"GASP!"

Luz's first impulse as soon as she opened her eyes was to take a huge breath of air and she instinctively put her hands to her throat, where with relief she no longer felt the horrible tightening of the noose. She pushed herself out of bed, or at least tried to, because she was still lifting her back when her breath hitched and her head started to spin, causing her to fall back onto her back. "Willow... Gus..."

"LUZ!" To the puppet's enormous relief, the cricket and spider appeared in her field of vision. They both had tears in their eyes and looked like they had aged ten years. "Thank goodness you're okay! We were starting to think you'd never wake up again!"

"Are... are you okay?" Luz whispered, each word causing pain in her chest. "The assassins... did they hurt you...?"

Willow and Gus smiled slightly. Knowing that Luz's first thought after waking up from nearly dying was to make sure they weren't hurt warmed their hearts. "We're fine" Gus said, drumming his chest with a paw. "We have a very tough exoskeleton. Those two idiots couldn't even make a dent in us!"

"And... the coins?" Luz's voice grew weaker. "They didn't take them, did they? My mother needs them...!"

"Don't worry, they didn't take them" Willow reassured her. "While you were sleeping, Gus and I took them out of your mouth and put them in your pocket without anyone noticing, although I don't think there's any need for secrets in here"

Luz sighed in relief; she had seriously feared that she had lost what she had fought so hard for. Now that she knew that her friends were safe and that the coins were too she could think more calmly and clearly, and she began to focus on her surroundings. It was then that she realized that she was lying on a soft bed that strangely resembled a nest; she was also inside a very large room, with a large circular and colored window on one wall. "Uh... where are we...?"

"Hoot, hoot! The new friend is awake!"

Luz couldn't figure out who had just spoken, but both Willow and Gus turned pale and screamed, "EEEKH! THE MONSTER!" and they immediately ran to hide under the puppet's sleeves. Luz didn't understand what had scared them and was about to ask for an explanation, but before she could do so the window flew open with a sharp crash and an instant later the face of an ocher-feathered owl appeared before her eyes. Except that it wasn't an owl at all, but rather an owl's head located on top of a very long snake-like neck that entered the room through the window. "What... am I looking at…?"

"Hi, little woody friend! I'm Hooty!" the owl greeted her. "So, how are you? Oh, pardon my manners, I'm not used to having guests! You know, there's never anyone in this corner of the woods, apart from a few bad guys like the ones I scared away yesterday, and even if Eda sometimes takes me around, she almost never lets me interact with people! She says that sometimes I'm irritating, but in reality I just define myself as..."

Luz's head was spinning; that owl spoke so quickly and with such a shrill and annoying voice that he completely confused her. She wanted to tell him to shut up, but the owl didn't give her time to speak and using his long neck as a support he lifted her up and put her in a sitting position, then he placed her on some pillows which he regurgitated directly from his mouth, almost causing her to vomit. "Here, this will make you more comfortable, and now we can talk face to face! So, what do you like? What is your favorite food? And your favorite animal? And your favorite type of worm?"

Luz was seriously starting to see the room spinning, but luckily heaven sent an angel to save her; an angel who revealed herself in the form of a middle-aged woman who opened the door and entered the room carrying a bottle in her hand. "Oh, you're awake, kiddo" she said as soon as she saw her. "Hooty, leave her alone. Luz is still not feeling great right now, she needs to recover before she can have a conversation with someone talkative like you"

"Uh... I see. Well, good recovery in this case! See you another time, hoot hoot!" the owl exclaimed, then he came out the window again and disappeared.

Gus and Willow emerged slightly from under Luz's sleeves. "Is that monster gone?" they whispered in terror. For them who were accustomed to fear birds and predatory snakes, a living fusion of these two animals was the embodiment of a nightmare.

"Don't worry, Hooty has gone away. And I already told you that you can rest assured, I ordered him not to touch you, and even if he doesn't seem, he always obey what I order him" the lady replied approaching the bed, and then she turned towards Luz: "So, how are you feeling, kiddo?"

