"The first step towards knowledge is to know that we are ignorant"- Richard Cecil

The next day, I woke up, had breakfast with my mom, but did not say a word about the previous night.

And as the years passed on, I never gave any hints at the voice that strayed close behind me throughout my days. 

At my ripe age of 24, it no longer became something I had to hide, it was just common knowledge to not talk about it. He had learned to speak well soon enough, and in a month, he sounded as if he never was mute; He said it was like riding a bike again after so long, a term he used, but to my knowledge never experienced.

As far as Mara was concerned, he was fine with it, even going as far as to not talk in any room in the house other than my own.

"She's cute," Mara said, pointing at a passing girl in her late 20's.

"Shut up," I mumbled to myself, keeping my eyes down on my tablet, reading.

It did become apparent to me that outside of my home, no one but me could see and hear him. 

Well, almost no one. 

There were a few small instances where a person would stop and just stare, and that hinted towards normally two things: psychic or enlightened. Both being very, very rare instances.

Mara let out a loud whistle and changed his voice to a scumbag males' voice.

"Hey baby, let me get your numbah," he shouted, wisping away in her location.

I heaved a sigh and waited. I waited until I tilted forward, feeling the familiar pull on my heart, making my pace quicken. Soon Mara returned, resuming his place by my side. He never overstretched the boundaries like the first time.

"I don't know what it is, but I can't leave you, you can't leave me!" I shouted, tears rolling down my cheeks from the pain in my chest.

Mara stood there, unsure of what to say, but still with a smug look of satisfaction on his face.

"This is what happens, love. The more you push me away, the more you want me to come back," he laughed, teasing at the, in my opinion, serious situation.

I collected myself and stood, glaring at him. He retained his smile still as he raised his hands in retreat.

"Look, darling, I don't make the rules."

I pressed down on the screen lock button and packed it away in my bag, which I soon tossed over my shoulder. I headed towards home and he quickly pull up next to me, matching my pace and leaning down so he could see my downcast face better.

"Are you mad at me, missy?" He joking asked.

I rolled my eyes and took care to slightly shake my head.

"Well, that's no fun," he pouted, pulling himself back up to stand normally, staying silent the rest of the walk.

As we walked in the door, I set my things by the door and quickly made my way up to my room. I laid down on the familiar bed, bringing back the old memory of the only time Mara phased into reality. I rolled onto my back, thinking about that day, and why it never happened again.

A glitch? I smiled, realizing I played around too much on my computer. A better term, I suppose, would be a hiccup.

I furrowed my brow as Maras' head came hovering over me, into view.

"What'cha thinking about?" He hummed like a child.

This was actually one of the good things. Mara wasn't in my mind, but a part of me- A small, human sized part of me. He couldn't hear my thoughts, and I couldn't hear him in my head all day. Even though it turned out differently, I was worried when my mom told me about that part... I mean, I was worried about other parts too, but I was only a kid at the time, enveloped with violent horror video games, and honestly, the rest was 'cool' to me. Glass imploding and people melting, what wasn't cool about that?

I gave him a half-smile and batted my hand at his face, as if to push away a cloud of smoke, "Nothing, now shut up, I need to get some rest."

I turned onto my side, facing away from him, and pulled the covers up to my cheek. I heard him let out a small sigh and make his way out, soon to vanish for the night.