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A murmur. Then another.
Ugh... my head... What happened?
Aiden slowly opened his eyes, his skull still resonating like a cracked bell. The first thing he saw were the stars. The stars were of such perfect, intense clarity that they seemed almost within reach.
Damn, they're magnificent...
He managed to sit up, painfully, every muscle in his body protesting against the movement. Around him, the grass was carbonized in a perfect circle of three meters. Wisps of smoke still rose from the ground, creating ghostly arabesques in the night air.
So it wasn't a dream... I really was struck by lightning, how could I have even survived that?
But there was something else, he felt weird as if something was different.
He felt a sensation of absolute freedom invading him, as if invisible chains had just broken. The world around him seemed absurdly clear, every detail sculpted with supernatural precision. And then there were these... voices.
...joy... joy... together we dance... ...sweet sadness... tears that fall... but it's beautiful too... ...anger... grumble... but then we laugh...
Aiden's eyes widened. These whispers didn't come from human minds. They were... simpler. Purer. Like children expressing their emotions without filter, without complexity.
He looked up at the sky and what he saw stupefied him.
The clouds that drifted above him were no longer simple meteorological formations. When he concentrated, he could see, literally see, thousands of small luminous beings fluttering between the water vapors. Some laughed while creating updrafts, others cried while letting fine droplets fall.
My god... it's them, the voices I've been hearing forever.
He reached out toward the wind caressing his face. Instantly, he felt the presence of dozens of small aerial creatures swirling around his fingers. Their emotions, gaiety, mischief, freedom, poured into his mind like a torrent of pure sensations.
One of them, apparently displeased that he was disturbing its course, sent him a small discontented puff on his head before leaving laughing, a crystalline laugh that resonated in his mind like little bells.
Aiden remained open-mouthed for a few seconds, then burst out laughing.
- "My God!" he exclaimed aloud, his words lost in the night. "This is the Harry Potter world, but so much better!"
I'm no longer just telepathic. I... I can communicate with the elements themselves.
He looked toward a small puddle formed by recent rain. There too, he felt a presence, calmer, more thoughtful than the wind spirits, but just as real. The water murmured softly, speaking of slow journeys, patience, eternal cycles.
On a bit of still smoking grass, a tiny spark of fire pulsed weakly. Its "song" was completely different, passionate, intense, speaking of transformation and renewal.
Air, water, fire... and probably earth too.
Aiden stood up completely, testing his limbs. Miraculously, he didn't seem injured. A bit stiff, like after intensive training, but nothing serious.
I need to go back. If Mrs. Pemberton wakes up and discovers I'm not in my bed...
He took one last look at the carbonized circle that testified to his "magical awakening," then headed toward the park exit. Each step was accompanied by a new concert of elemental voices, the stones on the path murmured their solidity, the dewdrops sang the freshness of approaching dawn.
This is... incredible. As if I had entered a new world, populated by invisible but very real creatures.
The return journey was a permanent revelation. London was no longer simply a city, it was a living ecosystem where every natural element possessed its own consciousness, its own voice. Underground water pipes murmured their secrets, wind between buildings laughed at its tricks, and even the asphalt under his feet told the story of the rocks from which it came.
He reached the orphanage without encountering a living soul. Fortunately, he wouldn't have known how to explain his disheveled appearance and nocturnal absence.
The door opened silently on its well-oiled hinges. Aiden went up the stairs stealthily, carefully avoiding the steps that creaked, advantage of having grown up in this house.
Once in his room, he slipped into his bed and literally collapsed on the pillow. The exhaustion of this extraordinary night caught up with him all at once.
Tomorrow... tomorrow, I'll really test the extent of these new powers. But for now...
He closed his eyes, lulled by the distant murmur of the elements surrounding him. Wind gently caressed the curtains, water flowed in the gutters, and somewhere in the orphanage foundations, the earth itself seemed to wish him good night.
Good night to you too, my new friends.
And on this thought, Aiden fell deeply asleep, unaware that his magical awakening had done much more than open the doors of elemental communication for him.
The next morning...
The first rays of sunlight filtered through the faded curtains of the common room when Aiden opened his eyes. He felt... different. Rested, energized, as if every cell in his body vibrated with new energy.
He got up, stretched, and went down the stairs toward the kitchen where Mrs. Pemberton was already preparing breakfast.
- "Good morning Mrs. Pembert--"
CRASH
The bowl the old lady was holding literally exploded when it hit the ground. She remained frozen, mouth open, eyes wide, staring at Aiden as if she had just seen a ghost.
- "Mrs. Pemberton?" said Aiden, worried. "Are you okay? You look like..."
But seeing his reflection in the kitchen window, his own words died in his throat.
The child looking back at him was no longer quite the same Aiden Mortensen who had fallen asleep the night before.
Oh, shit. How exactly am I going to explain this?
Aiden slowly approached the window, not believing his eyes. The reflection facing him was... him, but at the same time not him at all.
His hair, once dull and unruly chestnut, had taken on a tone of absolutely perfect pearlescent white. Not the yellowish white of old age, no - a pure white like fresh snow, with silver reflections that caught the morning light and sent it back in a thousand subtle flashes.
