Page 13 of Midlife Demigod Unexpected

“It’s not opening,” I complained to my mother.

“Magic doesn’t always happen quickly. It takes a bit of time. Be patient and stay focused. Visualize what you want to do. You want the box to open, so if you keep visualizing it opening, it will soon open.”

Part of me wanted to argue with her and let her know I was a grown ass woman, and I didn’t need such basic explanations.

“Do you remember how to practice?” Hilda said calmly. “You’ve been doing it your whole life.”

“No, I did it for about three years until I realized I wasn’t magic, Mom,” I said. “Why do you think it’s going to suddenly work now?”

“Because I can see the magic in you, and something has happened. Touching that sword has put you in touch with who you are and it’s time to fulfill your purpose now.”

I looked back down at the box. I had to open it. I closed my eyes, the word “open” reverberating repeatedly in my head as I closed my eyes.

“Now visualize the box opening of its own accord,” Hilda said.

Keeping my eyes closed, I felt the light of my hands squeeze through the invisible cracks in the box. The lid of the box slowly moved in the air. I could feel it, but I didn’t dare look down.

“Open your eyes,” my mother whispered.

The lid of the box levitated. I tilted my head to look around it to see what was inside the box. I didn’t know what I was expecting. I had thought so many things over the last twenty-five years about what could possibly be in that box. A letter? Maybe an explanation? A photograph? Something tangible that would help to explain who and what I was.

I wasn’t expecting what I saw.

Nestled at the bottom of the box in fine cloth with little golden branches all around it like a delicate nest was a single golden egg.

Chapter 10

I stared at the golden egg with no idea of what to do. My hands were glowing. I glanced at my mom. “Can I touch it?”

She tilted her head to the side, staring at the egg thoughtfully.

“Don’t touch it,” she said. “He couldn’t have known you would touch the sword first and find your magic or maybe he did. I didn’t want to tell you buy gold magic is quite rare.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“It means your father was probably a demigod,” Hilda looked intrepid telling me. “Don’t get the wrong idea, I could be wrong, but it’s starting to make sense. The gold magic, his looks…it wouldn’t surprise me if he was a demigod.”

“Demigod of what though?” I stared down at the golden egg thoughtfully. “I mean what if its monsters or demons or something horrid.”

“It doesn’t matter what your father was,” Hilda said. “You aren’t horrid. Now as for the egg, don’t touch it. I think we need to research it a bit more.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” I said thoughtfully, replacing the lid on the box and waving my hands over it, sealing it.

“It’s time we started doing some research,” Hilda said.

I looked over at the massive tomes of ancient books on the bookshelves. I’d been wondering my whole life what was in those books. When it turned out I wasn’t magic, they had been closed to me. Now it was time to open them.

“Where do we start?” I asked, standing up and moving to the bookshelf.

My mother pulled her phone out of her pocket and held it up to me. “Let’s use the Internet. It’ll be a lot faster.”

I lowered my chin, stopping myself before I rolled my eyes. How was it I could be a perfectly capable forty-something woman, but whenever I was around my mom, I wanted to roll my eyes and stomp my foot like I was a teenager. When did that feeling end?

“I’ll go and make some tea,” I said, going over to the cabinet where the Witch’s Brews were kept.

“I’ll have a lavender and rose,” Hilda said. “With a hint of green tea.”

---