Part Wolf

The first sign of the war within

"Stupid wolf. First, he bites me and then takes off without a word." Elize complained as she plucked a weed out from the garden.

It's been three days since that morning when Aileen surprised the duo. When she got back from answering the door, Zack was no more in the room.

Elize had searched the whole room for something to explain the sudden disappearance- at least a note from him. There was none. She wanted to believe that he'd come back. Maybe he had an emergency.

Rather than wasting time in the room sulking, Elize had made it her mission to bring Anna's garden back to its former glory. After two days of weeding and replanting the place was looking quite neat.

A blue butterfly slowly landed on the wild rose that Elize was now pruning.
"Thank you for coming into my garden." Elize did a little show bow at the butterfly then laughed at her own action.

"Yeah, you totally don't look crazy," Aileen said, coming up from behind her.

Aileen was wearing white again. One would almost think that she had no other colors in her wardrobe than white. It was either white dresses or white skirts and shirts every time that Elize saw her. The weird thing was that she never seemed to get a speck of dirt on her clothes, while Elize stood there in her khaki shorts and a green t-shirt, covered in dirt from head to toe.

"Hey! I've been living with plants for companions for the last two days!" Elize protested with a smile on her face.

Aileen shook her head and laughed. It was a burst of hearty laughter that rang around the place. The two looked content in a sea of flowers, the afternoon wind swaying the huge trees that dotted the expanse of the vast garden.

"Your first lesson starts today little one," Aileen said, stepping towards a tall willow tree. She sat down on the grass that covered the ground beneath it and tapped the ground next to her, asking Elize to take a seat beside her.

Elize put down her tools and dusted her hands and legs before plopping down on the grass under the tree.

"What do you know about magic?" Aileen asked, looking at the teenager's grimy face.

"Umm.. that I have it in me? And supposedly it is passed down through genes." Elize replied while playing with the grass needles that were poking out from between her folded legs.

Aileen chuckled.

"What?" Elize looked up at the old woman's face who clearly thought her answer funny.

"Nothing. You remind me of myself when I was your age. I remember having the same conversation with my grandma. But I was six years old back then." Aileen laughed again.

Elize threw a blade of grass at her. "Yeah I know I'm worse than a six-year-old but I had my reasons." She complained at the mockery.

"Magic my child is the essence of the universe. It creates, it destroys and it molds its wielder according to how they choose to use it." Aileen explained, taking on a serious air.

"Ohh... But where do we get it from?" Elize wanted to hear more. Understanding magic was understanding a part of herself.

"It's all around us. Inside every living thing. But most importantly, you have to find it within yourself. Every bit of magic you spend originates first from within you and then from around you. It is your will that channels the magic within to do the act."
Aileen stood up from the place and reached out to a withering white rose bush. She raised her right hand above the plant and closed her eyes. Elize looked at the act with much curiosity.