Next morning, Raz didn’t feel like waking up at all. It was really really bright though, so she had to at least roll Allie to a good spot, which she did.

“Hey,” Allie said as Raz was about to return to bed.

“Yeah?”

“Your note.”

Raz took it out. “What about it?”

“Borrow it.” Allie held out a hand. Her eyes stared at a wall away from Raz.

Raz wasn’t sure why Allie wanted it, but they weren’t fighting so it was safe to give it. “Here.”

Allie accepted the note with a serious face. “I will keep it safe.”

Raz nodded. She left Allie to study the text from her parents and slept, until they had to eat. Allie tried really hard to describe wizard pizza with magic cow cheese, though it did not help make food tastier like it used to. 

Faham asked if they could listen to some birds, so they did, while sharing the last of the tyrkisk pebers. Nobody said anything before bed time.

Allie returned the note only after Faham had started buzzing sleepily. “Here.”

“Thanks.” Raz folded it back into its hiding spot.

Allie leaned against her, staring at the empty food boxes, fingers nervously tugging at the tiny roots on her knees. She licked her lips.

Raz yawned. Sleep was coming and she wanted to at least dream of Oor, so she closed her eyes. “Good night.”

“Raz,” said Allie.

Raz breathed in and out, then fought back the sleep. “Mmhm?”

“You aren’t stupid.”

“Thanks? You too aren’t stupid.”

Allie snorted.

Raz waited a moment, then, when she thought Allie was done, she closed her eyes.

“I…” Allie paused.

Raz yawned again, but stayed awake for Allie.

“I daydreamed about being you.”

Raz blinked at the dark ceiling. “Okay.”

Neither said anything, until the pause became uncomfortable.

Raz was about to ask why, when Allie spoke.

“Just wish I was you instead of me.”

What to reply? None of mom’s words fit. 

“I sleep now. Night,” said Allie and made herself comfortable.

After mulling it over for like an hour or two, Raz didn’t know what to think yet, but she couldn’t stay awake either.

Next day, Raz tried to explore, but it felt more difficult than usual. In the evening, the radio crackled on. They had a lot to say about protests, nothing about evacuations continuing. Faham cried again and Raz regretted turning on the radio.

Allie wanted to borrow the note again in the morning. Faham studied the bird book. Raz didn’t know what to do so she kept doing her chores the best she could.

Day after, when the radio crackled, Raz turned it off.

Some time, maybe a week later, she realized nobody had said anything in a whole day. When she brought it up, everyone agreed to come up with some way to maintain their spirits. However, the following day was a scary one–dark and full of moaning from outside, with windows and walls rattling–so the idea was forgotten.

They ran out of cereal and beans. Jams went moldy. Flour and spices in water were okay-ish in a pinch, though they made Raz’s tummy hurt a bit afterwards. Allie said she was fine with just light, and Raz believed her.

One day, Raz carried back all the water so she wouldn’t have to explore anymore.

Later on, on many days, she wasn’t sure what happened and what didn’t, because she spent all day lying in her bed daydreaming. Her knees and elbows had started hurting a bit, and her stomach did too almost every day. Daydreaming helped distract her from it.

She dreamt about a lot of stuff, but most of all about joining Oor with mom and papa and Faham and Allie. Mom decided to adopt Faham and Allie, which they accepted. Then they all became wizards. Sometimes Raz became a law wizard and made a new law that said everyone was saved, or everyone was rescued. Other times, she became a time wizard and rolled back time to fix Earth and make everything good again. Or a healer wizard, like Miss Ndevel. She became a healer wizard mighty enough to make Allie and Faham and everyone like them normal again, and also powerful enough to heal Earth.

She also dreamt about others coming to find them. Raz started sharing those with Allie and Faham to try to maybe give them some hope, because they hadn’t said anything for a really long time.

“...in a big boat to gather aaaaall the lost people. A party boat. There’ll be confetti and presents for all the missed birthdays. And real birds too. You’ll love it, Faham.”

Smiling, Raz paused to let Faham reply.

He did not.

Neither did Allie.

Raz didn’t dare to check if they were okay, but Faham hadn’t buzzed for a whilebit. And, in the corner of her eye, she could see the leaves all brown and crumbly thin. Something ugly squirmed inside her chest.

