Mena wanted to hide away where no one could ever find her. The closest she could get to that, however, was spending hours in a bathroom stall. She couldn’t even fathom the cruelty of her world. She may have lost her parents when she was young, but she barely had any memories of them. Deidre, on the other hand, was someone she met in the prime of her life. Her very first friend in the world outside. How was it possible she could be gone like that?

“I should have stayed with her,” Mena sobbed as her tears fell on the bathroom floor. She sat hunched over on a toilet, sobbing into her hands. “At least I would have gone with her.”

“Or we would have escaped,” Mena said and cried into her sleeve. “Anything would have been better than me running away from her.”

The door creaked open loudly, causing Mena to go into a whimpering near-silence. She waited for the ensuing footsteps, but much to her surprise, no one walked in.

“H-h-hello?” Mena called out helplessly, wishing the person, or ghost, would go away.

“Mena,” May’s deep voice cried out, “Janus she’s in here.”

Janus’ dark robe appeared beneath the toilet stall.

Mena brought her legs up to her chest, hiding her face behind her knees. She didn’t even want to see her best friends in this state. “P-please guys, you don’t want to see me like this. I’m at my absolute worst.”

“But Mena,” May responded, her voice rising with emotion. “You’ve seen me at my absolute worst. In fact, open the stall and you’ll see that right now.”

Even in her misery, Mena realized the truth behind May’s words. Her best friend was now in a Magi-chair because of their adventures last semester.

“I waited the whole semester to see you and Janus,” May said, her feet dangling off the side of the chair. “Because I knew getting beaten up by a bunch of troll moms would only be worth it, if I could show you guys that I survived.”

Mena blew a goopy snot-bubble into her sleeve and looked up at the door that divided her from her friends.

“And let’s not forget when I took that blow from the Zomby Were-Woof,” Janus added, as her robe lingered beneath the door. “I almost gave up my whole death-time for you guys. But it was worth it because I knew you two would be there for me.”

Mena couldn’t deny that she saw both of her friends at their worst. And even if she didn’t want to admit it, her kind of misery loved company. She stood up, opened the door, and looked bashfully away from her friends before they glomped her in an enormous hug.

“Guys,” Mena sobbed loudly. “I miss Deidre, and I don’t know what to do.”

“Remember her, silly,” Janus said, matter-of-factly. “My daddy always advises the family members of the departed to remember everything they loved about them. Think about their favorite food you shared with them, the adventures you had, even their dirtiest skeletons they hid in their closet but confided them in you.”

Mena thought about the delicious tarts and cookies she shared with Deidre—most of them they handmade—the many countryside drives they took by buggy, even the scandalous fact that Deidre had eleven toes. It didn’t fill the void in her heart, but it at least had a familiar warmth to it.

“Plus,” May said, as she leaned forward in her Magi-chair. “Think of us, we’re still with you. And we’ll do anything we can to comfort you. We love you, Mena.”

“I love you too,” Mena said, but even she couldn’t force a smile on her face. Not while there was a pain in her heart. But Mena nodded. “Thank you, you two. You truly are the bestest friends I could ask for.”

“Don’t we know that,” Janus said, wryly and she placed a bony hand on May’s shoulder. “Besides, there was something May really wanted to share with you.”

“What is it?” Mena asked.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“Come with us,” May said, “I discovered something that’s nearly as dreamy as Fabias’ face. It’s on the back of the book.”

Mena never even read the back of the book. Her interest was piqued, and even if she felt an emptiness like never before, the least she could do was try to live normally. She accompanied her friends back to their room.

As they walked down the cloud wall, Mena tried to not think of Deidre at all. Even thinking of their fond memories together was too painful at that moment. Whatever May had in store for her, Mena prayed deep down it would divert her pain. Mena held the door open for May and Janus and then walked straight to her bed.

As Mena sat on her bed, she flipped over the romance book. In sparkling hot pink lettering, beneath the summary of the book was a headline:

“After reading “Love Across Dimensions, do you have the desire to BE the love across dimensions?”

“Wait what?” Mena exclaimed raising an eyebrow.

“At the start of Septober, best-selling author, Melina Penwell is hosting a special class for young aspiring writers to create their own Moving Pictures and imprint their own dreams into their novels!”

