Winter Wish

8

Friendship

Over the next few days, Luna went to the sorceress almost every evening and most afternoons when she could.

By now she was so used to this magical meeting that she would place the book on her lap and whisper the sorceress's words by heart, and in the blink of an eye she would find herself in her cozy cottage, return to her room when she was done, and fall asleep marveling at how interesting her new friend was.

The sorceress was, as she had expected, very compassionate and strange. In the few days they had spent together, she had begun to think that Stella avoided people because of her soft heart, let alone because she would curse a human being.

All day long she was trying to help all living creatures, devoting most of her time to it.

She treated injured animals in the forest, revived dead plants, left little surprises on the doorsteps of those in need.

Of course, none of the people in the town thought that the sorceress had done these things, but were grateful to their relatives, to whom they had their own rational justification for dedicating these secret favors.

It was always the sorceress who cleared the roads blocked by snow, who brought a lost girl back to her family, who brought an orphaned child to a couple who had spent their lives in a cloud of sadness because they could not have children. Perhaps she had more to do with the peace and happiness they were so used to in their town than they could have imagined.

Still, it was strange. Why was she helping people who made up such terrible things about her?

Stella was really strange.

Luna was so amazed at what she did around her that she had slipped and fallen three times in the snow while chasing after her, and Stella had taken care of her, although grumbling each time.

She really was like an angel of goodness. She wanted to tell everyone in town everything she knew about her, to introduce her to Bella, to spend the night with Felix on her doorstep, but she couldn't do any of that because the sorceress had warned her very seriously.

"If you mention my name anywhere without my permission I will erase your memory Luna, remember that."

"What?"

"Yes, you'll forget you ever met me. And I'll take the book back from you."

"But... But-"

Stella didn't look angry as she frowned, but Luna still shuddered.

"I told you, you tend to think you understand everything, but in my eyes you know nothing. So either you listen to me or you pay the price for not listening. You have no other choice. Do you understand me?"

After this conversation, of course, Luna had to shut up.

She didn't want her memory erased. Nor did she want to forget the sorceress.

Stella was a bit harsh and overbearing, but Luna knew deep down inside that the sorceress had a point. Anyway, when she asked her something, she usually either didn't answer her or told her the truth. She never resorted to lying, even though she obviously loved to make little puns. So Luna was used to keeping her mouth shut, even though she wanted to tell the world how wonderful she was.

That day, as she had done for days, she retired to her room early in the morning. The most fun activity in her life right now was spending time with the sorceress. She had been neglecting her family, hadn't seen Bella for days, and had unknowingly missed a lot of the work she had to do, but her family hadn't reacted to her yet.

They assumed they were dealing with Luna's occasional unhappy face. It didn't happen often, but sometimes Luna would withdraw into herself because of this issue of not finding the love of her life. Someone would make an offhand comment or ask a rude question that hurt her, or she would suddenly despair that she was going to die alone and just shut down.

After a few days she would resume life with her usual joy and energy and try to reassure her family that one day she would surely be happy.

Of course, she was not aware of this, but her family attributed this to her constant disappearance in recent days. Perhaps the only one who was too disturbed to ignore it was, as always, Felix, but he hadn't yet had a chance to ask Luna what was wrong.

After placing the book on her lap and whispering the words as the sorceress had taught her, Luna found herself sitting, as usual, in an armchair in the sorceress's cozy cottage.

"Good morning Stella!" she chirped as she heard the sorceress answer her with a smile on her lips that she tried to hide.

"Good morning Luna, there you are again."

"Yes! I wish you could come visit me one day."

"I could if I wanted to."

She shrugged her shoulders and Luna rose from her seat and joined her in the kitchen. She put on an apron and thought about what she could do to help, while addressing the sorceress who was kneading dough.

"I think I'm beginning to realize that your hurtful words were not meant to hurt me."

"Are my words hurtful?

"Of course."

Sighing, she straightened the vegetables that had obviously been left on the board to be chopped and picked up the knife. She was quite handy in the kitchen, as she often helped her mother.

"Why do you think my words are offensive?"

Luna paused in her chopping for a moment as the sorceress looked at her. Stella seemed curious.

"Didn't you say you could come if you wanted to?"

"Yes?"

"By saying that, aren't you saying that you didn't come because you didn't want to?"

"But-"

Luna raised her hand as she interrupted the sorceress, surprised herself.

"Don't be so quick to object, after all, you're not a person who thinks she knows everything," Stella raised both eyebrows and looked at her intently, but this time she didn't open her mouth. "I accept that people don't always make the right assumptions, but I think you are being too careless in these situations. You must remember how powerful words are, Stella. One moment they can make you the happiest person in the world, but the next moment they can be the thing that breaks your heart the most."

Stella thought silently for a while about what the girl had said.

She had been silent for so long that Luna had begun to think that she was not going to answer, but when Stella came to her minutes later, wiping her hands clean as if she had finished with the dough, she was smiling.

"You really are a very nice person Luna, I hope your view of the world never has to change."

"Really? Do you really think so Stella?"

Luna was so happy at these words that she lifted her chin proudly as she looked at the sorceress eagerly like a child. She seemed to take on the justified happiness of a student receiving praise from her favorite teacher.

"Yes."

"Then it wouldn't be strange to think that one day a man might realize it too, would it?"

"Which man?"

Luna pursed her lips slightly as Stella looked at her curiously.

"I have no idea."

"So there's no man, but you're hoping that any man would realize how valuable you are?"

Luna grimaced, but it didn't last long. A second later she was giggling.

"Sort of..."

"I'm sorry, Luna, but if I can't even understand what you're trying to say, even though I'm so well-educated, maybe you shouldn't get your hopes up."

Luna frowned, taking a pinch from the bowl of flour on the counter and blowing it in her direction.

"You're being hurtful again."

Stella scattered the flour with her hand. "Enlighten me, please..."

So Luna decided to tell her. Even though she had never told anyone about the man of her dreams and the details she kept in her mind about him, she felt like telling the sorceress everything.

Stella would not judge her, would not condemn her and most importantly would not try to comfort her with strange words. She could tell her as much as she knew her and she didn't have to worry about that. Maybe she could have come up with a reality that would have dashed her hopes because of the impossibility of her dream, but she had decided to take that risk because once she started talking, she couldn't stop talking. And maybe, if that happened, it would also bring Luna to her senses.