“Meg.”
“Oh, uh, yes?”
“Your spell failed.”
“Mm…”
Later that night, my teacher was waiting for me in the study when I got home.
“I heard you flubbed your part of the barrier’s construction.”
“Yes… I’m really sorry. My only request is that if you’re going to kill me over it, please feed my body to my two familiars.”
My pair of familiars shuddered at the thought, but my teacher quickly dispelled their concerns by following with “Calm yourself. I have no intent of reprimanding you over it. You did it to protect Sophie, yes?”
My teacher looked straight into my eyes as she said this, and I could tell she knew everything. There was no way to pull the wool over the Eternal Witch’s All-Seeing Eye.
“While that may be the case, any more flops will certainly tarnish your name as a witch. I suppose it isn’t a problem if you are okay with nobody taking you seriously.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, Teacher. You’re a hundred million years too young if you don’t think I’ll spring back from this.”
“You’re in no place to be making jokes with only ten months left to live. Seeing as your dignity is on the line, I’ve decided to give you another job to handle.”
“A job?”
“You are to be in the parade.”
“What parade…?”
“The parade being held for the Celebration of Worlds. When the mayor heard Sophie would be coming to Lapis, he requested that she hold a parade during her stay. You will act as her assistant once more to help her with the parade.”
It made a lot of sense. Why not throw a parade when the world’s best parade thrower was in town? I couldn’t blame the mayor for wanting my teacher to make it happen.
That said, I was a bit anxious about taking on the role.
“I mean, I’m all for un-tarnishing my name and all, but…do you think it will fly with the mayor? I doubt he’ll trust a witch who screwed up as much as I did.”
“We’ll tell him that I am the one who wants you to assist me.” Sophie was standing in the doorway. “That I won’t hold a parade unless it’s Spberry helping me.”
“Sophie…”
“There you have it. Sophie is one of the Seven Sages with duties outside the parade, as am I. It is better for us to have assistance from where we can get it. I’ll let the mayor know that I’ll take care of whatever happens if things go awry. Also, my back is feeling much better thanks to your herbal patch.”
“You’d do all that for me?”
“Your name being tarnished tarnishes mine as well.”
“You adults and your silly names.” Something then crossed my mind. “But wait, don’t we hold a fireworks show every year for the festival? If we hold a parade, won’t it put a damper on the fireworks show?”
“Unfortunately, there won’t be a fireworks show this year.”
“Why’s that?”
“The town’s amazing fireworks maker passed away this year from an illness.”
“What…?”
I’d never met the fireworks maker before, but his creations were something I looked forward to every year. Hearing that he’d passed away was quite shocking.
“That is why it falls on you and Sophie to lift the town’s spirits for the festival.”
“Are you okay with this, Sophie?”
“I’m the one who caused trouble in the first place, and I don’t like owing anyone favors. I won’t let things end this way. I will get my revenge.”
“What was that last part?”
“Then it’s settled. I will be leaving this to you.”
My teacher looked at me with her usual grin, which gave me the confidence to answer with a bold “You’ve got it!”
Lapis was always lively in the days leading up to the Celebration of Worlds. The entire town was filled with guests from other worlds. Beastfolk, elves, dwarves, and any other mythical creature imaginable. These guests who came from beyond the portal were referred to as our otherworldly neighbors.
There weren’t many opportunities for different worlds to connect, as the number of locations that could magically support an open portal were limited in both this world and others, making the Celebration of Worlds a special event. This was why so many guests came from such a wide variety of worlds. This was also what made Lapis’s Celebration of Worlds so famous.
Travelers who saw otherworldly neighbors walk the streets of Lapis were often captivated by the sight; some even took out their phones to snap photos. The citizens of Lapis, however, were more accustomed to the annual visit, with many of them approaching the guests for conversation.
Most of the drifters who found their way to our world were good people. At the very least, the barrier kept anyone who harbored ill will from passing through.
I walked down the main street, taking in the lively air of peace that could be felt throughout Lapis. Next to me was a brown-haired girl with a hat and glasses. It was Sophie, in disguise.
“Okay, Sophie. I want you to teach me everything you know about parade throwing.”
“I will, in exchange for a sample of all the morsels available at the stands today.”
“Riiight.” I didn’t have the money for that. I would have to send the mayor an invoice for it later. “But wow, just look at all the people.”
“Is it rare for it to be this crowded?”
“You betcha. This is a small town, after all. Don’t get me wrong, it gets crowded around this time every year, but there’s way more people here than usual. And they’re here to see you and the parade we’re going to hold. It’s fun just thinking about showing all these people our parade.”
“You seem happy, Spberry.”
“It’s not every day you get to throw a parade. I’m also excited to see how many tears of joy this rakes in for me.”
This was it. Holding an event that moved people to tears meant more tears in my pocket. It was my big chance, maybe even my only one, and it definitely helped that I had Sophie, one of the Seven Sages, in my camp.
Sophie frowned at my remark.
“What are you going to do with tears of joy?”
“Huh?”
Thinking back on it, I’d never had the chance to talk about my curse with Sophie—to explain that if nothing was done, I would die in ten months. After telling a handful of friends about this, I thought it would be easier to talk about by now.
“Well, the thing is…”
I couldn’t find the right words to break it to her.
“Spberry.”
“Yes!”
“The food on that stand looks delicious.”
“Huh? Oh, the skewer place…?”
The tension released from my shoulders when Sophie decided to abruptly change the subject. We were about to pass a stand that was serving food from another country.
Sophie, drawn by the smell, began slowly veering toward the shop front. She was like an animal.
“I want to eat here.”
“You’re free to buy a skewer, if you’d like.”
“I don’t have any cash.”
“But you’re a Sage?”
“I put everything on my card.”
“You’re so bougie…”
I trailed behind Sophie, staring at her back. I wondered what she would think if she learned that her new friend was going to die soon.
I couldn’t bring myself to say it yet, and as we continued to explore the different stands set up all around the main street, the subject of our conversation drifted to something entirely different.
We were supposed to be there to get a lay of the street for the parade, but Sophie was having too much fun. She had almost more food than she could carry, which she stuffed into her expressionless face—looking like an apathetic hamster. She was definitely enjoying herself, to say the least.
“Do you not get the chance to come to these events often?”
“Om nom nom. Ah do buh nom nom.”
“Please swallow your food before you try to speak.”
“I do, but never at a leisurely pace like we are today.”
“That’s a surprise, considering you attend some of the world’s largest festivals.”
“If people find out I’m there, it draws a crowd. Plus, it would be boring to come to one of these alone.”
Oh, she’s usually the main attraction at events like this. People would definitely want to approach her if they saw her walking around on the street alone, which must make it difficult to go out by herself.
“I guess that makes me, the first person you’ve gone to a festival with, your first friend.”
“The concept of a friend feels vague to me. And you’re my assistant.”
“You’re cruisin’ for a bruisin’.”