The Storm in my Heart

The rain fell in a pitter patter outside as the club huddled together under the blankets, watching ridiculous movies together, laughing at the cheesy actors. The four of them had planned to go searching for magic creatures earlier in the day, but it had started raining and none of them wanted to go searching that badly. Isabel, their resident leader, groaned as the lead from the movie they were watching attempted to sing about his broken heart. The only thing that broke were her ears.

“Come on guys, isn’t there anything better we could be doing right now?” Isabel asked, shifting in her seat, ready for a fight.

“Well we could go outside in the rain ‘n mud ‘n search for those spirits you thought you saw,” Ed suggested, a smile on his face. He was their resident jokester, always ready to crack a joke when the opportunity presented itself.

“Come on dude. I’m not about to go running around in the rain and mud just to find a chipmunk nest again,” Max, their resident disbeliever, said.

“Oh come on Max!” Isabel joked, “I’m telling you, chipmunk nests and fairy nests look alike, it’s not my fault we found the wrong one.”

“It totally is,” their resident peacemaker, Isaac, poked Isabel in the stomach and laughed when she couldn’t reach him back.

“What were you even planning to do with the fairies if we found them?” Ed asked.

“Try to catch one, obviously,” Isabel said, “That way I can show Max that magic does exist.”

“You keep saying that yet I have seen absolutely no evidence of it,” Max reminded her.

“I’ll get you to believe one day,” Isabel waved her finger at Max, causing the rest of the club to laugh.

“Speaking of,” Ed interrupted, “Didja hear about the rumor that someone at school has magic?”

“That’s just people playing around,” Isabel waved her hand, “None of them understand the complications that would come with a human having magic.”

“I still don’t understand that,” Max said, “I mean, you think beings with magic exist, why can’t some humans be born with magic?”

Taking a breath, Isabel began, “It’s like this. Every being was created a certain way. Some have magic, like fairies and dragons. Some don’t, like humans or horses. Cats are in an iffy spot where we can’t figure out if they have magic or are just messing with us.”

“So it’s impossible for humans to be born with magic?”

“More like highly unlikely,” Ed put in, smiling his signature smile, “It’d be like a human being born with a tail. They’d be a freak.”

“What would you do if you did find a human with magic?” Isaac asked. He looked directly at the computer screen as he asked, as if he wasn’t aware he did.

“I dunno,” Isabel pondered.

“We’d probably tell your grandpa,” Ed said.

“And I guess he would probably do to them what he does to all the magic creatures we find.”

“Which is none,” Max cut in.

“That’s only when you’ve been here,” Isabel exclaimed in a fake hurt voice, “But seriously he would probably dissect them.”

“You don’t feel sorry for the innocent creatures that it happens to?” Isaac had venom in his voice now.

Isabel sat up straight, “Magic isn’t natural Isaac. It just appeared one day in all these creatures. Clearly we need to find out why it did.”

“You don’t care about that at all. You just like the fighting,” Isaac shot back.

“So what if I do?” Isabel asked.

“So what?” Isaac yelled, on his feet now as the rain outside picked up in pace.

The gentle drizzle that had been going on for so long turned into a full on storm. Heavier and heavier the rain fell, pelting the side of Isabel’s house, riding on the rapid winds. Thunder crackled outside as bright flashes of lightning followed. All of a sudden the windows in Isabel’s room burst open, inviting the storm inside. The rain rushed through the window, drenching anything that would hold water, the wind flying anything not nailed down across the room.

“You are killing innocents that only want to live because of something as stupid as magic appearing. Did you ever think about if it was there before, if the creatures just didn’t want to interact with humans?” Isaac asked as the storm spiraled around him.

“What are you doing?” Isabel tried to ask, her voice barely a whisper.

“I’m showing you magic,” Isaac said, plain and simple, “It’s what you always wanted, right? To see magic? Well how do you like it?”

“It’s less cool when you’re using it to intimidate us,” Max pointed out, ducking as a lamp flew where his head had been a second before.

“Maybe I wouldn’t have to if Isabel didn’t threaten every magical creature in a ten foot radius!” Isaac yelled back.

“I-We’re not going to hurt you!” Isabel tried, putting her hands up to show she didn’t mean any harm.

“That’s not what you said before!” Isaac yelled back, whispering, “Not like it matters.”

At that Isabel shared a look with Ed. They had a plan.

“Thanks a lot guys!” Max yelled at the two as Ed threw the paintbrush he always carried around with him at Isaac’s forehead.

“Ow!” Isaac exclaimed, as his hands went to his forehead, the storm around him calming down slightly.

Isabel used that to her advantage, rushing forward to crush Isaac in a hug.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Isabel talked quickly before Isaac could interrupt her, “But we both know I’m all just talk. I don’t think I could hurt something that hadn't done anything for the life of me.”

The more Isabel talked and babbled and said sorry the more the storm abated, until it had gone back to the gentle pitter patter that it had started out as. The furniture landing back down with several thumps and a few ows. With a look, both Ed and Max were in the hug. Quiet sobs broke the silence. Isaac was in tears, and would have been soaking Isabel’s shoulder if she were not already drenched from the rain.