Willow awoke on her old bed in her father's home, in the room she had slept in as a child. It had been a day since s She had returned from the "trip". She had once again passed out on the way home from Hieroland and believed Wes had carried her. She had to make up more lies when her father questioned her about her reappearance, such as how she had finished her project early and could spend the weekend at home.
After her mid-day nap, she yawned and stretched before noticing the evening sun was low in the sky. On her nightstand was a note from Wes.
"I am going back to the city. Rest assured, you will see me again."
She scoffed. Her mind had been racing with numerous thoughts for hours, and a headache had been developing now. She remained in bed until her father checked on her and was shocked to see that his daughter had a fever. He made soup for her and after making sure that she drank it in its entirety, he gave her the medicine. After that, she dozed off and awoke at midnight. She no longer had a headache and her fever had subsided. But her mind was still racing with the thoughts she had before.
It was best for her to put it in writing. She saw the rose-colored glasses at her desk and stashed them in the top drawer.
She opened the final drawer, pulled out her old journal, and began to write.
'No, I don't know or am even certain of what is happening. I am not sure. All of my efforts might turn out to be utterly useless. I keep getting the sinking feeling that something will go wrong. Wes might turn on me and violate our agreement. What's to say that he wouldn't be tempted to keep all the herbs for himself? And I can't compete with him. If we got into a fight, I cannot win... I should stop right now.
I should focus on school, grades, and a job perhaps. I could find a better doctor for Dad. If I gave up, Dad would forgive me, right? Who am I kidding? He doesn't even know that I'm doing this.
So I could do nothing, give up... and nobody would know.'
There was a knock at her door.
Willow closed the journal when her father walked in.
"How are you feeling now?" he asked.
"Much better," she said. "It's almost midnight, Dad."
"I have to be at work early tomorrow and I wanted to see you one more time before you leave."
Before Willow could tell him how grateful she was to have him as a father, Robert stepped further into the room to reveal a bag that he was holding. Willow hadn't noticed it until now.
"I...um...I got you something," he said.
She turned around in her chair to look at him.
"What is it?"
He reached inside the gift bag in his hand and took a brown wallet out. It was a regular wallet, nothing fancy. That's what she thought until she saw her name engraved in the corner.
"My coworker and I," he began, "we were out for lunch and ended up in this shop. She purchased a handbag for herself and I wanted to get something for you. I believed a wallet would be more appropriate given your dislike of carrying things."
He handed it to her. When she opened it, she found several pockets and compartments for her essentials and felt the faux leather with her fingers along with the engraved name.
"I love it, Dad. Thank you," she expressed. "I love it so much."
"I'll let you get back to your... journal," he looked at the closed blue-colored diary.
"Wait," Willow called out. "Was this lunch by any chance...a...date?"
Her father stood near the door, mouth agape.
"Dad, you know it is okay for you to date, right?"
"It wasn't a date," he said before walking out and closing the door.
Willow immediately regretted her words. Of course, he couldn't date. What would he say to the woman when he was having one of his attacks? Sorry, I'm cursed. I sometimes have spasms in my entire body but don't worry, it stops in a few seconds or a minute until it eventually kills me.
She opened her journal again and wrote.
'Fuck self-doubt. I'm doing this no matter what.'
***
The following morning, she returned to the city on the first train, and when she arrived at her apartment, she discovered that the door was unlocked and two men were removing boxes from the building.
She went straight into Noelle's room where she found everything packed up.
"What's going on?" Willow questioned.
"Where have you been?" Noelle calmly asked as she carried the box into the living room and placed it on the floor for one of the men to take it further.
Willow followed her.
"I've been trying to get a hold of you," Noelle said. "I tried calling you but your phone was off. It's very unlike you."
Willow took her phone out of her pocket to find the battery dead.
"I forgot to charge it."
"I'm moving out," she said. "I know it is short notice, but Jason asked me to move in with him. I couldn't say no."
"Of course, you couldn't," Willow muttered under her breath.
One of the men came back and carried the box off the floor and out of the apartment.
"What am I supposed to do now?" Willow abruptly blurted. "I can't afford to live here all by myself. I don't even have a job anymore."
"You could get another roommate. I'm sure you'll have no problem finding one. This is a great apartment."
"I know it is." She plopped down on the couch. "Wait, what's the date today?"
"29th...why?"
