you mean.”

“You do?”

“I do. It is difficult to lie to those you care about. But it is necessary. We wear the mask among them, the Mundies and the Hedevärans. We do not truly reside in either world, therefore we can never truly be ourselves. We must lie to everyone but ourselves and our fellow Travelers.”

At that, I flinched slightly. I couldn’t truly be myself among the other Travelers, either. My mask was not only worn among Mundies and Hedevärans, but the Travelers as well. I longed to share my secret with someone, to show them what I could do. I imagined the look that would be on Aaliyah’s face if she saw my magic. Would she really betray me if I told her?

“What do you feel about people with magic?” I ventured. Without a single moment’s hesitation, she replied, “They are scum.” I nodded curtly.

“Why do you ask?”

I was careful after that. Her words, vague as they were, were ominous enough to send chills down my spine. I was beginning to think not knowing the specifics was worse. The Inbetween was a massive white void, seemingly endless and stretching on in infinite directions. For a Traveler with enough practice, it was easy to get through. Just don’t stop walking.

Finding the Tear in the deep woods was second nature to me now and posed no challenge; even on cloudy, pitch-black nights like this. There was a still silence shrouding the woods, and not even a hint of a breeze. I shivered.

The Tear’s faint, eerie glow pierced through the darkness, beckoning me towards it. I unloaded my Mundie possessions and stuck them in my usual tree stump and took in a gulp of air to calm my nerves. I’d done this a hundred times by now, it was simple. I chalked up my jitters to the fact that I almost got caught sneaking out of the house. It’ll be fine.

The familiar hum of the Tear engulfed me; its white noise invaded my senses, except it was deeper, wavering. It had never sounded like that before. I ignored the warning sirens that sounded off in the back of my head. One step and I was through. I was confined within the portal to another world, walking through to the other side. It still amazed me sometimes, but all I felt now was anything but excitement. The urgency of my situation and the looming ominous cloud that hung over my mind pushed me forward and I hastened across the vast Inbetween.

After I crossed halfway, I could see Hedevara’s portal ahead of me. I was reassured by the sight of it, the familiar cave just visible through the Tear. Then, just as I was about to reach it, the portal flickered once. My stride faltered. I’d never seen a Tear do that before. Heat rose from my chest into my face as dread grabbed hold of me. A single, shuddering breath slid past my lips.

And then everything fell apart.

The portal shuddered, whined, and snapped. The opening to the other side where I could see the cave in Hedevara disappeared from sight. I spun in a panic, desperately searching for the way back home, but all I could see was endless white, and all I could hear was reality screeching and ripping apart around me and I couldn’t handle it, collapsing to my knees.

When I woke up I was still there. Nothing but white, endlessly in all directions.

“Adam. Move back. And don’t make a sound.”

I closed my eyes and concentrated, pulling on every last reserve of magic I had in me. A sheen of sweat glossed my face. A second went by and I cleared my head of all distractions. My breathing slowed and my heartbeat steadied. The hum of the Tear invaded my mind and I grabbed hold, focused on it and only it. I noticed the pitch beginning to fluctuate and I knew that meant someone was on their way from the other side. I had to be quick.

With every ounce of strength I had left, I raised my hands and pushed against the magic flowing through the Tear with my own. I envisioned it like a plug stopping up a gushing leak. The strength of it was overwhelming, a Niagara falls of magic energy bursting through a tiny crack. The Tear whirred and pulsed in protest. The mages were almost through, I could sense it.

“Hey, are you-”

Like a slap in the face, Adam’s voice broke through my concentration and the Tear overcame me. I watched in disdain as my arms flopped to my side, and I doubled over in pain and exhaustion.

“Adam! Don’t make a sound! I have to concentrate!” I snapped, and he flinched but said nothing more.

Not much time left. I raised my dead arms and shoved once more, harder and harder. I only had seconds. Panic threatened my focus, motivating me to dig deeper, draw out more of my magic than I ever had before.

Adam stared in wonder as the Tear flashed a magnificent white. It whirred, expanded, and then began to shrink, like a collapsing star. The humming was deafening. We scrunched our eyes shut and covered our ears. I fell to my knees.

Then, silence.

I did it.

