Magic has always been an interest of mine. The power and abilities one can gain, the strength, and the subsequent courage people can feel from them. The mystical nature of magic itself has enamored me for as long as I can remember.
I have been reading stories about magic for years. Whether it is original works and semi-original magic that are new and interesting and sometimes get me hooked, spending money I shouldn't, or straight-up fanfiction smut where the character has traditional time-stopping abilities, hypnosis, or just straight-up control. All types have enamored me, and I have long been envious of these characters and their fantastical abilities.
When I knew magic and the like wasn't really possible in our monotonous world, it began to seem like nothing mattered. Science was cool, and sometimes it could seem like magic. Still, it always had an explanation, a logic, a set of rules to be followed at all times, except in a number of circumstances, of course. It's incredible that we, as mere mortals, with our infinitely short lifespans, have been able to come as far as we have. We've been able to make metal tubes live underwater for almost forever. They're able to stay in the sky for astounding amounts of time, sometimes forever. Hell, we've even sent a few up to space, the moon, and back. However, there's always an explanation about how and why these things work. It just makes the world seem almost dull.
I guess that's why, for the first time in almost 20 years of life, I was genuinely amazed.
What was happening in front of me shouldn't be happening. It couldn't be happening. There is no mathematical, no scientific, no logical way to explain what I am seeing before my eyes; there are hundreds, if not thousands, of floating candles upon what looks like the night sky. I had never seen stars so vivid in my whole life. It's as though I could see the entire Milky Way. It was ... unexplicably amazing.
I'm not sure how long I was where I was before I realized that there were people around me. Quite a lot, actually. So many, I couldn't see past the circle they had made around me. Then I realized that on my back was the cold feeling of stone. Strange, I didn't think that they made many buildings with cobblestone floors anymore.
I saw mouths moving around, but I couldn't exactly hear voices. It sounded almost like many people were whispering to each other from far away, with a reverb on all of them. I didn't really care what they were talking about, though. How could I with this seemingly magical sky above me?
A group of old people eventually arrived by my side. They seemed worried, as though something bad had suddenly happened. Some knelt down next to me, seeming to talk to me, touching my body. Were they concerned about me?
I started to feel almost weightless after that, as though I could float through the sky, up into those amazing stars. Somehow, that's exactly what I ended up doing. I'm not sure exactly when I regained my body functions, or if I even lost them in the first place, but I started spinning around, enjoying the feeling of weightlessness and the way it felt to move through the sky without sitting in the metal tubes.
It was strange, flying. It almost felt like you were swimming through a liquid that you could never really hold or touch. You had to will yourself in the direction you wanted to go. It was actually very fun. I don't know when, but music started playing while I was flying, so I started willing myself to dance. I had no idea what I was doing. Still, I just seemed to exist with the music, myself, and the perfect partner, and together we were floating and dancing among the stars.
It was amazing. I felt so peaceful, so high up where no one could get to me. Just me and another, at the top of the world. I knew I didn't belong there. I wasn't a ruler or a conqueror. I have confidence issues, anxiety, depression, and so many other problems. I was in no way, shape, or form worthy of standing on top of the world, but here and now, I reveled in the peace of perfection.
Sadly, the music eventually ended, and with it, I came down. Down hard and fast. I'm not sure what happened after the music ended, but I ended up in a long hall, not different from the one I remembered from before. This one had rows of beds, some with sheets, almost like a hospital. There was the stone I had previously felt, so I assumed it wasn't a hospital. Far too unsanitary. None of the typical sanitizer smells or anything like that.
I sat up and finally got a good look at my body. It looked ... younger. I didn't have the hair on my arms or the small gut I had been gaining from lack of exercise. I felt weaker, almost like my body hadn't moved much at all. It was odd. I had worked out before, so I had no idea why I seemed so malnourished. I felt my face, and it felt younger, too. More baby fat and small teeth as well.
I have accepted that I'm no longer in my apartment, playing video games and whatnot. Had I transmigrated? Reincarnated? I'm pretty sure I didn't die. This definitely isn't the same body as before. Even as a child, I was stronger and bigger than this body. I guess reincarnation isn't technically the correct term, since I don't remember dying —so transmigration it is.
Transmigration, floating candles, a sky so clear you could feel like there isn't a polluted atmosphere at all, strange children in strange clothes, even stranger adults in even stranger clothes... damn it. I'm in Harry Potter, aren't I?