Luz slowly reopened her eyes, and the light coming from the window hit her, almost hurting her; morning must have already arrived... or maybe even noon, judging by how bright the light was. It took her a few seconds to refocus on her surroundings and recognize the ornate ceiling and walls of the Owl House. At that point what had happened the day before immediately came back to her and she got up from the bed. "EDA!" she shouted, her heart pounding, fearing she wouldn't get any response.

But to her immense relief the fairy's voice came from behind her: "I'm here, kiddo"

Luz whirled around and found Eda sitting in a chair next to the bed reading a book. She threw off the covers and crawled across the mattress until she reached her and hugged her again. Eda returned the hug and caressed her hair for a few seconds, and finally the puppet's heartbeat returned to normal levels. "Don't worry, Luz. I told you, I'm not going anywhere"

Luz didn't answer and just held onto Eda's body even tighter, as if she was afraid she would disappear if she let her go. The fairy let her do it, then after a while she said to her: "How about we go to the kitchen now? You need to eat something, and also so we can talk"

Luz clearly would have preferred to stay in that position forever, but she nodded and with what seemed like an enormous effort she finally pulled away from her and got up from the bed, and followed Eda downstairs. Even the kitchen remained the same as it used to be, and it was also already crowded: Willow and Gus were sitting on the table and Hooty's long neck was penetrating the window. The owl seemed to be very happy to have found his friends again because he didn't stop talking, and only Eda's intervention who kicked him out the window saved the two poor arthropods, who were already seeing the room spinning, from his endless chatter. Luz sat at the table with them and Eda took some sugared almonds and several slices of buttered bread; as soon as she had them in front of her, the puppet devoured everything at breakneck speed, as she discovered she was very hungry. When she was done, she finally felt ready to ask: "How come you're here? And the Owl House...?"

"I was looking for you" Eda answered. "When I... recovered, let's say, I immediately started looking for you. I simply followed that part of my magic that was inside you; I don't know how to explain it to you, it's a bit like an instinct... I knew where to go, I just knew it. And fortunately I might add, since otherwise I wouldn't have known where to look for you since you've moved quite far away from our old place. But unfortunately not even my magic can allow me to teleport, so I had to fly here with my wings". Eda raised her index finger as if to point to the whole house. "Normally I would have taken Hooty with me using the Porta-Hooty, but apparently while I was unwell he finally learned to control his body completely, and so I ended up carrying the whole house with me directly. I know that those fat chicken's paws don't make it look like it, but trust me, Hooty is so fast he could keep up with me even while I was flying. All I had to do was add a spell that allowed him to walk on water as we crossed the ocean and so we arrived here, where I knew you were. Unfortunately, even following my magic it wasn't so easy to find you... I knew you were here in the area, but I didn't know exactly where. It was like following a very disturbed sound. I wandered around for a while and eventually in the end I found your two friends who explained the situation to me"

Luz looked at Gus and Willow, who nodded vigorously. "And then you came looking for me together?"

"Exactly. Forgive me for dressing up, but... given the state of mind you were in, I doubt you could handle the shock of seeing me again so suddenly. And even if you could handle it, I fear you would end up misinterpreting the situation and try to run away from me to 'keep me safe' like you did with your friends. My plan was to cheer you up a bit before showing myself... but your friends beat me to it. It still worked, anyway" Eda replied, then her face darkened. "And about what happened yesterday, Luz... I'm sorry. I never wanted something like this to happen to you"

Luz's body visibly shook and she clenched her fists, but she shook her head. "I-It's not important now" she said stuttering a little. "But how did you get back to normal? Hooty told me..."

