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For as long as Luz could remember, she had loved the rain. She rejoiced the days coated by an earthy smell and soft pitter-patters on the roof.
When change warped every semblance of her familiar, rain had remained a steady constant. It washed away her worries and wiped her clean of any doubt. The droplets that kissed her skin whispered a soft promise that things would be okay.
In the rain, she could just be. She didn’t have to be a perfect student or daughter. Rain was rain, even when her house no longer felt like home.
And if the downpours were relentless enough, she could drown out thoughts of her English test tomorrow or the soft cries from her mother’s room when she assumed no one else was awake.
But now, as she stood before the sunken, haunted expressions of her friends, the rain felt cold and hollow. An afterthought, really. A mockery of what it once represented. It wept for the teenagers that stood before them, offering empty expressions of condolences that held no real weight. Like receiving a plethora of “sympathies” cards after her world collapsed in on itself.
It was a bandaid on a gaping wound, it would never be enough.
It was gone. Just like that, the only place that ever welcomed her with open arms disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. As she continued to swing the cabin door open and shut, she was met with nothing but a dark, desolate room
What an obscure sight it must have been. Because what fool opens a door and expects anything less than what was already behind it? A particularly annoying teacher from her childhood would have pointed that out as the definition of insanity, to do the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. Like opening the fridge repeatedly in a desperate, late night scavenge for food even when nothing seemed appetizing. Like expecting to return to a house that felt familiar with a dad that was still alive.
But no matter how hard she tried, she could not will the portal back into existence, so she pushed away the naive voice in her head that insisted she could and released her grip on the wooden doorknob. It felt like giving in, like accepting defeat. That the boiling isles were gone for good.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and forced herself to meet her friends’ eyes. They needed her. This was her realm, after all. She had to take the initiative. Because who else can? The boy who once prided himself on being the future ambassador of the human realm was sobbing on the ground. A scared child whose dream was now tarnished by the cruelty of her own mistakes. The rest didn’t look much better. More like a fleet of lost ducklings searching for their mother. It’s her duty to help them. She was the reason they were stranded away from home. The reason why none of them could return to their families. Truly, it was the least she could do. Would they be able to meet her eyes if they knew what she stole from them?
She barely avoided stumbling down the stairs to meet her girlfriend. She cupped her face, brushing away the sticky, wet hair that lined her forehead. Her eyes creased with worry when she traced her left brow.
“Luz, you’re bleeding”.
She rubbed her eye and found trails of watery red running down her fingertips. The cut from earlier had been deeper than she originally thought.
“I know. It’s okay, I’m still in one piece”, Luz said, forcing a smile. “I know where we can-“
A bright flash and crack of thunder jolted her. Everyone instinctually clung to each other at the sound. They couldn’t sit here forever. They needed to find shelter, and she knew the one place they would be safe.
She turned to the group and said, ”I’m not sure how lightning works in the demon realm, but it’s still pretty bad here, so we better get moving”. She hooked an arm around Amity while Willow and Hunter helped Gus to his feet.
It didn’t take long to find her neighborhood. She’d spent much of her childhood exploring every corner of these woods.
The group found themselves in a steady rhythm of boots sloshing in the mud. Until the familiar squish of damp earth turned into the rocky surface of asphalt.
“Wait!-“, Luz shot an arm forward, halting the group to a stop. A misty pair of headlights bounded towards them. Amity, Hunter, and Willow stood guarded, ready to attack.
“Hey, It’s okay,” she said, placing an arm in front of them. “I know it seems scary, but it’ll only hurt you if you walk right in front of it. It’s kinda hard to explain, so just go when I go, okay?”.
As promised, the car peacefully passed them with little fanfare. The group visibly relaxed and Luz breathed a sigh of relief. How in Titian’s name was she supposed to explain all this human junk to them? Of course they’d be afraid of cars. Who wouldn’t be at the sight of a giant hunk of metal with glowing eyeballs?
