Mysteries: Arcana Wars

It was another ordinary winter night in Bayam, and the little girl once again saw the strange man on the park bench.

The middle-aged stranger just slumped down on the bench with one foot dangling over the armrest, humming a little tune and counting the passing cars, just like yesterday.

Feeling the little girl's burning gaze, the man sat up suddenly and waved to the opposite side.

"Hey, little Gamari, how were the muffins I gave you yesterday?"

A little bit of sweet taste returned to Gamari's memory. It was a muffin bigger than the little girl's palm, wrapped in a beautiful paper cup with the logo of a luxury hotel printed on it, and the sweet chocolate made three perfect squares on the plump top.

This dessert was really too expensive. Gamali was reluctant to eat it at that time. She just held the bag carefully to her chest, feeling the sweetness of the cake through her old and torn skirt, and hurried back home.

The humid sea breeze soaked the dilapidated house so much that water could be squeezed out of it, and the salty and fishy smell could not corrupt the noble fragrance.

"You cursed rotten fish! Where on earth did you get such expensive snacks? You must have stolen them from someone else's hotel, you bitch!"

The woman was tall but gaunt. She swung her skeleton-like arm and slapped the little girl to the ground. Her dry branch-like fingers grew into Gamali's chest, grabbed the mouth-watering muffin and took a big bite.

"What are you looking at? What's yours is mine, right? What's wrong with letting me have a few bites?"

The skinny woman ate voraciously, swallowing the delicate sweets with difficulty through her drug-damaged esophagus. This sweet and painful experience actually gave the woman an illusion that she was living an aristocratic life at this moment.

"I gave birth to you, raised you, and fed you until you are this big. Have you ever given me something good to repay me? If you have something good, bring it to your mother to enjoy. Isn't that right?"

That's my muffin.

Gamari didn't cry, but just lay on the ground with her hands covering her red face, staring at her mother who was eating voraciously.

Sadness, anger, regret, Gamari had no such emotions at all.

She was just deeply confused.

Isn't this my muffin?

The uncle gave me the cake, doesn't that mean I own it?

Before her strange train of thought could come to a conclusion, the woman kicked Gamari in the stomach again.

The girl's weird look always made the woman feel sick and nauseous - even fearful, pulling the woman out of the illusion of upper-class life. This not only made her lose interest in enjoying dessert, but also made her even more angry.

"And you, you stinky shrimp that was pecked to pieces by birds! How come your breasts are growing so fast? You must have secretly eaten a lot of delicious food outside without telling me! You ate a lot of greasy food outside, and then came back to laugh at me after enjoying the good life, leaving me alone at home to eat disgusting garbage energy bars, right?"

Saying that, he kicked me again.

"You put this cake on your chest. Which brothel did you learn this from? It must be a trick to seduce men! No wonder you stay out all day and never come home! You are so young and have not learned anything good. You only know how to imitate those rubbish with fake wombs!"

The woman was no longer in the mood to eat those beautiful cakes. The rare sweetness could no longer soothe her gushing dark emotions. She urgently needed something stronger, more beautiful, and happier to cover up the devastated real world.

Her old friend, big leaf powder.

Leaving behind a half-eaten muffin and Gamari curled up on the ground, the woman cursed and lay down on the bed. Soon she collapsed on the moldy bedding and twitched, with bursts of strange laughter coming from her.

"My muffin was taken away by my mother."

"...Ah, that's really unfortunate news..."

Although he said so, there was no disappointment or sadness on the man's face. He always had a nonchalant and carefree smile. It was difficult for Gamari to tell from his expression and face what kind of mentality this man had when he approached her.

Gamari is a smart child, and has the ability to capture and understand other people's expressions at a very young age. But the man in front of her is like a clean white board. Any thoughts and emotions that a normal person should have are hidden under his nonchalant and teasing expression, making it impossible for Gamari to think and judge.

Did he pity me as an ordinary and pitiful little girl, or was he planning something bad to me?

"And what do you think of the other thing, little Gamali?"

As his fingers danced, several playing cards appeared in the man's hand and were arranged in a fan shape in front of the girl.

"Would you like to join us?"

"..."

Gamari looked up and glared at the man with large defensive eyes.

“But you didn’t tell me yesterday how I could join you.

"Just like when I go to the market to buy vegetables, I have to pay first before I can get the vegetables. It's the same with you. I must give you something first before I can join you, right?"

"You are worthy of being the girl I like. Come here, let your uncle touch you!"

The man reached out to touch the girl's head, but was dodged.

"From childhood to adulthood, have you ever noticed that you are different from other children? Standing among your peers, you are the weird kid who doesn't fit in with the people around you, an alien standing outside the universal society.

“Perhaps you sometimes wonder why your feelings don’t resonate with others? Why does it seem like there is a thick wall between your world and the world of others?

“I’m telling you this now because you feel [bored] with this kind of life. In your current narrow life, you haven’t found the real pleasure that can sting your soul and stir your brain.

“Then, as long as you sacrifice your real name, you can join us, learn all the skills we can teach you, and experience the passion and fun that ordinary people can never imagine. Under our guidance, you will live a happy life.

"We'll even teach you... magic!"

As he spoke, the man flipped his palm, and a scorching fireball appeared in an instant, engulfing the cards in his hand. After the heat wave disappeared, the girl saw a few leaves floating over, falling into the man's hand, and turning into the poker cards again.

"It just so happens that we are very short of people recently. I think you are a very suitable candidate, so now we are offering a super discount, and we don't charge any extra fees. As long as you are willing, just draw a card from my hand as a code name, and it will be considered as joining us. I will immediately take you to sign and learn that kind of magic."

What was happening before her eyes was indeed beyond Gamari's understanding, and she found it hard to believe this long passage of words that she could not fully understand.

What is happy or unhappy? Does it mean that you're like mom, giggling after taking some big leaf powder?

If that's the feeling, it's better not to look at it.

Gamari stared at the man's face without saying a word, took two steps back and stared for a long time, and finally ran away in silence.

"Hey! Little Gamali! If you change your mind, come find me anytime!"

The man watched Gamari leave his sight, and left the park humming Bayam's nursery rhyme.

"Naughty little Gamali ran across the beach~ Count~ Count~ How many waves are there here~"

He kicked away the stones on the road.

"One, two, three, four..."