Hazel couldn't stop thinking about Arick. There was something about him that felt… different. Something that made her heart race and her mind spin with questions.
The next morning, Hazel woke up early. Flora was already waiting by the breakfast table, humming happily.
"Hazel, do you think Arick and his sister will come today?" Flora asked eagerly.
Hazel smiled softly. "I think so. Let's wait and see."
After breakfast, Hazel and Flora walked toward the hill near their home, the place where the forest and the town met. And there he was — Arick, walking with his younger sister Elena.
Flora ran ahead to greet Elena, and immediately, the two sisters clicked. They laughed and talked as if they had known each other for years. Hazel watched silently, asmile tugging at her lips.
But then, Hazel felt it. A tingling sensation in her hands. Her hidden power… it was stirring again. The wind swirled around her fingers, light glinting in the corners of her eyes.
"Hazel, are you okay?" Flora asked, noticing her sister's distracted look.
Hazel shook her head quickly. "I'm fine… just a little dizzy."
Arick looked at her curiously. "Hazel, do you feel that too?"
Hazel froze. How could he know? She glanced at him, wide-eyed, but he just smiled softly, as if he understood something she didn't.
"I… I don't know what you mean," Hazel whispered, trying to hide the magic that pulsed inside her.
Arick's gaze softened. "Don't worry. Some things… we only understand when the time comes."
Hazel didn't know it yet, but her power and Arick's family were connected in ways she couldn't imagine. Elena and Flora, too, shared a bond that was more than friendship.
As the sun began to set, Hazel walked home, her heart heavy with questions. She glanced at Flora, laughing with Elena, and realized… their connection was stronger than she thought.
And deep inside, Hazel knew: this was just the beginning of something