Sarah was eating breakfast hoping that her potion was working. It was the fifteenth day of her magic training and she was trying to make the underwater breathing potion. For some reason that was the first recipe aunt Caitlyn shared with her. But her reasoning remained a mystery. It couldn’t be because it was easy to make. It required too many ingredients mixed in too precise proportions. Maybe it was supposed to be a stress test to see whether or not Sarah would give up. There are people who would give up after such a challenge.

“So are you ready for the test?” asked aunt Caitlyn while drinking her tea.

Sarah stopped eating her toasts.

“Yeah. Let’s do this,” said Sarah with tiredness in her voice.

She really hoped that this time the potion was working. It was her thirteenth batch and she was starting to lose patience.

“Hey! I can hear you’re losing faith,” said aunt Caitlyn.

“Maybe,” said Sarah. “But let’s try once again, I guess. I said I want to learn after all.”

Sarah went to the kitchen and brought the flask with her potion.

“It should be loaded after the night. There wasn’t a new moon,” said aunt Caitlyn. “I’ll fill the bathtub and you chant the spell.”

Since Sarah started training the underwater breathing potion, aunt Caitlyn has been taking morning baths everyday instead of her usual noon shower. She did not complain. She quite enjoyed this change of rhythm.

Aunt Caitlyn went to the bathroom. Sarah was left with the potion. She placed her hands on the vials and started chanting.

“With the power the Moon gave thee, let me explore the currents of the sea.”

The potion immediately changed its colour to light blue. Sarah thought of it as a good sign. Maybe this time she did everything right. Then again it also happened two attempts earlier. Maybe this was going to be another failure. The only way to know was to try.

“Alright. I’m ready,” aunt Caitlyn shouted from the bathroom.

Sarah came to her. The bathtub was filled with water almost to the brim. Aunt Caitlyn was waiting for her niece.

“So?” she said. “Shall we try it out or not?”

“I guess so,” said Sarah.

She gave aunt Caitlyn the vial with the potion. She drank it in one gulp. She clicked her tongue a few times.

“It tastes as it should,” she said. “Now let’s see if it works as it should.”

Aunt Caitlyn put her head in the bathtub. And she stayed with her head in the water for quite a while. Sarah began to worry. She tapped aunt Caitlyn on her shoulder to make sure she’s alright. Aunt Caitlyn put her hand up in the air with her head still in the water. And she showed a thumbs up. She then took her head out of the water and revealed small gills on her cheeks. Sarah was amazed. The gills looked out of place. Just as if they belonged on a fish. Then she remembered what that meant. She has finally made her first working potion. Which meant she has made her first success on her path of learning magic. She couldn’t be more happy. Aunt Caitlyn looked at Sarah. She was proud of her niece and her first achievement.

“That was great!” aunt Caitlyn said.

“Thank you…,” said Sarah. “Wow… I just can’t believe it… I mean… I gave you gills!”

“Oh, you’re gonna be able to do much more than that,” said Aunt Caitlyn.

“I can’t wait,” said Sarah.

“Now… If you excuse me…,” said Aunt Caitlyn, looking at the water in the bathtub. “I would like to use my gills to the fullest when I still have them.”

“OK. It’s time for me to go to school anyways,” said Sarah. “I’ll be going.”

“Thank you,” said aunt Caitlyn.

Sarah was about to leave the bathroom. She couldn’t wait to go to school and share the news with her friends. But at the last moment aunt Caitlyn stopped her.

“Aha. Before I forget,” she said.

“What is it?” asked Sarah.

“As you go home, buy a notebook,” said aunt Caitlyn. “No. Perhaps a binder would be a better idea. We’re going to create a grimoire for you together. You have to have some place you can write the spells and potion recipes in.”

“Sounds wonderful!” said Sarah. “I will.”

“Great. And now you should really go. We don’t want you to be late.”

“Right. Goodbye!”

Sarah left the house feeling euphoric. After her morning success she couldn’t wait to learn more. She even thought of asking her friends to share some knowledge with her. But maybe some time later when she gets some experience from training with aunt Caitlyn. Anyway it was time to go to school.

 

Meanwhile Ursula was on her way to school too. She has been thinking about a new volume of Driller Man that was coming out that day. The previous volume has ended on a giant and mysterious cliffhanger. And she couldn’t wait to find out what happens in the new one. She started actually thinking about school just when she arrived at the crossroad of Mole Street and River Street. The last crossroad to turn on before reaching her high school. She was about to make that final turn when she saw something in front of her. Mole Street was crossing the Watcher River with a bridge. The bridge was being under maintenance and a group of construction workers had gathered at the riverbank to prepare for work. And at that moment a giant wave has formed. So big it reached the workers’ necks. So powerful it knocked them all over. Ursula looked at this scene not knowing what to think. It was a strange event considering Watcher River doesn’t produce noticeable waves if it’s not a rainy day. There had to be something that caused that wave. And Ursula decided to share the news with her friends. If something magical was the reason they would be the best people in the city to handle it.