Luz glanced both ways, making sure the coast was clear. Once it was safe to cross, she ushered everyone forward. When they reached the other side, she could see the pale yellow of her house through dim streetlights. Despite the fact that she’d lived there for years before the owl house, it felt weird to call it *her* house. How can she be home without the shrieking sound of Hooty demanding a password, or king’s pathetic attempts at bread puns? Without Eda.
She sucked in a breath. No. Now was not the time to lose focus. She willed her legs not to wobble as she approached the front door and rang the doorbell.
There was some shuffling from the inside followed by a long stretch of silence. Her heart clenched with dread as she realized her mom might not open the door. She didn’t even think about that possibility until now but, chances are she probably wasn’t expecting visitors this late at night. But she had to open the door. There was no where else to go and her friends were counting on her-
The door swung open.
Luz played the possible reunion with her mom many times in her head. She often daydreamed of introducing her to Eda and King, retelling her brave tales of becoming a witch.
There was so much she wanted to say in that moment, but standing there in front of her mom, for real and not as a hologram, it felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. There was too much to be said, but also not enough.
Should she apologize? Should she introduce her friends?
Instead, she forced a teary smile and squeaked, “Hey mom, I’m back”.
She barely had time to finish her sentence before her mom engulfed her in a crushing hug. Clinging on as if any second, she would be ruthlessly dragged away.
But she was here, for real this time, and her mother had no plans of letting her go anytime soon, not if she could help it.
She wanted so desperately to keep her cool, to not seem like a scared child, but being in her mother’s warm embrace after so many months apart, the reality of the situation came crashing down on her all at once. She couldn’t help the tears that spilled as she buried her face into her chest.
Her mom inhaled sharply pulling her closer.
“Mija”, she breathed, barely a whisper. Although, It was more like a question, like she couldn’t believe the girl that was standing before her.
She didn’t know how long they stayed like that, seconds? Minutes? It could’ve been hours for all she knew, until she pulled away remembering she had company.
“Mama I know this is crazy, and I know there’s not a lot of space here, but my friends really need somewhere to stay and-“
“Hush”, she said, cupping her daughter’s cheek and brushing a tear with her thumb. “We’ll find a way to work it out, I promise”. She then turned to the herd of teens behind Luz and smiled. “Now, let’s get you kids dried up before you catch a cold”.
—
One by one, they each filed into the house. Luz shivered as the cold air hit her soaked clothes. There was an echoic squeakiness of wet boots on hardwood flooring.
“Don’t worry about the mud”, her mom chimed in, clicking the door shut. “I can deal with that later, let’s focus on getting you guys cleaned up”. She placed a hand Luz’s shoulder as they made their way into the living room. It seemed like her mom was making it her mission to keep a hand on her at all times. Like she was afraid that the second she let go, Luz would float away and fizzle into the clouds, never to be seen again.
There was a distinct wrongness to seeing her witch friends in the human realm. Like a strange dream that slapped people in random locations. It’s not like she never imagined bringing them here. The possibility hardly left her brain, mostly taking the shape of gushy fantasies of awkwardly introducing Amity to her mom and taking her on a human style date. However, that didn’t mean she was without her doubts. With the portal door being destroyed and her mom’s aversion to the demon realm as a whole, her dreams were stomped into a bitter pulp of the make-believe.
In a sad, twisted kind of way, she did technically get what she wanted. Whatever omnipotent being that put her in this whole debacle is probably laughing in her face right now. Here she was, in the human realm with Amity and all her other friends, meeting her mom. She wanted to go home, and home she got.
She’s home. Right?
She stepped into a living room that should have felt familiar, welcoming, but her stomach twisted painfully at a room without torches or walls that breathed.
“Vee, baby”, Camila called into the kitchen. “It’s okay, you can come out now”.
A green, scaly tale popped into view from behind the counter. A pair of white pupils peaked over the edge and widened.
