The Adventurer's Brother

It began one warm summer's day in a small town not too far from the mountains.

A young man walked into the cafe known as the Grimoire.

The woman who owned the place, one named Lyren, sat humbly behind the counter as she poured hot water into a teacup. The dimly lit cafe was like something out of a fantasy, as the gray floor and the ceramic walls made the round building seem strange.

“Excuse me?” the young man asked. “Are you...Lauren?”

“Actually, my name is Lyren.” The strawberry-blonde woman turned to face the young man. The willowy beauty dressed in pink adjusted her glasses before looking at the stranger. “Can I help you?”

“Maybe. I'm sorry, but I have to ask if you know a man named Davis.”

“Hm?” Lyren stopped. “My father's name was Davis, but I don't know any others.”

“That's the thing.” The young man looked down and he seemed nervous.

“What? Do you know something about him?”

“I know Davis Marinacci is my dad,” the young man said at last. “I...He told me he had children before he met my mom.”

Lyren was silent. She seemed to think it over before she looked to the young man before her. “Hold on...I need to ask my sisters here before we go any further.”

“I understand.”

Lyren then offered him a cup. “Do you drink tea?”

“Yes, but not very often, do you have jasmine?”

“I do.” Lyren smiled as she went to get a bag and then  looked to the young man one last time. “So, what's your name?”

“Mine? I'm Michael. Michael Jason...Well, I'll tell you my full name when my other sisters are here.”

“Sure. I have a feeling Marissa and Mei will be excited.”

-

Three hours later, after Michael had drank his fifth cup  of tea, he began to wonder if this place was even real. Most of the books in the room seemed to have some kind of ancient writing, all of them dusty and old, and whenever Lyren left through one door, she seemed to appear from another.

“So, are you a magician?”

“I think that's apt, though a witch taught me magic,” Lyren said as she reached out and a book on a shelf flew towards her.

“Wait, as in a real witch? Not a rabbit out of a hat stage magician?”

Lyren nodded. “Yes. There's plenty of legitimate spellcasters. You speak as if you haven't encountered any.”

“I haven't.”

“Well, I'm glad to be the first.” Lyren smiled. “You know,from over here, you do look a lot like-”

“Lyren! I came as soon as I heard!” shouted a female voice.

“Hey, wait for me, Marissa!” another, slightly more surly voice shouted.

Moments later, a girl in a red hat and goggles burst through the door. With long, brown hair and bright blue eyes, she walked over to Lyren, embracing her tightly.

“Agh! Marissa, my spine!”

“Oh, sorry!” Marissa stopped hugging so tightly. “I guess I've been helping Breaker spar a little too much...”

“My Gosh, Mari,” another woman who looked almost identical to Marissa, save for having green eyes and straighter, more maintained hair. She had her hands on her knees and was panting. “How does someone who eats as much chocolate as you run so fast?”

“Adventuring burns a lot of calories,” Marissa said, though the green gem on her necklace shone brightly.

“Well, where is he?” the other young woman asked as she caught her breath and approached her sisters.

“He's right over there, Mei.” Lyren gestured to Michael. “Michael, this is Marissa and Mei. They're my younger sisters.”

“Twins?” Michael asked as he approached. “I've never heard of twins, either.”

“...You're kidding, right?” Mei asked.

“Actually, I am.” Michael smiled. “Sorry, I joke a bit when I'm nervous.”

“No need to be.” Marissa looked at him and smiled. “So...you know our dad?”

Michael looked to Lyren. “You didn't tell them?”

“I told them there was someone they should meet immediately. That's about it.”
 
“Hoo boy,” Michael sighed. “Guess that kinda puts me on the spot.”

“Well, do you know where our old man is?” Mei asked.

“Our is very appropriate in this case...” Michael muttered.

“What?”

“Well, I should probably just rip the bandage off. My name is Michael, you can call me Mike if you want, and...Davis Marinacci is my dad.”

Both Marissa and Mei paused before looking to Lyren. The taller lady nodded.

“Wait, so he's our brother?” Marissa asked.

“Before we start welcoming him to our next family reunion, can we even be sure he is our brother?” Mei asked.

“Do you like chocolate?” Marissa asked.

“I love it. It's probably my favorite food.”

Marissa smiled and looked to Mei. “See?”

“...Look, just because we ALL like chocolate, it isn't proof. Otherwise, anyone with taste buds that work is our relative.”