Maybe if she didn’t open her eyes she could escape.

Distant voices somewhere far away.

Dry grass crunching under approaching footsteps. 

A woman’s voice.

The footsteps distanced. 

Headache and dry sticky tongue bullied Raz awake. She tried to keep her eyes closed a little while longer. It didn’t help. Too thirsty.

Groaning, Raz reached for a bottle and drank some. It felt oddly heavy and the cap super tight, but she got it open and drank some. Her head still hurt though.

Laughter, boisterous. A man’s.

Raz looked at the streak of weird lights sneaking through the blinds. It seemed like this was one of the rescue dreams. Not as fun as the ones where they lived on Oor, but at least it wasn’t a nightmare so that was something.

Playing along, Raz stood up and announced, “New day.”

After some searching, she found her explorer gear, and then embarked on the dream adventure. One step outside and she was squinty-eyed. It was a medium bright day.

When her eyes adjusted she found Smallsparrow Street had shrunk. Backyard was gone, as was the neighbor at the end and two neighbors near where the entrance had been. Plants had sprouted in weird shapes. Roof tiles and bricks had gotten frilly, and the little stiff frills all reached up at the sky. The street had strange footprints in it from the time Raz had dreamt of something big walking outside.

Voices drifted from behind a corner. One spoke fast and excited, slapped something, and laughed. Another made a dry reply. They both had that weighty voice of wizards.

Raz picked up a kitchen knife in case the dream decided to become a nightmare and approached the sounds.

Creeping around the corner, she spied upon four strange people. They had a lamp that made colors look normal again. 

Closest to Raz sat a man in a fancy dark blue uniform. His hair and stubble were gold blonde. Gold trinkets hung on his chest. Next to him, the other man looked like a starving brown thrift store coat-rack.

Two women sitting next to them were both dressed in bodysuits and cloaks. All black. They had military harnesses full of gadgets. One was really big in every way and had a ridiculously big cannon-broom thingy with her. The smaller, regular sized lady, wore a blindfold with three glowing green dots on it. 

Every one of them wore fancy and well decorated pointy hats of wizards.

Blindfolded lady shook her head, when the more handsome man offered her sympathy. Then, the big lady’s eyes met Raz’s.

She said a word in wizard.

The wizards went very still.

Raz said, “Hi.”

All four reached for various trinkets. Four colors of light lit up four pairs of eyes, each full of strange shapes.

Mr. Goldbeard spoke in a friendly sounding voice. Nothing made sense, but that happens in dreams.

Raz shrugged. “Me no habla wizardo.”

Thrifstore whispered something.

The masked lady replied curtly.

Thriftstore made the white light blink quickly.

Raz blinked, annoyed.

The wizards relaxed. Masked lady collapsed with much noise. Goldhair looked like he’d swallowed the entire morning news backwards, he was that shocked. Magic was gone from his eyes, replaced by sadness, or maybe guilt.

Thrifstore started to speak, but Goldhair’s gesture quieted him. The taller man stood to approach Raz with a heartbroken smile. She ogled at his uniform, fluttery cloak, and fancy trinkets, congratulating her imagination for all the details on his outfit. Amazing graphics! Best dream in a long while. She’d tell Allie and Faham all about this.

“Hallo good to meet,” Goldhair said in a thick wizard accent. “I named Maroque M. Magogram, a wizard from place Oor. What is little friend name?”

He offered a hand, palm up. Up close, he smelled of Christmas spices. 

“Raz.” After a moment, she added, “Razandra Hopkins, Earthperson.”

She grabbed a few of his fingers. So warm. So real. Something felt off about this dream. 

“Raz, me and friends take you Oor. Many others from Earth. Many friends. Sound good?”

“You speak weird.” She reached out to touch his trinkets. Too real. 

“No fear or worry,” said the man quickly. Had she made a weird face? “Help only. Help good.”

Raz’s heart leapt. Her head felt foggy, weird, uncertain. She looked at the man’s pores and nose hairs, then at the familiar stains on her gloves, then at the wizard again. She reached out and he let her pat his stubble. 

Just like papa’s. Dreams had never let her touch his beard.

