When her mother died when she was seven, Sophie cried for hours. She tried to hit and kick the invisible, magic-less monsters that she saw at night, but she couldn't.
Her father picked her up and carried her to the living room. Unable to move her limbs, she crawled to her mother's arms and fell asleep.
Sophie's father carried her back to their one-bedroom apartment. He placed her in the arms of their maid, mother of ten other children.
She took Sophie's hand and walked her out to her father's workshop. It was a routine night in the fourth block of Sakura town. It is a small village with a population of seventy-five thousand.
Her father moved other blocks around, clashing them to make the most perfect little house. Sophie's dad, like the rest of the villagers, could never manage to make anything that worked. After two years of failed attempts, he gave up.
Sophie's father considered how much this house would cost in real life, as he made the blueprint computerized. The blueprint calculated the costs to four hundred and fifty thousand yen.
Sophie thought that it didn't sound so bad and agreed to move in the house. Her father seemed pleased at her agreement. He walked over and declared that she would be the first one to live in the house before turning around to finish making the house.
Sophie was happy with herself. It was a simple, small village house but her father had made it for her. If this was what she could create, Sophie thought, she'd have a very good imagination.
When Sophie's father made the dining room furniture, Sophie couldn't stop eating. The cookies he made had magical properties, so whatever calories she took in wouldn't have any negative effects.
She liked this new house and she began to think about living here for the rest of her life.
Sophie woke on her eighth birthday in the little village house. She sat quietly in the living room, using her imagination to make herself a stuffed animal. Afterward, she spent hours making the waffles.
Her father awoke from the noise and quickly made coffee. While he ate the cake, she approached him. This was the day she was going to tell him that she knew about his past.
Sophie's father didn't want her to know. He stopped her mid-sentence and sat her down.
He told her that he had something personal that he must tell her and not to tell anyone else. He told her what to do and what not to do.
"You see, I have an ability. I make things that sometimes do not do what they are supposed to. Sometimes the blocks don't move even though I just made them move. Sometimes I make them move and make them fall over or something."
He proceeded to tell her about how he couldn't control his magic. He had no control over it and sometimes it would fade away or disappear. He had to start over. He told her that he loved her, but he was powerless to help her with magic.
He told her not to tell anyone, ever. This was her secret. And he loved her so much more than anybody had ever loved her before, that he did not want the village to know.
"In an old container on the side table is when your mother found the box. She took it out, wondering if someone was trapped in it. The container had something inside - a white light. She didn't know exactly what was inside or what it might do. She opened the container and it melted away, expanding and entering her. Suddenly, she was like me - magic but without control. I walked in on her and saw her in an unknown place surrounded by glowing beings. They were like nothing I had ever seen. The glowing beings told me that the light was someone who had been a pupil to the archangels. They transformed her into a light and gave her to one who could lead the way. It was their way of doing a good deed. She was supposed to come back someday, but she never did. She moved on to a place I do not know. Somewhere comforting with no fear. I suppose she is happy there. That's why you were born. It was my first step at redemption. And ever since then, I have tried to give you the best life allowed. You know me. You are my daughter. I am your father. It is my fault for not letting you experience whatever magic you could have performed."
Sophie was shocked. She had no idea what to say.
After several minutes of silence, Sophie ran up to her father and hugged him. Her father cried at having to say what he did. But he knew that he had to. It was the right thing to do.
Sophie's father was a good man.
A few days later, Sophie talked to Alex, the village mayor. He had always been nice to her and even asked what school she wanted to go to. He had all the village's schools in his pocket, so she picked the all-girls school in Cherry Garden Town.
Sophie later went to her father's workshop. She could smell the fresh stench of fresh building blocks and wax. She picked a block up, ran outside, and built a wall.
Sophie was trying to use her reality blocks. She thought that her father had made a path for her and a small house by the woods. She wanted to give him something, so she decided to make him and his family a cabin. She made it in the woods, at the back of their garden and built the house. But it only appeared in her room. Sophie was confused.
Again she went to her father with the blocks. She wanted to build him something.
He said that she could only learn how to use them. He went to his workshop and picked up a block. She tried to copy him, but she couldn't. She was unhappy again.