"That the transformation into the Owl Beast was irreversible, I know. I also believed that it was so, and when I transformed I was convinced that it was over for me. But apparently... I was wrong" Eda replied. "I've discovered that even though bad deeds corrupt my form by converting my light magic into dark magic, that conversion isn't total. Making up those bad deeds allows a fairy to reverse the process. No one has ever succeeded because... well, in their beast form a fairy is unable to reason, and therefore they cannot make up for their bad deeds. But since you and I are connected, just as your bad deeds were reflected on me by transforming me into the Owl Beast, so is everything what you did next came immediately from me and thus reversed the process". A warm smile appeared on Eda's face. "Your regret, Luz. When you returned to the Owl House and discovered what your actions had caused, you regretted it. And that pure and sincere regret penetrated to my heart, giving me the strength to react and wake up. With every tear you shed you gave me even more energy, making me stronger and easier to dig my way to the surface. And even after that... every day that passed, even if you weren't crying, you continued to regret and give me new strength. The heavier your heart was, the more energetic I felt. And in the end, I managed to break the shell and regain my reason; from there abandoning the beastly form and returning to the one you see now was simple"

Luz felt her throat tighten. "Really? You're back to normal because I regretted hurting you? Then... I'm glad I cried so much". Her neck sank into her shoulders slightly: "But... aren't you mad at me?"

"Why should I be angry, kiddo? You made me go back to normal" Eda told her.

"Yes, but I'm still the one who made you transform in the first place" Luz pointed out, feeling the weight of guilt crush her. "I didn't keep my promise, I behaved foolishly and selfishly. It was my fault that you became a monster"

Eda shook her head and let out what sounded like a raspberry. "Tsk! Come on, it's happened in the past, and the fact that I'm in front of you now is proof that you've realized your mistake. What more could I ask for? I could never be mad at you, kiddo"

A smile formed on Luz's face and a tear fell from her eye. Knowing that Eda wasn't angry with her for what had happened made her feel lighter, even if her heart was still extremely heavy. "You... you're too good, Eda. I don't deserve your forgiveness..."

"I'm afraid that the choice to forgive you or not is mine alone, kiddo. And I chose to forgive you from the moment I regained my mind" Eda replied, then stretched out an arm and touched the back of her hand. "Your conscience has already punished you enough, Luz, much more than you deserved. I have no reason to be angry with you, or even just annoyed. Let's forget about that episode and start from scratch. Let's go back to being a weird and grumpy old fairy and a adorable and sweet puppet, just like before"

Despite the situation she found herself in, Luz couldn't help but let a giggle escape her lips at those joking words; and this time it wasn't a sad or forced laugh, but a genuine one. It was the first time she could actually laugh after... what had happened.

Seeing her a little more relaxed, Eda decided it was time to bring up more serious topics: "Listen, I don't know exactly how to say this without bringing up unpleasant memories, but... you can stay here with me if you want... since... well... you no longer have..."

"... I no longer have a place to return to, nor anyone waiting for me" Luz finished the sentence for her. "Don't refrain from telling things like they are, Eda. And... thank you for your hospitality. I will never stop saying that you are really too good"

Eda bit her lip. It hurt her to see the state Luz was in. Eda was a fairy and could read people's hearts, and therefore she could clearly feel all the pain that was torturing the soul of the poor puppet at that moment. "Luz..."

"Eda, please... don't say anything" Luz stammered. "I... I don't want to talk about it. It's okay, I can handle it on my own. I don't need to talk about it. I just need to..."

"Luz... you've been shaking for over a minute" Eda pointed out. Luz grabbed her arms to force them to stay still, but she couldn't block the rest of her body. Eda stood up and walked in front of her, put her hands on her shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes: "Luz, please. Don't keep it all inside. It won't do you any good. I know it's painful, but you have to spit it out"

Luz let out a sob, then she looked back at Eda, and the fairy couldn't remember ever having seen such pleading eyes before. "Is... is there a way to fix this? A spell that makes me go back in time, or that can resurrect the dead, something like that?"

