Blessing walked through the narrow hallway of the apartment socked feet brushing against cold tiles, shadows trailing him like quiet companions. The hum of old lightbulbs and whisper of wind beyond the glass windows all of it pressed into his ears like a rising tide.
He rubbed his temples, groaning softly. "Just one quiet night… is that too much to ask?" Then "Ah! No just go out already!" A sharp shout echoed from the living room. A thud followed by frantic shuffling. A puff of grey smoke drifted into the hallway.
Blessing blinked. He picked up his pace, rounded the corner and stopped.
Esther stood in front of the couch flaring her arms at a small but very real flame licking up the side of a throw pillow. In one hand a tiny cup of water in the other a towel. She had clearly given up on using her water abilities.
"I'm just trying to boil water!" she muttered as she poured water on the flame. "Why do I keep burning the couch instead?"
"You shouldn't even be burning anything in the house in the first place." Blessing said from behind. Esther froze as if she had heard a ghost. "Brother." She turned around slowly. "I had it completely under control." Blessing sighed as he glanced at her. "No you didn't have it under control you had it on the couch, remember what I told you about being veiled you shouldn't keep using your powers like that."
"Veiled?" she repeated, testing the word on her tongue like it was a new flavor she hadn't tried before. Blessing nodded slowly "Yeah, covered… hidden. Like the world is looking at a surface, but there's a whole different truth under it. Something like that."
Esther blew a small puff of air, watching the candle flame flicker on the windowsill. "You always sound like some kind of mysterious philosopher when things go wrong are you sure you're not an alien." Blessing gave her side glance "You've burnt the couch three times now, I'm just trying to give it some depth."
She stuck out her tongue in response. He walked towards her stepping on over the puddle forming around the couch. "Anyway, this can't happen again." Esther sat up straight. "You think I did it on purpose?"
"I think you can't even boil water without threatening the couch's life," Blessing said picking up the half melted remote from the table. She pouted, hugging her knees "It was just a flicker… it got excited that's all." He raised an eyebrow. "Your fire got excited?"
"Yes," She said completely serious. "It likes to dance. But I told it sit still." Blessing ran a hand through his hair and let out a long sigh. "Ok that's it." Esther tilted her head. "What is" He turned, eyes more focused now "We need to train you to control that dancing friend of yours so no one notices."
A beat of silence, then she lit a tiny blue spark on her finger and grinned "Does this mean I get to be a superhero and have a cool nickname now?" Blessing groaned "No it means fewer burned pillows."
The next morning the sun peeked through thin layers of cloud, casting a soft gold over the cracked sidewalks and rusted school gates.
Esther tugged at Blessing's sleeve as they stood at the edge of the school courtyard. She looked unusually serious, her book bag slung over one shoulder and her flames safely tucked away for now.
"You'll be fine right?" she asked, eyes narrowing as if trying to read his thoughts. Blessing smirked "I'm going to class, not the underworld." Esther raised a brow "Still try not to set anything on fire with your mysterious air power or whatever."
"I should be telling you that." He replied pointing at her. She grinned, waved then turned to head toward her own building."
Blessing watched her go for a moment before turning toward the main school block. The crowd was already thick, students bustling, gossip flying, backpacks swinging.
Then thud. A shoulder slammed into his. "Aw! Hey, watch where you're…" Blessing turned only to find a kid a head shorter than him rubbing his temple with one hand and holding cardboard tube in the other.
White hair, dark blue eyes. A strange paper badge pinned to his chest that read "Future weapon genius."
"It's you," Naoki muttered, squinting up. "Didn't mean to bump into you…again." Blessing blinked "Again?"
"He already forgot who I'am." Naoki thought. He jabbed his thumb at his chest. "Names Naoki remember. Future legend and your sworn rival." He gave a confident wink, then ran off toward the training wing, the tube trailing behind like a flag.
Blessing stared for a second "What's with that kid" he thought.
Meanwhile at hero society a dim lighting hummed above sleek metal walls and a large monitor played a shaky video feed. Onscreen is a young girl, Esther panic stricken as flames burst from her hands accidentally setting the couch ablaze. The red flames danced wildly before being swiftly extinguished by Blessing.
Kairo stood arms folded, his expression unreadable as he watched the looped footage. His sharp jet black hair framed his face and his eyes narrowed every time Esther's hand flared. "Pause it"
The operator complied. The frame froze mid blaze Esther's eyes wide, her fingers trembling. "That's the second time this month," murmured one of the analyst.
"And both times it was cleaned up too neatly," Kairo replied "The boy he's not just helping her. He's controlling his own abilities… with precision."
Another agent leaned forward, adjusting her glasses. "Shall we intervene? Bring them in for observation?"
Kairo shook his head slowly "Not yet, let's observe just a little longer. After all the girl isn't a threat." The footage resumed. This time slowed. The footage seemed to flicker unnaturally… like they were responding to something.
Kairo muttered under his breath, "That's odd" He turned away, coat swaying behind him as he exited the room.
And somewhere in an unknown city sunset bleeding into the horizon. The sky was painted orange and dull gray. Crows perched silently on a crooked antenna watching a lone figure crouched near the edge.
The man sat cross legged like a child at play. He held a blue crayon, its tip dulled from excessive pressure and was scribbling cryptic symbols across a cracked concrete wall. Swirls jagged, spirals and veiled letters formed a pattern that meant nothing…. Or maybe everything.
He muttered softly to himself like reciting a rhyme only he understood. "Blue mean happy…" He pressed harder with the crayon snapping the tip. "Red means… burn."
He giggled not from joy but from something darker. He held a red crayon now, slowly dragging it across the wall tracing over Esther's name faintly etched beneath the chaos.
"She's finally waking up," he whispered tilting his head back to the clouds. "And when she does… the Veil won't stay shut for long."
The wind blew gently across the rooftop scattering ashes around him. He stopped scribbling, Then calmly said, "I'll be waiting, little spark."
That night the moon hung high casting a silver hue over the quiet rooftop. The wind was still as Esther trained near the apartment. "It's so cold can't we train somewhere warmer? Like …. Somewhere under a roof. She muttered. "Fire and water indoors? No thanks you almost turned the fridge into ash last time." Blessing said with a tense voice. "It was one time and the chicken lived." She said her voice hyper.
"Since you're so energized let's begin." He said with a stun voice. Esther outstretched her palms one glowing faintly blue the other trembling with a water bubble that floated in midair. A small flame light up on one hand and a tiny water bubble on the other. They moved closely toward each other and instantly collided and exploded into steam, blasting her back into a bush.
"You good?" Blessing grinned. "Define good." She said her body still in the bush.
"Ok that's enough for today let's get inside." Blessing said as he entered the apartment.
Inside Esther practiced forming a fireball in her palm. And for a moment it flared into a perfect sphere. She grinned until it spluttered and blasted into the ceiling lamp, leaving the apartment in darkness.
"Okay that was almost impressive." Blessing said as he looked at the ceiling. "Yeah let's call that move power outage." She said as they laughed together, not knowing what the tales of the future held.
That night the siblings laughed together unaware of the danger that was about to enter their lives soon, very soon.