“Well, why not just get a DNA test?” Michael asked.

“Good, then we'll just wait a few weeks on pins and needles.”

Marissa stepped over to Michael and whispered. “Don't mind her, she's kinda touchy around new people.”

“Mari, quit telling him things!”

“Mei, don't be mean. You want to make a good impression as a big sis.”

“Hm...How old are you, anyway?” Mei asked.

“Nineteen.”

“Ah, so he was born when we were four,” Marissa said. “And when Lyren wa-”

“AHEM! So, to move this along, he actually does have two things that might serve as proof.” Lyren looked at Michael. “Can you show them?”

Showing them his left hand, he revealed a ring on his pointer finger. “My dad said this was his since he was young. He always wore it until he gave it to me when I turned fifteen.”

“I think I do recognize it,” Mei said.

“Me too; Mom had a lot of pictures where this ring was on dad's finger. She said it was one of a kind.”

“The other is that DNA test you wanted.” Michael reached into his pocket and produced a piece of paper.

Marissa began to read it hastily. “Dear...According to DNA results....our lab can determine with relative certainty....Relation between Michael Jason Seager and Davis Roland Marinacci...”

“You brought that with you?” Mei asked.

“Well, I assumed you'd want more than my word. Does that work for you?”

“It's as good as we can get for the moment,” she admitted. “So, I guess you are our little brother.”

“Seems that way, at least. Sorry to come here and drop a bomb like that on you. I understand if you need time to process.”

“No, I'm kind of happy to hear,” the green eyed sister commented. “We thought our dad was dead for a long time, so hearing he's been around is nice...Doesn't make him any less of a deadbeat, though.”

“Same here.” Mike folded his arms. “To be honest, he was hardly ever around. He only visited once in awhile and on my birthdays. I hardly knew him...Or if I did, I can't remember him.”

“What do you mean?” Marissa asked.

“Well, I've had some bad bouts of memory loss.”

“Lyren, do you think you can help him with that?” The red hatted young lady looked to her older sister.

“Memory magic isn't my specialty, but I can try.”

“Wait...You can do that sort of thing?”

“I don't like to do it without asking permission, first.”

“Um, sure. Just promise not to get rid of anything important, okay?”

“Don't worry. The spell is one of unveiling, not erasure. Even then, one can't fully wipe away a memory.” As two of her fingers glowed, Lyren reached out and touched Mike's forehead, careful to access his memories.

Mike felt disoriented for a moment before he closed his eyes, suddenly in a blank void. “It's empty here...”

“This is a newly formed mindscape. It will take some time for your memories to transfer here. Once they're here, we can see the ones that are clouded.”

As if on cue, several bubbles began to fill the void, many of them moments Mike recognized. His first kiss, his ninth birthday, the time his mother had bought him a brand new toy he always wanted. All of them came flooding to him.

“This is incredible!”

Lyren chuckled. “Well, I'm glad you think so. Now, your clouded memories should appear...Oh...”

Suddenly, several more bubbles, all of them dark, murky, and surrounded by gray fog flooded in. It was more than one or two, but several dozen.

“Are ALL of those things I've forgotten?”

“Not quite. Normal forgotten memories would be small bubbles with some clouding. These are memories that are being intentionally hidden.”

“But by who, and why?”

“I can't say...I can try to uncover a few...” Reaching out, Lyren touched the nearest bubble, only to be blasted back by a great force. “Agh!”

“Lyren!”

“I'm...I'm alright, it was just repulsion. Whoever did this was very serious about keeping you in the dark...” Lyren looked pensive. “We best stop for now, until I can find someone to undo this.”

“You mean you can't?”

“I'm still a novice when it comes to memory spells. This is the work of someone well versed.”

Mike was silent, looking at the many bubbles and feeling tension all around him. Soon, the memory scape faded and the world was back, now with Marissa and Mei looking at Mike.

“You okay?” Mei asked.

“I'm alright, just...Confused.”

“If it's okay with you, maybe you should stay someplace locally for a time.”

“Sure. It'll give me a chance to get to know my sisters.”

Marissa began to scratch her cheek and laughed nervously. “Actually, I was on my way to an adventure.”

“Marissa...”

“But I can stick around. I want to get to know my new brother, too!”

“Thanks, you guys...I really do appreciate it.” Mike smiled, glad that he had finally met his family.”