It had been about a week now since Miyani’s visit to the council and she was feeling quite well. With Whiskers’ help, she had greatly improved her ability to shape the pebble into any form she wanted. To the point where she’d even impressed both Rose and Ramona at their subsequent lesson.

    Miyani had met back up with Rose again the following evening to tell her all about the previous night. How the council had made her feel and her subsequent bonding with the witch Nathalie. It made Rose that much more determined to help out her friend in whatever way she could.

    When it was sunday, Miyani, Whiskers, and Rose were on their way to see Ramona once again. After all, it was getting to be time for Miyani’s first broomstick lesson. All throughout that morning, she could feel her heart thumping in her chest. She was incredibly nervous about this yet she was determined to see this through.

    “I’m super jealous, you know,” Rose said as they entered the bus. After all, they couldn’t exactly practice flying here in the city. Instead, Ramona had told them to meet her in the nearby woods.

    Miyani felt kinda bad. “I’m sorry… I wish I could grant you the ability,” she said.

    As they checked in, the bus driver grunted and pointed at Whiskers, who was sitting on Rose’s shoulders for a change, having accepted her as a second owner of sorts now. “You’re bringing your cat?” he spat.

    “Is… that a problem?” Miyani asked.

    “Don’t they allow dogs on busses? What’s wrong with cats?” Rose asked.

    The busdriver sighed and muttered something to himself while pressing a button to close the door.

    The two girls walked to the back of the bus to take a seat somewhere away from other people. When they sat down, Miyani started scritching her familiar’s ears. “I’m sorry, Whisk. I guess he doesn’t like cats.”

    Rose huffed. “What a rude man,” she said.

    Whiskers simply got off Rose’s shoulders and got on Miyani’s lap to lie down there without a care in the world.

    “Heh. I wish I had your carelessness sometimes,” Miyani mused.

    “Same,” Rose nodded before turning her attention back to Miyani. “How are you feeling now?”

    “As nervous as ever…” Miyani said.

    Rose laughed. “That’s the spirit,” she said.

    Miyani eyed her rudely for a moment when Whiskers started purring to calm her down a little again. “Uhm… did you run into Jennifer again?” she asked.

    Rose was a little taken aback by the question and looked a little flustered. They hadn’t spoken about the incident anymore since that day. “Nope…,” she said curtly.

    Miyani let out a sigh. “I guess that’s a good thing then. I know she doesn’t remember anything about that afternoon but… well I’m still a little worried,” she admitted.

    “W-well… Ramona is an accomplished witch,” Rose said, making sure to speak that last word softer. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about. I think… I think it’s better to just forget about her.”

    “I suppose that’s true… but, well, I know it’s not really my business but I can’t help but feel a little worried about it. And curious.”

    Rose looked at her friend and gave a sigh. Her face darkened a little. “I guess I should come clean… you deserve to know. You helped me out back then after all. I actually wanted to tell you sooner but I was just so shocked by what had happened,” she said.

    Miyani bit her lip. “I’m… sorry about that…”

    “No! No, you did nothing wrong. You helped me out,” Rose said. She sighed then and looked out the window at the passing buildings.

    “So… what is it then?” Miyani asked. She couldn’t deny her own curiosity of course but she also did not want to intrude on Rose’s privacy.

    Rose nodded and took in a deep breath. What went on in her head, Miyani could only guess, but it was seemingly quite difficult for her to talk about the matter. “I… cheated once… on a test. It was an important test and… and if I failed it, I wouldn’t have been able to pass into the next year. Things kinda happened and the answer sheet kinda fell into my lap and... I could have returned it. I should have returned it… but it was so enticing and… I’ll never do anything like that ever again!” She was beet red as she told her story.

    Miyani looked at her, stunned in disbelief. “I… really?” she stammered. This was not something she had expected alright.

    Rose nodded. “Turns out Jennifer caught me red-handed and she secretly snapped some pictures and she’s been making all sorts of demands ever since,” she muttered. “I didn’t tell you sooner because… well, I was already embarrassed by it all, I didn’t want you to think your new friend is a no-good cheater…”

    Miyani looked her over. “Is that all?” she asked.

    “Wha- huh?” Rose gasped.

    “I thought she had something way darker on you or something,” Miyani said. She was beginning to chuckle slightly.

    “But… but this is really serious! If the teachers ever find out…” Rose yammered.

