“Where are you taking me?” I whisper, afraid to speak any louder. Somehow, this place feels sacred—more than any house of worship I’ve ever been in.
“There’s someone I’d like you to see,” she says cryptically. “Not much farther now, child.”
Nodding, I continue to keep pace, though my limbs are begging me for a hot bath and a long sleep.
It seems like hours before we finally reach our destination—a red door at the end of another starlit corridor. Before she opens it, she turns to me and smiles, her eyes full of sadness and love and ancient wisdom I can’t even begin to comprehend.
“Thank you,” I say. “For finding me. For helping me. I wasn’t sure I’d see you again after Harvest Eve. You told me not all Arcana were meant to fight. I thought…” I trail off, my words tangling into nonsense.
“I did say that,” she replies. “But I changed my perspective. As much as you’ve learned from me, it seems I’ve learned from you as well.”
“What could you possibly learn from me?”
She reaches up and tucks a lock of hair behind my ear, her eyes sparkling. “When the world falls into darkness, we have but two choices. Exist in the darkness, or find a light.”
“Or become your own damn light,” I add.
“Well… yes! Maybe I should write that one down.” Lala laughs, but then her smile fades, her eyes glimmering with new emotion. “Existing in darkness allows darkness to exist. Topersist. But you… You have been a light to so many, Starla. You helped me realize I still have some light to shine as well.”
“More than you realize,” I say.
Lala winks, then opens the red door, gesturing for me to go on without her. “It’s time.”
“Will I see you again?” I ask.
She touches my face and smiles. “Most definitely.”
With that, I step over the threshold into another dark room, closing the door behind me. This time, the darkness is so deep and all-encompassing, it feels like I’m underwater, shadows pressing in on all sides.
But the air is clear and crisp. And when I take a deep breath, the familiar scent of roses and vanilla mint tea fills me, making my heart squeeze.
“Mom?” I whisper.
Soft, warm hands close over mine, and light fills the room all at once, illuminating a small but well-appointed apartment and the woman standing before me.
“Hello, my Starlight.” My mother beams at me, beautiful and whole and perfect.
“Holy shitcakes,” I breathe, and we both laugh as we wrap each other in a fierce hug.
When we finally pull back, she looks at me through shining eyes and says, “A wise woman once said, ‘there’s no problem a proper cup of tea can’t fix.’ Something tells me you could use a cup.”
I nod, struck mute all over again by the sight of her. The feel of her. She’s here. Not rambling in incoherent prophecies, but as the mother I remember.
I have no idea how much time we’ve got, but I’m grateful for even a minute to see her again. To share a cup of tea. To hold her. To tell her all the things I never got to say.
So as she leads me into a small kitchen and puts on the the kettle, I do just that.
* * *
“I am so sorry, Stevie,” she says, shaking her head over the rim of her teacup. “I never wanted you to see such horrors. But even if I’d seen this unfolding before I had the chance to bring you into this world, I’m afraid I would’ve made the same choices.” She smiles, then drops her gaze. “Selfish. I know. But I fell in love with you long before I ever brought you into this world. And love like that…”
I reach for her hand across the table, squeezing tight. “I know, Mom. I understand.”
And I do. Because of my mother, I was born a spirit-blessed Arcana witch with a destiny that led me to the Academy. To the men who cracked my heart open and filled it with so much love, I feel like I can accomplish anything. Do anything.Beanything.
She gives me an all-knowing mom smile, and in the warmth that follows, I finally ask the question I’ve been afraid to ask since I first stepped over that threshold.
“Mom? Where’s Dad? Why isn’t he here with you?”
