A Wish

It was morning. The sky was gloomy and dark, indicating today’s bad weather. Stein remained inside his little house. The weather was bad and that was more than enough to have his clothes be ruined. He stared at his ceiling, thinking how to achieve that immortal’s heart. To think that he got a chance to attain something he was longing for. He extended his arms as though to grab something far beyond reach. Without the gloves, it revealed that he had mannequin hands. They were all just attached by magic and controlled by will. Stein blew air against it. He felt the air, but for some reason it was lacking in something.

With a sigh, he stood up and covered himself with his usual get-up. He went out and his magic shielded him from the rain.

He wasn’t so sure how to react upon seeing Risette drenched in the rain. A part of him says she was stupid to wait under the rain but another part of him says why. He dashed to the girl and shielded her from the rain, “Why did you wait under the rain?” He said.

Risette just smiled, “There is no reason in particular... Besides, we didn’t set a meeting place.”

“Regardless, you shouldn’t be even doing this.” Stein sternly said as he ushered the girl into the house. He opened the lights to reveal his pathetic-excuse-of-a-house.

Risette didn’t look so impressed, “I never knew such a place existed.” She deadpanned.

Stein ignored the statement as he made new clothes for the girl, “It’s better than nothing.” He says. He looked around to find something that would hold the pieces together, sadly there was none. Therefore, he chose to mend it together using some of his magic. He looked reluctant because he knew he was ‘wasting’ his magic for something so irrelevant. Stein rolled his eyes to the girl who was looking around her eyes. With a sigh, he handed the new garment to the girl, “I take it that you have a better house...”

Risette took the garment and gave a scornful look, “I don’t have a permanent place.” She turned around, “Now please go away while I change.”

Stein raised his hands in defeat and went to the corner of his house, “Is that why you were under the rain? You must be pretty stupid, you know that?”

“Hmph!” Risette replied as she threw the damp clothes at Stein’s direction, “Watch your mouth!”

“I can’t. There is no mirror for me to see it.”

Risette rolled her eyes at the sarcasm of the magician. After that, she looked at the door to scowl at, “This must be the reason why you don’t have a partner and desperately tangled with me...”

Stein just shook his head, “Nah. I don’t think that’s the case... Are you done?”

“Almost...” Risette replied as she struggled with the other sleeve, “And... Done!” She sighed in exhaustion. The struggle was real with that other sleeve, she had to admit. Risette tapped Stein’s shoulder so he could finally turn around, “It’s a little big, but I can manage...”

Stein looked unaffected, “I see.” He went to his work desk and got out a sketchpad. He glanced at Risette to see her curious face, “It’s raining outside, so we should might as well just do something here...” He raised the sketchpad to prove his point. He opened the sketchpad then glanced at the girl again, “Where would you like to go?”

“I don’t get it... Why are you—”

“Just tell me a place.”

“The underground waterfalls.”

He scanned for the image of the underground waterfalls then ripped off the page upon finding it. Stein looked left and right to find the right place to summon a passageway. He saw the right space by the window, “I suggest you stay by my side as I do this...”

Risette, still curious as ever, obeyed and went beside Stein. She heard Stein say some weird chants then poured water from the paper.

The water poured endlessly until it almost occupied the whole floor if it weren’t for Stein’s barrier against the water. Stein stuck the paper on the window then stretched it so that the two of them can enter. He glanced at the girl once more who was still not so sure at the string events. Stein pointed at the portal, “This is a picture door...”

Risette dumbly nodded at the brief explanation, “How did that happen..?”

Stein first entered the portal, “I drew a scene from that place one time.” He stretched his hand for Risette to grab, “Let’s just say that I suddenly thought of it just now.”

Risette accepted the hand and leapt inside the drawing, “I thought it was already made...”

“The picture that is...” Stein looked at the waterfalls, “But the spell to make it happen was an impromptu.”

“Hmmm... That’s nice...” She commented. Not that she wasn’t interested but because she was busy looking around at a new place. She could actually feel the water by her feet and she was entranced by the water sprites. It was contrasting dark and light. It was underground which makes it dark, but the holes created by the waterfalls and the light emitted by the water sprites made it beautifully complementing. Risette watched the water sprites play with each other. She smiled at the little wonders.

Stein, who was only watching from afar, felt himself fall from a deep pit. The moment Risette smiled was the same moment Stein felt like he fell from a deep pit. He found himself holding the nearest high stone to prevent himself from stumbling over. He looked in utter surprise at the girl who seemed to be fragile, “She’s a dangerous existence...” He said to himself. He leaned against the stone and continued to watch her from afar as though he was just there to watch over.

Risette glanced over at Stein who doesn’t seem to be enjoying himself. Water sprites gathered around the girl then she pointed at the stoic person. The water sprites giggled at one another and flew to Stein’s direction. They circled over an area of water then lifted in front of Stein. One sprite went in front of Stein and said, “Pop!”

