Shay felt... warm.

She didn’t know exactly how to classify Heidi in her head. She was an older sister she never had. She had a lot of caring-mom vibes but, as far as age went, she was more like a sweet, innocent upperclassman with a down-to-earth, easy-to-talk-to feel.

And Heidi-- unlike a certain other person, was someone Shay could actually trust to keep her secrets.

“I... think I messed up,” Shay sighed, “I think... I’m gonna get fired soon.”

“Oh, dear,” Heidi cooed, “I’m sure it’s not like that.”

Her soothing voice was always so lovely to hear. It always felt like she genuinely meant the things she said. She genuinely cared. But why? And how? How could anyone be so nice?

The world needed more people like Heidi.

“Tyvan... he got really upset with me,” Shay said, “and it was all my fault.”

“How could it be your fault?” Heidi frowned, “You’re only--”

She stopped herself, placing the tips of her fingers over her mouth-- “No... that’s not fair of me.”

“Only human?” Shay said.

“Oh, it’s not so terrible!” Heidi said. “Shay, you’re so very sweet and so very kind. And you’ve been such a great help to me-- and to Mister Valorum, I’m sure!”

Shay nodded sadly.

So Heidi wasn’t human either. That made sense.

“How... old are you?”

Heidi steepled her fingers in front of her chest. “Forever 17.”

“And not a day older,” Shay laughed quietly.

It was a dumb question. It had an equally dumb answer.

It was such a dumb interaction. It wasn’t particularly profound. It didn’t seem or sound life-changing at all.

But... just that little, tiny joke... a tiny, unnoticed expression of love that could happen between two close friends who truly cared for each other.

It meant the world to her.

“I want to hear all about it,” Heidi said. “But first, let’s get you some tea. Chamomile. Do you remember what I told you about Chamomile?”

“There... was a lot,” Shay smiled awkwardly. “Anti-inflammatory, right? And... it’s good for calming down in the evening?”

“Wonderful!” Heidi clapped her hands. “You have such a good memory. That must help you immensely with your studies.”

Shay shrugged, finally finding something like relaxation from her horrible anxieties.

“It’s... I guess studying hard every day has its perks.”

“Come along to the greenhouse,” Heidi smiled. “Let me show you how to harvest the flowers.”

She walked over to the door in the back-- the door that wasn’t the bathroom.

Shay looked back at the rest of Heidi’s studio. Bedroom. Kitchenette. Where did the back door lead? A closet?

Oh. But maybe her ‘greenhouse’ was just a fun name for a little room with artificial light.

Heidi opened the door.

And. it. was... a greenhouse.

It wasn’t a tiny little room. It was huge-- almost as big as her plant nursery, next door, and cluttered with even more plants.

Natural light spilled through the glassy roof onto rows of green sprouts on rows of tables growing in tiny little planter boxes.

There were trees! Big, apple-tree-looking trees with budding pink fruits.

Everything was just so natural and earthy and green.

“Where’s the garlic?” Shay asked.

The bright and shining Heidi pointed to one of the far tables, where a series of rugged, wooden boxes grew bunches of long grass-like stalks.

Those were garlic? They looked like green onions. They even smelled like green onions.

Oh, and in the corner was a big, brown plastic shed! If it was colored differently, it would look perfect in a park as a little house that kids could play in.

She turned to Heidi with a serious expression, “If I get kicked out of my dorm room, I’m gonna get all my things and move into there, okay?”

Heidi gave her a soft but troubled smile. “That’s... where I keep the fertilizer.”

“I need fertilizer to grow,” Shay grinned.

“Though I sincerely doubt it would come to that, I promise I will do everything in my power to keep you sheltered and safe.”

Shay hugged her after that. She had to. And after she was done, she stepped away and tilted her head back to take a deep, trying-to-keep-it-together breath.

She was okay.

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Everything was going to be okay.

There were two suns.

Shay blinked.

Through the glass roof, high above in the blue-green sky... there were two suns.

She looked around her.

The greenhouse...

Logically, it was between the apartment complex and the nursery.

She quickly hurried to the far metal door, unlocking it and looking through.

The nursery.

She looked back to Heidi.

The greenhouse was impossible. There wasn’t enough physical space for it to exist! And if it did, it would still be indoors!

Shay’s head started to hurt.

