The wind rustled through the leaves, and birds chirped. The warmth of the hearth burned on his right cheek, and the rays of the sun on his left. This place was perfect.

"How many spells do you still need to learn?"

Lumi bit her lip, unsure how much to tell him. "Just two more; I was so close." She took a big sip and hid her face behind the bowl for a moment. When she lowered it again, he saw tears glistening in her eyes.

"And then?" he asked carefully.

Lumi took a deep breath and stared at the ceiling. "Then my mother died. Only she knew the magic to reveal the spells on the final pages." Her shoulders sank helplessly. Would she ever figure out how to make the spells appear without her mother's help? She had always assumed she'd spend her entire life on this island, but at least she'd hoped her mother would stay with her until she was old and wise enough to pass on her knowledge to the next generation. Now, that hope seemed lost.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Lumi," he said softly. "I wish I could help you," he added helplessly.

A faint smile appeared on Lumi's face. "Maybe you can. Will you tell me what it's like out there, beyond the horizon? Then at least I can go there in my mind." She leaned closer to him, her gaze expectantly fixed on his, brimming with anticipation.

Eason took another sip of his soup as his eyes darted around the room. He realized what a stark contrast his life was to hers—untethered from the inescapable network of the 21st century. Then, suddenly, the corner of his mouth curled up, and he looked at her with a challenging smile.

"What if I taught you two spells?" he asked, grinning.

Lumi frowned in surprise. "Are you a witch too?"

"A wizard," Eason nodded firmly, though he had no magical tricks up his sleeve.

Lumi gave him a skeptical look. "Can you reveal the last page of my spellbook? Those are the spells I need to master to carry on my family tradition."

Eason tilted his head toward where she had hidden the spellbook. "Let me have a look."

Lumi furrowed her brows, her gaze even more suspicious than before. "Show me you can do magic first."

Eason placed a hand dramatically over his heart. "I'm too weak right now, but when I'm better, I'll show you."

Lumi crawled over him on her hands and placed her empty soup bowl on the nightstand next to the bed. With her face uncomfortably close to his, she grinned. "Okay, I'll wait." Her eyes bore into his, and his heart began to race. Was it more than pure panic at the thought of her discovering he was lying, or had she never believed him in the first place?

Lumi slid back to the corner of her bed, her piercing gaze still fixed on him as he tried to drink his soup as calmly as possible. Lumi could tell he was hiding something but wasn't sure what. She wanted desperately to believe he could really help her uncover her final two spells. In truth, it was her only hope, which made it easier to believe his words.

But a wizard wasn't a witch, she realized. She had never heard of a wizard before. Maybe "wizard" was simply another term for a witch from a different culture. Curious, she tilted her head.

"Does your family also have strange traditions, like painting the walls with menstrual blood?" She pointed to the wall she was leaning against, and Eason sputtered out his soup.

"Not that strange," he assured her. "But my family prefers to swim in the river next to our house every morning, even when it's freezing."

Lumi looked at him with wide eyes. "Why?!" she exclaimed, as if his family were completely insane.

Eason returned her gaze with equal astonishment. "Why do you paint walls with menstrual blood?!"

Lumi shrugged. "To honor our feminine strength and resilience," she explained, as if her family tradition had suddenly become the most normal thing in the world. Yet doubt flickered in her eyes. "I never really understood what they meant by 'feminine,' but... you're not feminine, are you?" She squinted, and her gaze felt almost threatening.

"Uh... no," he answered, uncertain if he was now in deep trouble. How worldly was this witch, really? Her question should have reassured him, though. It probably meant he could convince her of more than he initially thought.

Lumi nodded as the truth dawned on her. She knew femininity symbolized love, gentleness, strength, and courage—everything good. If he wasn't feminine, what did that say about him? Her spellbook offered no answers, so she had only one choice: she had to uncover the truth herself.

To Eason's relief, no dire consequences followed his honest answer. Though he didn't feel particularly inclined to understand Lumi's strange tradition better, she curiously quizzed him about his swimming habits. She wondered if he had swum all the way to the island, which gave him an idea to convince Lumi of his magical abilities.

After breakfast, Eason stayed in Lumi's bed while she hummed and worked in her garden, plucked a chicken, hung herbs to dry, and folded laundry. Her suspicion, mixed with a certain degree of innocent curiosity, lingered strongly in the air. Barely five minutes passed without her poking her head through the door. Sometimes she asked if he needed anything, but often it was just a scrutinizing glance.

When his bladder was about to burst after drinking all her strange brews and chicken soup, he let her help him to the outhouse in the garden, her arm around his waist. He noticed his legs had regained feeling and strength. It was time for him to go home.