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Magic was amazing. It was bright and pretty and bubbly and beautiful. And she loved it. She loved loved loved it. She loved the way the ground beneath her feet lit up as she skipped. The way a witch made fire from his mouth for everyone to watch. The little animals the witch with the eye hat had shown her. And she could do magic too. The weird witch had said so. He had sold her a special spell book and a wand.
She couldn’t wait to show it to her mom. She wanted to do magic and make her mom smile. If magic could make her this happy, then it could also make her mom happy. Giggling, Coco clutched the book close and started running back to the square where her mom was waiting for her.
As she passed an alley, Coco heard a noise that made her pause. It sounded like the noise an injured Owlcat would make. Coco and her mom had once found one behind their house. Its wing had been injured, stopping it from flying away with all its friends. They had taken care of it until it was healthy again. She had been so sad to see it fly; she had even cried. Her mom had held her close. She explained that the Owlcat was happier being free and flying with all of its friends. So Coco had wiped away her tears and waved it goodbye with a huge smile. Now she wondered if there was an injured animal in that alley. There was only one way to know for sure.
Giving in to her curiosity, Coco took a few steps back until she could peek into the alleyway. At first it was too dark for her to see properly. The light from the stone wasn’t enough for her to see. But Coco really wanted to know; she would be thinking about it all night if she didn’t know what was in that alley. So she stood up straight, took a deep breath, and walked into the alley.
A few steps in, she saw nothing but a small pile placed right next to the alley wall. Coco thought that the animal might be hiding behind it. But as she got closer, she realized that the pile wasn’t a pile. It was a small person. A crying person. The crying confused her; how could someone be crying on such a fun and pretty night?
So as her mom had taught her, she decided to ask. To see if she could help. Walking the last few steps forward, she stopped in front of the person. Holding her hands behind her back, she tilted her head, trying to get a look at the other person. It was no use. She could only see a nest of long curly black hair, a red cloak covering the body, and a red pointed hat thrown hastily to the side.
“Um, excuse me, are you alright?” She asked, her voice hesitant. The other person flinched but did not look up.
“Go away.” A soft voice, a girl’s, said. It was weird, like her mom's whenever Coco asked about her dad. It was sad too. Coco didn’t like seeing other people sad. Not her mother or the customers that came to their shop. But how could she help here? Oh! She remembered her mother saying that sadness always goes away when you have someone else to sit with you.
Determined to help, Coco steps forward and sits next to the girl. The girl flinches as their shoulders brush but doesn’t react any other way. Doesn’t look up and doesn’t tell Coco to move. Just keeps on crying, quieter now than before. Coco sits there playing with the wand in her hands. Not sure what else she can do to help. She knows she feels better whenever her mother hums her a lullaby, so maybe she could try that.
With a determined nod, Coco starts humming. Unsure at first, but her voice gets stronger when the other girl doesn’t say anything. Slowly the sobbing stops, and Coco feels the girl beside her shift. A purple eye peeks at her through a curtain of black. It’s pretty, pretty like one of the stones in her mom’s shop that Coco stares at all the time. Coco likes it a lot. Her mom promised her that she would buy Coco a pair of earrings of the same color when she gets older. She’s looking forward to growing up so she can wear them.
“What are you doing?” The girl asked.
“You were sad, and I wanted to help.” Coco shrugged. “My mom always says that sitting with someone sad always makes the sadness go away. So here I am.”
The girl didn’t say anything else. She kept staring at Coco, which made her nervous. Had she done something wrong? But her mom’s words always helped Coco; they couldn’t be wrong.
Coco couldn’t handle the staring, so she looked away. Her hands anxiously grabbed her new spell book and started playing with the corners. She decided to open a random page to distract herself. She wanted to know what kind of pretty spells were in the book. The book opened to a page with a Scalewolf and a Torchstag facing each other. In between the two animals was a strange circle. Coco didn’t recognise it, so she decided to focus on the two animals. The scales on the back of the Scalewolf shined and reflected the weak light coming into the alley. While the smoke from the Torchstag horns was so detailed it looked like it was moving. It was amazing and so so pretty. Coco couldn’t believe that magic was real. And that she could do magic like that witch with the eye mask.
So distracted with admiring the drawings that Coco didn’t notice the other girl get closer to get a look at the book.
“Where did you get that?” She asked. Coco turned to the other girl, eyes shining brightly as she stared at the spell book. One hand reached forward to trace the coat of the Scalewolf. She had a small smile on her face. Coco liked the smile. It was better than the sadness from before. It told Coco that the girl was the same as her. She also loved magic.
“A witch gave it to me. He told me I could learn to do magic with it.”
The girl looked at her in confusion.
“But you can’t learn magic.”
“Why not?” Coco asked, slightly offended.
“You’re not a witch; you’re an Unknowing.”
“An Unknowing, what’s that?” Coco asked as she tilted her head to the side. She had heard that word being used in her mom’s shop before but had never learnt what it meant.
“An Unknowing is someone born without magic. Someone who can never do magic.” The girl explained. Coco took in the words but did not believe them. The weird witch had told her she could learn magic. He had even given her-
“-a wand.” Coco pushed the hand with the wand in front of the girl’s face. “The witch gave me this. I can do magic with it.”
