It was the middle of the night when the young lad, by the name of Liam, was awoken by a similar sound to nails on a chalkboard. The boy, only being eleven, was frightened by the eerie sound in the night. He pulled his covers over his head and didn't dare move an inch. It was rather questionable if the poor boy was even breathing. When the sound didn't come to a halt, Liam peered over the edge of the covers he hid under.
At first glance around his room, Liam couldn't spot the source of the sound. He then slowly shifted in bed and looked to his window. He was enchanted with the beauty of the owl that clawed at his window. He swiftly got up from the bed and over to the window. He carefully unlatched the window. Just after he got whacked in the face with the old timely design of the window, the owl bursted into the room. Liam stumbled and fell backwards onto the floor. He held the cheek that stung with pain. His gaze locked on the owl as it glided around the room. The owl, of a large size, finally came to rest upon the frame of his small bed. Liam got up from the floor with ease. He slowly approached the grey, intimidating owl.
He held out his hand to the owl, though it got more intimidating the closer he got. The great owl nuzzled into the boys small and dainty hand. Liam smiled softly. " You're not that scary now are you?" the boy said in a hushed whisper. It was then that he noticed what the owl had brought with it. A letter was attached to the animals claws. It had a crest and even a wax seal. These were things Liam had only seen in old stories. Never before had he seen such an old fashioned letter.
"Is this for me?" Liam asked, picking up the letter and looking at the owl with great confusion. It only seemed to merely nod at him. Flipping the letter over, he found that it was indeed addressed to him. He glanced at the owl, then the window, before he went to gingerly open the letter. Gently unfolding the letter, he couldn't make sense of its contents. It went on about wizardry and magic, as well as something about schooling.
The owl now took its leave and with one sweep around the room, it darted out the window. Liam was left speechless, looking out the window. At first, he wanted to believe it a prank but something about it seemed so real to him. He raced from his own room and across the narrow hallway to his older brother's room.
"Jackie! Jackie! Look at this" Liam yelled in a hushed manor, shaking the brother he wished to wake so desperately. He stopped when a groan escaped his older brother as he rolled over and reached for his glasses.
"Liam, what the heck is it? What time is it?" the brother better known as Jackile asked groggily. He propped himself up and pushed his raveness hair out of his face.
"An owl flew into my room! It dropped a letter… and I can't make much sense of it," Liam blurted out, now having his brothers attention. He held the letter out to his brother. "Look!" he said, before his brother could utter out another word. Jackile snatched the letter from his brothers hand.
"An owl did what now?" Jackile asked. He yawned as his eyes scanned the letter. Baffled, he re-read the letter. "Well, you for sure didn't write it. . but who did?.. What on earth is this?" Jackile muttered to himself before looking up at his brother. "Lets wake up mum and dad.. This seems serious," he said in a final tone.
Liam meekly nodded before he dashed out of the room and down the hall, with Jackile close behind. Once at their parents door, Jackile knocked on the door at the same time that Liam opened it. "Mum? Dad?" Liam called out into the dimly lit room. There was some shuffling of bed sheets before a response was made.
"Liam? Jackile? What is it?" their tired father, Isaac, responded. He ran a hand threw his fiery locks as he sat up.
"Liam claims that an owl delivered this letter to him," Jackile spoke up, promptly cutting off Liam's attempts of speaking. Jackile held the letter up for his father to see.
"An owl? What kind of owl?" Their father almost seemed tense with fear or maybe it was worry. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed nonetheless.
"It was big and grey… I think it was a Great Owl.." Liam piped up, shuffling over to his father after taking the letter back from his brother. Isaac carefully took the letter from his son to read it over, and sure enough, it was exactly what he feared the most. Both Liam and Jackile were surprised at the state their father had ended up in. The brothers exchanged glances. They had no idea as to what their father knew and they did not. "I have to make a phone call." Isaac said hesitantly, standing up. "Let's take this matter to the living room," he added, making his to the door where Jackile stood.
"But dad- it's the middle of the night," Jackile spoke up, perplexed by his father's behavior. He and Liam did follow him down the creaky stairs to the living room, though.
"Mm...I guess you're right… they wouldn't be awake at this hour. . . or would they?" It was the first time the brothers had seen their father so unsure and disoriented. They stood there, watching as their father rummaged through a china cabinet and many side tables among other places for a long forgotten number.
"Dad it's… no more than two in the morning" Liam said with a puzzled expression as his father pulled out what looked like an old cue card. He eyed it before looking up at his dad and then to his brother.
