Chapter Two

Abby didn't die that night. I had gotten her to Margret in time. But she was still asleep. I felt awful about everything that had happened. Mom and Dad had pulled me away so Margret could focus. Apparently, I was screaming for Abby, but I don't remember that.

 I couldn't sleep that night, just sat there waiting to hear from Abby. Expecting for a small tapping on my window. My mom waited with me for a long time. She patted my shoulder and rocked with me. Even wrapping up the burns on my hands and arms. They still felt warm from where Abby was in my arms. If only I hadn't been so impatient with wanting to be a witch. If I had just waited and played the stupid game with the others, Abby wouldn't be in this position.

In the morning, a Court Magician arrived to look at Abby. Seeing the Court Magician was strange. They were twice the size of Margret. With long brown hair pulled into a low ponytail, and glasses. I couldn't tell if they were a woman or a man. The person was an old classmate and friend of Margrets. Margret seemed so happy to see them. It gave me hope.

They talked all day, not leaving the house. I wasn't allowed to go greet them in case I said something I shouldn't. It also didn't help that I just wanted to pull them to Abby's room. They should hurry and heal her so I could yell at her. She would pout, but she scared the world out of me. The time waiting for them to see Abby felt like years. I couldn't stop pacing in front of my home. Glancing up to see if they had left yet. When they left, Dad held my arms to keep me from running over to them.

"Lora, let them be for a while." He whispered. I know it was rude to interrupt a Court Magician. They usually dealt with things the Royal family asked them to. Stopping them or getting in the way would go against the Royal family themself. That alone could have you arrested. I didn't care if I got locked away. I just wanted to know about Abby.

Breaking free, I ran to Margret. "How is she?" I asked.

Margret looked like she had slept as well as I did. Her eyes sunken and cheeks red. She used to smile when she saw me or mom. No matter how old I got. Now she was just looking off into space. Like no one was standing in front of her.

"Abby has Sulken." Margret muttered, her voice quiet.

That must be a good sign. If we knew what it was, then we could heal her. "What's Sulken?" I asked. Even if there wasn't a cure, I'm sure I could find one.

Margret opened her mouth. A small croaking sound came out. Covering her mouth, she closed her eyes. I watched tears race down her cheeks. Margret turned and walked inside her home. I moved to follow, but a hand stopped me.

My mom stood behind me, her hand holding my shoulder. "Sulken is an illness caused by using magic too early. It's different in every case because of the spell the child used. It's from an excess mana that doesn't know where to go," Mom told me. Her face was tight as she spoke. Like she was trying not to cry.

"How do we fix it?" I asked, turning to her. Mom and I held the other's eye contact.

Mom shook her head. "There is no cure. Abby will be lucky if she wakes back up," but it was a lie. It had to be a lie. None of this was supposed to happen. Abby and I were going to be witches. We were going to make miracles happen. Change how people saw small villages. We planned on traveling the world, fighting, and curing people as we went. There wouldn't be a stone left unturned. We would not settle in a town or place until we saw it all.

Stunned, I let mom lead me away from Abby's home. I'm not sure where we were headed. I just remember my feet moving. All the things that I dreamt of, that Abby wanted to do, were disappearing. Like sand through the hourglass. I was here, but Abby wasn't. She would never see the things she wanted. She wanted to see the sea, to swim with dolphins.

I sat in my room, waiting. That's all I've been doing sense the night before. I hated being so weak. If I was faster, then Abby would have gotten the help she needed sooner. If I asked her to wait until the morning, Margret would have caught her before the spell was said. This was my fault.

 My skin itched, and I could hardly stay still. I opened my window and went to Abby's room. The normally noisy room, quiet. Abby had a hard time with the dark. Margret had placed spells on a chime in her room that would softly make music for her. Abby never slept without it.

I still couldn't believe that we broke the window that one time. I smiled at the memory. We hadn't meant to, but we wanted to play together. It was so silly now that I thought about it.

"Abby," I whispered, climbing into the room. Abby was lying on her bed. The only sound in the room was her shallow breathing. I pulled her desk chair to the bed. Sitting next to her, I took her hand in mine. The bandages itched, and I wanted to let go. But Abby needed me here. I couldn't leave her here like this. "I heard a witch came to see you. Mom says you have something called Sulken. I think you will heal soon." I told her. Abby just stayed unmoving. I laid my head on the bed. Listening to Abby's breath, I closed my eyes. "I'll find a cure, so just wait a little while longer." I told her.

The next morning I read a book to Abby. Expecting for Margret or Abby's dad to come in to see her. They didn't open the door. They must be exhausted if they are sleeping this long. Still, I could keep Abby busy until they came in. I read her the books on the shelf. It might be boring as we've read all these before.

"Abby, I'm going to get new books for you to read. Until then, I'm going to make up stories." I said, smiling. Abby didn't move, and I ignored the disappointment.