“Luz?” Vee squeaked as she skittishly inched her way closer. Her eyes hap-hazardly scanned the room, flinching back when as she noticed Luz was not alone.
“Wait, what’s going on?”, she gasped, eyes darting towards Camila.
“Vee,” Camila said, reaching a hand out. “There’s a first aid kit in the bathroom upstairs. I need you to grab it for me real quick. I promise you’re not in danger or in trouble. I’ll explain in a little bit, okay?”.
Vee took a deep breath and nodded before slithering into the next room.
Camila turned back to the group of witches. “You kids stay here while I go grab some towels. In the meantime, feel free to take a seat and make yourselves comfortable”. She cracked a reassuring smile before taking off.
Minus the sound of the rain and thunder, a silence settled over the room. It wasn’t exactly unpleasant, but not necessarily comfortable either. It was like the energy had been sucked out of each of them.
“So, Luz”, Willow said, breaking the silence. “You have a sister?” The others perked up curiously at the question.
Luz shrunk back. It wasn’t like she was trying to hide Vee’s existence from them, but she wasn’t exactly eager to bestow every detail of her first reunion with her mom. Not to mention the incident at Hexside. There was never a good time to bring her up.
“Well, you could say that”, she said. “But she’s-“
“A basilisk”, Amity finished, shifting uncomfortably. The rest of them eyed her anxiously. Luz sighed and averted her gaze.
“I know you guys had some hiccups with basilisks in the past, but I promise you Vee’s not like the one at Hexside. She’s been through a lot, so please be nice to her”.
“Hey Luz, we’re not mad”, Amity said. “We’re just a little confused. Well, everything’s a bit confusing right now”.
Luz but her lip. Guilt welled up inside her as she let Amity’s statement sink in. She knew first hand how disorienting it could be in a different realm. This was going to be a major adjustment for all of them.
When Vee and her mom returned, they each dried off as Vee got to work with the first aid kit. They fell into a steady rhythm of patching up wounds as Luz introduced each of her friends. For a moment the lump in her throat eased the slightest bit.
However, her insides twinged with guilt as she realized the sheer amount of scrapes and bruises her friends received in battle. They got hurt because they tried to protect her. Because of a mess she made.
“You’re thinking too loud, Mija”, her mom said, placing a colorful bandaid on her brow.
Luz tugged at a loose strand of hair, avoiding her mom’s prying eyes. Sometimes it felt like she could see right through her.
“It’s not fair that my friends have to deal with this. It’s my fault they got hurt in the first place”.
“Hey”, her mom said, cupping her cheek. “What happened, happened. What matters now is that you’re safe. Glassy remnants of tears shined in her eyes. “This isn’t all on you, okay? I’m just-“. Her voice cracked. “So, so glad you’re ok”. She placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and got up to assist Vee with the rest of the kids.
In the corner of her eye, she noticed Hunter absently lifting up his glove and rubbing his sigil.
“Hey Hunter, how’s your arm holding up?”.
He startled, quickly pulling his glove down. “It’s fine. Well, ever since the draining spell stopped it’s been fine, just a little numb, so totally not a big deal”.
“Wait”, did you just say draining spell?” Camila said, suddenly frantic.
“Mama”, Luz said, “You remember when I told you about the Boiling Isles? About the evil emperor?”.
Camila’s features creased with worry as she slowly nodded.
“Things sorta got a bit crazier since I last talked to you. It’s a lot to explain”.
Her mom reached out and gently squeezed one of her hands. “Good thing we have all the time in the world”, Camila said, offering an encouraging smile.
“And don’t think you have to tell the story alone”, Willow chimed in. “We can help too”.
“Yeah, this isn’t all on you”, Amity said.
The conversation was suddenly interrupted by a stomach rumbling.
“On second thought”, Camila said, “We should get you kids something to eat first. Then, you can fill me in on the details”.