Adeline made good on her promise. Saturday, her mentors would have something that should help Maya. It was good news. Maya’s condition wasn’t very good. She was able to get through the next couple of days alright, but by Friday she needed to take the day off of school to stay in bed and rest.

Brielle gave her a kiss on the forehead and dropped yet another heavy blanket on her to keep Maya warm. It was a nice gesture, but Maya was already burning up. Since all she was going to do was rest, Maya insisted that Brielle take the phone with her to school. Then she curled up and closed her eyes again.

Maya tossed and turned for a bit, but the next thing she was aware of was someone shaking her awake.

“How do you feel, sweetie?” her mother asked. “Do you think you can sit up?”

Even though she was sore, Maya pulled herself into a sitting position.

Her mother continued, “I left work early today because I wanted to take you to the store. There’s something long overdue that I’d like to take care of today.”

“Do I have to come?” Maya asked, stretching.

“If you think you’re up for it. How about you take a shower and see how you feel once you’re dressed?”

A warm shower felt like heaven. Maya put on one of her more comfortable dresses and Brielle’s hooded jacket. It was too big for her, but nice and warm.

“No makeup?” her mother asked when Maya got into the car.

Maya just shook her head and shrank down in her seat to rest. When the car stopped and Maya opened her eyes again, they were parked in front of a Best Buy.

“It’s about time you got your own phone and computer,” her mother said, unbuckling her seatbelt. “No more sharing with your sister.”

Maya didn’t know what to say. She followed her mother into the store and shook her head free of dizziness. Her mother hovered over her as she looked through the new laptops on display.

“Are you feeling okay, honey?” she asked.

“Yeah, sure, I’m fine,” Maya insisted, leaning over to read the specs of one computer.

“Get whatever you like, Maya.”

Maya picked out a top of the line model similar to her old one, as well as a brand new iPhone. Her head was throbbing by the time they got to the checkout line. When they got back into the car, Maya clutched the new computer to her chest and soaked it in.

“Thank you,” she mumbled to her mother.

“Of course,” her mother replied, starting the car. “It was past overdue. I just… I know things have been hard for you, Maya. But I hope this proves that you have a place in our home. I want you to have your own phone and computer for when you get through this sickness.”

Maya felt herself blush a little and she looked away.

But then she remembered: “I just can’t wrap my head around there being two of them now… I just don’t understand the other one at all.”

Her own mother had said that, when she thought that Maya couldn’t hear. And she’d never admitted it or apologized. Maya clutched the computer tighter to her chest and turned away from her mother.

When they got home, Brielle’s car was already in the driveway. Maya said goodbye to her mother and took the new electronics up to her room. She could hear Brielle moving about inside.

“Brielle,” Maya said as she entered, “I got you something.”

She dropped the computer and phone onto the bed.

“What’s this?” Brielle asked.

“Mom brought me to the store today, so I got these for you so I could use the old ones.”

“Maya, no,” Brielle said. “She got these for you. I don’t want them.”

Maya frowned.

“Look,” she said, “I know you trust Adeline. And maybe she really can help, but the witch was using really experimental magic and had never seen anything like this. We have to think about this logically, and I…”

“Maya, don’t—”

“Brielle, I’m probably going to die.”

“Shut up!”

Brielle grabbed Maya in a hug and held her close. Maya was sobbing, clutching Brielle tightly. Her legs gave out and Brielle had to hold her up.

“You’re not going to die, Maya,” Brielle promised, but she was crying now too.

“I am,” Maya sobbed. “I know I am. Whatever Adeline is planning won’t work and I’ll just keep getting sicker until… I’m sorry. I don’t… I don’t want to die, Brielle.”

“Hush, Maya. It’s okay, I’ll take care of you.”

Brielle sat Maya down on the bed and sat with her until she had calmed down. She’d brought the homework that Maya had missed, but Maya wasn’t in the mood. She needed to get out of her head.

Making sure that her eyes were dry, Maya walked downstairs and into the kitchen. She grabbed a pickle from the jar and started munching. Absentmindedly, she checked the calendar to see what they were supposed to have for dinner tonight.

Honey garlic shrimp. She knew how to make that. The shrimp was already defrosting. Maya could start it herself. She started pulling ingredients out of the fridge.

Her mother popped in briefly and patted Maya on the back, asking if she was alright, but didn’t stay to help. Brielle stuck her head into the kitchen too, but only to grab a bag of chips and sneak back out. When her father finally got home, he set his briefcase and coat aside and entered the kitchen.

“Do you want help, honey?” he asked.

“It couldn’t hurt,” Maya admitted. She was feeling a bit unsteady on her feet.

Her father took over most of the work. When it came time to work the skillet, Maya didn’t have anything else to do and just leaned up against the counter to rest. Her father kept sparing glances her way.

“Are you alright, Maya?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” she insisted.

Everybody treated her like she was going to break. It bothered her. But she was having a hard time staying on her feet and focusing.

“I’m going to sit down now,” she mumbled.

“Alright. Love you, honey.”

Maya grumbled under her breath and made her way to the dining room. She sat down and rested her head on her arms. After a while, there was shuffling around her as everyone sat down. Maya didn’t open her eyes until someone placed a plate down in front of her, and the smell caused her to stir.

“Eat up,” her mother said. “You’ll need your strength for tomorrow.”

Maya chased her shrimp around the plate with her fork, but wasn’t very hungry. She just wasn’t hungry anymore. She felt so tired.

“Did you feel up to doing your homework?” her father asked.

“Not yet,” Maya admitted. “But I’ve got the weekend.”

“Of course.”