 

The ringing of the bell announced the beginning of the first break that day. Giovanna was exhausted from the English lesson. She struggled a bit to understand English poetry. It’s not that she didn’t like poetry. She just found Italian poetry easier to understand and dissect. She took out a thermos with tea and poured herself a portion into the cap. She had a habit of drinking one every break. It helped her stay focused on lessons. Giovanna was about to take a sip when she noticed Ursula and Sarah coming her way.

“How’s it going, friends?” she greeted them.

“Ursula, Giovanna, great to see you both!” said Sarah. “I’ve got wonderful news for you!”

“It is good to know,” said Ursula. “I too have news for you both, but I consider my news potentially important.”

“I see,” said Giovanna.

She took a sip of the tea.

“Can you play rock paper scissors to decide who shares the news first?” Giovanna asked.

“Well… That is a good idea,” said Ursula.

“OK, let’s go,” said Sarah, forming a fist in front of Ursula.

She mirrored the gesture and nodded her head. Sarah and Ursula shook their fists three times and formed their chosen shapes. Sarah showed paper and Ursula showed rock.

“So do I go first?” Sarah asked.

“Yeah, sure,” said Giovanna.

“Okay… Okay… Here’s the news.”

Sarah was feeling very excited. She merrily exclaimed what happened that morning.

“I have learned how to make my first potion!”

“Wow, congrats!” said Giovanna.

She put her tea aside and started asking for details.

“Was it difficult to make?” she asked.

“Considering it took me about two weeks of attempts I guess I could say it was somewhat difficult,” said Sarah. “But now that I’ve done it I feel proud.”

“May I ask what that potion is?” asked Ursula.

“Aunt Caitlyn told me it was gonna be an underwater breathing potion,” said Sarah. “But it’s more of a gill growth potion.”

“That is good to hear,” said Ursula. “I think we might have some use of it soon.”

“What do you mean?” asked Giovanna. “Is it about the news you have?”

“Yes, exactly,” said Ursula. “Do you know the bridge on Mole Street?”

“Yeah, that bridge,” said Giovanna. “I’ve heard it was supposed to go through maintenance this week. But when I got there there were no workers to be seen. And of course the bridge was already closed.”

“I think there is something in the river that makes the workers stay away,” said Ursula. “Today I saw an enormous wave coming from the river.”

“On such a sunny day?” said Sarah. “With no rain? Impossible.”

“Not really,” said Giovanna. “The waves can be caused by something in the river.”

“It has to be it,” said Ursula. “I have only seen one wave.”

Giovanna was thinking about everything she had heard trying to come up with a plan. Something possibly magical was disturbing the bridge maintenance works. And it was possible they would have to stop it. Giovanna looked at Sarah.

“How much time would it take to make four doses of your potion?” Giovanna asked.

Sarah was left speechless. She has just brewed the first successful vial and now she was being asked to make not even one but four. But she thought it would be a great opportunity to test herself.

“I can make them for tomorrow,” said Sarah. “They have to be energised by the Moon.”

“Alright,” said Giovanna. “Then let’s meet on Mole Street tomorrow at noon. I’ll tell Angelo.”

 

Sarah arrived home a bit later than usual. She had to make a little detour and visit the paper shop. Just as aunt Caitlyn told her she has bought a binder and a ream of binder paper. Aunt Caitlyn said she would help her make her own grimoire. Sarah has bought a nicely looking brown binder. She thought that the colour brown was particularly fitting for a grimoire. She found it mystical.

The process of creating the grimoire was fairly easy. Sarah simply had to put the first page into the binder and draw a protective sigil on it. Of course drawing the sigil required visualising transferring energy. But every form of magic requires it.

“And now write in your name,” said aunt Caitlyn. “And remember about chanting the incantation!”

“Alright…,” Sarah said and put the pen to the paper.

She looked at the note aunt Caitlyn prepared for her. And as she was reading she was writing.

“Protect my secrets, collect my knowledge and my witchhood kindly acknowledge.”

Sarah slowly pulled the pen away from the paper. She felt proud at seeing the words Sarah Lewis under the sigil.

“Perfect,” said aunt Caitlyn. “And so you have created your own grimoire. Now you can add new pages and write down the spells you learn.”

Sarah couldn’t wait to write down the two magical things she has learned to make. First the underwater breathing potion. Which she renamed to gill growth potion. She thought that name was more appropriate for how that potion really worked. Then she has written down the process of creating a grimoire. After all, it was one more spell she had learned. And then she remembered something her aunt told her before she started learning.

“And really no one can look into my grimoire?” she asked aunt Caitlyn.

“No one you don’t allow to look into it,” Caitlyn said. “Well, at least as long as you live.”

“Wow, that’s cool,” said Sarah.

And she just kept staring into her binder. She was astonished. She was actually holding a magical book of spells. Not only that, but she has written it herself. She hoped to make it very thick and full of spells she would learn. She almost forgot about the talk she had with her friends at school. But luckily she remembered to mention Giovanna’s request.

“Oh! By the way, can we try to make more gill potions?” she asked her aunt. “I think I’m going to need some soon.”