    “Alright, alright, I’m sorry. I’m just… kinda relieved that it wasn’t anything… well, not safe for work,” Miyani said.

    Rose blushed madly. “Shut up!” she protested.

    Miyani just started laughing. “I’m sorry. I get that it’s important,” she said.

    “Right… well, that’s it. There’s my dark secret,” Rose said with a sigh.

    “Hey, if that’s your darkest secret, then I can live with that,” Miyani said.

    Rose smiled meekly. “Thanks…”

    “So, what does Jennifer make you do?” Miyani asked.

    “What?” Rose asked.

    “She’s blackmailing you with those pictures, right?”

    “Oh! Yes… yes. Well, usually, she just wants me to do her homework… This last time though, she demanded something worse. There’s an upcoming fashion design contest and, well, she demanded I drop out of the race,” Rose said.

    “What the… that’s terrible!” Miyani protested, which stirred Whiskers momentarily again.

    “It is… but I can’t do much about it while she has those pictures,” Rose said.

    Miyani nodded and placed a hand on her chin. “But she hasn’t asked you to drop out of it since that afternoon, yes?” she asked.

    “Well… no… I guess not… but I’m sure that she will again at some point…” Rose said.

    “Hmm… unless…” Miyani mused.

    “Unless?” Rose asked.

    “Unless we can steal those pictures back somehow,” Miyani proposed.

    Rose frowned. “How?”

    “I don’t know yet… but I’m sure we can think of something. Besides, I do have magic at my disposal. When is that contest?” Miyani asked.

    Rose gulped with worry. “In three weeks.”

    “That’s plenty of time to think of a plan then,” Miyani said. She had never felt particularly wicked before but she most certainly did in that moment.

    “I hope you’re right…”

When the pair left the bus, Ramona was already waiting for them there at the bus stop. She was carrying two broomsticks and a picnic basket. “Good morning,” she said.

    “Good morning, Ramona,” Miyani said.

    “Follow me. We’re going to have to walk for a bit to get to a secluded spot,” Ramona said. With that, she turned around and entered the woods behind her. Miyani, Rose, and Whiskers could only follow her.

    “Is flying difficult?” Rose asked.

    “For your first time, yes. Not because of a lack of skill, mind you, for that part is actually the easiest. The hard part is the same as with magic: believing in your capabilities,” Ramona explained.

    “How can I believe that I can do it when I’ve never even tried it before?” Miyani asked.

    Ramona laughed. “And that is why the first time is so difficult,” she said.

    “She makes a good point there,” Rose said while shrugging.

    The trio followed a pathway into the woods for some time. Occasionally, they would come across other people but for the most part, it was pretty quiet around here. Eventually, when they were certain that they were alone, Ramona halted the group and ventured off the beaten path into some bushes to the side. Rose and Miyani eyed each other for a moment in response.

    “Guess we gotta,” Miyani said while shrugging and followed after Ramona but not before Whiskers climbed back on top of her shoulders. The cat certainly wasn’t going to try and navigate the bushes by herself.

    Rose sighed “Do we really have to walk this way?” she yammered.

    “We can’t exactly fly on broomsticks out here where people could show up at any moment,” Ramona called out.

    “But…” Rose said.

    “Are you worried about where we’re going?” Miyani asked.

    “No… I’m worried that we might not find the way back…” Rose admitted.

    Ramona laughed. “Don’t worry, Rose. I know where we’re going. It’s a spot deeper in the woods where lots of witches from around here come to learn flying for the first time. Myself included,” she said.

    That seemed to ease Rose’s worries a little bit at least and she began following into the bushes as well. She and Miyani had to lift their feet up constantly in order to get through the thick shrubs and to ensure that they wouldn’t accidentally stumble over tree roots sticking out of the ground.

    “Though, this is a bit of an unconventional way of getting there. Usually, the teacher simply flies the student there on her own broom,” Ramona added. She was having a much simpler time navigating the ground. Miyani guessed that she must have been using some kind of subtle magic in order to make way for herself or something.

    “Ah… so… it’s my fault we’re walking like this?” Rose asked while biting her lip.

    “You’re not to blame. You and I both wanted you to come on this trip,” Miyani was quick to point out.

    “Besides, it is good that you’re here for the lesson itself as well. Miyani not only has to learn how to fly her broom but also how to carry you as her passenger,” Ramona said.

