Or maybe it does...?

Isabelle Long

I was standing in front of the mirror. I curled my brown hair while wearing a casual yet elegant outfit. I took my coat and scarf. I wore my watch and then took my bag. I sat inside my car and drove to my company. I saw Brian and just pretended to ignore him, walking straight to elevator. 

"Since how long will you ignore me?" Brian speaks in a frustrated tone. I just started checking my watch and then my phone. "I know you are listening" I sighed and turned to him, "why should I listen when it's not important.. for me?" He looked at me in disbelief, "oh really? You are the only one who will listen to my new theory, and you are saying that this isn't important for you? At least consider this as a suggestion from your friend"

I exhaled loudly, "alright so whatever this theory of yours is-" he cut me off, "it's Brian's magical theory" I rolled my eyes at him, "don't you dare roll your eyes at me and my theory" I sighed in frustration. "Okay, so this Brian's magical theory of yours, what did you say about it? That magic exists, like seriously? In a scientific world, you are still stuck in your child stories?"

"It's not childish!" He cleared, I noticed my floor came. "Whatever" I slurp on my coffee before going out. "Won't you research and discuss about it?" He asked, standing inside the elevator. I turned to him, "I will think about it" I went away, I heard him saying, "just think?" in an annoyed tone. 

I didn't care. I quietly went to my workplace and sat down. I didn't want to waste my time on his stupid theory. I started working on my latest project. I work in a research department.

Despite my initial dismissal of Brian's theory as "stupid," I found myself unable to fully shake it from my mind as the day continued at the research office.

I tried to focus on my work, but the more i think about it, the more it started gnawing at the edge of my mind, a persistent itch i couldn't quite scratch. I sighed and started typing on my computer, my fingers working swiftly while i started the printer, printing the papers quickly.

It was 4 pm. I came out of the conference room after the meeting when my boss approached me. "Oh sir, I have completed the project" I took out the file and handed him. He nodded, checking it. "Impressive work, Miss Long" He spoke, "keep up with the good work" I bowed as he left. I huffed as i sat back on my seat.

It was around 5:30 p.m. when i was roaming around in library. I was carrying a lot of books. My eyes searching for a certain title. I was going through some old newspapers to searching in Google and everything. I sighed in defeat. I spent half an hour to only get these?!? I knew it. I won't find anything.

I was getting prepared to leave when my eyes caught a sentence in a newspaper. I sat back on my seat and started reading the sentence. Wow! I can't believe this! Brian's theory... Oh god! You got to be kidding me! I leaned back on my seat.

Then I immediately took the piece of paper and kept it inside my bag. While returning i called Brian, "can you come over to my house? I need to inform you about something" I went straight home and then Brian came after some time. "What's wrong, Izzy?" He asked in confusion. 

I motioned for Brian to sit down as he entered my living room, still wearing that puzzled expression. I could see the wheels turning in his mind, trying to decipher the urgency in my voice.

"Brian, I need you to listen carefully," I began, my tone serious. "I was just reading an article in the newspaper that discusses some recent events in London—events that are very closely aligned with your magic theory."

Brian raised an eyebrow, intrigued but skeptical. "What kind of events are we talking about?" I took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts. "The article mentions a series of unexplained phenomena reported across the city. People are claiming to have witnessed things that defy logic—objects moving without being touched, lights flickering in patterns that seem intentional, and even sightings of... well, things that resemble magic."

Brian leaned forward; his interest piqued. "You're serious? This isn't just a sensationalist piece?"

"No, it appears to be well-researched. The author interviewed multiple witnesses and included references to recent studies on phenomena that could be interpreted as 'magical'," I said, pulling the article from my bag and handing it to him. "Look at this section here."

As Brian scanned the pages, I watched the expressions cross his face—skepticism, surprise, and finally, a glimmer of excitement. "This... this could be groundbreaking," he murmured, his eyes widening at the implications. "If these reports are authentic, it could validate aspects of my theory that I've struggled to substantiate."

I nodded, my mind racing with possibilities. "Exactly. But we need to remain cautious. We should consider the sources and the potential for exaggeration. However, if there's even a kernel of truth to these claims, we could have something significant on our hands."

Brian looked up from the article, his enthusiasm palpable. "What do you propose we do? We need to investigate these occurrences ourselves. If there's a chance that magic, as I theorized, is manifesting in the real world, we owe it to ourselves—and to science—to explore this further."

"I agree," I replied, my heart racing at the thought of diving into this uncharted territory. "But we need a plan. We should gather more data, possibly interview some of the witnesses, and document everything meticulously. If we're going to present a case, it has to be airtight."

"How about..we ourselves go and check it out? What if we might get any clue, anything related to it, that magic exists?" Brian suggested. I considered Brian's proposal, my mind racing with the possibilities. "That could work. If we can observe the phenomena firsthand, we might gather evidence that will either support or debunk these claims. But we need to be methodical about it."

Brian nodded, his excitement palpable. "We should start by pinpointing the locations mentioned in the article. It lists several incidents in different neighborhoods—some happening in public parks, others in private residences. We could begin with the most recent occurrences and see if we can find any witnesses."

"Agreed," I replied, already pulling out my notebook and jotting down the details from the article. "Let's also prepare a set of questions for the witnesses. We need to ask about their experiences in detail—what they saw, when it happened, and if there were any commonalities between the events."

"And we should document everything," Brian added. "Photos, videos, anything that could help us build our case. If we find something significant, we'll want to show it to the academic community."

I smiled at Brian's enthusiasm. "I'll bring my camera and audio recorder. We can split up the tasks—one of us can focus on interviewing while the other observes the surroundings. This way, we won't miss anything."

"Perfect. Let's set a timeline," Brian said, glancing at his watch. "If we start early tomorrow morning, we can cover a lot of ground over the weekend." I felt a surge of energy at the thought of our impending adventure.

"Right. I'll do some research tonight, too. We should look into any historical context for these locations—maybe there's something connected to the past that could shed light on these phenomena."

As we finalized their plans, Brian's eyes sparkled with determination. "This could be it, Izzy. This could be the breakthrough we never thought possible."

I could hardly contain my own excitement. "Yes, and if we find anything that suggests magic is real, it will change everything we know about our understanding of reality. Let's get to work."

We spent the rest of the evening strategizing, fueled by a shared sense of purpose. The line between science and the mystical began to blur, and for the first time, we both felt a thrilling sense of possibility looming ahead.