📜🎩 T H E ☆ M A G I C I A N - Act 64

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Spotify🎵 Mel | Mary | Bastet | Lusje | Lynette 🎵

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T H E  ☆  M A G I C I A N

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Act 64

Mary

Mary was sitting in her wing chair, about to fall into a semi-slumbering state, when she heard the gentle rustle of linens followed by a weary voice calling out "yo."

She instantly was wide awake again and leaped to her feet. She looked at the bed, and it was true: her beloved magician had opened her eyes, looking at her with a crooked grin.

“Oh my god, Mel!” Mary exclaimed, her voice dripping with three days of desperation, not being able to hold back tears. She was by Melodie's side in an instant.

“Calm down, princess. ‘Told ya I wouldn’t flatline on ya. Can’t stay conscious for long tho. I just need a bit of water, and maybe sumethin’ to eat.”

“O-of course!” Mary complied and quickly took one of the bottles, putting in a bent straw she had prepared days ago. Then she held it close to Melodie.

Mel tilted her head and began to drink. Hearing her girlfriend finally ingest vital fluids was unbelievably relieving.

“I was so worried… Oh god… I didn’t know what to do, I hated myself for not calling the doctor, and—”

“Shh, shhhh, shhhhut up,” Mel said after releasing the straw from her mouth. This was so weirdly unusual for Mel and hilariously inappropriate that Mary didn’t only just go silent, she also forgot about her panic.

“I’m Melody of the Stars, baby. I don’t die easily. And when I do, it will be either on stage while slipping on a banana peel, or when I am as old and gray as I look, preferably in a rocking chair next to you or some romantic shyte like that.”

Mary stared at the half-dead person making jokes like there wasn’t anything to worry about and tried to process what was going on.

“I can see that ya want to talk, doll, but that’s out of the question for now. My word count before fainting again is limited to pretty much exactly 200, and we’re already at 115, including this number. So how about we watch us sum good ol’ telly while we hold hands, ‘til I have to catch some Z’s again?”

Mary stared at her. Even though she was utterly confused, had so many questions, pleas, and maybe even confessions, Mel was right. She needed to use her little energy to consume nutrients. Mary had to put all of those nagging feelings on hold and focus on the relief that Mel seemed to be out of the woods for now.

So she turned on the TV, warmed up one of the soups, and handed it to Mel with a straw while gently brushing over Mel’s fingers with her free hand. Unable to speak, because she was afraid that even just her words might hurt Melodie’s maltreated, weak body.

Mel closed her eyes, but continued taking weak, little sips from the straw. She looked so terribly exhausted and sick, but already way better than days ago when Mary had found her.

It took her about half an hour, but Melodie thankfully finished the whole cup of soup, then leaned back. Mary already thought that she fell asleep again when Mel suddenly said, “I’m proud of you.”

Mary squeezed Mel’s hand a little tighter, surprised by these words.

The magician chuckled. “You did so well. I know it wasn’t easy. And I’m truly sorry for draggin’ ya into this mess. But I feel like I can trust’cha…”

Mel opened her eyes, and they looked like two perfect, red morning suns.  “And you’ve proven me right. Ya didn’t rat me out and kept me secretly safe.”

It was strange, wording it this way. ‘Ratting out’. As if she had done something bad, not as if she had been almost killed. But that didn’t keep Mary’s heart from fluttering.

“So as a thank you, I want to tell you a little secret. Something very important. Are you ready?”

Mary squeezed Mel’s hand even harder, her whole body tensing up.

“I am…” the magician began with anticipation, conjured a dramatic pause, and then revealed, “...at the end of my word count.”

Then she closed her eyes and fell asleep again, with a crooked grin on her face.

Mary stared at her.

Whatever this weird, unhinged part of Mel was—it found itself more hilarious than it actually was, Mary thought to herself while holding her hand, listening to her deep breaths, and shortly after finally drifting into her first relaxing and peaceful sleep since all of this had begun.

---

From then on, Mel would wake up more regularly, paired with a rapid, almost unbelievable increase in health. When Mary washed Mel again, she noticed that almost all bruises, cuts, and general wounds were nearly completely healed. Her girlfriend really was a wizard, even if she didn’t put on a show. Or had Mary overestimated her bruises? And the time they needed to heal? It felt like only yesterday that Melodie showed up like this, but it has been a good while, after all…

Then, when Mel woke up in the morning after exactly seven days, she finally seemed to be her old self again; albeit a little confused.

“Rozemarijntje,” she whispered, soft but full of growing strength, like the freshly grown leaves of a tree in early spring.

“Goedemorgen,” Mary answered in Melodie’s mother tongue, who had just washed her neck with a damp cloth. “I’m sorry that I woke you up. You look very healthy today.”

Melodie looked at her, a subtle, but clear surprise in her eyes. Then her gaze shifted through the room as if she were seeing it for the first time.

“You have been in and out for a week straight, under the influence of many meds and high fever,” Mary carefully noted upon Mel’s seeming confusion. “Don’t you remember?”

“Ah, yes, of course, I do,” Mel answered a little hesitantly. “I’m just a little groggy. Thank you for taking such good care of me, my love.” And then she finally sat up. All by herself, almost without struggle. Mary felt like screaming with joy, but she didn’t want to overwhelm her girlfriend as of yet, so she kept it to a wide smile.

“I… I hope I wasn’t too much of a burden.”

“Please, don’t worry about it at all! I’m so thankful you seem to be so well again!”

Melodie smiled weakly. “Have I been weird or inappropriate to you?”

Mary looked at her. So she really had some gaps in her memory. Which wasn’t too surprising, considering the awful state he had been in. Even Mary couldn’t really tell which things had been real and which happened in her feverish nightmares in the last days.

“Not weirder than I’ve already seen you. Well. Maybe a little. But not inappropriate.”

Mel nodded. “I see. Please, forgive me.”

“There’s nothing to forgive, Melodie. I’m just so glad that you seem to be doing well today.”

Even though Mel’s face was sadness-stricken, she managed to gift Mary a little smile.

“My little dove… Might I ask you for another favor? Even though you already gave so much?”

“Of course! What do you need?”

“Could you go and buy me some Hagelslag…? It’s what I used to eat when I was sick in school, and it helps even more than the strongest medications.”

“What’s that?”

“My favorite dish. I think you might call it… fairy bread? But with chocolate. Just plain toast, butter and chocolate sprinkles. Dark chocolate, if possible.”

Mary immediately got up. “I would like nothing better than to make this for you. Let me quickly fetch it, I’ll be back before you know it.”

And with that, she got her things and left the apartment.

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