The Wish of a Broken Heart

A Mother's Mind

Faemála’s Realm

Elizabeth

I asked her about lotions. Lotions! Of all the things running through my mind, I ask about that. Her skin looks like it should be rough, but it’s baby soft! She was nice about it and offered me some. I need to focus. If this is real, they know about my baby girl.

We sit down to tea. It’s sweet and flowery, but soothing. My nerves calm quickly, and I’m able to focus. She urges me to eat some really good strange fruits and little treats. We stay silent. It’s awkward. I keep looking over to the water with flickering images.

“What do you see?” She asks when she notices my gaze.

“It’s flickers between Cara with some other strange looking people and Larry. He looks scared.” She nods and hums.

“Time here is different right now. Ten minutes is an hour here, for now. I altered the time so Lía could get her training in. You’ll like her. She adores Cara. I won’t keep you longer than necessary and can send you home earlier than the others.
“I’m only going to keep you two hours total. I’ll send you back to calm Larry down and talk to him. I’d like him to come here so I can fill you both in on Cara. All you have to do is get him to wear a charm, then go to sleep. Do you think he wou…”

“Send me back now. Please. If this is real and it's about Cara, he should be here. Repeating the same thing is annoying.” She chuckles at me and nods in agreement.

“Alright, I’ll take you back to the glade. To leave, you have to go to sleep.” I nod. She hands me a tiny pouch and has me drink some water as we walk back. “Come to the sanctuary when you get back. Warn him about the waters when you arrive. I will meet with you. If you want to bring anything back, place it in the bag.”

“OK. I appreciate this, Ms. Faemála.”

“It is my pleasure. Cara is very dear to many. You did well.” She tucks me into a giant velvet pillow looking bed, and I drift off. I wake up with a start.

“LARRY!” He runs into the bedroom, panic written all over his face.

“ELIZABETH! Where were you? It’s like you just evaporated. One second, I was watching you sleep, and the next, you faded out and… Am I losing my mind?” I pull him to the bed and kiss him.

“Calm down.” I reach for the bag of charms. “Pick one.” He looks at me dumbfounded before choosing one. I watch it turn from a wooden charm to a beautiful gemstone like mine. I attach it to his dragon necklace before pulling him into bed. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

I run to my craft room and grab a crochet king-sized shells-and-lace blanket I just finished and a couple of baby blankets. I go to Cara’s seed room and grab some of the ones she was having difficulties growing. I then hit up the kitchen. I have lots of treats. I just baked a ton of goodies. It’s my anxiety go-to. All of it magically fits in this tennis ball sized pouch!

I then go to the quiet room. It’s where we keep animals who don’t have long to live. I tag a few, including a pair of bald eagles, like Cara said to. Then there’s her. The red wolf. Someone shot her, thinking she was a coyote. I’ve been waiting for someone to pick her up for days, but this morning, the vet gave us bad news.

She won’t live long enough for her pups to be viable, and the bullet was poisoned. The people aren’t coming for her. Better to let her die quietly. If Cara’s letter was hint enough, Faemála can save her. I attach the charm to her collar. She whimpers and licks my hand.

“Don’t worry, baby, you’re going to be safe now. Rest.” I quickly run back to Cara’s room for her favorite little bottle terrarium before hurrying back to Larry, kiss, and snuggle him big spoon style. “Let’s go back to sleep. Just rest.” It takes nearly an hour to get him to calm down and rest. I watch him start to fade out and close my eyes to join him. I wake up back in Faemála’s Realm with the animals and a very confused Larry.