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Tonight’s the night. The signs are all there, the stars are in alignment, astrology is correct, it’s an auspicious night. Time to break in and use the telescope, time to put the pieces together, after everything, he has to know. Neil gets up from his rest, sleeping outside for what seems like the hundredth time for him and brushes himself off. It was hot last night and he hasn’t been eating right, his bones ache and his body hurts, he can’t stop the anxiety that discomfort causes him. He wishes again that he could make it go away, fix it somehow so he didn’t have to feel this way. And he thinks back to the man, the one he met behind the McDonald’s when he went to root through the dumpster. The man who said he had potential and he shouldn’t waste it, he should do something more with himself than root through a dumpster. The man who stood oddly still, Neil never saw him breathe, he’d notice because he doesn’t make eye contact with new people, his eyes are always pointed down.
The man who disappeared when Neil looked away to consider what he’d said. Was he just another thing lurking in the corner of his eye? Neil never knows when his mind is playing tricks on him but he can’t shake this certainty that some veil is about to lift for him. He will finally, finally understand. He’s not even sure what it is he needs to understand yet but he knows he can’t let go of it, it’s inescapable and the pull is like gravity for him.
It’s not quite late enough yet to see, he checks his pockets and finds he actually has a little money for once. Cash he had set aside for this night, to make something of a celebration for himself where he could. His birthday had already come and gone and he’d spent another night running away. He’d be damned if he lost another opportunity for a little joy.
Time to go to white tower, some people say it’s just a knock off White Castle but Neil can’t even express how wrong he thinks that is. White tower is the food he would pick up on the rare peaceful night when his Mom wasn’t home and Neil would sit down and play spacewar! Most of the people at school didn’t know it yet but Neil was sure video games were gonna be the next big thing back then, he’s still convinced but it’s taking a little longer than he thought it would. He starts his walk to the fast food restaurant.
The people walking by, no one even notices him, on one hand it’s nice to get to walk around without feeling anxious and afraid. On the other hand, he wishes someone, anyone, would notice him.
He arrives, orders his food, sits down and for once, takes pleasure in the eating process. This isn’t food kitchen stuff or dumpster food from unserved patties, this was a full meal he picked out and ordered just for himself. Neil cannot even remember the last time he got this. Has to have been years by now from what is beginning to feel like a new start. He eats and enjoys his food and since he’s in here, he checks his backpack and he still has his grooming scissors. If he’s going to see the truths of the universe he should look the best he can. He lets himself in to their bathroom, washes himself up and trims his hair as best he can, it’s not perfect or even really pretty but it’s serviceable.
Finally ready to go, Neil is filled with sudden dread and fear, what if he messes this up? He’d ruin the first good night he’s had in who knows how long. Is it better just to skip the telescope? Go somewhere else and just watch the stars for a time? But no, he tells himself, really not a time to give up. He grits his teeth and steels himself, ready for his chance and walks to the school.
He arrives just in time, still not sure exactly how he’s getting inside but completely determined that he will somehow. Looking around, the building is locked up tight, no immediately visible way in. Just on the off chance someone forgot, he tries the front door. Locked, as expected, but for a long moment he thinks, if I just knew how, I could transfigure this door handle right off, wouldn’t have to knock it in or lock pick it or anything. And this moment goes on far longer than a more well adjusted person might think is reasonable. For Neil, it’s just another one of his moments.
