The Wizard of Arts

Puedo hacer que quiero hacer

Once the balloon was ready, many citizens of Ciudad de Ámbar came to bid farewell to their wizards.

"My humble citizens, we wizards are about to embark on a dangerous journey to the Ever Realm," the Wizard announced. "In our absences, you will be under the rule of Espantapájaros by virtue of his highly superior brain, assisted by Estaño by virtue of his big heart and León by virtue of his great courage. Obey them as you would us. Now we ask our friends to please release the balloon."

Espantapájaros, Estaño, and León loosened the ropes, and the balloon started to fly.

"Adiós, amigos," the Wizard called.

The balloon was flying, but it didn't seem to be going any higher.

"This is strange—the wind is perfect, so we should be going higher," the Wizard said.

Suddenly, Lucera heard what sounded like a tire losing air. "¿Oíste algo?" she asked. She looked up and saw that the rip in the balloon wasn't fully sewn up, and it was the balloon losing air. "El globo está perdiendo aire."

"Ay no," the Wizard frowned. "Don't let us down yet."

But the balloon really did let the duo down. Just when it was out of Ciudad de Ámbar, the balloon got lower, and the basket tipped over when it hit the ground just about 30 feet away from the city's gate. The gate opened, and Espantapájaros, Estaño, and León ran out to check on the wizards.

"Lucera, Wizard, ¿están bien?" Estaño asked.

"I think so," the Wizard replied.

"Sí, estoy bien," Lucera chimed in. "But I can see that the balloon has seen better days."

"Sí, mija, the Wizard agreed. "Thread surely wasn't strong enough to close up the hole."

"Do you have anything to patch up the rip?" Espantapájaros asked.

"No, I don't," the Wizard replied.

"Then how can Lucera get back to Havana?" León asked.

"I don't think I can," Lucera sighed. "Maybe this is for the best. Mabe I'm better off here."

"Luci, why would you say that?" Estaño asked.

"I don't want to have to deal with Dolores Urtica," Lucera replied.

"Dolores Urtica?" the Wizard asked.

"She's this rich girl in my grade, and she was the most popular girl in her middle school," Lucera replied. "Dolores has been giving me a hard time during the first week because she wants to be the best artist and most popular girl in school, but I keep making that impossible for her."

"Well, you're not in middle school anymore," the Wizard said. "It's time Dolores put the past behind and grew up."

"The Wizard is right, mija," León agreed. "You can't stay here just to avoid a jealous bully. If you could face la Bruja Malvada del Oeste, you should be able to face Dolores, too."

"León is right, and if you choose to stay here in Arts, you'll be leaving behind everything: your parents, your sisters, your school...," Espantapájaros said.

Lucera didn't want to leave her family behind, and she loved her school. "Tienen razón," she smiled. "I'm going home to Havana and embrace my family, and I'm going to face Dolores Urtica!"

Espantapájaros, Estaño, León, and the Wizard cheered loudly, but there was still one problem.

"Now all I need is a way to get home," Lucera sighed.

"Maybe Lydia can help," the Wizard said.

"¿Quien es Lydia?" Lucera asked.

"La Bruja Buena del Sur—here she comes now," the Wizard replied.

Everyone looked up and saw a big lime green bubble flying down. When the bubble landed, there was Lydia—and she had her hair in a ponytail and wore the same dress as Linda but in lime green.

"Lucera Vasquez?" Lydia asked.

"Soy yo," Lucera confirmed.

"Yo soy Lydia, la Bruja Buena del Sur," Lydia smiled. "My sister, Linda, tells me that you wish to return to Havana."

"Sí, but thread wasn't enough to fix the balloon," Lucera said. "Can you use your magic to patch it up, por favor?"

"Mija, you don't need a balloon to get home," Lydia chuckled. "You've always had the power to reutrn to Havana."

"¿En serio?" Lucera gasped.

"But why didn't Linda tell her before?" Espantapájaros asked.

"Because Lucera wouldn't have believed her," Lydia replied. "She had to figure it out for herself."

"¿Que aprendiste, Lucera?" Estaño asked.

"Well, I learned that I've gotta stand up for myself when it comes to bullies," Lucera said. "I don't expect Dolores to like me, but I do expect her to avoid wasting her time with me and focus on her life. Things change as we get older, and while we don't like it, we have to accept it anyway. ¿Es verdad?"

"Eso es," Lydia smiled. "Those amethyst chanclas will take you home in two seconds."

"Ah, que milagro," Lucera smiled. But then she turned to her four new friends, whom she was very sad to leave behind. "I'm really going to miss you all."

"We're really going to miss you, too," the Wizard smiled sadly.

"We'll never forget you," León said.

"Now I know I have a heart because it's breaking," Estaño sighed.

"Well, maybe we'll see you along down the road—you never know," Espantapájaros hoped.

"I hope so," Lucera smiled. Then she got into a group hug with her friends. Now she was ready to go. "Okay, estoy lista."

"Close your eyes," Lydia smiled.

Lucera closed her eyes.

"Tap your heels together three times," Lydia continued.

Lucera tapped her heels three times.

"Now think to yourself 'Puedo hacer que quiero hacer'," Lydia conlucded.

"Puedo hacer que quiero hacer," Lucera repeated. "Puedo hacer que quiero hacer." She continued to say this over and over and over again.