    “Ah… for when I have to come with you to the council, huh?” Rose asked.

    “Yeah… that’s right,” Miyani nodded.

    Ramona held up her hand all of a sudden and motioned for all three of them to be quiet. Miyani looked behind them to see what had to be a big family outing walking along the path that they had left earlier. The people were a decent distance away for now but if they kept on walking, they’d surely spot the three women.

    Ramona must have thought the same as she hurried back to Miyani and Rose and placed her hand over Ferdinand hidden within her sleeve. She cast a quick spell that Miyani recognized as the same invisibility spell that she had used last week when they went off to fly.

    The trio remained still as a mouse, watching as the group of people approached them. Nothing was going wrong so far. So long as they remained quiet, they wouldn’t be seen at all. However, that’s when they noticed the bushes around them rustling. Something was walking through the bushes and it was coming right at them!

    Rose gulped and held her breath while Ramona frowned and readied another spell just in case. However, what came out of the bushes eased all of their minds somewhat; it was a dog. It must have sniffed them out since it was currently looking around itself in confusion. After all, it couldn’t possibly see them.

    Wait… it was a dog. Miyani knew what that meant and she could feel Whiskers’ claws dig into her skin. On her shoulder, the cat’s fur was on end and her tail was thick as ever.

    “Quiet, Whisk!” Miyani hissed. She definitely did not want her familiar to start hissing or yowling angrily.

    “Spike? Come here, boy! What’cha got there?” called a man over on the path. The group of people was now probably the closest that they were going to get.

    The dog barked excitedly and jumped up to make himself shown to his owner. Miyani bit her lip, fearing that the man might now approach them too but thankfully, the dog dashed off himself.

    “There. Don’t stray too far now,” the owner said and put his pet back on its leash. With that, the group of people continued on their merry way again.

    Miyani, Ramona, Rose, and even Whiskers all exhaled breaths that they had been holding in. Ramona closed her eyes and muttered something inaudible under her breath before turning to Miyani. “You see what I mean? The places us witches get to go to in order to be by ourselves are growing fewer and further in between,” she said somberly.

    Miyani watched as Ramona began walking off again. She couldn’t help but feel a little disheartened by it.

    Rose placed her hand on Miyani’s shoulder and looked quite concerned. “You okay?” she asked softly.

    “I’m just… wondering what’ll happen if there’s nowhere left to go…” she admitted.

    Rose nodded and looked around herself as if to search for a solution. “I don’t know… but you can always knock on my door,” she said.

    Miyani smiled and hugged her friend. She didn’t know what she had done to deserve Rose but she was glad that she did.

After a long trek wading through bushes, Ramona felt comfortable enough to make a more clearly defined path using magic until finally, the group arrived at a clearing. It was situated within a valley, surrounded by hills and decently tall trees. Since this was apparently a common broomstick flying training area, Miyani wouldn’t be surprised if the landscape here was altered in some way by witches to make the area even less visible than it probably used to be.

    Ramona took in a deep breath of fresh air and turned around to face Miyani and Rose. “We’ve arrived,” she said.

    “Thank goodness,” Rose sighed as she let herself drop to the ground. She lay back on the grass with her arms outstretched.

    Miyani laughed. “You’re not used to this, are you?” she said.

    “You are?” Rose asked, raising an eyebrow.

    “Whiskers and I often go to these woods actually, looking for new herbs and spices to make tea out of, right Whisk?” Miyani said while scritching the cat’s ears on her shoulders. “We’ve never been this deep in before though.”

    “If only you had. Maybe we would have learned of you sooner,” Ramona said. She put down the things she had been carrying and stretched her limbs. Underneath her sleeve, Miyani could see that Ferdinand was moving about. He probably wanted to get out and see the light of day.

    “Right…” Miyani muttered. 

    “Better late than never, right?” Rose said.

    Ramona chuckled. “Ever the optimist. You’re right of course. Best not dwell on the past and look to the future,” she said.

    Miyani nodded and was about to say something when Whiskers decided to hop off of her shoulders and land on Rose’s tummy.

    “Eek!” Rose yelped and she shot back up while Whiskers simply mewled innocently.

    “Whiskers!” Miyani hissed. However, none of them could stop themselves from laughing. 

    “In any case, let us get started right away. I want to use our time here efficiently,” Ramona said.

