The Magic Within ↠ Once Upon A Time

[Chapter 53] Finding Clues

"What?" She scrunches her brows.

"Don't you think we're not the ones that should be handling this? I think our parents can handle this without us?"

"Where is this coming from?!"

"I'm just saying, none of our plans have worked in our favor. It might not be our plans at fault. Maybe it's us. Maybe we shouldn't be doing this."

"Hold on, Henry." Melody brings her arm out before me, and I bump into her, making us both stop in the middle of the sidewalk. Then, she faces me. "Are you seriously getting discouraged because we haven't had the best of luck?"

"It might not have to do with luck-"

She holds her hand in front of my face. "Listen, Henry. Just because things have been hard on us, it doesn't mean that life is trying to tell us to give up." Then, she drops her hand. "Sure, the adults can handle stuff like this, but do you think that Sabor's focus is on them?"

"Honestly, I don't know what she could be thinking."

"No one does," she answers. "But, anyways, they weren't picked out from the crowd as Sabor's next target. We both know that Sabor has her eyes set on me. She, and Clayton, want me dead, and what kind of person would I be if I just sat back and let other people handle my problems?"

"I don't know, what?"

"A coward. A weak link. A civilian. A prey-"

"I get it."

"Look, what I'm trying to say is giving up is never the best option. It makes you feel worth less than you actually are."

"What about-"

"Heroes go through setbacks all the time, Henry. I thought you'd know that better than me. You know that life never likes to play fair. If it did, then we wouldn't have villains; now would we?"

"I see your point."

"Plus, we were given this mission for a reason. Sure, we could probably get killed in the process-"

"Not helping!"

"But... wouldn't this be considered our test into adulthood?"

I shake my head. "What?"

"Shouldn't this be our mission that grants us to the heroes' table? We don't have to be considered kids forever. Based on our family, it was going to be a matter of time until we'd be tested on this kind of stuff."

"This test is a lot harder than my biology exam."

"Well, consider this your new class, called Life."

"How can you be so nonchalant about all this? Being a hero... doesn't feel so... liberating."

"It takes a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to be a hero. Trust me, being a teen and a hero is stressful, especially when I was back in the Forbidden Jungle. But now, I've chosen to take some of your advice."

"My advice?"

She nods. "Yea. I have to believe in the possibility of something good happening in all of this... havoc."

"Sounds like something I would say."

"And maybe, you should take your own advice."

I sigh. "I never thought it'd hurt so much to have something used against you."