I fell limply onto the embankment. Something soon peered into my face.
“Squeak.”
It was Carbuncle, a familiar my teacher had summoned. He looked half-fox, half-ferret, and his fur was a beautiful green color, like an emerald. Though he was an animal, there were times when his cleverness seemed to outclass that of a human.
Carbuncle sat and stared at my face before offering a few friendly licks. I guess it was his way of trying to cheer me up.
“What is it, you cute little fluff-button?”
While there was a regalness to Carbuncle, he was a spoiled little bugger. I picked him up and pulled him over to me, burying my face in his soft belly. His belly was warm, so I loved snuggling against him.
“Who’s a good boy, who’s a good boy, who’s a good boy? Oh, bet that feels good, doesn’t it? Heh-heh, ha-ha-ha-ha, hee-hee.”
I was petting and fawning over Carbuncle as he let out little squeals of joy—and they most definitely were of joy. He wasn’t trying to escape our snuggle or anything. That’s for sure.
“Oh, you’re that girl who works for Lady Faust.”
An unknown voice addressed me, so I looked up and found a girl around five years old watching me. I didn’t know her, but it wasn’t uncommon for people to recognize me. My teacher, after all, was Lady Faust, the Eternal Witch. One of the best witches in the entire world. There were few people who didn’t know the witch Faust, which meant that by extension, a good number of townsfolk knew I was her apprentice. It wasn’t unusual for such people to strike up a conversation with me.
The young girl approached me. She seemed happy.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh, you know. Just enjoying the twilight sky. Takin’ a short break from life.”
“Wow. Your friend is cute.”
“Isn’t he, though? Wanna pet him?”
“Yeah!”
The little girl kept saying, “You’re so cute,” in a high-pitched voice while she petted Carbuncle. Carbuncle’s eyelids were heavy; he seemed comfy.
That’s not what you do when I pet you, though?
“Did you come here by yourself? This is pretty far from town,” I said to the little girl, and she responded with an enthusiastic nod.
“Yup! I want to ask Lady Faust a favor!”
“Oh yeah?”
“I want her to give Mummy lots of flowers so she can sleep tight!”
“Uh, what?”
“My mummy used to live in the hospital, but she finally moved out. But now, she never wakes up, and my daddy said that she finally gets to sleep after working very hard for a long time, so I wanna give her some flowers that smell nice.”
“Is that right…?”
It sounded to me like the little girl’s mother had died after a long fight with some illness. This little girl must not have fully understood the situation, because she simply wanted to give her mum some flowers.
Oh, right. This little girl doesn’t know what death is yet, I thought to myself, and somehow, I saw myself in her.
Flowers, huh…?
“How about this? Do you mind if I help you get some flowers for your mummy?”
“Really?”
“Sure.” I smiled. “I’ll help you with your favor.”
The girl and I followed the path back to town together.
“Hey, I dunno your name,” the little girl said, carrying Carbuncle in her arms. I shrugged and answered:
“You really ought to introduce yourself before asking people their names, ya know.”
“My daddy told me not to tell people I don’t know my name, though.”
“Well, it seems we’ve hit a bit of an educational paradox…”
We eventually managed to exchange names after another minute of back-and-forth around the conundrum. Her name was Anna, and she was the daughter of a doctor who lived in the center of town.
“So your dad’s a doctor…”
It made sense. Anna was well-behaved and well-spoken for her age; this much even I could tell. She must’ve come from a good family.
“So what kind of flowers would you like to get for your mum?”
“Hmm, I wanna get her favorite flowers!”
“And those are…?”
“Pretty pink ones! Mummy said she saw them before! That there were lots of them, and they were super pretty! She always said she wanted to see them one more time.”
“Uh, that’s pretty vague. There are lots of flowers that are pink… Did she ever say their name?”
“Nope.”
“So you wanted to ask Lady Faust for flowers you don’t know about?”
“I figured she would know.”
“Why would she…? Er, actually…I wouldn’t put it past her to know exactly the right flower…”
That old hag… My beloved teacher would probably use her All-Seeing Eye to look into the past. While it was difficult to tell the future due to all the undecided variables, it was pretty easy for her to see the past, as everything was already set in stone. Needless to say, I wasn’t capable of doing that. No one else was…
“I’m sorry, Anna. I’m not as good as my teacher yet, so I can’t figure out the flower’s name with no clues to go on like she can.”
“Really? Well, it’s okay. You don’t have to feel so sad.”
“Yeah… Thanks…”
Something about this hit me where it hurt, but I wasn’t one to let myself get hung up on things.
“So she saw the flowers once before… Do you think your dad knows about the flowers?”
“I dunno, but my daddy is probably home right now! Wanna go see?”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
I thought maybe Anna’s dad could offer a clue, so we decided to head for her house.
We continued along the riverside road, and the town gradually appeared on the horizon. This town was called Lapis, and it was a tranquil settlement in England with a population of about a hundred thousand people. Lapis was a long way from the bustling heart of London and was characterized by old brick buildings. It was what some might call a commuter town.
There was a railroad that connected the town to the capital, as well as the beginnings of what would become a subway that was still under construction. At the center of town was the square, from which extended four roads that led to the marketplace and residential areas. There was also an old clock tower that chimed in the evenings.