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“Hi, Mom. I’m back.”
From the look on her mom’s face, Luz suspected that this was not the way she had imagined reuniting with her. She probably looked like a wreck; Luz felt like a wreck: bruised, bloody, and sopping wet. The rest of her friends weren’t any better. Speaking of friends, “Mom, these are my friends Willow, Gus, and Hunter and my girlfriend, Amity. They’re from the Boiling Isles.”
At the mention of the Demon Realm, her mom snapped out of it and ushered them inside. “Come in, come in! I can’t have you kids catching a cold.”
Kids. That’s all they were. How were they going to defeat a centuries-old being who could move the entire moon with a swipe of his finger, who had reduced Belos to a pile of goop with a single tap?
“I’m just about finished with dinner. Why don’t you all get cleaned up before then? Vee can show you around,” her mom said, trying to herd the wide-eyed group towards the bathroom. “Luz, can I talk to you for a second?”
Uh oh. Luz was not ready for this conversation, not in the slightest. “Mija, what in the world is going on? What happened to you?”
Luz chuckled, internally wincing at how forced it sounded, “Everything’s okay, Mom. This is just a small obstacle, but we’ll be up and at it again in no time.”
Eventually, she had to look away so her mom couldn’t see the tears forming in her eyes. She pulled Luz into a tight hug, saying, “I won’t force you to tell me anything but know that I’m here anytime. I’m sorry if I pushed you away before; that was not my intention. I’m just glad you’re home.”
“I love you, mamá.”
“I love you, too, mija. Now, I’m sure you and your friends are very hungry, so go get ready, and I’ll call you when dinner is ready.”
Luz headed up to her room and took a deep breath. It had changed a bit since Vee had occupied it for a while, but it still smelled of home. She noticed that some of her clothes were missing, presumably given to the rest of her friends. Right as she finished changing, she heard a knock on her door. “Luz? Are you here? Vee said that this was your room.”
“Hey, Amity. You can come in.”
“How are you doing?” she asked, softly closing the door behind her.
“Oh, me? I’m doing great! Back home, freshly changed, and about to eat dinner, what’s not to love?” Luz said, fake cheer oozing from each sentence.
“Luz…” Amity said.
“Kids! Dinner!” they heard Luz’s mom shout.
“Speak of the devil!” Luz exclaimed, reaching for the doorknob. “See you downstairs, Amity!”
“They have devils in the Human Realm?” Amity muttered to herself.
—
Dinner was uneventful, albeit a little strange. The soup was delicious, and Luz acted like her typical, bubbly self. It almost felt normal; Willow and Gus appeared happier, and even Hunter had cracked a smile or two. However, Amity could tell that Luz was not coping very well. On more than one occasion, Amity had also glanced at Luz’s mom. She didn’t seem to buy Luz’s act either if her pursed lips and furrowed brow were anything to go by.
Once everyone had eaten their fill, Luz stood up and announced that she was going to set up the sleeping arrangements. They all had decided to sleep on the living room floor since the couch was too small to fit five kids and a basilisk.
Luz hadn’t returned to the kitchen after a considerable amount of time, and Amity was starting to get worried. Surely, setting up didn’t take that much time; all it consisted of was tossing a few pillows and blankets together. With one last look at Luz’s mom, Amity said that she was going to check on her and see if she needed any help.
When she arrived, Luz was pacing back and forth, pillows and blankets being long forgotten.
“Luz?”
Not expecting to be caught, Luz flinched, whirling toward the sound of her name. “Amity! Hey…haha. Fancy seeing you here!”
“Luz, what’s going on? Please, talk to me,” Amity said, slowly approaching her as if she was a spooked animal. For a minute, Luz didn’t say anything, only collapsing to the floor and hugging her knees to her chest. Amity went to sit next to her, wrapping her arm around her.
“I don’t know what to do, Amity,” Luz whispered. “I feel like it’s my fault that you’ve all ended up here. If you had never met me, maybe you would be better off.”
“Don’t say that!” Amity exclaimed. “If we had never met you, Belos would have succeeded. Besides saving everyone on the Boiling Isles, you’ve made all of our lives better: mine, Willow’s, Gus’s, Hunter’s.”
“…”
“Even if you can’t believe it yet, just know that our lives are so much better because we met you,” she continued. “You don’t have to do this alone; we’re all here for you. And you don’t have to come up with a solution right away. We can take things one day at a time.”
Luz offered a small smile when she realized Amity had parroted back what she had told her at the Coven Day Parade. “Thanks, Amity. Eres la mejor novia que podría pedir.”
—
Later that night, when everyone’s breathing had evened out and most of them had fallen asleep (re: everyone except for Luz and Hunter), Luz reflected on the conversations she had that evening. She was so lucky to have friends and family that supported her and had her back at the end of the day. They would make it back to the Demon Realm, no matter what needed to be done.
Yeah, one day at a time.