    Miyani nodded and came to attention. “Yes, ma’am,” she said.

    “Rose, could you set up our picnic in the meantime?” Ramona asked.

    Rose was still grumbling to herself while rubbing her tummy, staring daggers at Whiskers. However, she did pick up the picnic basket and went off to set it up. Naturally, Whiskers came along to ‘help out’ which really just boiled down to her sitting in the way of what Rose was trying to do. With them off elsewhere, Ferdinand took the opportunity to come out and was currently wrapping himself around Ramona’s own broomstick.

    “This is yours,” Ramona said as she handed the other broomstick to Miyani.

    “You’re just… giving it to me?” Miyani asked.

    “Of course. You’ve already had to go through so much to get to this point, the least I can do is give you this on the house,” Ramona smiled.

    Miyani carefully grabbed the broomstick in hand and looked it over. It felt very light, yet firm. It wasn’t going to break anytime soon, that’s for sure.

    “Thank you,” she said.

    Ramona smiled. “You’re welcome,” she said. “Now, let us begin. First of all, have you ever ridden a bicycle?”

    “I have… but I tend to just walk everywhere because I like that more,” Miyani said.

    “That’s okay. What matters is that you know how to cycle. Broomstick flying is actually very similar, only with the added benefit of being able to go up and down,” Ramona explained.

    Miyani frowned. “But a broom has no steering wheel,” she stated frankly.

    “True. However, you don’t actually use your steering wheel on a bicycle. How you really steer is by leaning to the left or to the right,” Ramona replied.

    “Leaning?” Miyani asked.

    “Why do you think people can still cycle without their hands on the handlebar? It’s all about the way you lean. And the funny thing is that you don’t even really notice it while you’re doing it. Flying on a broom is no different from that,” Ramona continued.

    Miyani nodded and looked at her broom again. So leaning was the trick? Well, that seemed simple enough. “But what about going up and down?”

    “The same deal. You lean towards where you want to go and adjust the nose of your broomstick accordingly. And then, if you want to brake, you pull the nose up and lean backwards,” Ramona said.

    Miyani nodded. It all sounded simple enough… but it was probably going to be a lot harder when she was actually doing it. If she could actually do it…

    “Let’s do some practice with that,” Ramona said. She mounted her own broom and indicated for Miyani to do the same. The two witches then started simply… leaning. Without actually leaving the ground. Occasionally, Ramona would correct Miyani when she was leaning too far or not far enough. Overall though, it seemed to be going well so far.

    Off where Rose and Whiskers were sitting, Miyani could see them both watching her. The extra pairs of eyes on her made her feel a little more self conscious about the whole ordeal. She kind of felt like a child, pretending to fly a broom. She even blushed a little while she was doing it but that slowly subsided as well thankfully.

    Eventually, Ramona was satisfied and continued the lesson. “You’re getting the hang of it, good,” she said.

    Miyani nodded. She guessed that the moment she’d been waiting for was coming up now. ”So… how do I begin flying?”

    Ramona grinned. “This is where your mind comes in. You simply have to believe that you can do it. Trust in yourself and your capabilities. Know that you are a witch and that you can fly, and before you know it you’re soaring through the sky. Simply hop up and off you go,” she explained.

    “Hop up and go…” Miyani repeated to herself. Well, here goes nothing. She closed her eyes, thought about flying and hopped… only to just land back on the ground again. No matter, she could simply try again. However, try as she might, she simply did not stay airborne. It was getting to be a little frustrating after her tenth attempt and she was beginning to mutter curse words under her breath.

    “Calm down, Miyani. You can do it. Just take your time, close your eyes, and believe in yourself. Think back to your successful spells. You trusted in yourself to be able to do that, right?” Ramona said.

    Miyani sighed and closed her eyes. It was true. Well, maybe not so much for that time she transformed Rose… but it certainly was the case for when she purposefully transformed Jennifer. She was confident in herself. All she really had to do now was be just as confident. It was that simple.

    Next to her, she could hear Ramona scrape her throat but Miyani was a little too lost in her own thoughts. She was too busy thinking about flying up in the air. Among the clouds and the birds. With the wind blowing through her hair and…

    “Miyani, open your eyes,” Ramona said.

    “Huh?” Miyani asked, confused. She opened her eyes and looked around herself but found that Ramona wasn’t there next to her anymore. No, wait… carefully, she looked down and saw that she was actually flying while Ramona was still standing on the ground!