Eda shook her head distraught. "I'm sorry, Luz. Not even the greatest power in the universe can change what has been or bring back what has gone beyond"

Luz lowered her head. "So... so that's it. It's over. I... I don't have a mother anymore". She sniffed. "I don't have a sister anymore, I don't have my friends anymore. I sent them all to their deaths"

"Luz..." Eda tried to say, but the puppet suddenly turned and glared at her. "DON'T TRY TO SAY IT'S NOT MY FAULT!" she screamed, jumping up from her chair, so quickly that it tipped over. Gus and Willow jumped when this happened, but they froze completely when Luz looked at both them and Eda with a look so scary it would have terrified even a wolf. "All of you, stop telling me it's not my fault! It was my fault! My mother was there in the sea... for me. She was following me. S-She was looking for me. She crossed the entire ocean alone in the hope of finding me again, because I had disappeared due to my stupid choices and she loved me. And that's how... she found herself there... when Belos emerged". Almost frantically she brought her hands in front of her face and scratched at her cheeks, as if hoping to flay herself. "And all the others... Vee, Masha, Viney, Barcus, Jerbo, even Captain Salty... they were there at sea because I asked them to. They were there because they wanted to help me. All of them had always been so good to me... and this was their reward, the throat of a horrible monster! Who knows what terrible torments they will have suffered in that horrible stomach of his before... dying...". She started scratching on her cheeks even harder. "Who knows how much mom must have suffered... oh, mom... I just want to tell her that I'm so sorry... she was a wonderful mother, she always tried to give me everything... and I... I did nothing but act like a bad girl... I made her suffer so much... oh, it's all my fault! So don't pretend that it isn't!"

Luz was starting to stutter and struggle to put together meaningful sentences. Eda tried to get closer to her, but every time she tried the puppet took a step back. Im the end she simply tried to talk to her: "Luz, it's true, you made some wromg choices, but what led to this situation was mostly bad luck. Don't blame yourself for everything..."

"Yes, you're right, it was bad luck! The bad luck that Camila had me as her daughter!" Luz interrupted, her voice rising four octaves with each word. "No, what am I saying... the funny part is that I'm not even her real daughter"

"Luz, now you're being unreasonable" Eda warned her. "You are her daughter, there is no doubt about that"

"Really!? Because I don't think that normal children have wood instead of flesh and joints instead of muscles!" Luz blurted out, finally removing her hands from her face and opening her arms as if wanting to reveal herself completely. "I still don't know how children are born, but I'm pretty sure they aren't carved from a log and brought to life by a fairy! I was never a real daughter. My mother got herself killed for a fake!"

"Luz, how you are born or whether you are made of flesh or wood or any other material is not what determines whether you are a daughter or not" Eda told her. "Listen to me, please. You have never been a fake daughter..."

"Yes, indeed, I am!" Luz was barely able to speak by now. "I'm just a fake. I'm nothing more than a puppet brought to life by magic! I will never live like others. I will never grow up, I will never grow old, I will never be able to have children. I will always have a fake life, because deep down I am also a fake person. I'm not real! You keep telling me I'm the real daughter of my mother, but that's not true! THIS IS WHAT I AM!"

Luz grabbed the pirate bandana that Viney had given her and that she still had on her head and tore it off, letting her hair fall over her forehead, and then she pulled it aside to reveal the scar above her left eye that the two assassins had left on her. "A knife did this to me! When a real person is hit by a knife, they die! It only left this scar on me... and it's not even a real scar! It doesn't throb, it doesn't bleed, it doesn't need bandages and medication because it can't get infected! Even this single part of my body is fake! Everything in me is! I am a fake daughter, a fake person, A FAKE GIRL! That's why my mother died, because she was looking for a fake! A mother's sacrifice should be something heroic and beautiful... but that's not what happened because I'm not her real daughter! My mother died for nothing! I made her die for nothing! Just a pathetic fake!"

Luz's knees couldn't hold her any longer; the puppet fell to the floor and only the prompt intervention of Owlbert who grabbed her by the collar prevented her from getting too hurt. Soon her body was shaking with sobs and she could no longer hold back her tears, and she hid her eyes with her hands.

Eda remained silent to observe her, and almost even she started to cry while she saw Luz reduced like that. That beautiful sun that seemed to be able to illuminate anything and warm all hearts with its heat seemed to have broken, and the fragments didn't want to return to their place. The fairy knelt down and moved her hands away from Luz's face, revealing that her eyes had already turned red. She and Eda looked at each other for a moment, then the fairy said: "Luz... I don't know if this is the right time... but it's right that I tell you something that I should have revealed to you when you first arrived at the Owl House"

Luz sniffed. "What... What is it?"

