“I understand that I seem scary,” I said gently. “I just want to talk. I’m here for my wife— the Holy Mother. She gave you that armband, didn’t she?”
The girl rubbed her arm. “Yes. What do you want with it?”
I knelt beside her to show I wasn’t a threat, then pulled several coins from my pocket. “I was hoping I could buy it back from you. Would you sell it to me?”
“This was from the princess,” she insisted. “You can’t have it back!”
“With this money, you could buy ten new armbands.” If this kid didn’t want to trade for this thing, I didn’t know how I was going to get it back.
The girl sniffled. “You don’t get it. No one ever wants to play with me. The Holy Mother gave me this friendship bracelet, so she’s my only friend now.”
My heart broke. I knew Ava cared so much about her people, but I didn’t realize what she’d done for this child, and just how much this armband would mean to this little girl.
I knew what it was like to be the kid swinging alone on the playground. If someone had offered me a friendship bracelet back then, I’d have died before I gave it up.
But this was Monica’s bracelet. Nothing could ever replace it. If I failed to retrieve it for Ava, my role in this marriage tradition would be incomplete, and we couldn’t move forward in repairing things until I had proven to her I could provide.
But how could I take such a precious thing from such a sad little child? It wouldn’t be right.
“I know what it’s like to not have any friends,” I told the child. “I’m glad the princess is your friend, because she’s the greatest friend there’s ever been. I know this, because she’s my best friend. This armband means a lot to her, because her best friend in the whole wide world made it for her. I’d really like to be able to give it back to her, so if there’s anything you’re willing to trade in return, consider it yours.”
The girl sniffled. “All I ever wanted was a friend.”
Sprigs jumped off my shoulder. His spindly legs felt like an extension of my Earth magic as he scurried through the dirt toward the girl. He stopped at her feet, placing a leafy hand on her shoe.
“Wh— what’s that?” the girl asked.
I reached out for Sprigs and lifted him in my palm. “This is Sprigs. He’s a sentient plant, brought to life by the power of Earth and Spirit magic. He’s my pet.”
“A pet is kind of like a friend,” the girl remarked, her tone sounding a little brighter.
“It is,” I agreed as I stroked Sprig’s head. “He’s a very good companion.”
“I wish I had a friend like him,” the little girl said wistfully. “You seem like you have so many friends.”
“Yeah… I do.” And it was true, because I did. The best friends anyone could ever ask for. I’d been so alone early in life, but I wasn’t alone anymore, because I had my Institute family. They were all I needed.
Sprigs jumped out of my hand and leapt toward the girl. I could feel him with my Earth magic giving her leg a hug. The girl giggled, then Sprigs darted away to lead her to a merry-go-round. The metal creaked as she started spinning him around, and her laughter ignited the skies.
It hit me then. The answer of what I needed to do made me sick to my stomach… but I knew it was the right decision all the same. Sprigs was my very first pet, and had been with me for a while now. He’d survived our escape from the Institute and been a loyal companion during our time in Ilamanthe.
But if I was being honest, I hadn’t been giving Sprigs the attention he deserved since we’d gotten here. I had so many friends in my life, and though I loved Sprigs, I didn’t need him.
Yet this little girl did. She was all alone. And maybe Sprigs needed her, too.
It was hard to let him go, because I’d made him out of my own magic. But maybe I wasn’t meant to keep everything I made. I could hear the two of them having the time of their lives on that merry-go-round. Spring spent most of his days in a pot inside my quarters waiting for me to return, and he didn’t deserve that. If he was with this little girl, he could run around in nature carefree.
Nobody had bothered to give a friend to the sad little boy I was, and I’d really needed one. But I could fix what no one had done for me through this child. This was my second chance to make things right.
Tears welled in my eyes. “I have to do this,” I whispered, to talk myself through it and promise that I wouldn’t turn around and back down.
“Charlie. Are you sure this is what you want to do?” Kallie questioned.
“I’d do anything for her.”
I walked forward, and Kallie followed me to the merry-go-round. The little girl stopped running, though Sprigs kept spinning around, squealing in glee as the wind moved through his leaves.
I knelt in front of the girl. I cleared my throat so my voice didn’t crack, saying, “Sprigs needs a fresh bowl of water every day to soak in. He likes it warmed by the sun, so it’s best to leave it outside. He wants the window cracked every morning to let in the fresh air, and he likes to be fed flower petals twice a day. Sunflowers are his favorite.”