Mena looked at May, her dark round eyes were illuminated like constellations in space.

“All enlistees must write to Melina Penwell herself explaining why they deserve to have their greatest literary dreams realized! Along with it, they must send a sample of their best writing to Wormwood. She will then hand-select the next generation of teen romance writers.”

“Wait a minute,” Mena said, her mind processing what she had read. “Go to Wormwood?”

“With this,” May said, “Not only do we get a chance to meet Penwell, Mena. You get to find your auntie too! Wasn’t she’s living in Wormwood?”

“That’s true,” Mena responded, and she closed her eyes.

Admittedly, Auntie Grizabella was the only other adult she loved as much as Deidre. It would be nice to confide in her only living relative about how she had lost another person to Anguish. Auntie Grizabella said in her letter she had a lot to tell Mena about her mother’s fight with Anguish too.

“You know what,” Mena said, at last, “I’m going to enter. I am, after all the official writer of New Brushwick and the most devoted follower of Penwell’s craft. Surely, I can win this.”

“That’s the spirit,” May smiled back, pumping her arm from her magic chair. “And I’m going to enter too.”

“Why?” Mena asked, suddenly. She was not expecting May to be her adversary.

May balled up her fist. “I want to actually be useful and if you don’t get in, I’ll get in.”

“Of course, I’m going to get in,” Mena responded aggressively. “I’m a writing goddess…even if I’ve never written a novel before in my life! But why do you want to get in?”

“Well,” May said, looking shamefully at her legs. “I’m probably not going to be of much use this time around.”

May lifted her head and her glasses shined brightly in the lights. “Mena, I’m going to be the reason we go to Wormwood!”

“I hate to interrupt your fantasies, you two,” Janus said in her flighty voice. “But we don’t even have a way to get to Wormwood even if you are accepted.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Mena replied to Janus. She was happy that May wanted to enter too—especially for such a noble cause—but Mena still wanted to be the one who was accepted. She’d even do it in Deidre’s name, dedicating the very book to her.

“I’m going to be the one who Penwell picks,” Mena said, trying as hard as she could to remain confident. “These are my favorite novels. I’ve read them all! There’s no way I couldn’t write something on their level. When she sees the literary potion I’ve brewed up, Penwell won’t be able to refuse.”

“Well, reading and writing are two different things,” May said, puffing out her cheeks. “May the best author win!”

Janus grinned nervously as she watched the fire ignite in the eyes of her friends. The heat of the competition was far more interesting than any dull romance book could be.

“In fact,” Mena said. “I’m going to practice by planning out Magnificant’s and Fabias’ date all by myself!”

The young witch got up and sat on the other side of the bed, causing May’s eyes to widen. “Well…I-I’ll start planning with the new quills my mummy sent me,” and she returned to her bed too.

As Mena opened her book, paging through it, and May scribbled on a sheet of loose-leaf paper—both with a silent intensity—Janus chimed in, “Remember guys, you’ve got the same goal and we still need to figure out a way to get there if you win.”

“Mmhmm,” Mena mumbled, but she was already giving Merlina Magnificant the greatest date she ever had. As the hours passed deeper into the night, she had Fabias take her avatar to Le Café de Romantique to drink pink bubbly tea, kiss her on top of Lover’s Falls and sleep beneath the stars as they wished to spend eternity in true love’s embrace.

As Mena climbed into bed, she thought of the first words she’d write after years of reading Melina Penwell’s magical masterpieces: “Today marked the beginning of the greatest magical romance that had ever been told.”

As the lights dimmed and she waited to fall asleep, the trauma slowly came back. Thoughts of Deidre’s limp hand and torn dress crept into her mind; it was so real and painful. As she slipped into unconsciousness Mena imagined taking her golden plume that had chosen her as the author of the imaginary land of New Brushwick and writing Deidre back to life. She imagined being swaddled in a warm hug, the kind she enjoyed over the summer, but would feel no more.

If only the quill worked in real life, like it did in New Brushwick. If only she could change her world with a touch of a quill. Little did she know that the latter ability would soon be in her grip, in the most unexpected way.