Eda took a deep breath and said: "Luz, it's true, you're not a real girl... not yet"

Luz froze. "What do you mean… not yet?"

"It means you can become one, if you really want it and commit to it" Eda replied. "When we fairies carve the Palistrom wood we teach the wood what it means to be alive, to be a real creature, and the magic contained in the trunk, the life magic, makes the Palismen become living creatures in all respects. They are still made of wood , but they can grow, age, reproduce and do everything a living creature would do, although they often have a much longer lifespan than a normal human. But you... you don't just have the magic of the Palistrom wood, but also my magic, light magic, which contains everything that allows you to act and move like a person. By fusing together these two powerful magics would allow you to take a step further than the normal Palismen. In lesser words... if you, like them, learned what it means to be a living creature... you would become a real girl"

Luz was speechless for several seconds before she managed to stammer something. "M-Me? A real girl? You mean... one with flesh and blood?"

"Exactly" Eda said. "You can become one, if you commit to meeting two important requirements. The first, as I told you, is to learn what it means to be a real person. The second... is to understand what kind of person you want to become. Meet these requirements, and you will become in all aspects a real girl and no longer a puppet"

Luz's eyes were shining; suddenly, the pain and guilt in her gaze faded a little, replaced by some excitement. She stood up, albeit with extreme difficulty as she still felt very weak. "If so... if so then I will do it! I will become a real girl! So... so at least mom will have died to save a real daughter... and you won't turn into the Owl Beast again even if I do something wrong, right? I'll be a real girl, so we won't be connected anymore..."

"Luz" Eda stopped her and looked her straight in the eyes. "If you want to become a real girl, you will have my full support, but you don't have to do it for these reasons. Listen carefully to these words because they are the most sincere I have ever spoken: you are already Camila's real daughter. You have been since the moment she first saw you and accepted you as such into her heart. That's all it takes to consider yourself a daughter, nothing more. Never doubt that". She paused, then she continued: "And yes, if you became a real person you would no longer need my magic, so we would no longer be connected and I would no longer risk turning into the Owl Beast if one day you were to do something wrong, but that's not important"

"How can it not be important? It absolutely is important!" Luz exclaimed. "Don't you realize the risk you run? If tomorrow I'll mess up..."

"If you mess up tomorrow, then we'll deal with it tomorrow. All that matters now is the present" Eda told her. "Luz, if you want to become a real girl, you have to do it because you want it, not for these reasons. The only thing that matters in this decision is yourself. So now I ask you, and you answer me solely based on that what do you feel in your heart: do you want to become a real girl?"

Luz opened her mouth, but then she quickly closed it again. She closed her eyes and seemed to think hard, and when she opened them again they were full of determination. "Yes" she answered. "I don't want to spend the rest of my life like a puppet. I want to be able to grow up, get old, get married, have children, maybe grandchildren, and do all those things that real people do, and then die in a bed surrounded by my family while I'll be old and sagging. I want to be a real girl, I really want it. I don't want it for someone else... I want it for myself"

Eda smiled. "In this case, you have all my support" she told her, then she added: "Luz... whatever happens, remember that this is your choice, yours alone. And never doubt that you are Camila's real daughter, because you absolutely are. And... I know it's difficult for you to do this right now, but please, try to stop believing that what happened is your fault"

Luz bit her lip. It was clear that she wasn't completely convinced by the fairy's words, but in the end she still answered: "I... I'll try". She was silent for a moment, then she asked: "So... what do I need to do to be able to meet those two requirements you told me about?"

"Honestly? I have no idea. These aren't things I can teach you, you have to learn them on your own" Eda replied. "Try to find a path. Follow your heart: what do you want to do now?"

Luz thought for a moment, and then she answered: "I want to go to school"

"Excuse me!?" Willow and Gus's voice rang throughout the kitchen. Evidently never in their lives had they expected the puppet to say something like that.

Luz ignored them. "I... I want to at least try to be the good girl that mom wanted me to be. I don't know if this will help me become real... but I want to do it anyway. And then, this way, at least I'll learn something, and by behaving well I will prevent you from turning into the Owl Beast again..."