    “I’m flying… I’m flying!” Miyani yelled. She had to hold on to her broomstick tightly and constantly make minute changes in her posture to maintain her balance but she was actually flying!

    Ramona laughed. “Yes, you are. Congratulations,” she said.

    Rose and Whiskers came running over as well when they spotted what was going on. “You’re doing it!” Rose cheered.

    “I’m doing it!” Miyani repeated excitedly.

    A few moments later, Ramona hopped up and came to hover next to Miyani. “Now, want to try and fly forwards?” she asked.

    “R-right…” Miyani nodded eagerly. Well, just as Ramona had explained it, all she had to do was lean. Carefully, she leaned forwards while making sure to keep her broom steady. Sure enough, she started to move, albeit very slowly.

    “Good, good. Now try and take a turn to the left,” Ramona said. She was flying next to her and appeared to have very little trouble with such easy movements.

    Miyani did just as she was told. She leaned slightly to the left and sure enough, she began turning. It was a little scary to lean like this though and she thought that she would fall off if she leaned a little too far. When she had made her turn to the left, she did the same to the right. It was all going very well, even if it did take her a lot of effort to maintain her balance.

    “You’re doing great, Miyani!” Rose cheered. Whiskers was meowing loudly as well in support. It seemed that she had climbed up and was now standing on Rose’s shoulders with her front paws up on the girl’s head.

    “Good, good. Now come back here and come to a stop again,” Ramona said.

    “I will!” Miyani said. She had never felt this excited and happy before. She was actually doing it! There was a broad smile all over her face as she flew back towards Rose and Ramona. Once there, just as Ramona had explained, she pulled up the nose of her broomstick and leaned back in order to brake. Sure enough, she came to a full stop right where she had started.

    Ramona smiled and clapped her hands. “Excellent. That was a much better first flight than my own,” she said.

    “Really?” Rose asked.

    Ramona sighed. “I forgot to lean back when stopping… and so instead I flew up. It took my mother a good bit of effort to chase me down and stop me,” she said.

    Miyani snorted. She was glad that she didn’t go through such a scary ordeal on her first flight.

    “Now then… want to try and fly a little faster?” Ramona asked.

Miyani trained and practiced with Ramona for a good two hours. It was a little scary at first but she quickly overcame her fears and managed to get the hang of flying faster, making cleaner turns and, of course, maintaining her balance. Right before the break, she even got to fly up and down a little, although that was still a little scary.

    Upon landing, Miyani was surprised to initially buckle over. She hadn’t realized how tiring the whole ordeal really was until then.

    “Careful there,” Ramona laughed as she helped the witch back up.

    “Ugh… thanks,” Miyani stammered.

    Ramona gave her a warm smile. “You’re doing really well, you know. It may not mean much, coming from the owner of a shop you visit regularly, but I am proud of you,” she said.

    Miyani was actually a little shocked to hear those words. Never before had anyone ever said that to her until now. She looked at Ramona and she felt her lower lip trembling slightly. She closed her eyes and leaned her head on Ramona’s shoulder. “Thank you,” she said softly.

    Ramona appeared taken aback for a moment but soon came to wrap her arms around Miyani. “Of course,” she whispered back.

    Miyani was at ease. Just as Rose had done before, Ramona had penetrated her way into her inner circle of trust. This was someone she could feel vulnerable around, though in a different way from Rose. She was more like… like a mother.

    Eventually, Ramona broke off the hug and chuckled. “Now, come on. Let’s go eat,” she said.

    Miyani nodded and wiped her face clean again before following Ramona to the picnic that Rose had prepared.

    “Finally. I was starting to get hungry,” Rose said.

    Whiskers meowed angrily. She, too, had been waiting a little bit too long according to herself.

    “Sorry… I just… flying is fun,” Miyani admitted while seating herself next to Rose on the blanket.

    “It looked like a lot of fun!” Rose cheered. “I’m kinda jealous…”

    “Ah… sorry,” Miyani said apologetically.

    “Hey, don’t be sorry! That’s not your fault. It’s just genetics… I think?” Rose asked.

    “That’s correct. Witchcraft is a hereditary trait,” Ramona replied while sitting down as well.