There was once a family of three cat brothers. They were laying in the sun relaxing when they heard a scream.

Running to find out what happened, they found a little girl facing a dog. The oldest brother ran forward, chasing the dog away. He was the wild older sibling wearing a tuxedo.

The second oldest ran to the girl and purred at her. Rubbing his fluffy, soft fur on her cheek. His cream-colored fur with brown boots keeping him warm in the sun. The little girl laughed, petting him. He would never miss a chance to have someone notice how beautiful he is.

As for the youngest brother, he watched in worry. His silver fur shaking as he hid behind a tree, his orange eyes giving away where he was. 'Who was this little girl? And why was she here?' He thought. He didn't think they should get close to this girl. It wouldn't make the most sense.

When the oldest came back from fighting off the dog, he looked at the girl. "Who are you?" He asked, knowing that his middle brother had a weakness to pets. It wouldn't take long before the middle brother was happily purring along. He wasn't so weak to fall for that trick. He was too strong and smart for that.

"I'm-"

Margret opened the door to Abby's room. I looked up and gave her a small smile. Margret didn't smile, just looked at Abby and I. Her eyes were dull, and face pale. Closing the door again.

Abby still didn't move. "Your mom is going to eat breakfast. I think she's worried about you, but she's still smiling. Your family is so strong," I told Abby. I didn't want her to worry about her mom right now. She had to focus on getting better.

"Where was I- "I muttered, continuing the story. The girl was a poor one from a village not too far. She was out getting herbs for her mom when that dog attacker hit her. The cat brothers offered to help her collect the herbs. They couldn't just leave her to do it alone. The eldest introducing himself as Johnny. The middle one is Sammy, and the youngest is Billy. They were bothers that found each other.

I talked for a long time. Telling the story of Johnny and his brothers saving the little girl from all kinds of things. The girl turned out to be quite accident prone. After realizing there was no end to the story, I thought I should have written it down. There was no way that I would remember everything. I was already forgetting parts of the story. I think I changed Johnny's name twice.

"Lora, I came to get you." My mom called from the other side of the door. I opened the door and smiled at her. Her eyes grew a little at my smile. I wonder why that happened. I had spent the whole day with Abby. Of course I would be happy.

"I'll be ready in a moment. Let me say goodbye to Abby." I said, turning to Abby. Awkwardly hugging her because she was lying on her bed. I didn't know that it would be so hard to hug someone who didn't hug back. "I'll be back soon. Sleep tight!"

The walk home was quiet. I told mom all about the story I told Abby. At least the parts that I could remember about it. How I was going to heal her and then help her learn magic? Or if Abby was too scared to use it again, I would just take her with me to travel the world. Just like we have planned to begin with. That nothing was going to happen as long as we kept Abby from getting bored.

"Lora." Mom said, her voice hard. She stopped in her tracks. Her face changing, and mouth opening and closing. I saw the tears filling her eyes. She wanted to say something, but I wasn't sure what it was. "I think you should spend some time with the village doctor. It will help you care for Abby… While her parents… heal from this," she said, her voice breaking.

I smiled at her. "That's a great idea! I'll go over tomorrow after I make sure Abby eats. Sitting her up on her pillows, I fed her soup for dinner. I bet she's going to hate soup after this." Abby liked flavorful food. The spicier the better. Her favorite thing to say is, 'If it doesn't burn your lips off, then it's not seasoned enough.'

The next morning, I went back to Abby's. Feeding her breakfast. "I'm going to learn from the doctor so that I can help you. I'll be back every morning and evening. You're not getting rid of me that easily." I laughed, poking her arm. Abby didn't move. I hoped she wouldn't get too bored without me here. Maybe I will ask for time off now and then once I get a good handle on the lessons. I bet Abby would say to just sneak out.

Walking over to the doctor Hibiki's home. It was a rather small house compared to everyone else's. Having only three rooms, and then his own bedroom. I remember dad telling him he would build a better house for him if he wanted. But the doctor liked his smaller house, said there was plenty of room for him. It was also almost dead center in the village. We planned so he could get to anyone's house without too much delay. But as the years go, the older man was having them come to him, unless it was important.

 I knocked on the door. An old man, balding with gray hair, opened the door. His short stature had me almost bending to look him in the eye. He answered and looking down at me with dark brown eyes. How he managed that while being shorter, I don't know. But I wanted to learn that too. "What can I do for you?" He asked, his tone cold.

Still, I was here to ask him for a favor, so I will ignore that. "I want to learn from you…please." I said, bowing in respect.

"Oh, really? I heard all about how you want to be a witch. Have you given up knowing what awaits you?" He asked, a sneer in his tone. That tone is going to drive me crazy. What does he have against witches? They were so cool, and could do so much.

