Jacob woke up to the first rays of the morning sun hitting his face through the small window in his room. He stretched his little legs and arms as he yawned, reminded of being reborn in a new world.
'I am feeling much better after sleeping the rest of the night. A bit of a headache, but that might go away after I drink some water.'
Jacob then looked around his tiny room, remembering how his father had built it by splitting the boys' room into two rooms because Jacob had been jealous of Lila having her own room. After trying to explain to a four-year-old about why the only girl got to have her own room with no success, Arthur decided to give Jacob his own room.
'It's super embarrassing thinking about how that was just a couple of years ago, but I guess that is how kids act sometimes. The room is tiny, but my dad did a good job with it.'
After cleaning up and brushing his teeth, Jacob got dressed in his day clothes and went to the kitchen to get some water from their water barrel.
'I never questioned getting water from this barrel, but we have to follow a strict procedure when getting the water, and I have never gotten sick from drinking it. I know we have a well out back, but I was never taught how to get the water from it. . .'
To get water out of the barrel, Jacob had to carefully remove the lid and hang it above the barrel with the bottom facing outward. Then he had to scoop the water out with a ladle, which was kept in a separate smaller barrel next to the water barrel but was elevated off of the ground. He had to be careful to only touch the top of the ladle and scoop the water into his cup while it was held over a bucket on the other side of the water barrel.
He then had to carefully put everything back as it was and ensure the lid of the barrel was secured snugly.
Jacob then sipped some of the cool water which immediately felt refreshing, and his body decided to take over and drink almost half of the cup in one go.
"I guess I was a little dehydrated if my body reacted like that to the water. Perhaps I should also eat something to help retain the water."
Jacob then grabbed a slice of bread from the bread box on the table and sat down to eat it with his cup of water. The bread was a bit tough, but he expected that and used his water accordingly.
With his stomach sated and his headache fading, he decided to go out on the farm to have a look around in order to reconcile his memories.
'I should talk to my father while I am out to let him know I am doing much better now. . .I wonder where mom is. . .'
As he was walking to the back door, he heard his mom talking to his dad as they were coming through that door.
". . .yes, he was still asleep when I checked on him before I left. . . Oh! Jacob! You're awake!"
His mother rushed through the door as soon as she noticed he was on the other side of the back room and started feeling his face and hands. He giggled as she made such a fuss over him as he felt he was genuinely loved in that moment. He looked over at his father who was also smiling at May.
'What a wholesome moment, I am glad I get to experience such love in this life.'
Jacob couldn't help but smile, and when he looked at Arthur, he noticed his father also had a big smile on his face. As May seemed satisfied with the state that Jacob was in, she moved to the dining room where they could sit down and talk. Arthur patted his sons back as he led him to the dining room with his mother.
"Jacob, we just wanted to make sure you are alright and check if you remember what happened yesterday." His mother started the conversation.
Jacob replied, "I had a headache this morning, but I got some water, and I am doing fine now. As for yesterday, I just remember getting a really bad headache and falling down. The next thing I remember was waking up in bed and talking to dad before falling asleep again."
His dad had a weird look on his face; hearing Jacob talk more like a young adult than he had been the day before. Arthur just looked at May, who gave him a reassuring nod before he looked back at Jacob with a loving smile as his mother continued the conversation.
"I am glad you are feeling fine, and you look much better today too, I was just really worried about you, and I want to make sure you don't need more rest. It is fine if you need to spend another day in bed" His mother said to him with a serious tone.
"Mom, I am fine and honestly, I feel like I need to get out to clear my head the rest of the way. I don't know what happened, but I feel like I need to run around a bit and feed some of the animals."
At this point May looked at Arthur with a questioning look. Arthur had been watching Jacob and May talk the whole time and now he looked like he was thinking deeply.
'I can't tell if he has awakened his magic early or not, but he has always been quite cognizant of the animals as well as the feelings of his siblings. With his level of intelligence at such a young age, it would not hurt to let him know about magic before his siblings. His system will not awaken until he is 12 years old, regardless of the early gifts he may have received from the world. . .'
Arthur looked back at his wife and nodded to her, so she got up and gave Jacob a kiss on the forehead before leaving to attend to the rest of her daily duties. Arthur then gave Jacob a warm fatherly smile.
"Jacob, I am quite proud of how you conduct yourself as a young man. As for what happened yesterday, I think I have an explanation for you, but it will take a bit of time and some demonstration. Do you think you are up for it?"
Jacob became a little nervous at those words.
'Has he realized that I was an adult who has been reborn in this body? Was I talking too clearly like an adult instead of a child? No, come on, he does not look serious. . . he looks like a proud father who is about to teach his son about something important. I can't think of anything he would want to teach me right now that would be related to yesterday, though. . .'
While Jacob was still looking at his father he said, "I think I would be up to learning anything from you dad."
His words gave Arthur an even bigger smile and he started to look a bit excited.
"Jacob, I am going to teach you about magic."