    “Speaking of which… well, if it’s hereditary, then where did it come from? And is there no danger that we could die out when we don’t have any daughters?” Miyani asked. Before she would eat herself, she quickly picked the meal that she had prepared for Whiskers out of the basket and put it down for her. The cat, of course, instantly dove in.

    Ramona chuckled and reached for a ready-made sandwich for herself while Ferdinand actually slithered off out of sight of Rose, likely to hunt for his own meal. “There is a global effort to keep track of the number of witches. Only when the number falls below a certain threshold is there cause for concern but that hasn’t happened since the medieval era. Don’t worry, you aren’t obligated to bear children if you don’t want to,” she said.

    “That’s good to know,” Miyani said.

    “Anyway… how does it feel to fly?” Rose asked.

    Miyani smiled broadly again. “It feels wonderful,” she said.

After the break ended, Ramona clapped her hands together. “Alright, Miyani. I believe it is time for you to try and fly a little bit on your own. You got the basics down. Why not take Whiskers for a ride?” she proposed.

    The cat shot up when she heard that and dove behind Rose’s legs to hide.

    “Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, Whisk,” Miyani said sarcastically.

    Rose laughed and turned to the cat. “That’s mean, Whiskers,” she said.

    Whiskers just yowled angrily in return.

    Miyani sighed and bent down. “Please?” she asked while putting on her best puppy doll eyes.

    Whiskers swished her tail back and forth as if ready to pounce and scratch.

    “Come on, Whiskers, Miyani’s counting on you,” Rose added. Both girls were now bent over and were backing Whiskers into a corner. In return, the cat was turning her gaze between them both and she began backing off slightly.

    “Well, how about I take her place then, hmm?” Rose proposed.

    Miyani was taken by surprise at that but she quickly got the hint. It was time to make the cat feel a little jealous. “Yeah… good idea. You’d make a much better passenger than Whiskers here,” she said.

    Whiskers tilted her head, mewled to herself and pondered her options. Soon enough, the cat finally climbed back up on Miyani’s shoulders and turned her butt towards Rose.

    Rose started giggling. “Oh, suddenly you do want to go?” she asked.

    Miyani grinned and shot a glance of appreciation towards Rose. “Alright, Whisk. Ready to see the birds up close?” she asked as she mounted her broom once more.

    Whiskers dug her claws a little deeper into Miyani’s shoulders. She was not looking forward to this alright but she simply had to get over this hurdle.

    Ramona, who had been watching the display unfold, shook her head amusingly. “Alright. I shall not be joining you on this flight,” she said.

    “What?” Miyani gasped.

    “We have been flying side by side up until now but it is time you try and fly on your own. It is to build up bravery,” Ramona said.

    Miyani nodded. “Right…” she muttered. Would she really be able to do that? Well, she had been flying just fine until now and Ramona only rarely had to step in to make adjustments. Now, though, that would not be the case. On top of that, she would have Whiskers with her who fully trusted Miyani not to screw this up. That all did bring more pressures with it than before.

    “You can do it, Miyani! I believe in you,” Rose cheered. 

    Of course, she was right. Miyani couldn’t start doubting herself now. She could do this! Nodding to herself, she jumped up and hovered over the ground. “Ready Whiskers?” she asked.

    There was a whimpering mewl from the cat who was clearly very anxious about this.

    “Good enough for me,” Miyani grinned… and she started flying. At first, she simply spiraled up, higher and higher. She only stopped once she was up over the treetops so that she wouldn’t accidentally crash into something. She was presented with a magnificent view from the surrounding areas. The woods stretched on for quite a while in all directions but her hometown was also visible in the distance behind some of the hills. It was breath-taking.

    “Wow… isn’t it beautiful, Whisk?” Miyani asked.

    Whiskers whimpered again in return but she was at least not digging her claws in as much as she had before.

    Miyani grinned as she began flying forwards again. Slowly at first but picking up speed. The wind blew through her hair, the trees below her whizzed past and the birds flew alongside her as if she was part of their flock. She was really beginning to feel great about all of this!

    And sure enough, Whiskers began to get into it as well. She began meowing at some of the birds playfully and she stuck her head out in the refreshing breeze. She trusted Miyani.

    Miyani smiled broadly. She was pretty sure she’d never smiled this much in all her life. Eagerly, she made a turn back towards the clearing when she noticed a stream down below. This gave the young witch an idea. She dove down, giving Whiskers a bit of a scare at first but she still trusted Miyani to know what she was doing.

