Life in Amritpura had grown just a tad more interesting ever since my dear, silly sister Sania declared she wanted to learn magic. It was like waking up to find your cow had learned to dance. Everyone was surprised, a little scared, but mostly cheering.
Except Rohan, of course. He'd been muttering things like, "She's betraying the Shadow Accord…" and "One more sibling joins the magical fold, I must now ascend the final stage of my forbidden path."
…Whatever that meant.
Meanwhile, Sania had thrown herself into magical training with the determination of a baby goat chasing butterflies. She'd been reading "Urja aur Tatva: Ek Prarambhik Gyaan" every day, sounding out the big words like "chakra pathway" and "energetic equilibrium" while frowning hard enough to scare flies.
She'd taken to sitting on the charpai at sunrise, legs folded in lotus pose, eyes shut tightly like a meditating monk—except her nose kept twitching whenever breakfast was nearby.
I watched from my usual command center (aka Meera Maa's lap) while sipping on warm goat milk. Sania was trying to "feel the Urja," which, according to Teacher Samira's book, was the first step to awakening energy flow.
But so far, her most magical feat was falling asleep sitting up and snoring like a little buffalo.
"Hmmph… so hard…" she groaned one morning, face buried in the book. "Why can't I feel the Urja?"
"Because you keep using your nose instead of your heart," I mentally replied. (Not that anyone heard me.)
Still, I had to admire her effort. The exercises weren't simple, even for adults. Sitting still, focusing on breath, understanding your inner body—these were way harder than they sounded. But my sister, silly as she was, didn't give up.
Meanwhile, in more important news—I had completed my greatest invention to date.
Drum roll, please...
(Drumming...)
'Thanks'.
Pikku Mark 5 had officially launched.
Let's back up a bit.
You remember Pikku, right? The magical surveillance bird I created using my cheat ability, "All Creation"? Originally just a vision-sharing tool, she had been upgraded four times already. But this version? Oh-ho-ho.
Pikku Mark 5 was no longer just a camera drone bird. No, no, no.
Let me introduce you:
Vision Sharing: I can still see through her eyes.
Hearing Sharing: Now I can hear everything she hears. Extremely helpful for... uh... exploring.
Command Range: Increased by 30 kilometers.
Lifelike Movement: She has gained a bit of semi-life. She's not fully alive (thank goodness, I don't need a rebellious pet), but she acts like a dumb doll cursed with just enough sense to follow orders perfectly.
Storage Belly: Yup, inside her is a spacious 200 square feet of internal space. That's right. I've created a magical bird with storage capacity! She can swallow and carry items like a mini flying warehouse. Take that, reality.
Downside? She's got the IQ of boiled rice.
I once told her to circle the hut. She flew into the tree. Twice. And then tried to nest on the thatched roof… upside down.
So yes, she's loyal, strong, convenient, and dumber than Rohan's imaginary enemies. But I love her.
Anyway, today's goal was simple: exploration.
Not spying. No, no, don't use such negative words.
I summoned Pikku Mark 5 with a mental call. She landed beside me, tilted her head, then bumped into the side of the charpai like a very polite wrecking ball.
"Operation: Village Recon. Begin."
She blinked once and took off into the sky, wobbling a bit before catching her balance and flying high, wings glimmering with a mix of white, blue, and a stupid kind of grace.
As she soared, I activated the vision-link. The world shifted in my mind—from baby on a bed to bird in the clouds.
First stop: the neighboring village.
It was a few kilometers away, nestled near a small river and surrounded by sugarcane fields. From above, I saw children playing, farmers working, and—
"Wait… is that a spice market?"
Zoom in.
Oh my sweet samosas.
They had ginger, dried chilies, cumin seeds, fennel, turmeric roots—and was that a jalebi stand!?
If I weren't stuck in a baby body, I'd teleport there right now and buy the whole cart.
"Mental note: visit this place once I can walk."
Back home, Sania was still trying her best. She had moved from sitting to slowly performing breath exercises. Every now and then, she'd poke her own chest and mutter, "Is this where the prana flows?"
Rohan, jealous of her attention, was drawing chalk runes around a bug.
"I bind you, tiny spider, with the Seal of Eternal Watchfulness!" he declared dramatically.
The spider walked away unimpressed.
By evening, Pikku returned and crash-landed on the rooftop with all the grace of a rolling pumpkin. But she made it. She even had a few shiny stones in her internal storage.
"You picked up garbage again, didn't you?" I sighed.
Still, progress was progress.
Later that night, as the family sat around the fire eating dinner, Sania proudly announced, "I think I felt something today! Like a tiny ripple in my chest!"
"That's probably hunger," Rohan muttered.
"No! It was warm and tingly, like... like sunlight inside my belly!"
Mother beamed, patting her head. "Keep going, my child. Whether it's real or not, you're trying—and that matters."
Meanwhile, I pretended to be asleep while internally reviewing Pikku's collected data.
Spice market. Small library. Two blacksmiths. A temple with some weird glowing stones…
Very interesting.
Maybe one day I'll learn teleportation magic and surprise the jalebi vendor.
Until then, I'll keep watching the world from above while Sania tries to feel her "inner flow," and Rohan continues battling imaginary deities behind the hut.
Ah… Life in Amritpura.
Magical. Chaotic. And just the right amount of silly.