It was still early enough in the morning for the roads to be empty. Everything was quiet, and the air was brisk. I stood before a lone brick building. It was a large house with a red roof and beautiful decorations.
I knocked on the window, and after a brief wait, a young girl emerged from behind the curtain on the inside. She seemed to be twelve or thirteen, as far as I could tell.
Our eyes met, and I smiled and waved at her. Her eyes widened with surprise in return.
“Whoa… That’s amazing!”
It made sense that she would be surprised to see me, seeing as this was the second floor and I was riding on top of an owl that was taller than their house.
“Hello, young lady.”
“Who are you?”
“I’m a witch. A friend of your grandmother’s. Is your dad at home?”
“Yeah, but I think he’s still sleeping. Are you here to see him?”
“I am. Do you think you could go get him for me?”
“Okay. Dad! There’s a witch here to see you!”
The young girl ran inside, and before long, a sleepy-looking husband and wife came back with her. It was Grandma Flaire’s son, Ed, and his wife. He looked at me from the open window, braving the cold air blowing in, before speaking up.
“Oh, I know you… You’re Lady Faust’s apprentice…”
“Meg Raspberry. I know it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, but I’m going to need you to take the day off from work today.”
“Huh?”
I gave a soft smile to Ed’s confused daughter.
“I said, take off from work.”
It didn’t take long for Carbuncle to realize his master was away.
“Squeak?”
He called out for her. White-Owl wasn’t there, either.
“Squeak, squeak…”
“Oh my. Is something wrong, little one?”
The noise he made as he searched for his master woke up Grandma Flaire, too. She gave the lonely familiar a gentle hug to calm him down.
“That’s odd. Wherever could she be?”
The two searched the house. They checked the bathroom; I wasn’t in the tub, the toilet, nor the sink.
Their search was interrupted by a loud thud from outside. The two looked at each other before making their way to the foyer and opening the front door. The cold air rushed in, wrapping around them both.
“Oh, it sure is cold today.”
“Squeak…”
The two scanned the front yard for Meg; puffs of white filled the air as they turned their heads. It wouldn’t take long for them, however, to notice the flapping noise coming from somewhere. It was a bit strange; the flapping was much heavier than any bird she’d heard before.
“Grandma Flaaaaire!”
“Meg…?”
The pair looked up, and their breath caught. It was White-Owl, with me and three other passengers on board.
“Guess who’s here to see you!”
I motioned with my hand, and Grandma Flaire’s granddaughter, Lily, poked her happy little head out of White-Owl’s feathers. “Hello, Grandmother!”
From under the group, Grandma Flaire and Carbuncle stared wide-eyed.
“C’mon, you guys! Ed and the missus!”
“Ah, ha-ha… Hey, Mum.”
“I-it is good to see you again, Flaire.”
Seeing her son’s family waving from atop a giant owl, Grandma Flaire called back cheerfully, “Welcome home.”
“You really surprised us, showing up out of nowhere this morning. You made it sound like my mother was unwell.”
The sun was up over the park by then. Ed and I sat on the same bench I’d sat on the other day. I watched his wife and daughter play, but I could feel his eyes like darts on my skin as he said this.
“You’re the one who never comes home anymore. I was just giving you a chance to.”
“That’s easy for you to say. Ugh… I had a really important meeting planned for today.”
“What’s more important, seeing your mother for the first time in years or going to some meeting?”
“Those are two very different things!”
Ed and I shared some prickly back-and-forth, only to be quelled by his mother. “Now, now.” She had hot tea ready in a thermos. “You know Meg meant no harm by it. And she’s right; you haven’t been able to take time off in years. You should enjoy the opportunity.”
“Listen, I…”
Ed’s expression up until that point made it clear he was upset over the situation, but as soon as he took a sip of tea, he said, “I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve come to this spot.”
“Feeling a bit nostalgic?”
“I used to play here all the time when I was a kid, with my dad before he passed away. You know that one giant tree in the woods? We used to go and see it together. We’d play all morning, then Mum would give us biscuits and lunch.”
“That was so much fun.”
Grandma Flaire smiled like she was watching the sight her son described unfold before her. She’d called this place her favorite spot. It was clear that it was full of memories for her.
“Dad! Come over here!”
Lily waved her hand for her dad, who, with a “Here we go,” stood up.
“I’ve been summoned.”
“Go have some fun.”
Ed walked toward his daughter and wife, leaving me and Grandma Flaire behind watching him. The two of us shared a small chuckle.
“Lily sure has gotten big.”
“When was the last time you got to see her?”
“Back when she was three or four. To be honest, I half expected her to have forgotten about me.”
“Looks like she’s got a good memory on her. This one’s got a bright future, eh?”