The world to be

by Kyaroru Annu Namine Kelly

Set five years after the events of the movie, and the unconventional family finds itself in a contented state, until tragedy strikes. How will the unlikely family face the loss of one of its member. Other questions arise, such as will Sophie forgive her mother for her part in what Madame Suliman plot? Will Markl finish his training? Find out here.

2. Chapter 2

The world to be, chapter 2.

Holding Granny's thick right hand, Sophie bent over it, whispering quietly for her to get better. To whom, she wasn't sure, as she didn't believe in the gods, but that somewhere out there, there might be some hope for her.

It'd been two days since they'd arranged to meet up with Markl and Granny, but it might have been a lifetime. It had been a miracle she'd survived the two days, and yet still going, barely, her breath laboured, her chest hardly rising. The prognosis hadn't been good since the initial testing. A heart attack such as hers could only lead to one thing, and it wouldn't be what they wanted. Even if things did improve, there would be no knowing what would become of her physical or mental wellbeing.

A hand gently touched Sophie's left cheek, and she raised her face to look at granny looking into her face, somewhat wearily.

''My dear girl.'' Granny whispered, rubbing her thumbs over the recently poured tears on Sophie's cheek. ''I know this isn't what you want, but I feel it.'' Sophie went to speak, but was stopped by Granny's fingers on her lips. ''You have to let me go.'' Sophie saw the clarity in Granny's face as she spoke, and a dam seemed to break in her chest.

''No Granny, you can't.'' Sophie blubbered, hardly able to get her word out around the tear spilling freely down her face. ''You mean too much to me, to all of us.'' Granny smiled gently, creating even more winkles in her face.

''It hasn't always been like that though.'' She said gently. ''I was a cruel and wicked person to do what I did to you to get to Howl and his heart.''

''You've changed.'' Sophie continued, trying to stem her tears with her hands rubbing across her eyes. ''In the five years since all that happened, you've become such a great person, and we all love you for it.'' Granny was shaking her head slightly, causing creases to appear in the pillow behind her head.

''That's maybe so. But I still was still a horrid women, a horrid witch.'' She gave a slight sigh, closed her eyes and leaned her head back.

''What I said is so.'' Sophie whispered, as she saw the last of Granny's life slip away, and she hoped she'd said it in time for her to hear it. She leant forward on her seat to lean her head on Granny's large chest and pour all her grief out to the inanimate corpse that had now taken Granny's place. She didn't hear the door open behind her, but after a second a gentle hand placed itself on her left shoulder.

Knowing the touch, in a fluid movement, she was out of the seat and into Howl's arm, sobbing into his shoulder as he glanced over at Granny. Whiter in death, this was the women who had once sought him so fiercely, now a woman who would never come back and give them advice or to help them out in whatever way she could. He buried his own face in to Sophie's shoulder, and as tall as he was, he seemed to fit perfectly in the contours of her neckline and shoulder blade.

Markl had followed Howl into the doorway, and saw before him the world changing for the worst, for all of them.