The reason people around town knew me was because of the work I’d done.
I must’ve been working harder than I thought. It made sense, too, seeing as my life was on the line.
As I was lost in my own thoughts, the old woman brought me back to the moment by saying, “Isn’t it beautiful?”
I looked up and saw what she was referring to.
From this spot, we could see the entire town of Lapis glowing under the evening sun.
This was the town I loved, and my home.
Oh, right.
It dawned upon me.
I’ve always loved the people who live in this town. I helped them because I wanted to.
Somewhere along the way, I’d forgotten this.
“It’s your reward.”
“A reward?”
“A thanks, from Lapis to its citizen who goes out of her way, every day, to make the town better—to Lapis’s Witch.”
“You might be right…”
I walked the grandma to her house before heading back to the station. I took the long way back.
“I’m Lapis’s Witch…”
It was the nickname the granny gave me. Something about it made me proud.
My feet, which had felt like weights before, felt lighter—it made me want to skip.
I skipped through town, past the residential area, and through a crowd of people.
“Oh, it’s Meg.”
“Good day, Miss Witch. Are you on your way home?”
“Thanks for everything, Meg.”
“There she is again! It’s Meg!”
“Meeeg! Bye-byyye!”
The townspeople called out to me as I went by, and I could see their faces now.
They were the townspeople I loved. I hadn’t been paying attention to them these past few days.
I thought I didn’t know them, but now that I took them in, I realized I was friends with almost every one of them.
“Miss Witch.”
I heard a voice call to me from behind, and I turned to see a young man wearing a suit. I knew exactly who he was.
“Oh, hey. What a coincidence. I hope you’re feeling better about your job.”
“Are you on your way home?”
“Nah, I’m taking a walk.”
“Oh, perfect. I have something for you to thank you for the other day.”
He took out a paper bag, and I took it, saying, “Thanks.” It had freshly baked bread in it.
“Wow, this is from that bakery on the corner. This is my teacher’s favorite.”
“I actually just bought it. I was going to go bring it to you.”
“That would be a trip. You didn’t need to do that.”
The man shook his head.
“I wanted to thank you. It felt like my head was about to explode the other day with how stressful my work was, but I had no one to talk to about it. When you showed up out of nowhere and listened to me…it honestly felt like you saved me.”
“That’s a bit dramatic.”
“I still remember what you told me.”
“Did I say something good?”
“You told me I should be proud of myself.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, you said I should always be proud of myself. That sometimes things might not work out, but I should always believe in myself, no matter what. Your words really stuck with me.”
After he said this, he bowed respectfully.
“When you found me, nothing I tried was going right, and…well, it made me lose confidence in myself. But you let me know that if I was doing what I was supposed to be doing, then everything was all right. Your words really pulled me out of a dark place.”
“Hey, c’mon. All I did was lend an ear. You don’t have to bow like that.”
“Oh, I…”
“The bread is more than enough. If you ever have any more trouble, I’m always willing to lend a hand. Or an ear.”
The man looked up and quietly smiled.
“Okay. I might take you up on that offer. It’s good to know that Lapis’s Witch is on my side.”
I watched him go and took a deep breath.
“Lapis’s Witch. That’s a fine witch name, is it not, Meg?”
I turned around and found the Eternal Witch, Lady Faust, standing behind me.
“Oh, Teacher. What are you doing here?”
“I came to get you—my silly apprentice who left the house to walk around town without cleaning or getting dinner ready.”
“Oof,” I grunted, but there was something else on my mind.
“Did you say ‘witch name’?”
For a witch to have a name was a great honor and a sign that she had accomplished something great.
My teacher nodded and said, “I did. Witch names are treated like a badge of honor these days, but they are actually something witches receive from the people.”
“From the people…”
“When they accept you as their witch, they give you a special name that carries their thanks and trust. This is where witch names come from, and the people now call you Lapis’s Witch.” My teacher continued with her trademark slight smile on her face. “You are Lapis’s Witch, Meg Raspberry.”
“Me? I’m Lapis’s Witch?”
“To those people, Meg, you are no longer Lady Faust’s apprentice but Meg Raspberry, the witch.”
“Oh…”
When my teacher said this, I picked up on something about the day.
