After I grabbed somethin' to eat, I had logged into the game to find a message from Midori Mint.

Hey Memmy! Sorry for not logging in for a while. It's always difficult for me to sit for too long. I'll try logging in to do some side quests soon though, so we can hang out! I can't wait to play the new content with you soon! -Mint

I was still surprised to know she really was Tetsuo, even more so after hearin' him call out Memmy. He acted just like her though. For someone that claimed that Mint was my favorite person, I dunno why I didn't realize sooner.

My heart suddenly fell. Fernando said that we weren't supposed to interact no more if Tetsuo didn't want things to get worse. Did that mean we weren't allowed to be friends even through the computer screen? I leaned back in my chair with a heavy sigh. Probably. The world always had it out for me. Either way, I was glad I didn't tell 'im straight out I was Dottie. I didn't want to hurt no one, especially my friends.

I wondered what was wrong with Tetsuo. My best guess was it had to do with his heart after Fernando showed up. He put his whole damn hand into Tetsuo's chest like it weren't nothin'! I shivered. I guess magic could be terrifying, but then again, that purple haunted my mind. It was beautiful. Did all magic shimmer like those images of space? If I asked, would Tetsuo shine up a room for me? I shook my head.

I never had a second thought toward magic 'til today, like a real thought. Sure, I had some Magicals as friends, but ain't none of them practice. Then, there was that shadow thing from the other day, but I brushed it off as some sort of trick bein' played on Tetsuo for Halloween.

Ain't Halloween like Christmas for witches? That would be pretty rude, if so. I knew so little about magic, yet here I was smack dab in the middle of somethin' or other.

"What am I gonna do about this?" I threw my hands in the direction of the opened message, still yet to be answered.

My gray tabby cat let out one of her squeaky meows in response. She was laying on the pile of clean clothes right out of the dryer. I stared at her for a long moment before I told her, "Get down. I ain't cleanin' those again."

Rory jumped down and did one of her long cat stretches. I felt guilty makin' her move, but I hated goin' downstairs. There were so many boxes and knickknacks everywhere, it was disorientin'. Nothing had a spot no more. I huffed out a sigh. I ain't in no hurry to get Georgie out though. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have been able to run away from home.

I didn't want to send myself into a spiral of depression, so I grabbed my phone to doom scroll. It was a bad habit I was gettin' into, but it was better than layin' in bed all day with the sads. Luckily, social media was kind and everyone was posting selfies with their family and friends at the Pumpkin Fest.

There was a picture of Arilynn with some of her students. I was glad we were still friends after the break up. She became someone else while we were dating, jealousy taking over more often than not. As friends though, she ain't like that. Never got an answer as to why the sudden switch since she didn't want to talk about it.

Suddenly, my brain went full stop as it realized what it saw. I scrolled back to one of the festival posts. "Ain't no way," I told myself as I zoomed in to get a better look.

"Well, I'll be damned." A booth had a near replica of one of my childhood toys, a teddy bear with a handkerchief around its neck and glasses sewn on its face. Daddy had thrown all my toys away after the divorce, so I've been slowly tryin' to gather back some for my lost childhood. Sadly, I didn't know what to with them after, so they've been collectin' dust in the corner.

I got up and turned to tell Rory goodbye as I was determinate to win back the bear. However, she had other plans as she jumped up in my chair to lay down. A pet on the head was all she was gettin'. "You're welcome for warmin' it up for ya."


A groan vibrated the back of my throat as I reached the base of the stairs. It was time to weave through all the boxes and find Georgie. He was never one to stay in his room, sayin' something about it being a place of sleep. I would avoid him if I could. He was long-winded like all dentists seem to be, and I needed the few hours left of the festival if I had to play a damn game to get the bear. However, he genuinely worried over me. He was my first friend outside of the cow back on the farm Daddy ended up salin' as punishment for not cleanin' the bathroom to his standards.

The dish clatter in the sink made me cover my ears. Why were they always so loud? At least they let me know Georgie was in the kitchen. After my body calmed from the painful sound, I peeked in the doorway. His bright, literal red hair was always what my eyes focused on.

Luckily, for the both of us, Georgie had grabbed the towel to dry his hands. He was easily startled, and I didn't want him droppin' any more dishes.

"Hey," I called out.

Georgie's whole body jumped in fright.

"Holdin' on to that towel for dear life, huh?"

He lifted up his arms in a meditative motion, lowering them as he let out a deep breath. Finally, Georgie turned 'round to me. "Yer gonna have to wear a bell for whoever lives with ya next. You don't make no sound when you walk!"

I never understood what he meant by that. There was extra weight on me, so there weren't no way I didn't make heavy steps. No, Remington. Ain't no time to go down that line of thinkin'.

"I'll keep that in mind," I said. "Anyway, I'm headin' over to the fair. Ya need anything while I'm out?"

"Nothin' comes to mind," he replied.

 To not let him get off topic, I hurried to excuse myself. "I should head on down before it gets too late then."

"Do you need some cash?"

It was so rare now-a-days for anyone not to take card or contactless payments. I did keep a few bucks and some quarters for the parking garages in Huntington though. So, I should be fine.

"I'm good. Thanks, Mom!" I called back.

Georgie chuckled and waved me off. "Go on, then, get!"