Heidi glided toward her, her fabulous casual dress flowing with each graceful step.

“Tyvan made this place with his wonderful magics, its existence a secret that mustn’t be known to the outside world. And with this secret, I trust you just as well as our Lord Protector.” She folded her hands over her heart and smiled warmly. “You’re part of our family, Shay. And I firmly believe you will always be welcome here in Elysium.”

Shay massaged her temples. She wasn’t so sure about that...

--not the part about family.

--nor the part about Tyvan’s magic being... so wonderful.

It wasn’t something she could say to Heidi. She was just being her usual, sweet self...

Magic.

Everything connected to Tyvan was magical... and... not quite human.

It was everything Shay thought she wanted...

--a place to escape to that was so close to the regular world, yet undeniably different.

--a place filled with fantastical, not-quite-human people that made for better friends than her other options.

Some of them even thought she was cool. Heidi even called her Snow White when they first met.

But... it wasn’t home.

It was... too different.

There was danger lurking around every corner... with werewolves and aliens and... and--

Shay looked up at Heidi.

Forever sweet.

Forever 17.

Could she really trust her?

The answer...... was yes. Obviously.

But what about everyone else?

Yeonha! Yeonha was probably hiding something terrifying! Maybe she laid around all day, slowly gathering power as she bided her time to eventually take over the world?!

“Heidi,” she said, her voice barely over a whisper... “I think I should go.”

“Oh, Shay~” Heidi pouted, “You’ll at least stay for the tea, won’t you?”

Ahhh... and Shay stared into those soft, honest, azure-blue eyes.

“Just... just one cup.”

----------------------------------------

Shay wasn’t comfortable talking to Heidi about her problems.

--no, that wasn’t true.

Shay had to force herself to actively avoid talking to Heidi about her problems.

The Chamomile tea was wonderful. The flowers were so tiny and cute. Heidi said they had to be harvested while the sun was still up.

--though that was a bit weird to point out, considering her greenhouse had two suns.

Oh, and Heidi put a little cloth on top of the tea while it was brewing. She said it had to be that way for fresh flowers, to keep in all their medicinal properties.

Herbal tea was really a kind of magic...

The tea did make her sleepy-- just like Heidi taught her it would. So, Shay went to her room to study just a tiny bit, planning on going to bed early.

Yeonha visited.

Yeonha was worried.

So... maybe it was a little mean, but Shay told her outright that she might get kicked out soon.

Yeonha started bawling. She shed literal tears. The Korean maid girl literally hugged her leg, begging her to stay.

It was like a scene in an anime... except awkward. Maybe that’s why it was so fun to watch on a TV screen. It was only funny because it was happening to someone else.

Shay chased Yeonha out. But she also promised to go back to work the next day.

On Friday, Shay still felt horrible. She’d woken up in the middle of the night and could not get back to sleep.

Then, by the time she got back for work, everything looked even cleaner than usual. Yeonha probably had some magic powers that helped her clean. Shay had no idea why that girl was so insistent that she keep working with her.

Shay stayed in on Saturday. She didn’t even study, she was so exhausted. She slept all day.

On Sunday, she took a morning to-- maybe, possibly, if it seemed appropriate... talk to her aunt? Maybe she could move back in?

She found her mattress and bed frame outside her aunt’s house, marked for pick-up by the trash collectors.

That was eye-opening.

She checked to make sure no one was watching before she laid on her mattress one last time.

Then she thought she heard some kids pointing and laughing, so she got up and ran away without looking back.

Back at the Heights, she still didn’t feel like studying. She cleaned her living area, 16.66% of it, (repeating, of course.) She did the laundry. She sat in the courtyard, watching the other tenants... watched some kids playing with a dime-store rubber ball.

Then she realized she was being creepy and hid in her room for the rest of the day.

Monday came and went.

Tuesday...

There were all sorts of rumors about why Andy and most of the tennis team had been absent.

Aquila probably knew why.

Aquila knew everything...

Then, it was Wednesday.

Shay stared at the clock, ready to go home. She was planning to clean for a bit-- and not for the paycheck, but because Yeonha was relying on her.

Miss Ansari said to meet her in the faculty room after school.

She didn’t add the usual ‘it’s not bad.’

That made Shay miserable for the rest of that class. The curious stares of her classmates made her feel even worse.

Then, after the bell rang, off she went...