“No, you can’t.” The girl’s words were simple, but they made Coco angry. How could this girl know if Coco could do magic or not? Coco had never tried it before, and maybe if she tried to cast a spell it would work.
“You don’t know that.”
“I do.”
“How?”
The girl reached beside her and brought forward the cap that she had thrown aside. “Because I am a witch. And this cap is proof. All witches are recognised by their pointed caps.”
Coco could not believe it. She did not want to believe the girl. Because if she really was a witch. If she knew what she was talking about. Then that meant Coco really couldn’t do magic. The magic she had fallen in love with. The same magic that had made her so happy to look at. Coco would never be able to cash it. To use it to bring to others the same joy that it brought to her. The thought made her chest hurt. It made her eyes tear up, and before she knew it, Coco was the one crying.
The book and wand fell from her hands as she tried to hide her face. She heard the other girl say sorry and try to calm her down, but it didn’t work. Coco was too upset. She couldn’t even hear the girl properly. She just wanted to cry. She wished her mother was here. She would hold Coco close and run a hand through her hair. Hum her lullaby and tell Coco that everything would be alright.
Suddenly, a bright light came from the alley, making Coco look up. The sight in front of her had Coco stunned. There were small balls of glowing Owlcats all around them. They let out tiny ‘Hoot-mews’ as they floated in the air. They were so cute, and they looked so soft. Coco wanted to reach out and hold one close, cuddle her face into its soft fur. She reached a hand to do exactly that when the other girl stopped her by grabbing her hand.
“No, don’t.” Coco looked at her in confusion. “They are made of light. If you touch them, they will disappear.”
Coco nodded, disappointed but no longer sad. She happily stared at the spell, because it couldn’t be anything else.
“They are so cute and pretty. And they look so soft. Did you cast this spell?”
The girl nodded.
“I made you sad; I didn’t mean to. You helped me when I was feeling bad, so I wanted to do the same. I didn’t know what else to do, so I used this spell. Although it’s not very helpful.” The girl looked away as she said the last part.
Coco did not understand her. The girl said weird things. “Are you kidding me? This spell is helpful; it helped me. I’m not sad anymore. So it’s amazing. And it’s so cool and pretty too.”
The little witch looked at her with shy eyes. “Really?” The look didn’t last long. “But all of the other kids say it’s useless.”
Coco could not believe it. How could anyone call magic useless?
“Well, they’re wrong. It helped me, so it’s not useless.”
She went back to staring at the spell. It was slowly fading away. And soon all the Owlcats went out one by one. Leaving the alley dark again. Coco pouted; she wanted to look at the spell for a bit longer. Maybe the witch could cast it again. Coco quickly turned to the girl, startling her.
“Can you cast the spell again?”
The girl looked away, playing with her fingers. “I can’t. I’m not allowed to cast spells in front of others. I’ll get in trouble if someone finds out."
“Why not?”
“Witches have rules, and I’ve already broken one.”
Coco brought both of her hands together and made her eyes big. She used this trick on her mom whenever she wanted a treat, and it always worked.
“Oh please. I promise I won’t tell anyone.”
“I don’t know. I-” The girl leaned away from her. Her eyes avoided Coco. In doing so, her gaze fell on the spell book Coco had dropped. “Alright, I’ll cast it again. But only if you let me look at the book.”
Coco cheered as she hugged the girl. She would get to see the spell again.
“What are you doing?”
“Hugging you silly.” Coco giggled.
“Hug?” The girl asked, her voice so soft Coco could barely hear it. Coco pulled back to look at her.
“Do you not know what a hug is?”
The girl pulled her hair in front of her face and hid behind it.
“No-one’s given me one before.”
Her words made Coco feel sad for her. She couldn’t imagine never being hugged. Coco got hugs from her mom every day.
“Not even from your mom?”
“No, she’s busy with her duties as the head librarian.”
“Oh.”
The girl brought her legs up and went back into hiding. Coco did not like that. She liked seeing the girl smile and be happy. She really wished she could do magic. But Coco was not magic. According to the girl, she was just normal.
But even if she wasn’t magic, it didn’t mean that there weren’t other ways. Like the book, the girl had been interested in it and had even asked Coco to let her have a look at it. Maybe it could make the girl happy. So Coco picked it and held it out to the girl.
“Here.” The witch looked up curiously. “You can look at it.”
The girl slowly took the book. “But I haven’t cast the spell yet.”
“It’s okay, I can wait.”
The girl frowned at the book. “Close your eyes.”
“Huh?” Coco tilted her head. Why did she need to close her eyes?
“I’m gonna cast the spell, but I can’t do it if you’re looking towards me.”
Coco smiled and closed her eyes. She was excited to see the spell again.
“Promise me you won’t open your eyes until I say so.”
“I promise.”
“Okay.”
There was some noise coming from the girl. Coco couldn’t recognise what it was. She was curious to see what the witch was doing, but Coco had promised she wouldn’t look and she always kept her promises.
“Okay, you can open them now.”