My relief lasted a millisecond. I felt it leaving me, my magic, as the Tear faded out of existence. Like someone shoved their hand through me and dug around inside to pull it out. I knew it would happen; my only connection to my magic was the Tear leading to Hedevära. It was the last one, so now that the two worlds were separated forever, the source of my magic was gone.

I stood on shaky legs, tears forming at the corners of my eyes as I closed them, and looked to the sky. It was too quiet without the hum of the Tear. With my last dying surge of magic, I willed the wind to flurry around me. Just like I did in Hedevära, my fingers wove a wind for the fallen leaves on the forest floor to dance on in a sea of color. It was painful and I almost couldn’t breathe, but I held on to it. I needed this. One last display, one last beautiful thing before it was all gone forever. I saw Adam to the side, watching in grim silence.

“Not the woods. The thing in front of the woods.”

“…All I see are woods.”

“How do you not see this? It’s right there!”

“What the hell are you talking about? You’re so stoned.”

“Dude. No. I’m not stoned, you’re just blind.”

“Nah, you’re high.”

“You’re high.”

“You are correct.”

“So how do you not see the weird shimmering thing and I do?”

“…’Cause you’re high.”

“No I’m not. Stop laughing at me, man. You really don’t see the obviously otherworldly light coming out of nowhere?”

“Nope, not even a little.”

“Okay can you see where I’m pointing?”

“…”

“Hey! Pay attention. See where I’m pointing?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s right there. Look closer.”

“…All I see are woods. What am I looking for?”

“The shimmering thing!”

“Oh my god.”

“Do you see it?”

“See what? No, I’m really hungry, can we go to like McDonald’s or something? I would kill for some fries.”

“There really is no hope for you right now is there?”

“McDonald’s!”

“You’re so stoned.”

“French fries!”

“I hate you.”

“No you don’t, you love me too much to hate me.”

“I hate you, man.”

“Hey, do you ever wonder like… how people come up with ideas for food? Like, who decided one day to put a potato in a vat of boiling oil to make a fry?”

“The French?”

“Oh yeah! French fry. You’re smart.”

“God, it’s gonna be fun trying to get you back into your house. Your mom is gonna kill me if she finds out about this. Why am I friends with you? Why do I get myself into these situations?”

“Hey what’s that shimmering thing?”

“You see it?!”

“Haha, no.”

“Okay we’re done here. Let’s go.”

“To McDonald’s?”

“No. Home. McDonald’s is closed by now anyways.”

“But… the French fries.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“Wait so do you really see a shimmering thing?”

“Yes, plain as day. It’s right there.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t know. I’m starting to think I’m going crazy.”

“Go touch it.”

“What? No. Why?”

“Because I wanna see if it’s dangerous.”

“Oh gee, thanks.”

“Come on, go touch it!”

“No. We’re leaving; I’m probably just seeing things.”

“You’re boring.”

“I don’t care. I have to get you home somehow and I’m not looking forward to it. And I’m tired. Let’s go.”

“Fine. You’re a buzz kill.”

“No, I’m sensible. You’re the dumb one for smoking that stuff. Your parents would kill you if they found out, which they have a good chance of doing since you snuck out of your house in the middle of the night to come wake me up and make me take care of you.”

“Aw, I love you too.”

“What kinds of books are they?”

“History, mostly. Legends.”

 I nodded my head in mock interest. History wasn’t the most exciting thing to me, but then again, not much of interest happens in the Mundie world. I ran my hand along the spines of the books and pulled one out at random. It was large and the pages were frayed, the front cover devoid of any title. I let the book fall open to a random page and began reading.

Lakma had found me. How, I do not know. But I was ready

to die by her hand. I could not bear the thought of running

any longer. I should have known that they would catch me,

and I was a fool not to expect that they would send her.

 “This doesn’t look like a history book,” I handed it to Aaliyah. She skimmed a few lines.

“It seems like an account of the Great War. I did not know we had anything like this here. These texts were banned by the Twelve and gathered to burn. It is likely that this is one of the last of its kind.”

I took the book back and turned a few pages.

She sent out spellhounds to chase me, but I found an eiberberry 

bush and smeared some berries on my skin. It was impressive,

the extent that her power had grown in just a few years. Her

motivation, her drive for improvement was astonishing.

