“Everyone, please welcome, Little Miss Sunshine, Lily Lost.”

The crowd applauds.

A girl in a blue dress, her hair in two long, smooth, blonde ponytails, also known as twintails, appears under the spotlight.

Several lanterns that appear to be floating above the stage circling the girl. She uses a spell straight from her fingertips to light the floating lanterns one by one in various bright colors. 

She takes her seat at the piano and begins playing. The lanterns flow color as they float around her and the stage, giving the performance all sorts of flowing and ebbing its own color.

Lily plays her last few notes, gets up from the piano, and does a lovely little curtsey. She is given a standing ovation and cheerful applause. Most importantly, a number of patrons toss wadded up dollar bills onto the stage.

After the show, Lily packs up her belongings and undoes her makeup. The manager walks in.

"Excellent work as always, especially for the afternoon show. Impressive. And here is your tip money." He hands her a fifty dollar bill.

"Um,  I thought the tips came in ones and fives?"

"Oh, um, I just rounded them out for you. Makes things easier, right?"

"Ah, okay!"

"Take care on your way home, sunshine!"

Lily finishes up her needs in the dressing room, picks up her purse and leaves. She didn't even notice the seven jars hidden in the back that were filled with cash.

Lily takes two steps out the back door, and a bird dropping lands on her right shoulder, which made Lily yell out a loud “Yuck”. A nearby security guard stares at her, trying to stem his chuckle.

"You know… A lot of people say bird poop brings good luck! So today must be a lucky day!"

The golden and brown sights basking in the desert city sun gave an exciting feeling to Lily. Her shows usually ended long after, into the later evening sometimes. Now with the setting sun and a good luck omen splattered on her shoulder, she felt the need to dash through the sidewalks. Dusty Boulevard was full of shops and shows, but above them were the small apartments many people called home. Some people call out to little Lily as she passes them by.

"Hey miss sunshine! Thanks for looking after the baby the other day! We'll be sure to repay you soon!"

"No worries!"

"Hey Lily, thank you for the spell on my swollen feet. Now I can get back to work… um, once I find some, I'll pay you back."

"Just glad I could help!"

Lily was the kind of person to help those in need. It put a damper on time she could use to herself, her sister, or training, so maybe it was to a fault she helped others, especially when they couldn't help back or return the favor. Regardless, Lily was happy to make others happy, even via the little things.

Lily ran nearly all the way home to her apartment, the fifth floor of Dreamboat Tower. It wasn't exactly a dream to live in, the apartments were tiny one bedrooms, and many of them could use paint jobs with how dirty the walls were. It was still home, and an affordable one at that. It was home to Lily and her twin sister Linda. 

"Hey Linda! Guess what! A bird pooped on me!"

"Why are you so cheerful about that?"

"It brings good luck!”

“Right… but now you'll need to do some laundry."

"Ah, you're right, I'm sure we have a full load by now. How's my favorite sister?"

"Oh you know, still here… watching time slowly tick by."

"Whatcha been up to?"

"Just reading books and the newspaper. Nothing that would interest you."

"None of that boring sappy gross stuff they always put in the paper, I hope."

"I'm honestly thinking about getting a job."

"A job? Really?"

“Someone's gotta pay my medical bills since the Healthcare Tax went up again this year. It doesn't have to be just you.”

“Well… as long as you're able to handle it."

“What does that mean?”

“Um…”

Linda sighed as she closed her book, "Still think I'm too frail, huh.?"

"No! No! It's just-"

"What's for dinner?"

"Ah! I made tips today at the show! Lookie! Fifty big ones!"

"That's all you- I mean that's good, does that mean dinner is on you?"

"Yessiree! Wanna go to the Pho Noodle place you liked last month?"

"Guess it couldn't hurt. But could you please change first so I don't have to smell bird poop while I eat?"

With the light outside dimmed to twilight, it was safe enough for Linda to wander out of the house. Still, she wore long sleeves and carried an umbrella with her to suit her needs. Together, the twin sisters walked merrily for a block or so, until they came to where they'd eat. The place itself didn't have much to show you it was a restaurant. It just had its open sign dimly on and a chalkboard sign was the words "Hot East Noodles."