Before today, everyone around town called me Lady Faust’s apprentice.
But now they all knew my name and called me by it.
“No one recognizes you as a witch.”
“Why do you study magic?”
“You are studying magic without a clear reason to do so. This is the reason no one recognizes you as a witch, despite learning under Faust.”
I remembered what Sophie had said to me the day I met her, and felt like I finally understood what she meant.
I’d studied magic without having a real reason to. I didn’t have any goal or purpose; I simply did because I thought I was supposed to.
But ever since I started collecting tears of joy, I had an actual reason to learn magic. I was learning magic to help people—to make them happy.
Seeing me do this was what made the townspeople accept me as their witch.
I could feel my chest tighten and my eyes getting warm, and I bit my lip.
Seeing me do this, my teacher gave me a satisfied smile before taking a few steps. “Let us return home, Meg. It’s cold tonight. I feel like stew.”
“Wait, really?! You haven’t made stew in so long! What’s the special occasion?”
“What do you mean? You’ve just received your witch name. That’s definitely a cause for celebration.”
“Teacher…” I sniffled. “Oh, I almost forgot. I have some fresh bread. It’s your favorite!”
“Well, we’d better get home before it cools, I suppose.”
“Aw yeah, I’m gonna eat till I explode!”
I ran up and walked alongside my teacher. We could smell the fresh bread as the setting sun beautifully illuminated the evening sky.
“Hey, Teacher.”
“Yes?”
“I know what you meant earlier about not using magic at all today.”
I looked up at my teacher as I said this.
“You said it would ruin me, not because I couldn’t use the shards of emotion I gained with it but because of my magic.”
My teacher met my gaze straightaway with stern eyes, and I continued.
“I used to think that learning more and getting better at magic would be enough, but I was wrong.”
She remained silent, listening to me speak.
“It’s strange. The power of magic you use to help others is far more powerful than I thought.” Magic that brought smiles to peoples’ faces. The same people who shed tears of joy, all for me. “I realized that magic isn’t about skill or knowledge, but how much your heart is in it.”
This was something the witches and wizards of ancient times knew, and it was the most important part of magic—of being a witch.
“Meg. The journey to become a great witch starts from that sole realization.”
“Yeah?”
“There are mages who perish before they ever realize this, but you have.”
“Do you think I’ll ever become a great witch like you?”
“That, my dear, depends on you.”
Then it dawned on me to ask something I had been thinking about for quite a while.
“Is this something to do with the reason you took me in as an apprentice…?”
The Eternal Witch, Faust, showed a somewhat happy grin before answering.
“Who knows?”
She then looked away.
I guess I’m not getting an answer today, either.
We could hear the laughter of playing children mixed in with a car puttering by as the town’s sky turned crimson.
It was a busy night, and its people seemed a bit tired on their way home after a long day of work.
I loved this town.
As I helped more and more people, I learned how to handle a variety of problems. This slowly turned into a question of efficiency, with my first full tears of joy being the fuel for my efforts. This made me lose sight of what was most important: the feelings of those I was helping.
Thinking about what the person needed, sometimes learning something new to help, and giving it everything I had.
This was the reason I had grown—because I was doing my best for others. It was something I could be proud of, and it gave the tears of joy more value than just as a tool to extend my life.
These tears bound me to people who gave so much more back to me. They represented my relationships with people, lessons learned, experiences shared, and they were a part of my heart… Each and every one was a gift from the people I loved most. It was most evident when I strolled through town, as everyone who approached me was someone I’d helped.
As my teacher and I walked home together, White-Owl appeared from nowhere to perch on my arm.
“Ah! There you are! Where were you hiding?”
“Hoot.”
My aloof familiar was quite the rascal, but I loved him either way.
I’ll let it slide today.
“Come, Meg. We must return home before the stew gets cold.”
“Oh, right! Here I come!”
I was able to learn a bit more about what was most important to a witch.
I knew there was still a lot I didn’t know, but I also knew everything I’d done until now was not for nothing.
Tied to my belt was a bottle full of tears of joy. Each of the glimmering tears inside this bottle was like a medal to me, my treasure.
I had only ten months left to live, and I was living my life in a way I would never forget.
I looked at my two faithful familiars and quietly chuckled.
“Let’s go home.”