“B-but…” Raz swallowed and found a lump in her throat. Her voice was shivering. “Nobody is coming. They said nobody would come.”

The wizard pulled her into a huge hug. So warm. 

“Very brave Raz, very brave for living, but it is ok. Help here now.” He swallowed thickly. “Help here now.”

So tight.

 So very real.

Help had come.

They had been found.

World started to blur even though Raz blinked really hard. She tried to speak, but her voice was gone.

“Is ok.” He picked her up and carried her towards other wizard-shaped smudges. “Come. Have food, very tasty. Thirsty? Hurt?”

Raz didn’t care about any of those things. She tried to tell him that Allie and Faham needed help first, but failed again. Frustrated, she growled.

“Is okay.” He rubbed her shoulder. “All okay.”

She pointed at home. “Friends. Hurt.”

There was a poof of darkness in her vision.

Then, a moment later, a wizard appeared with two bundles. Raz started reaching out for them and howling, trying to make the wizards help her precious friends. They had to, somehow. They had to, with magic.

Wizards were speaking in serious voices, arguing. Goldbeard mister got angry at Thrifstore.

One of them unbundled Faham. Pollen filled Raz’s nose as the wizard revealed a small boy. He had two antennae poking out of a big black fluffy afro that also surrounded his shoulders, a body covered in shiny yellow-black plates, a split jaw, and one bumblebee wing. He hugged several plushies but didn’t move.

Raz made non-person noises, struggling to breathe. Heal! Help!

“Is ok,” Maroque assured softly. “Both alive.”

“R-really?”

“Alive. Will be safe.”

Raz let out a big cry of relief.

“Watch them. I must magic,” said Maroque and placed Raz near the two.

She grabbed onto both.

Wizards were wrapping some film around them, treating them. They also gave Raz water and a suspicious energy bar that tasted like chicken. She never let go of Faham or Allie, however.

Not even when Maroque’s cloak and coat and pointy hat billowed and, in a blink of an eye, golden shapes and magic bloomed out of him to engulf Raz, wizards, and everything from here to the edge. Her eyes cleared from tears as the droplets floated away. Gigantic gold and red curtains of mist twirled and pirouetting slowly all over the Smallsparrow Street. Grass danced with them. Loose rocks and broken things joined them in the air. Gentle pressures of the magical light made Raz’s coat and hair float.

She let out a gasp, following the path of red twirls that lifted up Faham’s plushies and made them prance around her. Then held her breath as a golden curtain swept through them all, lifted off all the muck and dirt from their clothes and bodies, and vanished it all in a cloud of sparkles, leaving behind a crisp scent of cinnamon, clove, and Christmas.

Raz made a giddy noise, then laughed.

“It is what wizards call wonderfield. Garden of soul. Beautiful, yes?” Maroque looked at her. His eyes were gold and his pupils branching, spreading out to fill the whites. Still, he did not look scary at all with that smile. “Not scared anymore?”

Raz forgot to shake her head, she just stared in awe. The wispy shapes were coming from him, lifting off of Maroque like outlines and spreading out. “So pretty!”

He laughed, grin widening. “Yes, yes. Good! Brave little Raz! Now, want to see magic, yes?”

Raz nodded as fast and aggressively as she could.

Maroque chuckled.

Faham’s plushies arranged themselves before Raz and stared forward, beyond the edge. She quickly averted her gaze.

“Is safe! Safe,” Maroque assured. “No worry inside wonderfield. Look, promise it beautiful.”

Warily, Raz looked up.

The ‘bubble’ of gold and red made everything beyond its bubble sorta wonky and distant. Beyond it, sceneries swooshed by so fast they melted into streaks of color, glimpses of shapes, and speeding lights. Hundreds, thousands of them, like the sky was full of shooting stars.

Raz also felt a tug in her tummy as if she was riding a rollercoaster. They were going fast! “Weee! Hehehe!”

Bandaged fingers tightened around her thumb. Faham blinked, confused. “Where?”

“On a wizard train,” said Raz, eyes wet but still laughing. “They found us. We’re going home, Faham. We’re going home.”

But, even if it had been a dream, Raz would have been content. She couldn’t remember ever witnessing such an amount of joy as she did when Faham’s plushies began dancing around him.