A Spoonful of Magic

empty streets and empty squares

This was not the world she remembered.

The streets were empty and completely deserted. Not even the beggars crouched in the corners against warm walls to find a little shelter. The market square, normally filled with people enjoying drinks on the terrace, was now the domain of birds, dancing around like nothing could harm them.

She knew that a lot of things could change in a year time, but not once in her entire existence had she seen a change this big. Not once had she seen everyone hiding in their homes.

Televisions were playing soapseries and news programs. People sat in their chairs with a book in their lap or their eyes on a screen. Some people enjoyed a smoke on their small balcony.

She shook her head and followed the faint glow towards the entrance of an apartment building just past the iron gate of the bicycle parking. With a tap of her wand the entrance door opened. The hallway where the mailboxes were standing was clean, cleaner than one would expect and with another tap of her wand the next door opened revealing a hallway with a staircase leading to the upper floors.

Her footsteps didn't make a sound when she climbed the stairs to the first floor and tapped the button to open the next door. The cold evening air touched her cheeks when she walked slowly to the third door on her right side.

Here it was. Her annual miracle girl.

She stared at her reflection in the window. The curtains were closed so whoever was inside wouldn't even know she was there, which gave her the time to alter her appearance a little bit before she would ring the doorbell.

She greyed her dark black hair and curled it and topped it off with a small hat. She wrinkled her skin slightly, but not too much. She was proud of her rosy cheeks and smooth skin, but it wouldn't serve her purpose right now. Her long dress, touching the floor whenever she walked, turned into a plaid skirt and a white blouse. She quickly realized that a human would also wear a coat and magically a pink coat appeared to warm her shoulders. She exchanged her high heels for flats and cocked her head when she realized she should do that more often. Her ankles were already feeling less troubled and painful. Last but not least she erased all make up to make sure her brown eyes looked kinder and older.

When she smiled an old and kind lady smiled back at her and quickly she magicked herself a handbag to stash her wand away. Now she was nothing but an old lady, looking for a little bit of sugar and a little small talk to fight the loneliness she was facing.

Before she could start her annual miracle she had to make sure that the girl was deserving of one and she had to find out what kind of miracle this girl actually needed.

And while some people simply wanted money or a bigger house, she hoped that this girl was one of those rare people who wanted something a little more complicated.

She was ready for a challenge.