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"Ezra, come down! We're not going to wait for you alone!" - the mother's irritated voice rang out from the living room.
Seven-year-old Ezra hurriedly put on a shirt and rushed down the stairs, where his parents were already waiting for him. It was easy to guess from their expressions that they were terribly unhappy with their son's lateness. The frown of his father's eyes rested on Ezra's disheveled hair, which the boy did not have time to put in order properly.
"How many times have I told you, Ezra? You should look immaculate, not like this..." - he waved his hand vaguely in the direction of his son.
Ezra lowered his eyes, his cheeks flushed with shame. He didn't want to disappoint his parents.
"Well..." - sighed Lucia, grabbing the bridge of her nose, - "... anyway, it's time for us to go if we don't want to be late for the celebration".
"Of course, darling" - Gregor smiled at his wife, but the smile disappeared from his face when he looked at Ezra again. - "Try not to be late from now on".
"Yes, father" - the boy nodded his head vigorously.
Ezra skipped after his parents, looking forward to the coming fun.
The main square was full of people talking excitedly to each other and laughing. Children ran among the adults, almost knocking them down and laughing happily. Ezra looked around with wide eyes and kept turning his neck, trying not to lose sight of anything. There was a special excitement among the people because the Wundersmiths were supposed to appear at the celebration today. Of course, no one could miss the opportunity to look at the legendary masters, even though two of them died a few years ago. One new Wundersmith was found only a year ago: it was a girl, the same age as Ezra. He saw her only once when they came to Hallomas, and then at a fairly decent distance. The second new Wundersmith has not yet been found: The Elders and other Wundersmiths searched each cluster, but it has not brought any results yet. But sooner or later he'll show up.
The clock struck noon, and at that moment there was a flash in the square, Ezra even had to cover my eyes from the blinding light. When the sunbeams stopped jumping in his eyes, Ezra gasped when he saw eight people standing in the middle of the square. It wasn't hard to guess that these were great Wundersmiths. They looked majestic, confident, one might say even a little haughty, they clearly knew their worth. Ezra recognized the girl right away. She was wearing a knee-length blue silk dress decorated with flowers, and a ribbon of the same color was woven into her hair. All this emphasized her bright blue eyes, in which sparkled fervent sparkles. She immediately caught his attention.
Ezra frowned, it seemed to him, or something was flickering around them. He rubbed his eyes, but the glow faded only slightly. He wanted to ask his parents if they saw the same thing, but at that moment a woman standing in the very center raised her hands up, her lips whispered something, and various figures appeared in the air: starting from a fiery horse and ending with a phoenix, which scattered into millions of sparks, causing people to applaud and shout enthusiastically. Ezra looked at all this with his mouth agape in surprise.
Each of the Wundersmiths showed something unique, different from the others. The show was completed by the same blue-eyed girl who created a lot of small trees around the square, on which fragrant pink flowers bloomed. The crowd applauded even harder. Throughout the show, Ezra never stopped seeing this golden light emanating from both the Wundersmiths themselves and their miracles. Apparently, he had been squinting at the trees for too long, because when he stopped doing this and looked again in the direction of the Wundersmiths, he saw that the girl was looking at him very carefully, as if studying him. Then she nodded slightly, as if agreeing with her thoughts, and whispered something to the woman who created the fiery figures in the air. She also looked in Ezra's direction with interest. After a few seconds, a smile appeared on her face, she answered the girl something. After that, they talked for some time with people who came to them to express their admiration and pay tribute to them.
After the show, Ezra's parents quickly grabbed their son by the hand and also went to the Wundersmiths. On the way to them, Ezra still decided to ask the question that tormented him:
"Mom, dad, did you also see that golden glow?"
They just looked at their son in bewilderment, not understanding what he was talking about.
"Ezra, what are you talking about? There was no glow. Don't talk nonsense" - his mother laughed, although her laugh came out strange. His father's gaze also became somewhat tense when they exchanged glances.
"Hello" - Ezra almost crashed into one of the Wundersmiths, but managed to stop in time. It was that woman, and a girl was standing shyly behind her.
"Oh... hello" - Ezra said uncertainly and glanced inquiringly at his parents.
"Excuse him" - his mother said. - "He's always shy in front of strangers".
"We can't wean him off in any way" - Gregor looked reproachfully at his son.
"Oh, there's nothing wrong with that" - the woman smiled and slightly crouched down to be on the same level with Ezra. - "My name is Griselda Polaris. What's your name?"
The kindness in her eyes calmed Ezra a little, and he answered more confidently:
"Ezra. Ezra Squall, Miss".