Luz looked carefully at the woman in front of her; she was a little taller than her and had an extremely slender body that also gave the idea of being very flexible, and skin as white as snow. She had long gray hair that almost looked like a nest on her head, and Luz wouldn't be surprised if she could hold items in it like a bag. She wore a crimson red dress and two black boots, and had long golden nails and eyes so large they looked like those of an owl. But most interesting of all was that it also had two long pointed ears that Luz had never seen on any human. Besides, the more she looked at it, the more something else came to mind... "You... you look like that bird" she said. "Before I fainted I saw a bird land in front of me... and it looked like you..."

"Oh, I think that's what you mean" the woman said, and suddenly her appearance changed: her gray hair grew so foul it could act as a cloak train, her red dress became covered in feathers and merged with her body, her hands elongated and became similar to claws and her feet merged with her shoes to become paws, and two large wings emerged from her back. Luz opened her mouth when she saw this and rubbed her eyes a couple of times, fearing she was having visions. The woman giggled for a moment, clearly amused by her reaction, and then returned to her more 'human' appearance. "What you just saw is my true fairy form. But I prefer this one, it makes it easier for me to interact with others... and then, please don't tell anyone, but walking around all day with wings attached to my back really hurts my old bones. I'm not too old but not too young too"

Luz was even more amazed than before. "Your true fairy form...? Are you a fairy?"

"Exactly. My name is Edalyn Clawthorne, by the way, but you can just call me Eda, and the one who you just met is my familiar Hooty. You're in the my home at the moment: welcome to the Owl House!" the woman replied, then she handed her the bottle she was holding in her hand: "But we'll introduce ourselves properly later, now we have to think about your health. You have to drink this"

Luz took the bottle, looking at the brown liquid inside with disgust. "Why do I have to drink it?"

"Your trachea is slightly damaged due to the noose that those two assassins put around your neck" Eda explained to her. "If we don't treat it, the wound will expand and soon it will become so big that you will no longer be able to breathe. Drink this potion that I have prepared and you will heal immediately"

In fact, Luz felt pretty bad: every breath she took seemed to bring molten lead into her lungs, and she felt very weak. "You're a fairy, aren't you? Can't you heal me with your magic?"

"This potion IS magic, kiddo. If just waving a wand and speaking gibberish could solve any problem, what use could all the other sciences have?" Eda answered her.

Luz's grip tightened around the bottle in her hand. "Is it sweet or bitter?"

"It's bitter, but it'll do you good. And when you drink it I promise I'll give you something sweet" Eda said.

But Luz in response handed her the bottle shaking her head: "If it's bitter, I don't want to drink it"

"Luz! Now's not the time to be picky!" Willow scolded.

"Yeah! Didn't you hear what she said? You're sick, you could die!" Gus reminded her.

But Luz was adamant and forcefully put the bottle back into Eda's hand. "I don't care! I'm not going to drink this stuff!"

But unlike her two friends, the fairy seemed more amused than worried. In fact, it almost seemed like she was expecting that reaction and was barely keeping herself from laughing. "Is this your final decision, kiddo? Aren't you afraid of dying?"

Luz swallowed slightly, then she answered: "Death scares me, but I'd rather die than drink that disgusting stuff!"

"Luz, is it possible that you have to throw a tantrum now too!?" Willow exclaimed. "Just drink it! We didn't come all this way to bring you home in a coffin!"

"Calm down, country cricket. I can understand her, even I at her age responded like this to my mother once" Eda said, and then she smiled a little. "That's why I prepared for this eventuality"

The fairy clapped her hands, and the door swung open with a loud thud; what looked like a cross between a worm, a snail, and a rat came into the room, letting out a screech that made Luz's skin crawl. That strange animal was the mount of another being, a kind of skinny cat with thick red hair and orange skin, who as soon as he saw Luz stroked his whiskers in an evil manner, which made the puppet pale. "Who… who is this?"

"An old acquaintance of mine, his name is Eberwolf. He's a ghoul, a little spirit who haunts cemeteries and takes care of disposing of corpses... devouring them" Eda explained. "He came to take you"

"Take me!? But I'm not dead yet!" Luz almost screamed as she hid under the covers.

