undigested thoughts- someplace magical

For some people magic is something abnormal or strange, an entity that can't be explained. But for me, magic is everywhere. It's the faint sunlight spilling through the clouds after a rainy day. It's the sudden gust of wind that makes your body tense and shiver with unexplainable thrill. It's the nostalgic scent that pulls you back to your childhood home.

Magic can be anything, a moment, a place, a sound or even a memory.It's something that leaves a mark on you. I've come across many magical places in my life, but one place that I still hold dear is a particular road. When I lived in Bradford, my uncle drove me to school every day. there was one road we always took, a narrow, bumpy path surrounded by towering trees that arched over it, shielding the sky from view. Small, flimsy wooden fences lined its edges, worn down by time. We called it the "wolf road" because we once saw a fox and a deer dart across it.

Looking back now, it might not seem like much, but to my ten year old self, it was everything. Every morning, I would wake up eager for that short drive. I often wondered what lay beyond those wooden fences. Would I find an actual wolf? Did fairies or elves live in the woods beside the road? Was there an old, cranky witch living there too? Most of my thoughts were far fetched, but they kept me entertained, and that was enough.

Then one day, the wolf road was closed off. A long night of heavy rain had flooded it so the authorities decided it was no longer safe for use. My younger self's heart couldn't take it. She was devastated. Her entire day was ruined. That morning, we took the main road instead. I felt a sickening weight settle in my chest. The crowded, noisy streets were filled with traffic, smoke and angry drivers honking at each other. My magical escape was gone. It was replaced by something dull and ordinary.

As silly as it might sound, losing that road felt like losing a piece of myself. It had turned something as routine as a drive to school into something magical. Sort of like an adventure. But that's okay. Nothing good ever lasts forever.

Even now, I still stumble upon magic in unexpected places. A forgotten graffiti tucked between old buildings. A song playing softly from a stranger's headphones as they pass by. Like I said, magic is everywhere. You just have to open your eyes and not just look, but truly see. Notice the wonder in the ordinary, the voices in the silence, begging to be heard. The beauty hidden in the world around you. That is true magic.