 “Aaliyah? What’s a spellhound?”

“A beast summoned by magic. They are fierce and extremely difficult to control. I have never seen one, and have never met anyone else who has faced one and lived.”

“Well this guy did.” She raised an eyebrow. I flipped another page.

I will never be free from the knowledge of what my presence has

done to the village. The man told me his sister was killed in the

fires the rebels set upon the houses. He kicked and spat on me

before he crossed the bridge to Hedevära, and I still believe I

deserved more than that. I have done such terrible things…

                       I wondered what exactly this man could have done to warrant the destruction of an entire village and its people. I turned the page once more.

It was then that the bridge seemed to shudder out of existence with

a tremendous display of light and sound. I could not believe my eyes.

The only escape I had to Hedevära was gone forever. Lakma and I

were both trapped in the Mundie world.

 “Hey,” I exclaimed, confused, “he was in the Mundie world when the Twelve closed the bridges. How did this book end up back in Hedevära?” Aaliyah’s brows drew together.

“That is a good question. I do not know. Perhaps a Traveler found and brought it here. That would explain why it escaped the burning.”

“This is your room. You will receive fitted, appropriate clothes to wear while in Hedevära, but until then you must not leave the Tunnels.” She instructed. I caught on to the seriousness of her warning and nodded my head. She was kind of intimidating.

“Sit. I will answer your questions.” She leaned against the desk.  I obeyed instantaneously.

“Long, long ago, it is said that Hedevära and the Mundie world were connected. Portals, created by the High Council, were the bridges between our worlds. People were able to cross between them freely, and there was peace… was.” She stressed. I had no idea what the High Council was but I wasn’t about to interrupt her.

“The people of Hedevära all had magic. Our world was wondrous for the Mundies, full of creatures and places unlike anything they had seen. But Mundies are corrupt. They are greedy and jealous, and they wanted the magic for themselves. They formed a rebel army. They were strong, but Hedevärans had magic. The rebels were easily controlled, and the worlds were lulled into a false sense of security. A few years later, with the traitorous alliance of many Hedevärans, the rebels attacked once more. They devastated the two worlds, threw them both into chaos. The war waged on for what seemed like forever, until the High Council was able to overthrow the powers of the rebel Hedevärans and lead the worlds once again down a peaceful path. But as punishment, magic was taken from all Hedevärans but the Twelve remaining noble families. The only people in Hedevära who have the gift of magic today are those whose ancestors were one of the Twelve noble families. The High Council and its disciples then tore down the bridges between our worlds and erased all memory of their existence. But legends of Hedevära still live on in the Mundie world in the forms of stories and fiction, myths and fables.”

My brain imploded from this newfound knowledge. It had to be true, I wouldn’t have been sitting there in Hedevära otherwise.

“But if the High Council got rid of the bridges, how are we here?”

“The portals you and I came through are remnants of those bridges. The High Council thought they completely closed off all paths, but they were mistaken. There are still tears hidden in the seams between the fabrics of our worlds. That is what we call them. Tears. There used to be many more. Some of them were weaker than others, and collapsed… There are less than 30 left.”

“How come I could see it but Adam couldn’t?”

“You are a Traveler.”

“O…kay? What does that even mean?”

“We cannot be sure how the Tears are visible to some, but not to others. It is thought that we, as Travelers, are descendants of Hedevärans. Mundies and Hedevärans could have had children even though it was forbidden; there is no evidence to the contrary. This means that our power to see the Tears is what is left of whatever innate magical ability would have been passed down generation to generation. We think that since we have Mundie blood mixed with Hedeväran, the magic that has been passed down to us is diluted and mostly useless.”

I had to lie down. This was unreal. Here I am, in some other world, being told that I am a descendant of wizards and warlocks.

“I can see that you need some time to process. I will leave you alone.”

I heard her close the door behind her. I sat in my room for at least an hour going over what I had just learned in my mind.

“Wait a minute,” I sat up and said aloud to nobody in particular, gesturing excitedly with my hands, “If I’m a descendant of Hedevärans, and Hedevärans were magic… I’m magic too-”

Sparks flew from my fingertips. Magic.