"But you will be soon. Without my potion you won't have more than a few hours left, so my friend might as well take you to the cemetery immediately" Eda replied, and as she spoke Eberwolf opened his mouth wide and several sharp teeth emerged from it, so razor that they seemed to be able to reduce a human to pulp in just few seconds.

Luz shook like a leaf at that sight. "I changed my mind! Give it to me now!" she shouted, grabbing the bottle from the fairy's hands again and immediately gulping down its contents. When she was finished she made a sound of disgust, but then she heaved a sigh of relief as she finally felt the pain fade from her neck and lungs.

"That's better. Sorry Eberwolf, this time I made you go on a useless trip" Eda said. Eberwolf, however, didn't seem angry at all, on the contrary he made a satisfied noise and said a few words in a language that Luz didn't know and that sounded more like the rattle of a beast, and then he and his monstrous mount jumped down from the window and left. "What did he say?" Luz asked.

"That he had fun and that if by chance one day I needed him to scare a kid again I shouldn't hesitate to contact him" Eda replied. "Rather, how do you feel now?"

Luz blushed with embarrassment, but despite her wounded pride she sincerely admitted: "I'm fine now. Your potion healed me"

"Tsk! Was it necessary to make such a mess?" Willow grumbled. "I think you're the first girl in the world who needed a death threat to take medicine!"

"Hey, did you skip the part where I said I was like her, by any chance?" Eda said pretending to be offended. "And not just me, I could make you a whole list about it. Kids, all kids, are like that: they always think they're more afraid of the medicine than of the disease... but just put them in front of the consequences of the disease, and there they miraculously change their minds!". She raised a hand and rubbed Luz's hair: "I was even lenient with you: my mother for me had called directly a reaper... although after all these years I'm pretty sure it was just my sister with a black cloak, a skull mask and a scythe borrowed from a farmer, but she still denies it"

Luz pulled away from the fairy's grasp and straightened her disheveled hair. "No offense, but... you're not exactly the kind of fairy I always imagined"

"Yes, I suppose you imagined the classic fairies all kind, loving and maternal, right? Well, spoiler kiddo: fairies just like humans have personalities. There are caring fairies and others who are a little eccentric; and some fairies like the me, that act by doing the first thing that comes to mind. And I often don't regret it" Eda replied, and then she looked at her with tender eyes. "For example, so far I haven't regretted you at all"

"Huh? Me? What do I have to do with it?" Luz murmured in confusion.

"Yeah... now that you're healed, I think it's time to get the elephant out of the room" Gus said jumping onto her shoulder. "Luz, remember we told you about how we saw a fairy give you life? Well… that fairy is there in front of you now"

"Yeah, that's her" Willow confirmed. "And I have to admit, her personality is exactly what I imagined when I heard her talking to that hell owl..."

Luz didn't even listen to the cricket's last words. Her eyes widened until they looked like two bowls and stared at Eda, who returned it with a knowing smile. "What!?"

In the original story, Pinocchio is not saved by the Blue Fairy but by her servants under her orders, and when he is brought to her she has him examined by three doctors (among whom there is also Jiminy Cricket, who should have been dead but apparently apparently it wasn't... yes, death is not a very clear concept in this book given that the characters resurrect whenever they like), and then she gives him some medicine because he got a fever due to the fact that he passed the whole night hanged from an oak tree; however, Pinocchio doesn't want to drink it because it's bitter and so she calls some black rabbits with a coffin to take him away, and at that point he is convinced. Here the story was decidedly different: for starters Luz doesn't have to be treated for a fever since she didn't spend the night out, but for a throat injury due to the noose, and this makes Eda's potion even more 'magical' compared to the medicine of the original book (given that in the absence of magic to cure such a wound you need surgery, rather than medicine!); furthermore, Eda doesn't call any doctor because, being a fairy, she is able to take care of the problem on her own (the blue fairy from the original book, despite having this name, practically never does magic). The black rabbits are also replaced by Eberwolf, which here belongs to the ghoul species, true monsters of Arab-European folklore that infest cemeteries to devour corpses. Furthermore, in the original book the fairy scolds Pinocchio for not wanting to drink the medicine straight away, while here Eda just laughs at it and admits that she too had a similar experience when she was young because... well, Eda is Eda.