I wasn’t quite finished with the story I was telling by the time 2025 ended and so decided to continue it until it reached an ending point. Then I will start a new one. Besides, I kind of want to see where Penelope ends up. And so we have…
Day 208: She cupped a hand over the cut.
She cupped a hand over the cut. “Heal not grow,” Emily again muttered to herself as she worked. Penelope could see the blood dripping from the cut and for a moment it seemed that nothing was happening. Penelope and Emily both stared at the cut. Then it seemed the blood stopped flowing. Emily took a deep breath and picked up the alcohol soaked cloth. She wiped her arm down, cleaning up the blood.
As she did, Penelope could see the cut was gone. The skin beneath the spilled blood was uncut. There was a faint line on her skin where it had been. It looked like the kind of scar that one got after a minor injury, the sort that would fade over time. Emily looked pleased with herself. She set the cloth down and Penelope felt the world ripple around them.
When the heat haze cleared Emily was once again sitting with the broken plant, only beginning to repair it’s injuries. Thinking of her broken arm, Penelope focused on her actions. She watched intently and could feel the flow of magic going into the plant. She could sense how it changed slightly from repairing the crushed stem to reattaching the severed one. She could even feel the slight difference between the general flush of health she gave to the repaired plant before setting it aside to disinfect the knife.
There was a subtle difference in the magic used to repair the knife. Penelope edged closer wanting to mark all the differences. When the scene reset again, she stayed to watch a third time. And then a fourth and fifth.
By the time it started a sixth time, Penelope was certain she understood what was being done and even how. She wasn’t sure exactly how the healed cut would translate to her broken arm, but she felt she was moving in the right direction.
Penelope took a step back, thinking about the differences in the actions and instead of finding herself moving across the greenhouse, she once again stepped into the black from before. Again she saw the starburst shape of colored lights. This time one of the lighter, palest green lights was glowing.
Penelope touched it and was pulled into chaos. People were running, horses were stampeding. Everything was in motion around her and it took Penelope a second to orient herself. Then the world slowed down. The horses were gone. Run off down the street. Penelope looked around. She was in some sort of town center, a fountain ahead of her and her feet placed on a cobblestone road. There was an overturned wagon, apples spilled out everywhere.
Penelope looked around wondering what was going on and why this scene was appearing. Off to the side, Penelope spotted Emily. Penelope looked around and darted across the street. Emily was leaning against the side of a building, Arm clutched to her side. Her face was gray with pain. The arm was bent at a strange angle and Penelope wasn’t the only one to notice. Several women raced over to Emily, concern and worry fairly tinting the air as they surrounded her. The women escorted her over to a nearby building.
Ten til Midnight 