Winter Wish

11

Where You Belong



Stella didn't know how many days had passed when she finally found what she was looking for, but she was done.

One thing had been on her mind for days. The last time Luna had visited her, the idea had come to her like a possession and had haunted her until she had found an answer. That was just the way she was, she could never help herself in such matters. Even when people disappointed her in return, she couldn't stop wanting to help them.

When she had confessed her feelings to her and sincerely admitted that she believed she was a soul mate, she had thought of the poor woman who had come to the forest and found her all those years ago. Until that day, Stella had never dealt with such a matter, so she didn't know, but there was one thing she had learned thanks to that woman: The world was bigger than she thought, and people really did have soul mates.

Luna was just as hopeless, desperate and sad as she was. Perhaps this truth had affected the sorceress the most. She didn't know it herself, but she wanted to help her. And whenever she wanted to do so, she could not stop until she succeeded, no matter how much she wore herself out in her quest.

Days later, as she crawled into bed to sleep with a relieved smile on her face, she could hear Luna repeating the incantation again, but this time she did not answer her call.

She slept and rested for a few hours. When she woke up, she went for a walk in the forest, as she always did, and checked the town for any trouble. Back in her hut, she prepared a nice herbal tea and dessert for Luna and waited for the moment when she would call her again.

It was approaching midnight and something told her that Luna would call her again tonight.

Indeed, the fragrance of the herbal tea hadn't even filled the room yet when Luna began to read the words aloud and then shouted: "Please make it work!"

It had been a long time since Stella had met someone who could cheer her up as much as she could. So she giggled lightly and let the girl come to her, her emerald green eyes opening and closing with a twinkle, and seconds later Luna's voice filled the hut.

"Finally!"

Luna took a cautious step backwards as she jumped out of her seat and ran towards her. She had to be extra careful not to let the girl touch her because of her impetuousness, but as strange as it was, Stella was happy and excited to see her.

She had quickly gotten used to Luna hanging around her and making her laugh with her strange comments. This was not

very good. It would probably make her heart grow even colder towards people when the girl left her, or worse, betrayed her, but she hoped not.

"Why didn't you let me come to you? Were you that angry with me? I'm sorry Stella!"

Luna reached her sadly and stopped a foot away from her. Her lips were pouted like a child's and her sadness seemed very sincere. She looked like she would hug her if she could. How strange that would have been, wouldn't it?

"I wasn't angry with you," she said calmly.

"Of course you were!"

Stella raised her eyebrows slightly. "Why do you think that?"

"Because you suddenly sent me home and threw me to the ground! And then you didn't let me come to you for days. I almost went into the forest and came here on my own, do you know that?"

The sorceress smiled slightly and poured tea into two cups.

"I do."

"What?"

"I know," she said once more.

She placed the cups on a tray and added the sweets she had prepared.

"Is it true?"

"Yes. I could hear you calling me."

"But you still wouldn't let me come to you?"

The sorceress shook her head from side to side as Luna looked at her tearfully. "Not for the reason you think."

"Then why?"

"Sit down and I'll tell you."

When they sat together in front of the fireplace, the sorceress first waited for her to settle down in her chair, and then she sat down opposite her. For a while they gazed into the roaring fire. Luna looked very sad indeed, making her want to make it up to her, but since she could not change her character, she had to wait for her to calm down. People were impatient enough to form ideas in their heads and react without even verifying them. The sorceress was, of course, very used to this sort of thing.

"Are you going to tell me now?"

"I can tell you if you calm down a bit."

Luna frowned and took a large sip of her tea, but immediately regretted it.

"Ouch!"

"Obviously you still haven't calmed down much," the sorceress said with a sigh.

Luna frowned some more as she waved her hand towards her mouth, trying to cool her burning lip and tongue.

She frowned for a while, but the tea tasted delicious enough to make her want to drink it again. By the time she had taken a few bites of her dessert and was halfway through her cup, her body had begun to relax. All the while the sorceress was not looking at her, watching the fire and drinking her tea. She hadn't poured herself any dessert, but Luna didn't wonder why. What she wanted to know was what the sorceress had to say. She didn't want to admit it, but she could tell Stella wasn't lying. If she said she wasn't angry with her, then there had to be an explanation for her behavior.

"I'm calmer now," she whispered when her heartbeat finally returned to a normal rhythm.

"Good, I can see that."

"You're not looking at me?"

"I can see your reflection."

"How?"

"Thanks to my magic... Your heart is beating at its normal rate now."

"How do you know that?"

"I hear it."

If Felix was in front of Luna, she would have thrown a pillow at him, but she had to learn to control her anger when she wasn't even allowed to get close to Stella.

"Are you saying that to make me angry?" she asked hesitantly.

"I'm just answering your questions."

"Are you imitating the tale of the wolf and the girl, Stella?" said Luna, pouting.

She had heard that story and she certainly didn't like the fiction. Why did people love to make up stories like that? If it were up to her, she would only tell love stories with happy endings! Of course, she had no writing skills and when she thought of writing, she only thought of the love of her dreams. But that wasn't the point anyway.

The sorceress raised one eyebrow mockingly and her eyes became frightening again. "Do you insult me, Luna Fulgor?"

She shook her head from side to side as she took a panicked step back. "No, no. I'm sorry, Stella, please don't be angry with me. I just feel very frustrated, please tell me what's going on now."

For a few minutes the sorceress looked at her with that frightening gaze. It was as if she was reading her mind, heart and soul, trying to understand what she had meant by those words. As Luna resisted the urge to wrap her arms around herself, the sorceress's gaze returned and her lips parted again.

"Do you remember the woman I told you about?"

For a moment Luna was puzzled by the question and didn't know what to say, but the sorceress waited patiently for her to think.

What did this have to do with her firing her?

"Yes, she came to your door and wanted you to kill her. And you took pity on her and took her in."

"That's true," the sorceress bowed her head once. "What else do you remember?"

"I asked you where she was," Luna frowned.

"Yes. And do you remember how I answered that?"

"Not in this world, you said."

Luna had been so excited that she had forgotten what had bothered her on the way here. She watched the sorceress curiously, never taking her eyes off her. Her cup was half empty and her tea was cold, but she didn't even notice.

"Yes, Luna. That woman is no longer in this world."

The sorceress leaned forward, her eyes turning sly, fox-like. Luna swallowed and repeated her gesture, leaning forward as far as she could.

"And where is she?" she asked in a whisper.

"She is in the place where she was born, but not in the time we are in. When I made the deal with her, I sent her to another time, where she belonged..."