When he snaps out of it, he realizes he’s gone from early to cutting it close now and with the heat his body broke into a sweat. Looks like he won’t be perfect for his date with the stars, figures he can’t have things go perfect just one time. Hurriedly he rushes to a window and tries to open it, no luck, next window, no luck, third try, jackpot. He gets the window open but it will only open a crack, he strains and tries to force it open further but he just can’t get it. Neil goes to move toward another window when he heard a voice ring out from behind him as he freezes. “Do you need some help with that?” The woman asks from behind and as Neil turns sheepishly to look at her he catches the briefest glimpse before his anxiety hits his head like an anchor and makes him look down. She’s average height, average weight, average features with raven black hair, a long black dress, black boots and wearing black lipstick. The only thing exceptional about her other than the way she’s dressed are her eyes, ice cold blue and feeling like they’re staring straight into his core. This woman is no older than Neil, hell, she might even be younger than him but that gaze roots him in place and fills him with fear. “U-um I uh…it’s not what it looks like” he says, quite clearly having just been trying to break into the school in the middle of the night. “Yes it is and I’m going to help you.” She says matter of factly, walking up next to Neil, reaching into nothing and producing a crowbar. For a moment Neil isn’t sure, is this his mind again or did that really happen? Who is this woman? Why is she here? This is an auspicious night, all the stars in alignment why isn’t this going how he hoped? Is she here to show him the hidden truth of the world? Why is this happening? Has he seen her before? The tide of thoughts rush through Neil as he babbles incoherently at the woman before she reaches out and lightly brushes a finger over his lips, instantly demanding silence from him as he goes stock still. The only movement from his body the rise and fall of his chest as he breathes and the beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. “Your mind isn’t tricking you this time Neil, I did just do that and yes I knew you’d be here. I know why too. And I also know that if you go in there something terrible is gonna happen and I have decided I don’t want that to happen. So you can either come with me and learn the truths you so desperately want anyway or I can hit you in the head with this crowbar and keep you from going inside that way.” The woman says to Neil who just stares, mouth agape, directly at her feet as he still can’t bear to look her in the eye. “I’ll take that as a yes then, come on Neil, let’s go learn some magic together.” She says beckoning for him to follow and he does. Dragging his feet, mind moving a mile a minute, unable to shake the feeling his life is about to change forever.
The woman’s name is Abigail, Abby she insists on being called. Abby tells him that if he went into that school to watch the stars he would have met the man from behind the McDonald’s. He was and is real, he’s a monster that had been watching him, scouting him for months. Trying to decide if he should make Neil a monster too. She says getting into the school on an auspicious night, following all the signs, that was his last test for this monster. Now that Neil has failed, he’s moved on and will find someone else, somewhere else. She says she doesn’t care and is just glad she could help Neil but he can see it in her eyes sometimes, she wants to stop him. Neil’s still not sure he understands but for the first time in his life he thinks he’s starting to.
Abby lets him stay on her couch, she has a job working at the local library, it’s where he’s seen her before, he didn’t recognize her there because she dresses so differently at work. When she leaves in the mornings he doesn’t even recognize her some days, dressed in a sweater, blue jeans and sneakers, hair neatly out back, no black makeup. The only things that tell him it’s the same woman are her eyes and her hair, that black so deep he knows she had to dye it to get there. While she works Neil takes care of her house, he does the dishes, cleans the place, does her laundry, anything to feel useful. He still can’t find a job but she’s made it one of her requirements to keep teaching him that he keep trying to find something that works for him and no matter how hard it is he knows in his heart he needs to keep learning. She calls herself a sorcerer, says her abilities come from the studies of paths of linear magic. Something anyone can do if they work hard enough but most don’t see the truth or want to even try to learn. She tells him how her father was a sorcerer before he left to go work with the Mages. Neil is pleasantly surprised to learn there is actually a difference. He doesn’t understand why she decided he should be her apprentice but he’s grateful for it and can’t shake the feeling that she saved him from something terrible. He knows she’s been telling the truth about everything but he can’t explain how he knows that.
