Chapter#02

"Nyra, you look good."

Elena was at my doorstep again. I was half expecting her. A week had passed, and it was quite strange… in a good way. 

I’d shaped my body until I was like a pin-up. I made my skin a little less pale, my hair golden blonde, and made the green of my eyes brighter. I couldn't say why, but I kept my freckles. When I was done, I had firm skin, a body for sin, and beauty that was just perfect. Yet somehow, I was still me, just an idealized version. 

“Please, come inside.” I invited her. 

Milo’s tail thumped a joyful rhythm against the floorboards as Elena stepped inside. She bent and threaded her fingers through his fur, then straightened. Her gaze swept the room before landing on me.

“Are you immortal?” She asked.

My heart stuttered. “What? No.” The word cracked like ice. “It’s a curse. Why would I want that?”

She sank onto the sofa and adjusted herself. “Good. The magic you had couldn’t grant it anyway.” She paused for a moment and then continued. “And did you steal money? Maybe you seduced it out of anyone?”

“I… didn’t, actually.” I dropped into the recliner opposite her. “I did some photo shoots. The first one… was a naked shoot I’m not proud of, but it made me good bucks. I did some more shoots, in clothes obviously, and collected enough to get some wearable clothes… and a new laptop.”

Her gaze softened. “And the hardest part of your new skin?”

“Isolation.” The truth spilled before I could cage it. “My night job is gone. I look nothing like the woman on my badge. It was shitty anyway. But my friends… I can’t face them like this. So, I told them I was sick.”

“I see.” Her gaze never left me for a second. It felt like she didn’t even know how to blink. “In that case, would you undo anything? Maybe go back to how you were so you aren’t isolated anymore?”

“I think… I think I don’t want to go back to how I was.” I glanced at my long and narrow feet. “But I wish I could get a size ten. 

“You could. Why didn’t you?”

I awkwardly smirked. “Shoes cost money I didn’t have.”

“You do now.” She lifted her hand and her palm glowed faint gold. Heat bloomed in my soles, tingling up my calves like warm wine. When the light faded, crisp white sneakers hugged feet that were shorter. I tugged one off, stared at the tag, then at the arch of a foot that had never been mine before.

“I… passed?”

“You kept your soul intact.” She smiled. “You earned every cent honorably. No one got hurt from your powers. But I expected… indulgence. Lovers warming your bed. You could have anyone you wanted. Why none?”

Heat crept up my neck. “I guess that was never my priority.”

She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “Do you not enjoy sex?”

“That’s a very personal question. You shouldn’t be asking me that.”

“I gave you the gift. I have every right to ask you whatever I want.”

“I’m not answerable to you.” I stood, restless, and exclaimed. “I don’t even know who you are.”

“Your aunt.” She smiled, took a moment to make herself comfortable on the sofa, and continued. “Sit back down, so we can talk further about your legacy.” 

The world tilted. I sank beside her, staring into eyes that mirrored my own. The familiarity I’d sensed wasn’t a coincidence. It was blood.

“I’ll ask once more,” she murmured, “because it’s important. Do you object to sex?”

“No. Not at all.” The confession slipped out, barely a breath. “I’ve tasted more than most. I chose to be celibate to focus on other things in my life. I never wanted casual sex, and I had no time for relationships and heartbreaks.”

“Good.” She extended her hand. A matchbox-sized ebony cube rested on her palm. It was dark and began to shake. Suddenly, it grew to the size of a medium-sized moving box, floating in the air. It was mahogany and hinged, and floated gently to the ground.

“Old Nyra is myth; photos, memories, records, they all reflect the woman you have become."

I leaned over and looked at her. When Elena nodded, I opened it up and found framed degrees and certificates in all the things I'd wished myself to know.

“Reality bends to your will,” she said. “That's the lesson of that gift, and you understood. You didn't wish for anything unnatural or impossible, nor did you use what you wished for to disturb anyone's life or the fabric of reality.”

She closed the lid. The chest shrank, humming, until the matchbox rested in my hand. 

"Your next gift is this box. It can only be used by you, and no one else. When not in use, it will shrink to matchbox size.”

“What if I lose it?” I asked, inspecting the box in my hands.

“It’s magic won’t let you lose it. Whatever you wish will be created inside, and it will grow to the size needed. But remember, reality will correspond.”

“And that means?” I met her eyes.

“You may wish for a debit card with ten million dollars. The card will appear, but it’ll be connected to a real bank account of a real person. If you wish for a car, it will appear, but it’ll belong to a real person.”

“Gosh, that would be stealing.”

She softly smiled and continued. “It cannot give you anything permanently anchored like a building. And you can't put something in it and make it disappear. Remember that whatever you wish for will already exist. Choose what you wish for wisely."

“For… one week?” My voice cracked with awe.

“Seven days until the next trial.”

Anticipation coiled in my belly. “Thank you.”

Surprise flickered across her face. “Child, can’t you see the danger the legacy carries?”

“Of course, I can.” I met her gaze. “Power like this can devour. But if this is my legacy, I won’t turn it down for anything.”