The Magic Pawn Series: The Discovery (Volume 1)

Chapter 4: Looking for answers

Christine and I were heading towards Edward and Eric's training place. She looked very nice in a short fluffy summer dress with a flower print. I had chosen to wear a pair of jeans, a turquoise polo shirt and my hair in ponytail. Christine was in a very good mood today. Ever since we met that day she had been talking constantly. She was enthusiastic about the nice weather, about her favourite sport – volleyball – and about how she was planning to redecorate her room. In any case she was talking about everything except for what was important. I don't know...MAGIC maybe!!! After all, this is why I was here. To discover myself and learn about what I was capable of doing in a way less known and less normal. I tried to talk to her about the dream I had the night before but she just avoided the topic until she eventually changed it. I was under the impression that she loved magic and that she would like to talk about it. At least that's how it seemed until recently. But now...she behaved as if she was hiding something.

I tried many times to see Maggie but every time there was someone by her room who was telling me that she was asleep. "She needs a lot of rest", the doctor told her. I believe his name was Philip; an old man, short and heavy with grey hair and flap-eared.

'Are we there yet? We have been walking already for – I checked my watch – twenty minutes, and that seems like forever in Chris' company who won't stop talking. '

'No. We will be there shortly.'

Eric and Edward were training in archery. The training consisted of an obstacle race on a field where traps had been set. This was a nice surprise but a bitter one to swallow and it made me think of the past.

I was ten years old when I started this sport; metric rounds archery. Unlike field archery, the metric one takes place on a flat terrain where the archer has to shoot a certain number of arrows. I knew this was a method for mental, moral and spiritual development. It's such a wonderful feeling when you stretch the band of the bow, aim and release. That is the moment when it is just you and your target, nothing more. It is so quiet and then the arrow reaches its target. The joy of seeing that you've managed to hit the target as close as possible to the centre. I will never forget how enthusiastic I was during my first day at archery. First of all they presented to me the equipment and then they told me how I should hold my arms and in what position I should keep my body when I am getting ready to shoot. I was so anxious. When I took the bow for the first time, I knew that this was the thing that I wanted to do for the rest of my life. My dream was to become a professional archer and participate in the Olympics and win as many medals as possible. I had practiced a lot and I was working a lot. I wanted to become a better archer by the day. Mister Garret who was my teacher and who initiated me into the secrets of this less-known sport played a great role in my successes. He always supported me. He trusted me more than I trusted myself. He always said I had a natural talent for this activity. I was like a daughter to him and he was like my second father. I participated in many competitions thanks to him. My biggest win was when I was seventeen years old. But I never really got to enjoy wining the first place in the national championship and the fact that I was going to go the Olympics. Just a month later, the misfortune happened. I quit after that. I swore I would never touch another bow again. It was difficult but I had to quit.

Even now as I see the arrows going straight for their targets and the archers who move on to the next marked spot from where to shoot their target, the feeling of guilt comes back.

'Are you alright Kate?'

'Why wouldn't I be?'

'I don't know why but I have the feeling that you are about to burst into crying. Your face is poker-like but I can feel that you are not alright.'

I started to laugh.

'You are just imagining it.'

'If you say so...'