The Owl House episode 16.5 - Understanding Boscha

Chapter 6 - A New, Unfortunate Beginning

     After the last memory of Boscha and Willow encountering had turned to static, the backgrounds slowly faded into view. It seemed to be the cliff that Boscha's sister had died from. Young Boscha was sitting on the edge, her hair down, fiddling with a stick. She seemed to have a blank, dead stare and the frown seemed to pull her entire face down in misery.
     All Willow and Luz could do was stand there, with blank expressions as well. The witchling seemed to feel no emotion at all since the last interaction with a fellow witch. She was much thinner than the last memory.
     "Starving yourself won't solve anything. Go back home and feed yourself, kid. Sitting here being all depressed and emo won't get you anywhere." A strange voice said. The young witch lifted her head and turned around. All there was were trees, shrubs and darkness.
   "But it was my fault. My stupid fault any of this happened."
   "You couldn't have known." The voice replied, slightly solemnly. "This was fate."
   Young Boscha scoffed. "You're not an oracle, so don't go around declaring other's fates." She snarled.
    "I have friends who took time out of their day to teach me. I know many things you don't. This outcome will brighten your future, but you have to keep going."
    "How do you expect me to do that?" Boscha growled.
    "You are strong, young one. It may take months, years even, to find the right people to start the fire you once had. The fire is drowning day by day. It will become much harder to see the error of  your ways if you wait too long."
    "I have no one left." Boscha muttered, tearing up. "I had to cut ties with Willow. I don't want to associate with Amity. My parents don't give me the time of day anymore. The only one who supported me is gone forever." She clutched the stick in her hands, as if it were her only connection to life. Tears starting flowing down her face like an endless stream.
     "You will learn. I have faith in you, young witchling. Keep the spark burning in your soul. You'll need it to guide you." Just like that, the voice and any entity that could say a word vanished, and the entire memory started swirling. It went blank for a moment, until the same younger Boscha sat upright in her bed, her face stained with tears, her hair messy, still clutching the stick.
     "Stupid oracles. Yeah, feel free to pop into my mind at any time, why don't ya." Boscha sniffled and wiped at her face, placing the stick on the desk beside her. She lay her head back on the pillow, staring at the ceiling. Her eyes held no emotion, just a blank stare.
      Luz looked over to Willow, expecting no reaction. Instead, from the side angle, underneath her glasses, Willow showed so much emotion that Luz couldn't pinpoint the most major one. Luz was good at that, considering her social status back in Connecticut. But Luz shook her head. She wasn't in Connecticut anymore, she was in a place that made her truly happy, and she had to help her friend through the tough situation.
     "There was nothing you could do. Everything she did over the years were her choices and you couldn't do anything about it." Luz said, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder.
     Willow sighed. "I know. I just wish she could've been like Amity, rebellious and full of hope for a better future. I don't know what I can do for her at this point, though."
     "Keep the spark burning. I'm guessing that can only mean... you having to repair the ties you cut with her." Luz suggested lightly.
     "That's easier said than done." Willow sighed again. "I can't just go up to her and say 'oh yeah I popped into your memories without your consent and now we have to be friends again, oh great joy for this day!'."
     "The sarcasm in that was unreal. However- ya know what I got nothing, your right. But maybe you can just talk to her first? Like, say, 'I don't know why we don't talk anymore so maybe we can chat like buds?'" Luz smiled brightly at her friend.
     Willow chuckled. Luz flinched. It sounded so shallow and empty, drained of any emotion. "I know, that was shallow. But something like that is worth a shot! No one can ever be too far gone, especially people at our age."
     Suddenly, static noises filled the ears of the witch and human and a new memory appeared. Boscha looked much older in this, around the age she is now.
    She was on her bed, holding a pillow in her arms, her scroll in her face.
     "Stupid half-a-witch. Stupid human. Stupid Amity, stupid everyone." She muttered lowly. Her hair was down but was messy, and there were bags under her eyes.
     "Does she get any sleep at all?" Luz wondered out loud. She felt a little worried for the witch- she seemed exhausted, on the verge of passing out.
     Speaking of, Boscha shut off her scroll and put it on the desk next to her-the same in the previous memories, just old, beaten-up and has some paint peeling off here and there. As soon as Boscha's head hit the pillow beneath her, she was out like a lightswitch. She seemed so peaceful in her sleep, and she wasn't constantly frowning or complaining about things when it didn't go her way.
     Willow would never admit this out loud to anyone, not even to Luz, but she seemed kind of cute in the unconscious stage. Willow only remembered a sleepover or two they had when they were young, and Boscha would constantly wear the same peaceful expression as she dreamed of whatever.
     "You know that face, don't you?" Luz asked softly.
     Willow smiled slightly. "Yeah, I do. And I miss it a lot, honestly."
     Luz nodded. She knew things wouldn't be the same anytime soon, but as long as she knew her friend would commit to fixing what was wrong, she would feel ok.