"Your right. Just- lets worry about this in the morning. Go back to bed. " Isaac said, trying to pull himself to his senses. He knew all to well he didn't want to make this phone call, just as he knew he had no choice but to make it.
Jackile nodded and sighed. "Alright, let's go, Liam," Jackie said and forced his brother out of the room. Jackile knew something was up but didn't know what.
"This is all much stranger than I imagined," Liam said, following his brother upstairs. He glanced over his shoulder to the peek at the living room, where his father still resided.
"Make that two of us…" Jackile said with a yawn. He went over to his bedroom door. "Just don't think too much of it for now. Okay?" Jackile looked back at his younger brother who was at their own door.
Liam nodded. "I can only promise to try," he said before vanishing into his bedroom. Liam frowned and leaned against the door. He wondered about a lot of things, but knew he wouldn't get answers from just thinking. If he was going to get answers, it would be in the morning.
Liam climbed into bed. He didn't fall asleep easily. After rolling around quite a lot, he didn't realized he had fallen asleep until he woken up. He laid there with groggy eyes 'til he jolted up with realization. Everything came flooding back from last night. Liam got up and made his way down stairs. The family was already enjoying breakfast. At the sight of this, Liam slowed his rush down the stairs. Did last night even happen? Liam took his seat at the dining table.
He was snapped out of his thoughts when his younger brother spoke up. "What's on you mind" Karmon glanced over at Liam for a brief moment before going back to eating. "You seem a little on edge," Kamron added simply.
"I'm not really sure," Liam told Karmon and picked up his own fork to eat. He glanced over to Jackile and his father for some sort of sign. He didn't get any. He ate his soggy french toast without further question.
"Anyway, I'm off to Stacee's," Karmon said, grabbing a slice of the cinnamon sugar toast. He got up from his chair, shoving the slice of bread in his mouth.
"Alright sweety. Stay safe and don't talk to mysterious stranger's," their mother Brooklynn said, placing a kiss on his cheek before placing another plate of food on the table. With a mhm from Karmon, he was out the door, his wireless headphones tuning out the world.
"Anyway how did you sleep, Liam?" Brooklynn asked, taking her own seat at the head of the table. Before Liam could respond to his mother, though, there was a knock at the door. Brooklynn let out a sigh.
Jackile who had just washed his dishes piped up. "I got it," he said, making his way over to the front door. "It's probably jasper, anyway," he said, exiting the room. Sure enough it was and they made their way upstairs.
That left liam and his parents alone to eat. "Um.. to answer your question mum, I slept well." Liam said and continued to eat breakfast.
"That's good to hear. Considering your brothers are always in a rush with no time to sit and talk with the family." Brooklynn sighed and leaned back in her chair. "At least their hanging out with friends, which is nice," she said, smiling softly.
"Yeah, friends," Isaac said, choosing then to speak up, smirk on his face as he finished his breakfast.
"Isaac!" Brooklynn scolded her husband, giving him a wicked glare. Liam on sunk into his chair, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.
Isaac chuckled and smiled. "Alright, alright. I'll stop. What time do you have to be at work. You said you were working over time, no?" Isaac inquired.
Brooklynn looked at the time "I should be leaving now," she sighed, standing up. Giving her husband a kiss, before placing a kiss on liam's head, she said "See you later sweety." With that she pulled her jacket off the chair and left.
"Bye mum!" Liam called out to his mother before she left the building. He then turned to his father.
"I should make that phone call, huh?" Isaac said with a nervousness he normally wouldn't show in front of his kids.
"I think so.." Liam spoke softly, hoping to calm his father down. Isaac pulled the letter and cue card out of his pocket, along with his phone. Isaac shakily dialed the number and took a deep breath. He held the phone to his ear and waited an answer.
"Hello?.. May I speak to a Miss Autumn?" Isaac asked, trying to stay calm and collected. Liam watched his father pale a little.
"Ah- I would be Isaac. Mr. Isaac Robinson. As to what I want.. That's a little more complicated. It's about her umm… one moment-" Isaac gestured for Liam to stay as he left the room. He continued the conversation once out of ear shot.
"..Her.. Son.. He is…um.. Magically inclined." Isaac stammered, trying to find the right words to say and failing horrible.
"What do I mean? Ah.. Right.. I would be her ex.. She had twins and we went our separate ways after a disagreement. Several years ago. We each took one of the kids. Thus … this awkward phone call…" as Isaac went on, he became more calm. He took a deep breath and continued once more.
"Well.. I'm no wizard. If I was, I wouldn't be making this phone call. I'm calling .. For guidance, I guess? I have not the first idea of what to do, you see." Whatever cool Isaac had started to shatter as tears started to escape. His voice became slightly shaky.
