He had always found it ironic that his powers made him an outcast.
The young man wasn’t able to live among others. He wasn’t able to make friends and enjoy the social life that other eighteen-year-olds could. Even if he could become fully in control of his abilities, he’d be nervous of inadvertently letting loose with a burst of magic that would be his downfall. He could so easily slip from the status of outcast further down into the status of being undesirable, unwanted, and eventually, criminal. Most of the time he was able to regulate his supernatural abilities, but there were times when his concentration faltered and he’d inadvertently demonstrate something in public. Like the time he’d sent a tiny fireball into the magazine rack in the news agency, when the man behind the counter had been rude to him. Fortunately, he was able to put it out, leaving only a few blackened edges and a stink of smoke before quickly moving on.
That was quite a while ago now, and he’d moved away from the location, but it had been a wakeup call for him and he had since spent a great deal of time practicing. The previously, little-understood mind control aspect of it all, was now much better managed. Although he derived a lot of pleasure from using his powers to make things happen, he was very careful to perform these in total privacy. Sitting now, at the back of the old, abandoned warehouse, he concentrated on the discarded plastic shopping bag that the wind had blown his way.
Idly, and with very little effort, he began the process of heating the bag up. He smiled, when after a few seconds, it stopped rolling around. It shrunk and became still. He watched as it gradually melted down into a grey, blistered ball. After sitting looking at it for a while, he had it rise slowly into the air and then hover on the spot. Then he had it catch fire. It was now a small black ball of melted plastic, wrapped in flames and spinning slowly in mid-air.
He willed it to travel up further before drifting off to one side. It kept moving until it was directly over an old oil drum. It hung there, burning. Not knowing what the drum contained, he decided to put it out. Moments later, a small raincloud appeared above it and a steady rain fell, soaking it for a few seconds. Once out, he let the thing drop into the bin with a clang that made him grin. However, at that moment, his look turned to fear as he realised the man standing at the corner of the building must have witnessed the whole thing. He had to think fast.
The stranger looked older than him and gave the impression that he was a fellow street person. He staggered forward, clutching a bottle with his mouth hanging open. He would obviously be curious and full of questions. The younger man stood and faced him. He smiled and said, “Hello, friend. You’ve seen nothing strange here.” The man blinked a few times and said, “No, you’re right. I’ve seen nothing strange here,” and kept walking, taking an occasional swig from his bottle. The young man had long felt that he had the ability to perform mind control, but he had never before had the opportunity to put it into practice.
One thing was for sure; day by day his powers were growing.