Andy Bennington had been living in quite a peaceful life in the village of Evans, the place where he grew up. For this 10 year-old boy, he felt lonely at times as he did not get much of attention from the youngsters in the neighborhood. Not much that he liked it, as he himself was an adopted child; brought up by a very caring old couple. Uncle Lu and Aunt Mimi, as he called them, were famous for their good deeds in the village.

The village itself was vast and packed with residence in its heart. However, not many lived at the borders. Most of these people worked as farmers and, whereas the central populace were focused on trading, as middleman. Andy lived here –Downward Street to be precise, but he would often go to the farms at the farthest reach of the village, alone. He liked to spend his time sitting on the grass, watching the rivers and mountains ahead of him. After every child was tired from playing in the evening, they would return to their parents who had been waiting for them. Andy was left alone after that, thus he would spend his time watching the sunset.

It was peaceful indeed, for in a thousand of years there had not been a war in this world. The people here could not even define the true meaning of war, except for the fact that it was devastating. They knew nothing about it, and not even wanted to know about it. They did not learn about it as much as the other towns did. They rarely had a contact with the outside world, except for trade cause. They had a world of their own.

“Be good son,” said Aunt Mimi as she scrubbed his straight, dark-brown hair. She looked into his blue eyes, and smiled. She did this every time he asked permission to go out. Uncle Lu usually went to work as a middleman at this time, riding his favorite horse. He would come home later in the evening for dinner, and he was usually punctual.

However, he was late today. He seemed to have a headache, and this was not an ordinary one. He sat on the chair in front of the dining table, rubbing his forehead. He did this the whole night, ignoring the others. At times he mumbled something that Aunt Mimi could not understand, and at times he would shake his head.

The next morning, big Uncle Lu rushed to work with a solemn face. He was acting rather unusual today.

“I will be back in a short while,” he said, as if he was worrying about something. “If someone comes to our house, ask him to wait for me.”

Aunt Mimi did not say a word. Uncle Lu hastened his pace and slammed the door shut. Something was definitely wrong today. Innocent Andy did not dare to ask Aunt Mimi what had gone wrong with Uncle Lu.

Someone did come to their house. He stopped his horse in front of the entrance. He looked very old-fashioned –like a wizard, as he wore the symbolic pointy hat. Most wizards would wear it.

“I would like to see Andy, please,” he said to Aunt Mimi after she greeted him. He smiled.

“I am sorry, sir, he is not here right now.”

“It is alright then, I shall come again later.”

“No, you should stay and wait for my husband. He wishes to see you,” Aunt Mimi halted him.

“If that is the case, Mrs. Lu, then I shall wait for your husband. It seems that he had got the message,” the old man with the long beard giggled.

“The message? May I ask you what you meant by that?” she frowned. She never knew who this person was, but he seemed to know much of the affair in the trade world that Uncle Lu had been into.

Or maybe it was not like that. He may had just been a stranger from an unfamiliar origin, looking for Uncle Lu which he may came across before. However, Uncle Lu had never been outside the village before, the farthest he went was when he wanted to pick Andy, as the child lost his way home. Andy was 7 at that time.

“So, he did not tell you about it?” he asked. “Maybe he just wanted to surprise you, that’s all,” he smirked. Aunt Mimi offered him a cup of tea as he sat on a big red sofa in the dining room. “Where is this child, Andy anyway?”

“He went outside, as usual,” she said. “You still did not answer my query. What message did my husband received?”

“It is about Andy, Mrs. Lu. It is all about Andy,” he said in a very low voice. His face turned serious. “We shall wait for Mr. Lu and Andy, and then we shall talk about it.”

The old man seemed to feel uncomfortable to tell the story to Aunt Mimi. He was afraid that Aunt Mimi would react differently if he were to tell it. It was a matter of importance, which he needed to be careful with his words. “Anyway, I have not introduced myself, have I? I am very sorry. I am Ridic, third class magician from Tamamura.”

Third class magician? She had never seen a magician coming to this village all her life. And Tamamura… that place was far north from here. What matter did this magician had with Andy?

Both of them waited patiently, while talking about Andy and his favorite pastime. She told Ridic that Andy liked to go out, yet he did not usually play with his friends. She described him as a neglected child, and he was among the kids who were bullied by their friends.

Mr. Lu came in later in the afternoon. Ridic introduced himself and asked him about the message that was passed through rumors.

“Yes, I received that message. The message that I received was that the Tamamura School wants to take Andy as their student,” he replied.

Tamamura School had been one of the infamous education centers in the region. It would only accept students with certain skills and abilities. However, people still could not understand the purpose of its creation. It was like a prison; once you were inside, you would not be able to contact the outside world. Most of the students did not return to their families after they graduated.

“And I won’t allow them,” he said. One of the reasons was that he did not want Andy to leave the family.

Another reason was because of Andy himself. There was a secret lied inside Andy himself that the school wanted him so much.

“You do know as much as I do about Andy, don’t you?” Ridic gave him a serious look. Uncle Lu shook his head.

Moments later they argued regarding the matter. Aunt Mimi tried her best to defend Uncle Lu’s stand for not sending Andy to that school. She cried, begging for the old man not to take Andy away from them. Andy was everything to them.

As Andy reached home, Uncle Lu grabbed his arm and hugged him in protection. He had never been this serious before. Andy was terrified by his sudden act.

“So, this gifted child would be Andy?” Ridic asked. He bent down and looked through Andy’s blue eyes. He lifted his eyebrows, amazed. “I can see it through your eyes. You are truly unique.”

Andy grabbed his uncle’s shirt in fear. He was very much afraid of Ridic’s attitude. He knew that something had gone wrong. “You know what Mr. Lu, you might be in grave danger if you do not hand him to the school. We all will be,” the old magician warned.

After a long argument, Ridic left the residence and came back a day later, to pick up Andy. Uncle Lu had to accept the fact that he could not do anything about it. The school itself was very close to the authorities. He might be caught by the ministries if he did not do it; he did not want Evans to be blacklisted as a village that had committed its first crime in history.

Even if he were to be in prison, they would also take Andy by force. He did not want that to happen.

“Be a good student, my child. Promise me that you will be back after you have graduated. I know you will,” Aunt Mimi said to Andy.

“I promise.” They hugged each other, so tightly that Aunt Mimi felt like she did not want to let him go. Tears were dropping through her eyes and Andy’s.

As Ridic’s wagon started moving, Andy waved his hand and smiled a painful smile. For an innocent child like him, he did not even know what was really happening. The horse strode along Downward Street, heading towards the front gate of the village.

As they rode along, Andy hummed a tune that was once heard from his Aunt. It was heard when he was 7, when he went outside unnoticed, and Uncle Lu suddenly realized that he was gone when his uncle went back from work. Andy was lost at that time, and his Aunt reminded him to tell her every time he went out. Then, she sang the beautiful tune…

The rivers and the sky are a friend to each other

The mountains and the land are in need of each other

Tell me my child, who do you want to be?

Tell me my child, if you ought to fly away

“Do you like to sing, my dear one?” Ridic snapped his hum. Andy shook his head, and then nodded.

“Yes… sir,” he replied.

“Well then, my child, you are going to like our school.”