They sat down, ordered fried egg rolls as an appetizer, and they each got one of their favorite hot dishes, half wheat noodles, half rice noodles, with cheap vegetables and meats cooked in.

"Hey, isn't this supposed to come with shrimp?” Linda asked the server.

“No shrimp. We run out." The lady said in a very strong and harsh accent.

Linda sighed, “I did hear something about a seafood shortage in the news.”

“Linda, I don’t think you should listen to the news so much. It’s all bad stuff.”

“Tell me about it…” the two share a slight laugh before they partake in their meal.

After they finished their bowls, they simultaneously did their little prayer for being thankful for the meal. As Lily was reaching into her purse, everyone in the restaurant gets startled by a man who bursts through the door and points a gun at the lady working the register.

"Get me all the money in the till! This is a stick up!"

"W-we don't have anything…" said the frightened worker.

"Don't care! Hand over your wallets! I'll take everything I can get! That goes for everyone here!"

"No, sir." Linda stepped forward. "You don't want to rob us." She starts waving her index finger back and forth slowly with a peculiar, magical light emitting from her fingertip. 

After a minute of the man watching the peculiar light, he mumbles, "No, I don't want to rob you."

"Yes, you should go home now."

"I should go home now."

"Now get to walking." 

The man turns around and stumbles away.

"Linda, since when did you learn to do that?" Lily asked.

"Mom's old spell book. Let's head home. I guess I'm not that useless after all."

"You're not-"

"It's fine."

"Hey! You two didn't pay!"

"We just saved you from getting robbed and you still want us to pay?!"

"Linda, it's okay. Don't make a big deal out of it." Lily holds out the fifty dollar bill. "Go ahead and keep the change as a tip."

The woman snatches the bill from her hand, gives the two a mean look, and walks back to the kitchen.

"You really think they earned a tip?" Linda asked, clearly frustrated.

Lily grabs Linda by the wrist and quickly walks out of the restaurant with her. "I don't want to stick around for the change."

Back at their apartment, it was well into the evening and Lily sat on the couch with her head in her hands and her elbows in her lap.

"You think we should've waited for the cops?" Lily asked her sister who just walked back into the room.

“The cops take hours or even days to respond to a call. Not much of a point in that.”

Lily adjusts her spot on their couch to gaze out the window with solemness.

"Still shaken up?" Linda joins her.

"Yeah…"

The two gaze out their apartment window together. Their complex overlooked a park that now had flimsy wire fences and graffiti smeared signs surrounding it. That's because the park was now a public shanty encampment. It's where people can call home in makeshift cardboard shelters. The more fortunate got to live in sturdy tents. Others only had their sleeping bags or blankets, and few used garbage bags as such. Anyone was allowed to live there, just find a place to lie down, yet the city had the park fenced off for everyone's "safety." At the moment, many were turning off their lights, flashlights, lanterns, barrel fires, or otherwise, and turning in for the night. The twins could spot a few shaking and acting erratically, and one looked like he was using needles on his arm.

"You think he's one of them living in a tent?" Lily asked.

"Maybe. Considering he scared the hell out of my sister, he could live there for the rest of his life for all I care."

"That's kinda mean sis."

"So was robbing a small struggling restaurant."

"Yeah. Sis, am I too soft?"

"Well I mean, you've always had a funny outlook on the world. I'm guessing you're feeling bad for the robber right now huh?"

“Maybe a little. Something tells me he wouldn't be robbing people if he just had things turn out better for him.”

“Something tells me that wouldn't be true.”

"We're so different, and yet we're sisters."

"That's our dynamic, Little Miss Sunshine. I'm the pessimistic one, and you're the optimistic one. You help and care for people so much you burn yourself out, and I hate the world and almost everyone in it."

“That doesn't help at all.”

Linda sighed, "I'm not exactly the best life coach am I? Another job I'm not going to get, huh?" 

"Can I sleep in your bed with you tonight?"

"You ask that every time you're stressed or bummed. But yeah, sure."

“Aren’t we lucky, sis? We’re the ones with warm beds and food… and they don’t.”

“Luck had nothing to do with it.”