The first gift she teaches him is the one he’s most desperate to learn, the power to see, the gifts to look into the future. Learning is hard and unpredictable. At first his predictions are so small he’s not even sure he’s predicting anything but gradually, he notices he’s predicting things he couldn’t possible just guess. The first time he’s sure he divined the future is when he predicts a complete football game, start to finish, every score ending at every quarter with complete accuracy. Neil doesn’t even watch football, it’s why he picked it to divine, because he’d have no idea otherwise. When he tells Abby for the first time he sees her smile warmly and she hugs him “I’m proud of you Neil, I knew you would make a great apprentice.” She says as Neil finds himself locked completely still in place by this woman once again, his body not knowing how to react but responding to the body heat and loving touch of a woman. His whole head turns beet red and he can’t speak a complete sentence to her for the next week.
The first time she kisses him is the first morning after he visits her in a dream, he doesn’t realize when he visits her that his dream self reflects his emotional state to someone more experienced. She tells him when she kisses him that she knew for sure then that he was falling for her. Neil’s never had a girlfriend before so he doesn’t know what to do or how to act but he finally manages to land himself a job. He’s a ticket taker at the local movie theater, it’s not much but it’s a start and he’s proud of himself that he can actually pay for their first date since she still doesn’t charge him rent.
The first time they sleep together Neil finally learns alchemy, he figures out how to make a potion that will enhance your physical vitality. She’s so proud of him she makes him drink it. Neil is completely sure he wants to marry this woman, they can keep peeling back the veil for the rest of their lives he thinks for a brief hopeful moment. He’s been having a lot of those lately for some reason. He knows he can’t afford a ring but he decides to earn it, he knows he doesn’t deserve this, not yet. But he also knows he can earn it, he just needs to keep making himself useful and learning.
The future he wants so badly with her that he’s too afraid to let himself ask her for is within reach. Even with him denying it he knows, they sleep in the same bed every night, they have a grocery list together, Neil’s things are all throughout the apartment. He’s not her couch surfing apprentice anymore, he almost lets himself believe he can just go for it. Until, one day, he finally realizes what he needs to do, Neil needs to learn to transmute objects. It’s a magic Abby doesn’t know and not one he’s even sure is possible but if he wants to feel like he deserves this he knows he needs to learn something on his own and keep breaking the veil by himself.
He pores over book after book, finding resources anywhere he can find them, anything he can do, except ask Abby for help. She knows something is going on and that Neil is working on something but the fact he won’t tell her what’s wrong drives a bit of a wedge between them. He keeps forcing her away when he feels like she’s getting close to getting him to tell her because he needs to do this himself. His first night back on the couch is a cold one.
Weeks of searching finally lead him to a text, something Abby held onto from her father but never had the chance to translate from the dead language it was written in. Neil goes without proper sleep for a week just finding the right translation source. He keeps ending up on the couch more and more but Abby wanted to get a cat so at least he’s not alone.
He’s finally done it he thinks, holy shit he’s finally done it. The secret to transmutation is right in front of him and after reading this text over and over, constantly experimenting with it, he thinks he finally gets it. He’s not sure he can quite turn lead into gold just yet but he’s confident he can alter the shape and composition of an object.
Neil takes the time to try and make sure she’ll say yes, he picks back up on his housework, puts in extra hours at the theater to buy her flowers and take her out to dinner a few nights. She’s confused and doesn’t understand why he’s doing all of this but she’s grateful to have his attention again and she lets him back into the bed. For a moment Neil almost misses his couch before she pulls him in for a hug and he realizes how stupid that thought is.
It’s time to go to the antique store. Neil goes, having finally saved enough to maybe afford something resembling a ring, having gotten Abby’s measurements with a deft and gentle hand while she slept. He’s usually up before her anyway, even though he’s more comfortable than he’s ever been he still doesn’t need much sleep. He picks out a ring and takes it home. Placing it between his hands he focuses his will, feeling the heat and energy radiating off of the ring he pours his vision and heart into it. When he unclasps his hand there rests a perfect golden ring with what looks like a big diamond sitting right in the center. It might be a fake diamond, he’s not sure he can make the real thing but it looks convincing and that’s good enough for him. He smiles and thinks to himself “turning trash into treasure, I’m a regular garbage wizard.” She says yes.