The first spell she cast was . In a typical classroom, students slouch, doodle, or stare at the clock. But when Mrs. Cross taught, the air changed. She would begin each lesson with a riddle, a paradox, or a single, impossible question: “What if Hamlet had said yes?” The room fell silent. That silence — that voluntary, focused hush — was her first enchantment. She made us want to know.

Of course, there were no literal fireballs or levitating desks. Her magic was made of patience, empathy, and a fierce belief that every student carried an undiscovered country inside them. She was not a mage because she broke the laws of physics. She was a mage because she broke the laws of expectation. She refused to let us remain who we were the day we walked in.

In myths, mages grow old, their powers fade, or they disappear into forests. But Mrs. Cross is still teaching, still casting her quiet spells on another generation. And her former students — now doctors, artists, engineers, parents — still catch ourselves thinking, What would she say? That is immortality. That is real magic.