"I have nowhere else to turn. What would you do for your child if you had no experience with the matter and had one chance to get them the help they need, even if it was a long shot? Wouldn't you try? I just want what's best for my son." Isaac said. He was concerned this phone call might end poorly.
Whatever happened on the other end of the line made Isaac laugh a little, out of nervousness. "Yeah, I guess it was… but I didn't really have much of a choice, now did I?" Isaac said with a sad sigh.
"So are you willing to… I would say help me out but that's not it. Are you willing to help Liam out?" Isaac said quietly.
"I'm very glad to hear," Isaac said with relief. "Whatever time works for you. I'm a stay at home dad… but how about that new cafe, Mug's Coffee?" Isaac said, swallowing whatever pride he had.
"Alright. Thank you. I'll see you then. Mug''s Coffee. At four. I really can't thank you enough," Isaac said, a small smile appearing on his face.
Liam, by this time, was wondering why the phone call was taking so long. So he peered into the room. "Dad?" he asked, trying to not surprise the man.
Isaac looked over and pulled the phone away a little. Though it did little to stop the other line from hearing what was said. "Hey bud, I'm almost done. No worries."
Liam nodded and remained silent by the door.
"I think that would be delightful" Isaac said with the phone back to his ear. "I guess this is goodbye for now." Liam walked over to his father, curious as to who he was talking to.
"Tell them I say hi," Liam said looking up at his father. "Please?"
Isaac smiled. "Liam says hi," though he probably didn't need to relay the message.
"An old friend of mine says hello." Isaac spoke and ruffled Liam's hair. "Well until then," and a little later, Isaac hangs up.
"Stop that!" Liam said, swatting his father's hand away. "So what's happening?" Liam asked his father.
"Well your gonna be spending time at an old friend of mine's place," Isaac explained to Liam. "They know what to do about this situation. They'll take care of you. They have a child your age. You'll get to see me whenever you get the chance. I promise. You'll get to see all of us when you get the chance. I'll make sure of it." Isaac explained the situation as best he could to his son. He had gotten down to his sons eye level to assist in planting the knowledge in his brain.
"I'll get to see you again and everyone else too, right?" Liam asked his dad with a look of a concern.
"Right. I'm sure you'll make friends there too. So don't worry. Okay?" Isaac tried to comfort and reassure his son.
"Okay." Liam nodded and forced a smile on his face. He was going to be brave for his father.
"Now let's get you packed. You'll have to leave with them tomorrow, sadly," Isaac said with a sad smile.
"Will I still get to do my normal school work?" Liam asked his father with a curious expression.
Isaac could only laugh. "If you so dearly wish," he said, standing up. "Now let's go. We've got some packing to do." Isaac told his son, urging him to go help him pack for tomorrow.
"Alright dad," Liam said with a grin while making his way upstairs to his bedroom. Isaac opened a closet and pulled out a suitcase for Liam, wheeling it over to Liam's room.
"Here we are, one suitcase," Isaac said with a grin. He placed the suitcase on the bed and opened it up.
"What do I need to pack?" Liam asked, unsure what he needed to pack first. He glanced around his room, questioning what he should and shouldn't bring with him.
"Well, let's start with clothing." Isaac chuckled. He opened Liam's dresser. "Underwear. Shirts. Shorts. Pants. Just, clothing of all sorts," Isaac explained.
Liam nodded and together they the folded clothing and with some fancy tricks, they packed more than enough clothing with plenty of room to spare.
"Dad, can I pack this with me?" Liam asked as he carefully picked up a picture frame. It was a picture of the family: Brooklynn, Isaac, Jackile, Karmon, and Liam.
"Of course you can," Isaac said with a soft smile. He wouldn't mind his son keeping it. He wanted his son to have something to comfort him while away from home. "Just keep it safe, alright?" he requested.
"I can do that," Liam said with a determined look. He then carefully placed it in his suitcase. They then packed some of his favorite books, some he had yet to read, some notebooks and let's not forget the pencil cases of pens and pencils.
"I think that's everything I need." Liam spoke softly, looking at his stuffed suitcase.
"I think your right kiddo," Isaac said ruffling Liam's hair again.
"Dad would you stop doing that!" Liam exclaimed with a sigh.
"Alright, alright." Isaac chuckled and smiled. He zipped up the suitcase. "Oh my would ya look at the time. Time flies so fast when your not paying attention." Isaac said out loud. Sure enough, when Liam checked the time, it was past noon. It was time for them to get some lunch.