Willow closed her eyes in disappointment and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"It's the end of the month. I will have to pay full rent for the next month unless I can find someone within a day."
"I'm really sorry. I hope things work out for you," Noelle said coming to sit on the chair at Willow's side.
"Sure you do."
"We have so many memories in this house! I am going to miss you so much."
Willow could no longer think of anything memorable that they did, nonetheless, she was sympathetic.
"I wish you had told me sooner that you were moving out," she voiced.
"I know..." Noelle pouted her lips. "I wish I had known sooner too. It happened so fast. Now I don't have enough to bring to his house. I will have to go shopping."
Silence fell upon them for a moment. In the background, men were still carrying out all the boxes.
"I had been meaning to ask you something," Willow stated.
"Sure. Go ahead."
"Did you tell anyone about Maxon and me?"
Noelle pursed her lips.
"Willow..." she had guilt all over her face. "It was at a party. I was drunk and we were playing truth and dare...and they dared me to tell a secret that no one else knew. I am so sorry. I didn't mean for it to happen."
"Get out."
"What?"
"Leave," Willow spoke with conviction.
"But Jason isn't here yet."
"You can wait outside."
Noelle left right away. Before locking the door, Willow waited for the men to remove all of the boxes. She couldn't believe she was sharing a house with someone who was unfit to be a friend. Yes, they had some enjoyable times together, but none of that mattered at this point. Willow mourned the loss for all but five minutes.
Willow went to her room and opened her laptop to look for a job since she might have to pay full rent now. She could not find anything worthwhile or intriguing. Not having a roommate and moving out would be worse than having a boring job. She noticed a particular job title. It was for full-time work at a publishing company. She excitedly clicked on it as fast as she could, only to find that the listing had expired. She closed the laptop while grumbling into her pillow.
After a sleepless night and restless morning, she attended classes, drank a strong cup of coffee, turned in her assignments, and worked on her projects.
It was late afternoon when she entered the club meeting room.
"Willow," Felicity said, looking up from a clutter of papers sprawled on the desk. "You're finally here."
"Did you change your mind?"
Felicity sighed.
"You understand I can't admit you to the committee just because I like you. If I did that people would start to doubt my authority.
Willow had a Cheshire grin on her face.
"You like me?"
"You're alright."
"So what did you summon me here for?"
"I can't let you in the committee, but I found a way around it. You can join the club, become a member, and help us organize the events. Eventually, you'll be let into the core team."
"Great, where do I sign up?"
After all the paperwork, filling out forms, and signatures, they were finally done. The two sat opposite each other when Willow broke the silence.
"Where do you live?" She asked. "I'm looking for a roommate and you're the first person that came to mind."
"Oh...I have my own place. I'm not looking to move anytime soon," Felicity replied apologetically. "You could move in with me though. I think it would be kind of nice to have someone around."
"It's certainly something to think about."
***
Willow noticed Kairav conversing with someone outside of one of the vacant classrooms as she walked down the hallway. He excused himself when he saw her.
"What did you say to that witch," he asked at once.
"Nothing...why?"
"She said she sensed something different about you."
Willow frowned.
"I don't know what this is about. Maybe I should see her again."
Willow made her way down the hill and away from the campus. She was aware that Wes was in the city, but she had no idea where to look for him. Conveniently, the part of his note that assured her to be at ease and that she would see him again left out the details of when and where.
She hoped to catch a glimpse of him somewhere in the city as she walked through one of the busiest streets.
"Ugh," she whispered in frustration, "where are you, Wes!"
As soon as she uttered the words she felt a surge, a rush in her veins. She looked around to see golden dust spiraling out of her hand and pointing in a direction. She reasoned as she followed it that the binding spell must be at work here. It took her to the outskirts of the city.
It might be a trick. It might take her nowhere, or worse, it might put her in harm's way. But the simple desire to trust her instincts drove her actions. She halted. The golden dust pointed in the direction of the woods. Her fist clenched as she moved through the tall trees, twigs snapping under her feet and birds chirping, alert and aware of the new intruder.
She didn't stop moving forward until she arrived at a house. An old, two-story house with a fence surrounding it. The golden dust subsided. She took another look at the house before opening the fence's gate. She knocked on the door of the house and waited for an answer. One minute passed. She knocked once more. No response.
'Of course, who would live in an ancient house in the middle of nowhere', she thought and turned around to leave when she heard the sound of the door opening.