"Kiddo, I already told you not to worry about that. Just think about yourself, not me. I'll get through one way or another" Eda told her. "But if you really want to go to school, then so be it. I'll enroll you in the local school in Bonesborough, and you can go there starting tomorrow. Is that okay with you?"

"Yes... actually, any school would be fine for me" Luz answered truthfully. She didn't care where the school was, as long as it was a school. After all, her life was now with Eda since she was the only adult she had left, so if Eda now lived near Bonesborough since she had come all the way there looking for her, then she might as well go to Bonesborough's school.

"Good. You'll see, you'll like it: I heard that the local school, the Hexside, is very renowned" Eda told her. "Dry those tears and pull yourself together, kiddo: let's go and buy you books and uniform right away! In fact... since your clothes need a good wash, maybe it's time for you to change clothes. Come on, let's see if I have anything I can give you..."

Luz couldn't contradict her: her clothes, even though they were now dry, were covered in salt, sand, gravel and even seaweed. The only part of her clothing that remained immaculate was the jacket that Eda had given her, which was quite obvious given that by now both she, Gus and Willow had now understood that that jacket must have had some magic that protected it from any impurity. Eda searched a bit in her old closet looking for something that would fit her, and threw out any dress in her size she found; when Luz had put on her entire new outfit it consisted of a red cap with some cute pins on it, green trousers, a white and pink striped t-shirt with Eda's jacket (the only piece of clothing that she hadn't wanted to take off) over it, and finally red shoes with laces.

"Wow, kiddo, you look great... although you would look even better if you tried to smile at me" Eda said taking off her hat and ruffling her hair in her usual loving way, then giving it back to her. "Come on now, let's go buy everything you need for a wonderful first day at school!"

Luz didn't really appreciate the fact that her hair now looked like a bird's nest, and in fact she immediately covered it with her hat (although a few jaunty strands continued to stick out through it), but she still smiled as she saw the fairy working so hard for her. Even though her heart was still very much shrouded in darkness, she felt as if a hot blanket had wrapped it and was warming it.

In Collodi's original book, the blue fairy comes back to life by her simple will, because after seeing that Pinocchio has repented and cried on her grave she wants to give him another chance (as I have already said several times, the concept of death actual is not present in the original book given that the characters come back to life whenever they like); in this AU, however, Eda manages to transform back into a fairy thanks to the fact that Luz regretted her actions, so returning to her is not her choice but rather thanks to Luz herself. Furthermore, in the original book the fairy doesn't immediately reveal herself to Pinocchio almost on a whim, while in this AU Eda prefers not to reveal herself to Luz immediately to avoid causing her a shock given the mental state in which she already finds herself. Again, in the original book Pinocchio decides to become a real boy only because he wants to be able to grow up just like the blue fairy (who, let's remember, was a little girl first and when he meets her again she has become an adult). In this AU, Luz chooses to do so for a deeper reason: firstly because she feels terribly inadequate at the thought of having to remain forever imprisoned in the wooden body (and therefore never be able to grow and age), but above all because she feels as if she wasn't a real daughter to Camila and this, added to the terrible experience she went through, creates severe mental distress for her. Furthermore, in the original book Pinocchio goes to school (because yes, in the original story Pinocchio goes to school! And he also goes there for a good part of the book, and even becomes the top of the class. Then he meets Lampwrick... but that's another story) just because the fairy orders him to because he has to behave like a good boy to become a real boy. In this AU, instead, Eda doesn't give Luz a real path to follow, but rather only explains to her what are the requirements that she must meet to become a real girl, and it is she herself who decides to go to school both out of a sense of guilt towards her mother but more importantly because she has matured and has understood that she doesn't know everything about the world and must learn if she wants to avoid repeating the same mistakes. Furthermore, in the original book 'becoming a real boy' for Pinocchio only means behaving well, almost as if it were a prize, while in this AU the path for Luz to become a real girl is something much more personal and introspective (precisely, understanding what it means to be a real girl and above all choosing what type of real girl to become).

Oh, and in case anyone hasn't figured it out, the outfit Luz is wearing now is the same one from the first episode of season three. Basically, the trauma outfit