I'm still grinning like an idiot when the mini-whirlwind dissipates. Princess Paws yowls from the bedroom, and when I glance over I can see her in the doorway, ears flattened against her head as she stares at me with the distinct disdain only cats can muster.
"Sorry, girl. Mama's still trying to figure this out."
My hands tingle with residual energy. Not exhaustion, not the drained feeling that other students describe after casting and depleting some of their internal mana. It's just a feeling of… I don't know.
Awareness.
Like my skin remembers what it touched.
I need to try again. Just to be sure.
This time, I close my eyes and search for the sensation of recognition. Not resonance—not yet. No, I'm looking for the moment when understanding clicks into place and the essence of something becomes truth. Not air this time. Something simpler. Light.
What is light, at its core? Not just science. Not photons or wavelengths. I'm looking for something… more.
Revelation. Clarity.