The water squirted on Stein’s face. He kept the calm demeanor despite the very fact that he was obviously annoyed by that action. He gazed over to Risette who was grinning at him because he let his guard down leading him to be wet. He raised a brow. He knew where this was going. While keeping a calm face, he lifted many water balls in the air, making Risette drain the blood out of her face in an instant.

“It... It was a joke..!” She weakly reasoned as she slowly backed away from danger. She carefully made her way to a boulder big enough to shield her, “S-Stein..?”

Stein merely pointed at his back, gesturing that Risette should look behind her. Complying, she did look back, only to see water balls on their way to crash land on her body, “AAHH!!”

Splash! Splash! Splash!

She glared at Stein, “Real mature!! VERY FUNNY! HAHA!” She hissed. Water sprites came to her aid and attacked Stein full force. They shifted the waterfall to Stein and drenched him with no mercy.

“I never deserved this.” Stein commented in a monotonous manner. He raised his hands to show his completely drenched get-up, “We all know that you started it first.”

Risette gave a skeptical look, “Why is it that I don’t feel any regret from those words..?”

Stein just raised his shoulders to say he also doesn’t know. He sighed in defeat as he slumped his shoulders. He looked at Risette who decided to play with the water since she was already wet. She had a good body proportion. Well, he isn’t interested in her body whatsoever but he was more interested in the heart he will get once he makes it beat. He started to wonder how many men she approached just so they could make her heart beat, “Risette!”

Said person reacted, “Yes?” She chirped as she threw a water ball created by the water sprites.

“How many men have you approached?”

Risette juggled the water balls, giggling every time those balls wiggled in the weirdest of manner, “Too many to count.” Her smile faded into a grim, lonesome one, “No one seemed to meet the standards...”

“How about me?”

She looked at Stein with a confused face, “Don’t know. So far, I see you as an annoying magician who occasionally becomes nice.” She gazed on the clear water set before her, “I’ll never know until something happens...”

Stein stayed like that for a while as he contemplated at Risette’s choice of words. Giving up, he decided to throw a water ball to which Risette managed to smoothly evade.

“Hah! I saw that coming!” She cheekily proclaimed after that she was hit by another one right at the face the moment she turned left. She fell into the water and complained why she keeps getting hit. The water made Risette’s clothes cling to her skin—not that Stein was interested or anything. Stein saw that there were huge veins by Risette’s chest area; specifically by her heart. It must be the reason why she had to wear that armor. It must be so fragile that it had to be protected at all costs.

“Hey did you know?” Risette started. She stared at her reflection, “The heart lacks common sense...”

Stein raised a brow at her statement, “Why did you say that?”

Risette giggled, “I guess a person who is yet to experience love wouldn’t know it.” She exchanged looks with Stein, “The brain and the heart are partners in crime. They should never be apart. The brain tells the heart signals to trigger proper reaction for the situation. If there is hate, the brain orders the heart to pump faster. If the brain says we take a rest, the heart must slow down so we calm down. If the brain tells you ‘I like this person’, the heart skips a beat!” She giggled at the mere thought, “Well, I don’t know if that’s true but that’s what my parents tell me.”

Stein remained interested in the topic, “What would happen if there is no heart?”

Risette looked in wonder but shrugged and answered nonetheless, “They say you know what to feel but don’t know how to react.” She just raised her shoulders a bit, “I don’t know but that’s what they say.”

“Do you know where the signals go if they miss the heart?”

Risette looked around as she thought of a proper answer. She looked up as though knowing that was where the answers would lie. Giving up she looked back at Stein, “I have no idea, but I think if the signal were to miss the heart, it might feel like falling from a deep pit!”

Stein recalled the sensation not too long ago, “What kind of emotion do you think is that?”

Risette just shrugged and shook her head, “I don’t know...”

~o0o0o~

Stein was the first person to go back to their proper location then like the previous method, he pulled Risette back to their place. He handed Risette a towel while he went to remove the picture portal. Stein had to feel bad because he never thought that the water would actually overflow within his house. It was a good thing that they went back before the valuable items were drenched. He watched Risette’s every action, not because he was interested but because a part of him says that she might do something stupid and he doesn’t want that to happen.

His mind gradually floated to their previous topic in regards with the heart. What was a heart exactly? How did it feel exactly? Why does such a thing even exist? His eyes drifted to Risette’s moving figure. His mind was too preoccupied to notice that she was on her way to open the door.

“DON’T—!”

Too late.

Water gushed out of the house and flooded the streets in an instant. Stein massaged his face. He was clearly stressed out just now.

A winged man rushed into their house, “What’s the meaning of this?!” He exclaimed. The only response he got was an endless apology from Risette and a stressed out face from Stein. The winged man wasn’t so sure of the situation, “Can you please explain me your situation?”