What is the things a 7 year old should do? Playing? Eating? Sleeping? Enjoying life in general? Apparently those things are not what I do or enjoy doing. Why you ask? Why else than me having memories of an adult life and most importantly me knowing I have magic.
Yes you heard it right. I am Marcus henry, I just became 7 years old yesterday and I got my previous memories fully back and I have magic.
It's fun but I can't do much with it, reason being my under developed body, naturally a body of 7 year old can't do much magic it being an age on which a wizard goes on his first magical maturity. That is the age when our magic starts responding to our emotions causing accidental magic, but hey! I can at least control my accidental magic and hide it from unsavoury people.
Imagine being found out, I will be burned alive fir sure, people calling me devil and all that, it also doesn't help that I am a orphan. But my life is pretty good, wake up do work at my orphanage(yes I live in a orphanage what else did you expect?), get some food, get back to doing work(i mostly do gardening and stuff nothing too heavy), get some food again, get some rest, play for two three hours (not that I / play, I just practice magic in that time, just recently though, before that I used to play too), get back to work and then dinner and sleep for night. Yes this is good with me being in such troubling times, with the first world war just recently ending, me getting this much comfort is astonishing even, with all kinds of shortages going on. Oh yeah I was born in the year 1920 on 25th march. Pretty tough times I know, me even being in a orphanage says I am very lucky and on top of that this one is pretty decent and outright good in these times.
So yeah life is good, no studies, plenty food, things to do and off course magic to practice. Just as i was thinking all this I hear a voice shouting my name.
"Marcus! Come here boy." That was one of my caretakers, her name Miss Mary, that's all I know about her. She is sweet and strict when necessary, infarct every care taker is sweet some more strict or some less. We have 7 caretakers in total, all women.
"Yes Miss I am coming!" I shout back wondering what is it that she wants from me.
I arrive at the place from which she called me, it was a nice big room with a black board in it on one side and chairs and tables with books on it…. Wait is this a classroom!?!
"Hahaha don't worry my boy studying is not that bad, now don't make that face and come sit in the front." She laughs and tells me to sit on the first bench closest to her. "Now Marcus, from today you will be taught to read and write plus some basic maths and science. So that in future you can apply for some basic jobs."
"But who will teach me Miss?" I ask her the first thing on my mind.
She raises an eyebrow and says "I will teach you boy, what? Don't think I being a woman can teach you anything except cooking and sewing?" she asks seeing my puzzled look.
"No nothing like that Miss, I just thought you wouldn't have had the chance to learn these things with such a taboo on allowing women to learn these things." I explained my reason.
"Then just know I have had studied with what little my father could teach me, sadly he passed away before I could properly understand that such were not the norms of the society and I wouldn't be allowed to do much with what I have learnt so I just chose to do caretaking and teaching of orphans. It's good work for me. Now let's move on to your studies, take the last book in the stack in front of you and open the first page." She changed the topic before she could get more emotional. And I comply with doing what she said.
"Now see these things here? They are called alphabets and this is a whole alphabetic table....." half an hour later.
"My you are a smart one aren't you? Half an hour to learn all of the alphabets and numbers?" She says astonished at my 'learning speed'.
"Umm is it not normal Miss?" I say faking my surprise.
"Normal boy? No it is not but …. Let's not focus on this and move on to words and sentences after that we will do writing." She says curiously.
Two hours later
"My heavens truly a genius you are, in just two hours you can read and write properly." She says completely astonished by my genius.
"Did I do good Miss?" I ask innocently.
"Good Marcus? You did great my boy truly you are a genius." She praises me.
"Does that means I no longer have to study?" I ask hopefully.
"No but you won't have to study every day, just come to me at this time every Sunday and I will teach you for 2 and a half hours." She says strictly.
Sigh at least I won't have to deal with this daily."Can I go now?" I ask.
"Yes my boy you can go now." She affirms.
"By Miss Mary!" I say and run off to my room to do my things.
Head caretakers pov:
Night time finally now I can relax and have some much needed rest. Those little ones are just to energetic for me to take care of.
"Oh Mary how was your class with little Marcus?" I ask as I see her get in our quarters hoping that the child would be ok in his studies.
"Marcus? That boy is a genius I tell you he didn't even need more than two hours to learn how to read and write properly." She tells enthusiastically.
"Truly? He is that good?" I ask astonished and genuinely happy.
"Yes he is head caretaker." She says back in her usual manner.
"Then it is good for us to let him be?" I ask probing.
"Yes but I have decided to teach him more, only for 2 and half hours on Sundays that is." She says back.
"Do as you want Mary, you are in charge of studies for a reason." I say leaving it to her.
Few years later
Today will be the last day I have to go to that room and study. And then I will be free from such useless thing. Cheers to me.
Who am I kidding it was not that bad. I will probably miss it but what can I do, there is nothing else left Miss Mary can teach me now. I am almost 9 years old now with my birthday Tomorrow.
"Hello Miss Mary good morning." I greet her as I enter my classroom for one last time.
"Good morning Marcus, come sit here." She greets back and tells me to sit. "Now seeing as this is your last time here we will keep it short with me telling you about your parents."
I look wide-eyed at her, this being the first time anyone mentioning my parents, it's not that I didn't ask about them, no one just told me anything.
"My parents?" I ask in a steady voice note showing any emotion.
"Yes your parents boy, I only know one or two things about them from the note your mother left with you when you were deposited here. It said that you were to be called Marcus, and be told just one day before your ninth birthday. The reason we didn't say anything about them before." She said.
"What else did that note say?" I ask more about that note.
"It said that your mother's name was Jennifer and your father's name was Cristopher, it didn't mention any surname. It also said your father died on battlefield like a proud man, but your mother was not so proud to bear raise you without your father and she left you with us knowing we would take care for you. There was one more letter addressed to you, and the first one mentioned it should be given to you after your ninth birthday."
"…. Can't I see it now?" I ask after digesting the other stuff.
"Let us respect the wishes of the dead my dear. You will get it tomorrow so don't be upset about it." She consoles me. "Now this was all for today, now go and rest till dinner time."
"Ok." I agree and move towards the door.
"Don't think to much of it Marcus." I hear her say just as I close the door. Giving her a nod I close the door and go off to my room.
Head caretakers pov:
"How did it went?" I ask Miss Mary as she enters the room.
"It was good he didn't get to emotional about it but he was sad." She answered me.
"Well no use thinking about it, he will get his answers tomorrow." I said. She just nods and goes off to her own room. "Sigh.. I am to old for all this emotional drama."