Chapter 58 Goodbye (1/2)

Lily was a big girl now.

That's what her mama said. She was a big girl, so she had to smile, she had to be polite, she had to be kind.

She couldn't ever let the world get her down, because the world was a beautiful place. She just had to find it.

It didn't matter what anyone else said.

It didn't matter that she didn't have a friend before she met Alec, because Alec was her friend now!

Mama was right. There was a lot of joy in the world. She just had to find it herself. These days, the world seemed so sparkly. They were full of magic and excitement!

Even as mama faded before her, Lily threw herself deeper into her books, into looking for a cure, into looking for something – anything – anything at all.

The harder it was, the brighter her smile. Smile. She had to smile for the world, for herself, for her mama.

Because if she stopped smiling, Lily felt like she would break into little pieces, never to be put back together as a whole again.

Mama brushed her locks out of her face, smiling at her as she listened to her spilling everything about the day's events.

Something desperate crawled its way up her throat, at the feeling of her mama's bony hands.

What could she do? There was nothing she could do besides smile.

Both an armour and weapon, Lily wielded her smile as comfort.

That wasn't to say that she was faking it, of course. Lily was doing her best to find even the littlest things to be happy about. Mama said that it was optimism, and something that she had been cultivating all this time. It was both a part of her as well as something separate altogether, but Lily wouldn't trade it for the world.

So, when she heard that Alec was leaving the town already, she didn't feel sad. Or rather, she did feel sad for a brief moment, but then it was replaced whole by the thankfulness she felt towards him. They would meet again one day; she was sure of it.

For being her friend, for giving her courage, for allowing her to dream. She thanked him.

Looking at the pot that she received as a gift from him, Lily prodded the herbs lightly, feeling them almost sing in a way under her magic. She didn't think it was a 'bond' like Alec, said… more like… a faint feeling?

The Elemental magic technique that had been so foreign to her slowly took up a large part of her free time. Even as she read about the various plants that she so loved; she was also practicing.

There wasn't a spare second to waste, as Alec said. If you loved something, then you should work hard for it. Even if you didn't, since you already committed to it, then all the more you should do your best.

Lily felt like these words described what she did every day perfectly.

It made the discord she felt when she overheard someone else talking about slacking off or doing the job just to get it over with blow away.

Lily didn't need to heed their advice. If Lily was doing it, then Lily was going to do it right.

As Lily finished delivering the few sacks of potatoes that she did every day, she habitually went into Mr. Wood's flower shop to buy a single flower for her mama.

Mr. Woods was sitting behind the counter, and Lily had a pang of loss as she overlapped the image of Alec sitting there. Though she had only known him for a few days, he had already taught her so much.

Now, he was gone.

”Hello, Mr. Woods!”

”Hello, Lily,” Mr. Woods greeted her, smiling as usual. Lily smiled back at him.

This day, however, Mr. Woods didn't start getting her a flower as he usually did.

”Lily, I know that you previously refused my offer to work here with me, but I'm offering again. Alec told me that you have a lot of knowledge about different plants, right? What do you say? This way, you'll be able to do something that you love whilst getting a bit more money than I'm sure you're already getting.”

Lily hesitated when she heard his words. She had thought about it, sure, but she always felt so indebted to the man that she could never bring herself to take the offer that he'd given her.