    Lower and lower, Miyani approached the stream and she pulled up again right before touching the ground. There, she flew over the stream for a moment, speeding through the woods and she was pretty sure she gave a squirrel a heart-attack before soaring back up above the trees once more. She laughed with joy as this first true flight was turning into a huge success. 

    This was unlike anything she’d ever experienced before. Not only was she doing this all by herself. Not only was something going right for a change. This… was freedom. Freedom from gravity. Freedom from the world. Freedom from her troubles. Even if the moment would only last for this afternoon, it was a moment Miyani would treasure for the rest of her life.

When Miyani finally returned to the clearing, she wasn’t sure how much time had passed. Slowly, Miyani approached the ground and landed on her feet with ease. Whiskers must have really enjoyed the flight too for she didn’t instantly jump down to the ground again. Only now did she realize that she had barely had to stabilize herself on her broom throughout most of that flight. Ramona was right. It was just like cycling!

    “Miyani!” Rose said as she came running.

    “Rose! Did you see me?” Miyani cheered eagerly.

    “I did! You did great!” Rose cheered in return.

    Ramona approached the girls as well and was clapping. “Bravo, Miyani. You handled your first flight better than I had expected,” she said.

    “How was it up there? Flying with just you and Whiskers?” Rose asked.

    Miyani was about to answer the question but Ramona spoke up instead. “Why not find out for yourself?” she said.

    “Huh?” Rose asked.

    “Now that you’ve flown by yourself, it’s time to try and fly with Rose as your passenger,” Ramona proposed.

    Both girls gasped. “Are you sure I can do that?” Miyani asked.

    “Come now, don’t start doubting yourself now,” Ramona laughed.

    “R-right. Right!” Miyani said resolutely. “Wanna give it a go, Rose?”

    “Well… alright!” Rose said. Eagerly, she came to stand behind Miyani and wrapped her arms around the witch’s waist. Whiskers looked at her and began to get a little worried but she didn’t complain loudly as she had done before.

    “You’re… gonna have to jump with me,” Miyani said nervously. For some reason, having Rose essentially hug her from behind made her even more nervous about this than she already was.

    “Alright,” Rose said while nodding.

    “Now, just do as you had done before. All that’s different now is that you’re a little heavier,” Ramona said. She mounted up on her own broom, only this time she did not put the broomstick between her legs. Rather, she held both legs to one side and only held the nose of the broom with one hand. She began hovering and indicated for Miyani to do the same.

    “Alright. One… two… three!” Miyani called out and she jumped alongside Rose. Sure enough, they hovered over the ground as well.

    “Oh my goodness, we’re actually flying!” Rose gasped. Unfortunately, she was leaning to the right a little bit too much, causing them to veer that way a little.

    “Wait… don’t lean too far!” Miyani called out, trying her best to veer back to the left.

    “Sorry!” Rose gasped as she too leaned to the left now, meaning that Miyani had to lean to the right again to balance things out. This back and forth continued a few times before they finally stabilized themselves again. All the while, Whiskers was getting more and more anxious.

    Ramona just looked in amusement at the display. “Ah… reminds me of my first passenger,” she said.

    “This… is normal?” Miyani asked. She was having a lot more trouble now maintaining her balance.

    “Oh, yes. In fact, I’m pretty sure I fell off my broom several times before getting it right,” Ramona said.

    “Huh… but we haven’t fallen yet. We’re doing better then!” Rose cheered.

    “We are? Right… we are!” Miyani grinned. With that, she began leaning forwards to see if they could actually fly this way without falling. Ramona followed them slowly.

    “I can’t believe it… I can’t believe it!” Rose said excitedly.

    Miyani giggled. “Can you believe it a little calmer?” she asked while attempting to make their first turn.

    “Sorry!” Rose said. She just held on tighter to Miyani while trying her best not to lean too much as she had done before. It actually went… decently well, though it was costing a whole lot more energy than before.

    “You should speed up. It becomes a lot more manageable that way,” Ramona proposed behind them.

    Miyani nodded and leaned forwards, with Rose following suit. Sure enough, as they sped up, making turns was going a lot better now. Miyani smiled as that same feeling of freedom returned to her once more. Behind her, Rose must have started feeling the same way by now as she just wordlessly looked around herself. Even though they were still only about a meter off the ground, they were definitely flying.

