Feel Better Potion

 

            Irene looked critically at the potion stewing on her stove. It was meant to help her friend Tessa feel better. She had watched her mother make this potion hundreds of times, so she felt like it shouldn’t have been that hard. She used all the same ingredients as her mom, and did everything in exactly the same way. The only problem was, it was a bright neon orange.

            Irene thought that she had done everything correctly, but if she had, it would have looked like a creamy broth. That way, non-magical people wouldn’t know that they were being fed a magical potion.

            Irene sighed, and did what she had tried to avoid doing in the first place. She called her mom. It wasn’t by phone, of course. Humans loved their cell phones, which they thought were so marvelous. They had no idea of a sorceress’s power.

            Irene conjured a window in front of her. On the other side of the window stood her mom, who was currently making a magical potion of her own.

            “Hello, dear,” Mom said as she tossed some herbs into her pot.

            “Hi, Mom. I was just wondering about your feel better potion that you make for people when they’re sick.”

            “Oh yeah, that’s an easy one.”

            Irene fought to keep herself from groaning out loud as she said, “Yes, well, I’m trying to make it, and it’s orange. How do I make it look like your soup?”

            Mom looked right through the window at Irene and said, “Did you add the chicken broth before or after the happiness drops?”

            “After,” Irene answered immediately.

            “Did you remember to say the words to the spell while the potion was boiling?”

            “Yes.”
            “Hmmm.” Mom tilted her head to the side, thinking. “How orange is it?”

            “It’s a really bright, neon orange. Like the orange humans wear when they go hunting.”

            “Oh, I know – you forgot to put in the sugar with the writhing eel.”

            Irene thought back and said, “I put the eel in and then the sugar right afterwards. Isn’t that the same thing?”

            “Oh no, you need to make sure that the eel is completely covered in sugar, or else it cancels out the properties of the horse hairs.”

            Irene’s shoulders slumped as she said, “So this potion is useless then.”

            “Well, no. It will actually make a great concoction to water newly sown crop fields. You should save it for your garden when it’s time to plant your cleaned chicken bones. You should get some beautiful blooms that will be fantastic for attracting ravens. That way, you’ll be able to harvest all of their discarded black feathers.”

            Irene smiled. Black raven feathers were some of the most magical bird feathers that were used in a lot of different potions. Then her face fell as she said, “But I’m out of eel. I used the last of it for this potion. I still need to make the feel better potion for my friend.”

            “Oh, don’t worry,” Mom said, waving her hand unconcernedly. “I just happen to have an extra one right here.” She walked over to her fridge and showed Irene the eel. “You can have it.”

            “Are you sure you won’t need it for anything?”

            “Not right now. You can get me some more in a few days, when you have more time.”

            Irene relaxed and gave her mom a true smile. “Thanks, Mom. I’m trying to do everything right, but I still mess up sometimes.” She went right up to the window as her mom handed her the eel through it. Human technology might be pretty good, but it couldn’t compare to a sorceress’s window conjuring.

            Irene went to soak the eel in sugar as her mom said, “Well, I made plenty of mistakes too, but a few hundred years of magic wielding have helped me get better.” She smiled and waved at Irene. “Good luck with your feel better potion. I know you’ll make a great sorceress.”

            Irene waved back and said goodbye. She wanted to prove that she could do things herself, but it was good to know that she had her mom to count on for help if she needed it. She got out a new pot to start the potion over, and set to work, making sure that the eel was completely covered in sugar when she added it to the mixture. Good thing Tessa didn’t know what was actually going into her soup. Not many people actually liked eating eel, but Irene knew how to magically make things taste delicious. Irene smiled as she continued working, and by the end, it looked like a delicious, creamy chicken soup. “Just like Mom used to make,” she said with a happy smile.