Nobody said anything else for a while. Maya’s stomach started to growl, so she managed to take a few bites of her meal. Almost everyone else was done already. Brielle, who normally scarfed down her meal and left quickly, was eating slowly and focusing on Maya.

Her mother asked, “Is there anything you want to do tonight, dear?”

Maya shook her head and replied, “I just want to go to bed.”

There was still a little pang in her stomach, but Maya wasn’t hungry anymore. She just stood up, left her plate on the table, and walked away. As soon as she got up into her room, Maya changed into her pajamas and curled up into bed. Her new computer and phone were still in their cases, unopened. She couldn’t bring herself to care.

A little while later, there was a knock on the door and Brielle entered. She sat down on the bed next to Maya and rested a hand on her. Maya took Brielle’s hand in her own and squeezed gently.

“We need to figure out what we’re going to do about Lucas,” Brielle said.

“Yeah. Charlie’s becoming a problem too.”

They were quiet for a while, then Brielle sighed.

“I think I have an idea,” she said. “But you’re not going to like it.”

She filled Maya in on the details. Maya immediately rejected the idea, but Brielle persisted. The more she described what she was thinking, the more Maya thought it might actually work. As much as she hated the idea, it would solve both problems at once.

Saturday morning, Brielle had to shake Maya awake and usher her into the shower. She got dressed in sweatpants and a tank top, and Brielle lent her a hoodie she could wear. She wasn’t in the mood to dress up today. She was the last person dressed and downstairs.

“I’m ready,” she mumbled, pulling the hood up over her head.

Maya’s father gave her a hug and they all piled into the car together. Their town had a small conference building near the courthouse where local mages could gather and work, and the family was headed there to meet Adeline and her mentors. When they got inside, it was like any other office building. Adeline was waiting for them on a small bench just inside.

“Good, you’re here,” she said. “Come on. We’re in the big room.”

The “big room” was a large, empty conference room on the first floor with cement floors. Several chairs and tables were stacked up against one wall. In the center of the room were nearly a dozen men and women, as well as another teenage girl, reading from books or folders and drawing a large spell circle on the floor in chalk.

Adeline brought the family to a short, plump woman with puffy, wavy hair wearing some kind of hippie getup. She was talking to a pair of men in suits, and held up a hand to signal for Adeline to wait. One of the men was scribbling something down on a clipboard.

“Well,” the hippie woman said, turning to the family, “we’re glad to have you here. My name is Arista. Is this the young woman in question?”

She was looking right at Maya, who lowered her gaze to the floor.

Brielle pointed at the men in suits, who were standing a short distance away now and talking to each other, and asked, “Who are they?”

“Officials from the state, that’s all. They’re here to make sure everything is written down for the official records and within regulations.” Arista turned toward a tall, waxy man who was standing nearby with the other teenage girl. “Doctor. Come see the patient.”

The waxy man and the teenage girl in a purple cloak walked over.

“This is Doctor Racker,” Arista told them, “and a student of his. He’ll be leading the ceremony.”

The doctor explained, “The purpose of this ceremony is to bring the child’s body back to its optimal state. Bringing her back from forty-five percent to ninety-five percent, so to speak.”

“You’ll feel much better,” his student assured Maya. “Like brand new, I promise.”

Maya groaned a little bit, but nodded.

“If this is what I have to do,” she said.

The collection of magic-users had her lie down in the middle of the circle on a rubber mat. Maya’s family stood off to the side as the mages took their places on the edge of each circle. The doctor folded his hands and began chanting, and the rest of the mages followed. They did not all speak the same thing, and the air was soon filled with a cacophony of conflicting chants.

The circle beneath Maya started to glow white, and she began to squirm. Pretty quickly, though, she felt her body stiffen and freeze. She was stuck. The light intensified and a tingle ran through her body. Maya was feeling warm all over.

When the spell finished, it happened all at once. The light stopped and Maya could breathe again. The girl in purple walked up and held out a hand to pull Maya to her feet.

“How do you feel?” she asked.

“I feel… pretty good,” Maya realized. “Wow, I’d forgotten how it felt to not be sick.”

Before she could marvel any further, Brielle rushed up and wrapped Maya in a tight hug. She was crying openly.

“Oh, Maya!”

Their mother and father walked up as well. Maya laughed and grabbed them both in a hug as well. Everything was better! Finally, things were looking up.

Behind Maya came the sound of someone clearing their throat.

The doctor said, “Unfortunately, this is only a temporary solution for the immediate future. After a few weeks, you will start to feel ill again and deteriorate. We can perform this spell again, but we’ll get diminishing returns every time we do. Next time, you may only return to eighty-five percent instead of ninety-five percent, so to speak.”

“What he means,” his student cut in, “is that we’ll keep looking for a permanent solution.”

“That’s correct.”

Adeline turned to Brielle and asked, “Have you found the witch who cast the original spell? If we had her notes on how it worked, finding a cure would be faster.”

“No luck,” Brielle muttered, grabbing Maya by the arm and pulling her in close. “She’s abandoned us.”

Arista said, “That’s the risk of trusting rogue mages. What you two did was very dangerous. You understand that, right?”

“It was worth it,” Brielle insisted, and Maya nodded.

The girl in purple replied, “I wouldn’t choose life without my older brother for anything. I can’t imagine how much harder it would be for people as close as you two are.”

“Yeah…” Adeline muttered absentmindedly, watching Maya closely. “Even if she was made from magic.”

“It hardly matters where someone comes from, Addie,” the girl in purple said darkly.

Adeline folded her arms and said, “I guess not.”

Arista cleared her throat and told the group, “It’s about time we got out of here. Our business is done. Maya, Brielle, I hope to see you soon with better news. Take care of yourselves until then.”