    “Good, good, you’re doing well. Can you also try to rise and go down?” Ramona asked.

    Miyani nodded. “Hold on tight, Rose,” she said while pulling up the nose of the broom. Rose did as she was told, as did Whiskers who was definitely a lot more nervous now than she was before. Sure enough, they rose up, only because of Rose’s weight on the back of the broomstick, their climb was a lot steeper than Miyani had expected, causing all three of them to gasp loudly. It took a lot of effort to push the nose down again but they did finally manage.

    Ramona joined them again soon enough. “Keep in mind. You have an extra weight on your broom now. You need to take that into account and readjust yourself accordingly,” she said.

    Miyani nodded. This was a lot harder than flying on her own alright but she had to get used to this if she wanted to be able to fly with Rose more often.

    “I just… can’t believe we’re actually up in the air. On a broom!” Rose said.

    “Heh, well you better believe it,” Miyani said. She started their descent down to the ground again. Having learned from her earlier mistake, she leaned only slightly so that they wouldn’t crash.

    Ramona smiled and flew down alongside them. “Now try to land,” she said.

    Miyani nodded and lowered to the ground where sure enough, they landed with little trouble. Only this time, Miyani once again had to really steady herself lest she fell over completely from exhaustion. She had been doing this almost all day by now after all.

    “Excellent, well done,” Ramona said while nodding approvingly.

    “We flew! We actually flew!” Rose cheered.

    “Uhuh,” Miyani managed to say between her panting.

    Ramona grinned. “I propose another short break before we begin flying back home,” she said.

It wasn’t until about two hours later that Miyani and Rose finally landed back on Miyani’s balcony. Thanks to Ramona’s invisibility spell, they didn’t have to worry about being seen by anybody and they also did not have to make the long trek through the woods a second time.

    Whiskers casually hopped off Miyani’s shoulder and vanished somewhere in Miyani’s apartment, likely to just find a place to sleep. In all honesty, Miyani didn’t blame her. She was absolutely exhausted from the trip as well herself.

    Ramona landed next to Miyani and Rose for a moment. “You’ve done exceedingly well today, Miyani. Better than I had expected, in fact,” she said.

    Miyani let out a deep sigh. “Thank you… it’s all thanks to you. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t found me,” she said.

    “You mean, if Whiskers hadn’t found me,” Ramona laughed. “Now, rest up. I will teach you the invisibility spell at our next lesson so that you won’t have to rely on me all the time when you wish to fly.”

    “Ah! Right!” Miyani said eagerly while balling her fists. If she could master that spell, then she could experience the joy of flight whenever she so desired!

    “Have a wonderful evening, and see you soon,” Ramona said. With that, she flew off, quickly disappearing from view as Miyani and Rose left her invisibility bubble.

    While Miyani entered the apartment as well now to crash on her couch, Rose simply stood on the balcony in silence. She had been very quiet throughout most of the trip.

    “Are you okay?” Miyani asked.

    Rose slowly wandered inside as well now and sat down next to Miyani. Softly, she spoke up. “I’ve often had dreams while growing up. Dreams that I could fly. I never thought… that I’d actually get to experience it,” she said. Then she did something that Miyani hadn’t expected: she rested her head on the witch’s shoulder. “It’s all thanks to you…”

    Miyani sat there, stunned for a moment. Nervously, she wrapped an arm around Rose’s waist. “You’re… you’re welcome,” she said. She really wasn’t sure what to make of this but, well, if this was normal among friends, then it was probably best for her to lean into it, right?

    The two girls sat there in silence for a moment. Neither of them said anything. It was a silence that was nice. Previously, Miyani had always thought of silences as awkward but that wasn’t the case this time. That is, until Miyani’s stomach began rumbling loudly.

    Rose burst out into laughter. “Should we order a pizza?” she proposed.

    Miyani nodded. She was a little embarrassed about having disturbed the moment but things seemed to be alright still for now.

    As Rose took out her phone to start looking for a nearby pizza place, Miyani sat back and closed her eyes. She took in the memories of the day again. Her first broomflight. The total freedom she felt had truly changed her somehow. It was something she had never experienced before. She was beginning to feel like a true witch every day. And none of it would have been possible if she hadn’t accidentally transformed Rose into a flower that time. For the first time in her life, things appeared to be going right for Miyani.