His face had refined, sculpted with almost artistic precision. The somewhat soft traits of childhood had given way to harmonious, elegant lines that still retained that youthful sweetness but promised striking beauty in adulthood. His cheekbones were more pronounced, his jaw more defined, his nose perfectly proportioned.
But what troubled him most were his eyes.
Still that slightly almond shape that gave him an exotic air, but his pupils... His pupils had deepened their orange color until they became veritable miniature suns. The iris seemed to contain liquid flames that danced gently, creating nuances ranging from copper to pure gold, passing through honey and amber tones.
I look like... uh, a handsome guy? I'm going to fall in love with myself...
He had become the human version of a fantasy elf, that ethereal grace, that almost supernatural beauty, that natural elegance in every feature. But without the pointed ears, remaining fundamentally human while transcending the usual limits of mortal aesthetics.
- "Aiden?" Mrs. Pemberton's trembling voice brought him back to reality. "My god, what... how...?"
The poor woman seemed on the verge of fainting. She clung to the countertop, her knuckles white, her eyes constantly moving from Aiden's face to his hair, then to his luminous eyes.
Well, I need to find an explanation and fast.
- "I... I don't really know," he stammered adopting his most innocent expression - which was now much easier with this new angelic face. "I woke up like this this morning. Maybe... maybe it's just an early puberty thing?"
Yeah, Aiden. Because puberty completely transforms hair color and makes eyes glow like flashlights. Very credible.
Mrs. Pemberton blinked several times, as if hoping this vision would dissipate. But no, Aiden remained there, with his new appearance of an elf prince escaped from a fairy tale.
- "Your... your hair is completely white," she murmured. "And your eyes... my god, your eyes literally glow."
Other children were starting to come down for breakfast. Aiden heard Tommy's steps on the stairs, then Eddie's.
Shit. If Mrs. Pemberton reacts like this, what will the others say?
- "Mrs. Pemberton," he said in as calm a voice as possible, "maybe we should tell the others that... that I had an allergic reaction to something? Or a rare disease that changes pigmentation?"
The poor woman vaguely nodded, still in shock. She couldn't take her gaze away from Aiden's eyes, fascinated despite herself by these irises that seemed to contain living flames.
- "Tommy!" she suddenly called toward the stairs, her voice a bit too high. "Take the others to have breakfast in the common room this morning! Aiden and I have... we have something to discuss."
Groans of protest rose from upstairs - the children preferred having breakfast in the warmer kitchen but they obeyed.
Once alone, Mrs. Pemberton slowly approached Aiden, observing him like a freak show phenomenon. But not with disgust - rather with fascination mixed with maternal concern.
- "My little one," she said softly reaching a hesitant hand toward his white hair, "what happened to you? You are... you're magnificent, but it's so... unusual."
Magnificent, huh? At least I don't look monstrous.
Aiden let Mrs. Pemberton run her fingers through his transformed hair. It was softer than before, silky like fine silk, and seemed almost phosphorescent under the light.
- "I really don't know," he lied. "I just woke up like this. Maybe we should see a doctor?"
Especially not. Dr. Whitmore would have a heart attack, and then we'd end up in a laboratory serving as guinea pigs.
Mrs. Pemberton seemed to read his thoughts. "No... no, not right away. We'll... we'll observe. See if it evolves. And then..." She paused, detailing Aiden's new face once more. "And then you don't look sick. On the contrary, you seem... radiant."
Radiant is the word.
Indeed, Aiden felt incredibly well. Every sense was sharpened, every perception amplified. And above all, he constantly heard the murmur of elements around him, water in the pipes, air circulating in the rooms, earth under the foundations. Like a permanent but discrete concert.
- "Are you hungry?" asked Mrs. Pemberton, regaining her composure.
- "Yes, enormously."
- "Then go get your breakfast. But... Aiden?" She placed a hand on his shoulder. "If anyone asks questions about your appearance, we say it's a rare medical condition. Agreed?"
He nodded. It was the best they could do for now.
Heading toward the common room, Aiden caught his reflection in the hallway mirror. He stopped for a few seconds, still captivated by his transformation.
I look like a manga character. Or a fantasy novel protagonist.
His new eyes seemed to see further, deeper. And when he concentrated, he could almost perceive the energetic auras of objects around him.
The magical awakening didn't just give me new powers. It... transformed me. Literally.
He pushed the common room door, preparing for the other children's reactions.
And indeed, as soon as he appeared in the doorway, all conversations stopped dead.
Eddie almost choked on his orange juice. Mary dropped her toast. Peter remained open-mouthed, his eyes going back and forth between Aiden's white hair and his flaming irises.
- "Aiden?" Tommy stammered. "Is... is it really you?"
- "Hi everyone," he said with a smile that, with his new face, was absolutely disarming. "So, who wants to hear about the weirdest symptoms of partial albinism?"
Yeah, here we go with the official version. Because 'I was struck by an elemental magical awakening' might pose some problems.