"Come to think of it, everything seemed normal before I lost consciousness this morning. It's after I woke up that everything became messed up," Alvin gritted his teeth. "Those bastards... I will beat the hell out of you one day."
As he stood up and stretched, his gaze fell upon the broken mirror in the corner of the room. Walking towards it, he froze as he caught sight of his reflection.
His eyes, once black, were now a striking shade of blue, vibrant and luminous in the dim light.
As Alvin blinked in disbelief at his reflection in the broken mirror, his mind raced with a whirlwind of confusion. How could his eyes, once as dark as midnight, now shine with an otherworldly blue hue?
Shaking his head in disbelief, Alvin tentatively traced his fingers over his face, half-expecting the strange color to vanish like a fleeting dream. Yet, the vibrant blue remained, mocking his attempts to rationalize the inexplicable.
As he stumbled out of his cramped room, Alvin found himself face to face with his little sister, Mia, perched on their mother's bed.
Elena, their mother, lay there, looking frail but still managing a warm smile. However, that smile faltered as she caught sight of Alvin's vibrant blue eyes.
"Alvin, what happened to your eyes?" she asked with concern.
Alvin shrugged, unable to provide a satisfactory answer even to himself. "I... I'm not sure. It's... it's like they changed overnight."
Elena, ever the voice of reason, offered a reassuring smile. "Perhaps you've awakened some latent ability, my dear. It's not uncommon for such things to manifest unexpectedly."
Alvin's eyebrows shot up in surprise, his mind racing with possibilities. "But... what does that mean? What kind of ability could turn my eyes blue?"
Elena's expression softened with maternal warmth as she reached out to ruffle Alvin's hair affectionately. "You've always been special, Alvin, in your own unique way, so don't think too much about it. I'm sure it will turn out to be something good."
Elena exchanged a knowing look with Mia before turning back to her son. "Well, Mia here has what we call the 'darkness talent.' It's a rare gift that allows her to manipulate shadows and darkness."
Mia beamed proudly. "Yep! I've got the coolest talent ever!"
Alvin rolled his eyes, unable to resist the urge to tease his younger sister. "Oh, please, Mia. With those short arms, you're more like a monkey than a talent prodigy."
Mia's face stiffened. "Short arms? You take that back, you bad brother!"
"You know, Mia, with those tiny arms and legs, you look more like a short monkey than a human sometimes," Alvin said with chuckle, completely ignoring the angry expression on her face. "But Mia, monkeys are really good at climbing trees! Maybe you can join them in the jungle!"
Mia's cheeks flushed with indignation, and she stamped her foot in frustration. "I don't want to climb trees like a monkey! You're just being a silly big brother with your funny blue eyes!"
Alvin smiled and said with a serious face, "Let me tell you a truth, Mia. Sometimes, when you climb around and jump on things, you remind me of the beautiful monkey princess that Mother talks about in her bedtime stories."
Mia's eyes lit up with excitement as she bounced on the bed, her imagination running wild. "Ooh, can I be a monkey princess, brother? With a sparkly crown and a banana scepter?"
Alvin couldn't contain his laughter at Mia's adorable request. "Of course you can, Mia! You'll be the most magnificent monkey princess in the whole wide world!"
Mia's eyes widened with excitement at the thought of herself wielding powerful magic and having thousands of monkey soldiers under her command like the monkey princess in her favorite story. "Really? Can I, big brother? Can I?!"
"Sure thing, little monkey! But first, we've gotta work on your banana-eating skills!" he said.
Mia giggled gleefully, her earlier indignation forgotten as she bounced up and down on the bed with excitement. "Yay! I love bananas! I'm gonna be the best monkey ever!"
"Hahahaha," Alvin couldn't stop smiling at her adorable expression. Elena also let out a soft laugh, although she is ill watching her two children always makes her happy.
Looking at her brother, who is laughing like an idiot, and her mother, who is struggling to keep herself from smiling, Mia realized that she had been tricked by her big brother into calling herself a monkey. She clenched her little fist and gritted her teeth as though she had lost a war against her brother.
Alvin grinned mischievously, wiggling his eyebrows at Mia. "Oh, come on, Mia! Don't be such a banana-brain!"
Mia stuck out her tongue in response, her tiny fists balling up in frustration. "You're the banana-brain, bad brother! And those blue eyes make you look like a... a... a big blueberry!"
Alvin burst into laughter at Mia's adorable attempt at a comeback. "A big blueberry, huh? Well, at least I'd be a tasty one!"
"Ah, I will pinch you, bad brother!" With a swift motion, she lunged towards Alvin, her tiny fists poised for retaliation.
Caught off guard by his sister's sudden assault, Alvin stumbled backward, narrowly avoiding Mia's pinching fingers. "Hey, hey, easy there, short little monkey!" he exclaimed, trying to fend off her relentless attacks with exaggerated flailing.
But as the squabble reached its peak, Alvin realized that he was perilously close to falling victim to Mia's pinching fingers of fury. With a swift change of tactics, he hastily excused himself from the battlefield. "Stop it... stop it, Mia, I am tired. I am going to sleep."
As Alvin retreated to his room under the pretense of needing more sleep, With a sly grin, she followed him, her tiny steps following him, like a mischievous imp on a mission.
"Hey, short monkey, watch where you're going!" Alvin teased, poking fun at Mia's diminutive stature as he reached his room.
Mia's face contorted into a scowl as she balled her fists, ready to pounce on her older brother. "I'm not short! You're just too tall for your own good!"
"Alright, you two, settle down now," Elena chuckled, her tone laced with fond exasperation. "Mia, leave your brother alone. And Alvin, stop provoking your sister."
Alvin shot his mother a sheepish grin before disappearing into the sanctuary of his room, leaving Mia to stew in her indignation.
Once safely behind closed doors, Alvin let out a sigh of relief. But as he settled onto his bed, his thoughts turned back to his eyes.
In a corner of his room, Alvin uncovered an old, dusty book – a relic of forgotten bedtime stories.
Seated at his desk, Alvin opened the book with anticipation, hoping the meaning of the words would jump out at him. For a while, he stared at the ancient pages, squinting as if the words would magically make sense if he looked hard enough.
"Do I need a secret chant or something?" Alvin mumbled, scratching his head in frustration. He decided to go with the classic approach of calling out to his powers. "Eye of Intent, appear!"
"Eye of Intent, appear!"
To his dismay, nothing happened. No mystical glow, no sudden surge of knowledge. Just the soft creaking of the floorboards and a disgruntled sigh.
"Maybe it's 'Blue-Eyed Intent'? Or 'Intent of the Blue Eyes'?" Alvin muttered, trying out different variations in vain.
With a defeated shrug, he sighed, "Didn't she say these eyes could see the meaning behind everything in the world? Why can't they even understand a small storybook?"
As Alvin lay down on his bed, his mind drifted back to the mysterious woman from his dream.