Unspoken Bonds

Even without words, a bond can form. Between child and parent… between soul and world. I don’t fully understand this life yet—but something in me is already starting to change.

The days blur together now. Warm, soft, quiet.

I’ve gotten used to the rustling of fabric, the herbal scent clinging to my mother’s robes, and the way my father holds me up to the window each morning like he’s showing me the world. Maybe he is.

I still can’t speak. But I can think. More clearly with each passing day.

Every sound, every word—they’re pieces of a puzzle I can almost reach. When my mother says “Viren,” she gestures to herself—or sometimes to my father. I think it’s a name. Maybe a title. I don’t know yet.

But I’ll figure it out.

I have to figure it out.

Today, I’m resting in her lap while she braids her hair. It’s long and silver, almost white when the sunlight hits it. The strands remind me of mine. Platinum, maybe even brighter. A soft glimmer that somehow feels… important.

She hums something. A song, maybe. Her voice wraps around me like a blanket, and I can’t help but stare up at her.

You’re beautiful, I think. And you’re really my mother, aren’t you?

She glances down, catches me staring, and smiles like I’m the only thing in the world that matters.

She taps my nose. “You’re growing fast, little one.”

Her voice is so gentle. So real.

And then it happens.

Something swells in my chest. Not fear. Not confusion. Just… warmth.

Not the kind of warmth you get from soup or a blanket. This one starts in my chest and runs down through my arms. Like light filling me from the inside out.

And before I even understand what’s happening—

A spark flickers from my fingertip.

Golden. Brief. Gone.

She gasps—not out of fear, but awe.

“…He reacted,” she whispers. She brushes her fingers over my hand like she’s afraid it’ll disappear.

Then she laughs softly and holds me close, like I just did something miraculous.

“To think… the magic responded to your feelings. At this age…”

I blink. Wait. That was me?

So that warmth… that was magic?

And it came out because—what? I was happy?

No.

It was something more than that.

I’ve never felt love like this before.

Not in my old life. Not even once.

No one looked at me the way she does. No one ever saw me like this.

Another warmth rises in my chest, but this one doesn’t try to escape. It stays with me. Settles.

A feeling I didn’t know I needed until now.

That night, I dream.

The sky is violet, dotted with stars. Trees sway in a color I’ve never seen before. And in the distance… a girl.

She has cat ears.

She crouches low with a playful grin, her tail flicking behind her. Her eyes gleam with mischief.

I reach out, but the dream dissolves before I can say anything.

I wake up in my crib, the first rays of morning creeping across the ceiling.

I’ve never seen her before in this world.

But I know that smile.