4 Stepping Out

So, here's the thing. After Lena showed up that first time, everything started to feel a bit less gray and a lot more Technicolor. She had this way of making the village seem like it was hiding secrets in plain sight, waiting just for us to uncover them. And me? I was pretty much just following her lead, like a duckling that got lucky enough to find the coolest duck in the pond.

"I'm heading out," I announced one morning, surprising myself more than anyone else. Mom, in the middle of her baking wizardry, paused to shoot me a smile that could light up the room.

"That's great, Alex," she said, her voice mixing pride and a hint of relief. Dad, with his quiet strength and that old sword of his that had seen better days, just gave me a nod. It was his usual 'be careful' look, but I could tell he was all for me getting some fresh air.

Walking out the door felt like stepping onto a stage. The village was buzzing, alive with the kind of energy I'd only watched from a distance. This time, I was part of the scene, not just some background character.

Lena was waiting, her grin infectious. "Ready to see what today's got in store for us?" she asked, and how could I not be? With her, every day felt like diving into a new chapter of the coolest book I'd never read.

We did the grand tour—smithy, bakery, you name it. Everywhere we went, Lena had a story or a joke, and magic was just part of the package. Watching the blacksmith work was like seeing a dance between fire and steel, and the bakery was an assault on the senses in the best way possible.

"It's all magic," Lena said as we shared a pastry, still warm from the oven. "Not just the flashy stuff. It's in the little moments, the everyday things." That hit me hard. I'd been so caught up in the big, scary idea of magic that I'd missed the point. It wasn't about showing off; it was about living.

The day wrapped up at the edge of the forest, the trees whispering secrets. Lena talked about it like it was another world, full of mystery and adventure. "I'll show you," she promised, and I believed her. There was a whole world out there, and I was finally starting to see it.

Lying in bed that night, my head was spinning with everything I'd seen and heard. The fear of getting zapped by some god for stepping out of line was taking a backseat to this new feeling—like I was actually part of something bigger.

Going outside, hanging with Lena, it was all making me see things differently. Every step out the door was a step away from the kid who was too scared to live. And as I drifted off, I couldn't help thinking that maybe, just maybe, this was what it felt like to find your place in the world.