"No, I want to help Abby and learn more about medicine. In a year, I'll take the witch test and pass. Then I'll find a cure and save Abby!" I told him, no longer bowing. I smiled and stared at him. He didn't look bothered by my words.

The frown on his face didn't lift even a centimeter as he watched me. "You're a fool," He said, slamming the door closed. I blinked and frowned at the wooden door. If he wanted to make this hard, then fine. I knocked again. "What?" He asked, opening the door.

"I want to learn from you!" I said again. He slammed the door as I spoke. If he thought that was going to make me give up, he was wrong. I kept knocking on his door until an older woman arrived to get her medicine.

She knocked on the door, and she opened it. A frown and glare resting on his face. He looked at the woman and relaxed. "Martha, I have your medicine right here." He said, looking around. Once he spotted me, I smiled, holding up my notebook and pen. I was ready for whatever he wanted to teach me. He just let Martha in and slammed the door again. With a frown, I thought about Abby. This was going to be harder than I thought. Still, I couldn't let this go.

"Abby would tell you just how stubborn I am if she could see this," I muttered, thinking about telling her all about it. She would agree that slamming the door in my face was the wrong move. He might as well just teach me what I want to know already.

Every day from nine A.M. I was knocking on the doctor's door and ask for him to teach me. Have the door slammed in my face was not fun. However, I wasn't letting it hurt my feelings. Instead, I let it help fuel my determination. I was going to make him teach me if it's the last thing I do.

When six P.M. hit, I was walking back to Abby's home. I told her all about how stubborn the doctor was. That he wouldn't teach me anything. She listened and ate dinner. It was soup again. Margret had said nothing to me sense that day. She didn't talk much to anyone anymore. Abby's dad was always at work now. He even ate there more often now. Eating in a barn wasn't healthy, but I also would find him wandering the village rather than going home.

When I arrived at the doctor's home after the sixth day of asking him to teach me, he was waiting. "When are you going to give up?" He asked, arms crossed.

"Not until it's time to take the entrance exam." I answered, smiling. He sighed and moved back into his home.

"Did you want to learn to not?" He yelled from inside. Grinning from ear to ear, I ran inside.

"Abby, he is the meanest person ever!" I whined, telling her about my day.

First, he had me sweep and mop everything. But only after moving all the books out and dusting off the shelves. He has so many books that most of them were sitting in piles and resting on the floor. It took all morning to move those books. But that wasn't all. No, he told me that the books were dusty too. So I had to open all the books, air them out and recluse them without bending a page. Once that was done, he made me rearrange all the furniture in the room, so it could have a cold cleaning.

"HOW DO YOU TREAT PEOPLE IN HERE IF IT'S THIS DIRTY?" I yelled, pointing at the pile of dust and dirt. I swept into a pile.

"I get busy. Hurry and finish, brat." He said, flipping through a book and sipping tea. He watched me clean all day. When six P.M. hit, I was ready to go back to Abby's.

"Lora, come here." The old man said. Holding up a book.

"What is it?" I asked with a frown. Abby was waiting for me. But then the old man did something nice.

He sighed and opened the book. "This is a book about how to care for a comatose person. Comatose is someone in a deep sleep." Abby is comatose?

"Does that mean she can be cured?" I asked, reaching out for the book. He pulled it back to him.

"I don't know. What I know is that people get sicker if they lay in one position for long. This book is about what you should look out for and how to keep young Abby healthy while looking for a cure," He said, giving me a look I didn't understand. Still, I smiled at him and the book. Now I could do more to help Abby. With this, she will heal faster once I make a cure.

"You're not so bad after all, Doctor Hibiki." I told him, laughing as he stuttered.

"YOU BRAT! Just wait for tomorrow, I'm going to work you to the bone!" He yelled, as I ran back to Abby's house. Now thinking about it, I didn't mind doing all that work. It looked like Doctor Hibiki worked hard to learn how to help people. There were even some newer books in his collection.

"Abby, do you think I could be an amazing doctor and find a cure for you even… even if I can't do magic?" I asked, looking at her desk. Abby never answered me.

 I missed her. She's only been gone for a few days but the part of my heart that was silent ached. There was no one to tease me about worrying if I could even get into the magic academy. The laugher at my stupid jokes. Or running around the feisty of flowers. All that was left was a room with too many memories and silence.

Tears fell from my eyes, but I refused to turn around. I wouldn't let Abby see me this way. Not when I had managed to not cry in front of her before.

But, there on the last page of the book Doctor Hibiki gave me were the words. 'The longest known coma survivor was only 5 years. It often takes longer than that to make a new medicine.' He didn't tell me, but he couldn't let me pretend too long either. I only had so long before time would run out. I would study everything he had to give me and more.

I sniffed, trying not to sound like I was crying. "Abby, I will save you." I swore to her. Hoping that she could hear me. I got her into this mess. I would get her out of it. Nothing was going to stop me from that.