"Nice to meet you, Ezra" - she stared at him for a while, pursing her lips, then she raised her hand and sang a few words of some song, carefully looking at her fingers. - "Tell me, do you see anything now?" - her gaze shifted back to him.
Ezra looked at her hand and gasped again, seeing the same golden glow he had seen recently. He didn't even need to answer Griselda Polaris' question, she understood everything.
"Yes, yes, yes! I knew it!" - the girl behind her clapped her hands happily, bouncing on the spot. - "I'm Elodie Bauer" - she jumped almost close to Ezra. Their noses almost touched.
He was a little confused and puzzled. What was she so happy about? He stepped away from her cautiously.
"Excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Squall, could we talk in private?" - asked Miss Polaris, and Ezra's parents followed her.
The girl was still studying him with interest. Ezra didn't like it.
"Why are you staring?" - he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Oh, I'm sorry, please! I didn't mean to offend you" - Elodie looked at the boy guiltily. - "I'm just really glad that now I won't be the youngest among the students".
After her words, Ezra even more stopped understanding what was going on.
"What do you mean?"
Elodie tilted her head to the side and opened her mouth to answer, but at that moment Ezra's parents and Miss Polaris returned, so the girl did not have time to say anything.
"Ezra, we have to go" - his mom said hurriedly, grabbing his hand.
"Already?" - the boy asked in surprise.
"I'll come by in the evening" - Griselda Polaris said and looked at the boy again. - "We’ll meet again soon, Ezra".
Ezra just nodded, saying nothing. He didn't understand what it all meant. He didn't understand why his parents behaved so strangely all the way back.
"Is Miss Polaris going to visit us tonight?" - Ezra looked from his father to his mother.
"Yes, Ezra, she's coming to visit you tonight, so you have to look perfect" - something like pride sounded in his mother's voice. Ezra had never heard that tone from her before.
"I hope you will behave decently, as we have taught you. You must not forget about manners" - his father said.
"Yes, father".
Griselda Polaris arrived about eight o'clock in the evening, she was alone.
"Hello, Ezra!" - she smiled warmly at the boy.
"Hello, Miss Polaris" - Ezra smiled broadly. He was really glad to see her.
"Well, are you ready to go?" - Ezra frowned in puzzlement. Where to go?
Seeing the confusion on the boy's face, Griselda looked at his parents.
"I guess you didn't tell him" - she raised an eyebrow slightly.
"We thought it would be better if he heard it from you personally. We have already signed the contract, so there are no problems" - said Lucia.
"Okay, I think you're right" - Griselda walked up to Ezra and looked into his eyes. - "Ezra, do you have any idea what that golden glow was?"
"I... I'm not sure" - the boy stammered, although something told him that he knew perfectly well what it was. He was just afraid that it would turn out to be true.
"Wunder. You've seen Wunder. Only the Wundersmiths can see and control it . For example, me... and you" - she said after a pause.
At these words Ezra recoiled and shook his head.
"Miss Polaris, surely you are mistaken. I... I can't be a Wundersmith. I'm completely ordinary and... and not powerful like you."
The woman laughed a little.
"Not yet, but you will eventually. Believe me, you have no idea what you're capable of".
But Ezra shook his head again and turned to his parents. They looked at him calmly, even proudly.
"Is it true?" - although Ezra already knew from their faces that it was true.
"You will have to go with Miss Polaris and study at the Wundrous Society" - his father said in an even voice.
"But it's so far from home. We will see each other rarely... or will you come with me?" - asked Ezra with hope in his voice.
Gregor handed Ezra his suitcase, which contained his belongings.
"No, we can't go with you" - he looked his son straight in the eyes and put his hands on his shoulders. - "From now on, you will live there with the rest of the Wundersmiths. It's a great honor. You can't even imagine how lucky you are yet. Don't disappoint us" - with these words Gregor returned to Lucia.
"Your father is right, Ezra. You have a huge future and so many opportunities. Don't miss them" - she said in a soft voice. Ezra had very rarely heard her say like that.
"But I don't want to go without you" - Ezra's voice faltered, tears appeared in his eyes.
"Everything has already been decided. You're going, and it's not up for discussion" - the father said sternly.
"Ezra, we really need to go" - Griselda Polaris' quiet voice rang out. - "You'll see, you won't regret it".
Ezra was openly crying now.
She took his hand and led him outside. Ezra turned to the house where his parents were standing in the doorway.
"Goodbye, Ezra" - his mom said.
He never saw them again.
At that moment, he felt something break in him. He felt abandoned and betrayed, and the unknown was waiting ahead, which scared, but at the same time attracted him. Maybe everything will really be fine?
More than 100 years later, standing at the mirror and remembering that day, Ezra knew that it didn't end well.