Aside from her selfish concerns, Lily also wanted to make sure that Alice was okay. Whatever had been tormenting her, whether it was the magic or something else, it was seriously impacting her health and Lily decided that she would do anything to make sure her friend felt safe and cared for.

She walked the familiar path, her bare feet skipping lightly over the rocks and the plants, lost in her thoughts. As she idled along through the forest, Lily spotted several patches of wildflowers which she knew would brighten Alice’s often dark cabin, so she placed the basket down and knelt by the flowers, careful to hitch up her dress so as not to get it too muddy.

She picked chicory, harebells, and field pansies (Alice’s favourite), and several other pieces of foliage like rusty-coloured bracken, rowan, and unripe blackthorn berries, arranging them into a little bunch and tying them with some string she found lurking at the bottom of the wicker basket. Alice could never resist a fresh, wild bouquet, and Lily figured that if all else failed, at least the flowers might cheer her up a little.

Amongst the hedgerows, the blackberries still clung to their stems, and they were abundant. Crafting a makeshift bag from a napkin, Lily plucked the berries from their hiding places, ensuring that she left enough for the wildlife that would still need them for sustenance. With her bunch of flowers and her wicker basket in tow, Lily wandered the last miles of the journey in an optimistic frame of mind.

She finally broke through the treeline and caught sight of the familiar cabin nestled in the centre of a small, open meadow, far away from the prying eyes of passers-by. The meadow was completely surrounded by a dense wall of forest on all sides, and the only sounds that could be heard from where Lily stood on the edge of the glade were the trickling of a nearby brook, the birdsong, and the wind whistling through the trees. As she looked at the small, homely cabin, encompassed by nature, she felt like she understood why Alice was so content to spend so little time down in the village. With all of this natural beauty, and only the sky to judge her, it was leagues away from the muttered rumours and hurtful superstitions of the townsfolk.

Wouldn’t it be nice if I could convince Alice to come for a swim today? Lily thought. The air is warm, the water will be cool, we could spend the rest of the day pretending to be the free, uninhibited children we used to be.

Those idyllic thoughts were banished from her mind when she noticed that the cabin looked different. She was unable to immediately place her finger on what exactly it was, and for a moment she just stood, staring blankly, until it dawned on her like a cloud passing over the moon.

There was no smoke.

Alice was always cold, even in the height of summer, and therefore very rarely did she forget to light her log fire.