Coco opened her eyes and saw the floating Owlcats again. There were more of them than before. She couldn’t stop staring at them. Magic really was amazing.
“I’ll cast the spell again once this one fades. Just until I can read a bit of this book.”
Coco nodded, too distracted by the spell and the idea that she couldn’t enjoy it for a while longer. The two spent the next few moments like that. The witch was distracted by the book while Coco played with the lights. Whenever they were about to fade, the girl would tell Coco to close her eyes and cast it again. Once Coco had forgotten that she couldn’t touch the spell and had reached out. As soon as her finger touched the Owlcat, it exploded into a shower of lights falling all over Coco, startling her. The girl had taken one look at Coco and started laughing. Hearing her laugh made Coco happy, so she started giggling too. By the time their laughter stopped, the spell had ended again, and the two girls were leaning against each other.
“Here.” The girl said as she held out Coco’s book, who took it back. She noticed a few pages were folded at the corners.
“What?” She looked at the other girl who was playing with her hands.
“The wand isn’t real, but the spell book is. It has real spells in it, but I can’t tell you what those are or how to cast them. It also had a few weird spells in it as well. They’re in those folded pages.” She suddenly looked up. “Promise me you won’t look at those pages or try those spells. They could be dangerous, and I don’t want to know that you got hurt. She finished softly.
Coco nodded quickly; the other girl had shown her such amazing magic. Coco would promise to do anything she asked in return. She would even return the book even if it meant breaking her own heart.
“I promise.”
Suddenly a rumbling noise came from the alley. Coco grabbed her stomach in embarrassment.
“Oops.”
She had forgotten how hungry she was. After all, this adventure had started with her going to get roasted strawberries. The witch stood up, dusted her clothes before holding a hand out to Coco.
“Come on.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s get something to eat.”
“But I used up all the money my mom gave me on this book.”
“It’s fine, I'll pay.” The girl said as she dusted her cap.
“Why?” Coco asked.
“Because you’re my friend.”
“We’re friends?” Coco couldn’t believe it.
“Yes, you helped me when I was sad. You like my magic even when no one else does. You even let me look at your book. That makes you my friend. Unless you don’t want to be?” She said, holding her cap tightly to her chest.
Coco rushed forward and hugged the girl tightly. “Of course I would love to be your friend.”
“Good.” The girl nodded as she hesitantly hugged Coco back.
They stayed like that for a few moments before Coco realised she didn’t know the girl's name and pulled away.
“What’s your name?” She asked.
“Agott.” She replied shyly.
“Oh, your name is so pretty, Agott. My name is Coco. It’s nice to meet you.” Coco held out a hand.
“It’s nice to meet you too, Coco,” Agott said as she shook her hand.
Coco used the hand to pull Agott forward and out of the alley. The two girls giggled as they ran through the crowd of people at the festival. Soon they arrived at the stall selling the sweet treat.
“Do you like roasted strawberries?"
“I’ve never tried them.”
“Why not?” Coco asked. “They’re the best snacks ever.”
“I’ve never been allowed to eat them.”
“Well, you can eat them with me now.” Coco turned to the stall owner and told her their order.
“Coco.” A voice yelled from behind her. Coco turned around to see her mother running towards her. Coco ran and met her mom halfway. “Mom.”
“Coco dear, where have you been? I was looking everywhere for you. I take my eyes off of you for one moment, and you’re not at the stall anymore. Are you okay? Did anyone hurt you?” Her mom started looking her over, making her giggle.
“I’m fine, Mom. I even made a new friend.” Coco turned around to introduce Agott to her mom, but she wasn’t there. She looked around but could not find her anywhere. “Where did she go?” Coco called out her name as she looked around frantically.
“Coco, what’s wrong?” Her mom asked worriedly.
“My friend Agott, she’s not here anymore.”
“She went with her family.” The stall owner told them. She pointed down the road leading away from the castle. “They went that way.”
“She’s really gone?” Coco asked in disbelief.
“Yeah, sorry, kid.”
“But I didn’t say goodbye to her.” Coco sniffled. Agott was gone, and Coco didn’t even know where she lived. She would never meet the girl again. Soon tears were running down her cheeks. Her mom held her close and patted her head.
“It’s alright, Coco. Everything will be alright.”
Agott saw Coco run towards her mom with a huge smile on her face and felt something in her chest ache. Why couldn’t she have something like that with her mother?
“Miss Arklaum, there you are.” Suddenly Agott felt a hand land on her shoulder. She turned around to find a witch working under her mother standing there.
“The window way back is ready. You must come with me.”
“But I-” Agott tried to reason with her. She didn’t want to leave yet. She still had to try the roasted strawberries with Coco. Coco who made her smile. Coco who loved her magic. Coco who gave Agott her very first hug. She didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye. Because she knew if she left now, they would never meet again.
“I’m afraid we can’t afford any more delays. Madam Librarian has requested your immediate return.”
And that was the end of the conversation. The witch knew Agott would never go against a direct order from her mother. Defeated, Agott nodded and walked away with the witch. She did not dare turn around and look at Coco. She knew that if she did, she would start crying.
And an Arklaum never cried.