The following days felt like months as Maya waited, not so patiently, for the necessary information to be collated. A book on herbs was sourced by Annabelle or Mikus; it was becoming increasingly unclear which of them actually pulled the strings, and Spanner sketched various versions of the botanical garden’s layout; not all of which were contradictory. Maya studied hard, realising after all this work that throughout her school years, she had mistaken a lack of motivation for a lack of ability.
“So, this is banisilis-“ Maya waved the sketch in front of Piv’s face “-its a herb that grows in the mountains. Apparently it doesn’t taste nice and isn’t used for any medicines, so it’s kind of ignored. Good thing is, its got these odd shaped petals, which should make it easy for me to spot.”
“That is helpful, but if it’s easily gotten from the mountains, maybe Mikus could have someone get it for us. That wouldn’t necessarily take too long.”
“Why? It would still take a while and if I can do it easily, why send other people on an expedition?”
“I’m just thinking of your safety.”
“I know, but I think I need to do this.”
Piv moved to protest, but stopped himself upon seeing Maya’s expression, “Okay, when?”
Maya’s face twisted into a mischievous smile, “Tomorrow.”
For the rest of the day, Maya tested herself on the details of the banisilis, and studied Spanners sketches. By late afternoon, she grew weary of quizzes and asked Piv to read excerpts from her grandmother’s textbook. The evening came and went in a nervous rush, filled with yet more questions from Piv, and reassurances from Spanner and Maya.
Maya woke early the following morning, and tried her best not to disturb the others. Laying there in the dark, Maya fought the temptation to use the haze and go, before Piv and Spanner woke up. Eventually the wait was too much and Maya’s nervous shifting roused Piv from his slumber.
“Did you sleep at all?”
“Yeah, in bits. I’m just excited. I feel like today is the day I take control of my life.”
Piv sat up and lit a candle.
“Do you want go over things, one last time?”
“Not really, I just want to get going.”
After disappearing off upstairs to wash, Maya returned to find Spanner and Piv sat at the desk drinking tea. Spanner gestured at a mug for Maya.
“Get that down you kiddo. Got some news for you. Annabelle’s gonna help.”
Maya’s brow wrinkled.
“What do you mean?”
“She’s got a gold pass! She’s gonna go to central with you, make space for you to slip through the gates a little bit easier. She’ll hold people up, that sort of thing. She’ll be your diversion. Anna said she can busy herself for three hours or so near central. There’s markets on the walk, and cafes. She let you know where she’ll wait, then she can get you back no problem. She can’t get you into the gardens, but should help with the crowds at the platforms.”
Maya soaked up the new information gladly, and sat for her tea. As if summoned by the conversation, the basement door opened, and Annabelle appeared at the top of the steps, and called down.
“Are we ready to go Miss Maya?”
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Spanner turned back to the others, “Five minutes enough?”
Maya nodded, spurring Spanner to stand and head up to meet Annabelle. As the door closed Maya stood too and reached for her bag. Piv finished his mugged, and almost slammed it on the desk as he rushed to meet Maya in the middle of the room. He smiled at her warmly, “I’m going to worry about you.”
“Ahh, don’t be silly. I’ll be out of sight, out of mind, hopefully.”
Piv chuckled and feigned a groan at the horrible pun, as Maya pulled the gleaming yellow vial from the bag. She returned the bag to her back, held out the vial, and gave Piv a wink before flicking the cap open.
The expected yellow mist rose slowly from the container, but rather than dropping to the floor like the others, it gently expanded into a cloud. The fog consumed Maya first along her outstretched arm, then across her chest. Within seconds she was fully enveloped. The yellow haze slowly faded to a sparkling mist, that one shimmer at a time, faded to nothing.
Maya looked down at her body, then at her hands, all of which were clearly visible. Her face dropped and tears began to form in her eyes. Looking up in resignation, Maya saw that Piv stood almost frozen, jaw agape, staring straight at her.
“What do you see?”
Piv recoiled, before gathering himself. “Nothing, whatsoever! Move around a bit, stomp loudly so I can follow you.”
Maya’s sadness lifted. She followed the instruction, and stomped circles around Piv. Rather than following her movement fluidly, his eyes darted to the floor at the sound of each step. He waved his hands suddenly, “Go! Quick before it wears off!”
Maya rushed up the stairs, burst through the door, and ran along the hall. Annabelle and Spanner were waiting by the front door, but clearly did not realise Maya had joined them. She grinned at the thought of mischief and then tapped Spanner on the shoulder. Spanner spun round, confused, then laughed. “Looks like it worked kiddo!”
It was an odd sensation to have someone speak to Maya, without their motion indicate it visually. It was only now that she recognised that people normally gave away who they were talking to with a head turn, a lean, or some other gesture. Spanner speaking to the space in general, felt odd indeed, but reassured Maya that this was going to work.
Annabelle spoke in the same vague way. “After we step out, I’ll not speak to you. We can’t risk giving you away, and I don’t want the locals thinking I’m some crazy old woman. I’ll visit a cafe, when we arrive in central. I’ll be back at that cafe in two more hours, and will wait a further one.”
Maya nodded enthusiastically, then realised her mistake. “Sounds great.”
Both Annabelle and Spanner turned to face Maya upon hearing her voice.
“After that, I will return here, whether you are with me or not. A simple tap on my shoulder should suffice in alerting me of your presence. Ready?”
“Ready.”
Spanner stepped out the doorway and almost into Maya, as Annabelle moved to open the door.
“Good luck kiddo.”
Annabelle stepped out of the house and onto the cobbled street. The sun was still low in the sky, and it was still quiet. Maya followed quickly, slipping past Annabelle as she turned to close the door. Annabelle was the perfect cover. Her slow movements could easily be explained by her advanced years, and it gave Maya time and space to move around her easily.
Slowly, but purposefully, Annabelle strolled along the cobbles, greeting passers by. Not a single person acknowledged Maya as they walked together. Although that was clearly the aim, it still felt odd to move amongst people in this way. The pair made straight for the nearest platform, with Maya performing a sort of dance along the way. She weaved among the building crowd, assisted by the space people gave to the now bumbling Annabelle. As they progressed, Annabelle’s performance intensified. She expertly guided the people around herself, giving space for Maya to move as well.
When they reached the platform, Annabelle made a show of presenting her gold pass, paused going through the gate to put the pass away, and generally held up the proceedings, giving Maya plenty of time to slip in unnoticed. Until that point, Maya could be forgiven for thinking that maybe she was still visible, butpeople were just ignoring her. Now, however, her invisibility was clear and obvious. Not a single guard even glanced at her, as she waltzed into the gold section of the platform, and for the first time in a long time, the feeling of vulnerability Maya had held, lifted slightly.
Once onto a carriage, Annabelle very kindly picked a corner seat, allowing Maya to stand out of anyone’s way for the journey. Central station came quickly, and Annabelle gave plenty of warning for the stop, by adjusting her coat and putting her things back in her bag, ready to leave. Once again, Annabelle paused in the gateway leaving the platform, this time to say thank you to the guards, and of course give Maya a couple of extra seconds to pass.
Once up to the main street, and out of the crowds, Maya relaxed a little. They quickly arrived at the aforementioned cafe, and Annabelle took a seat outside, directly facing the gate to the Outer Ring that Maya would have to sneak through.