CHAPTER SEVEN: GROUNDED

"Good morning, sweetheart!" Glinda brightly greeted Liir the next morning. "Did you sleep well?"

He hadn't slept a wink.

Liir had received word to meet Glinda in her office. When he arrived he was stunned to find it in perfect order. There wasn't a single thing amiss. The chandelier, the vase, even the correct number of begonias in the vase were set just so. It was uncanny. Spooky.

"So I'll tell you what," Glinda said, removing her pink readers. "I've got my docket full this morning, but I am alllllllllll yours tonight for more birthday month fun."

"Sounds fun," Liir mumbled.

"And if you're feeling lonesome during the day of course you're always welcome to hang around here," Glinda gestured to her office. "You could practice chess or grab a book while I work. It wouldn't bother me a bit, sweetie—"

"I think I'll go out," Liir decided. "For a bit."

Glinda's smile faltered slightly.

"Well that sounds—"

"How did you fix your office?" Liir asked. "It was a complete wreck before but now it looks…perfect."

"It's…" Glinda shrugged. "It's what I do."

It looked like she hadn't slept either.

"So! You see? There's no reason to worry," she eagerly continued. "It's like it never ever happened."

"Right."

"There's tea and pastries downstairs for breakfast. Help yourself as always, darling."

"Auntie Glinda, I really wanted to talk to you about—"

"Buhbuh buh buh buh," Glinda shushed before standing with a wide smile. "Of course we can talk about your birthday plans later! But you must be patient because I'm afraid I must get to work for now."

"Huh?" Liir frowned before a hand clapped on his shoulder from behind.

"Hello, lad!" Glinda's advisor greeted Liir with a grin, as if he had not been besmirching him the night before. "Pleasant morning?"

"Yeah. Very pleasant."

Liir felt sickened over the show. The niceties from Glinda. From her advisor.

How easily they all lied.

"Now you go and enjoy your day. Leave the grown ups to their boring work," Glinda said.

She put an arm around Liir's shoulder and guided him towards the door.

"Have a wonderful day, darling!" Glinda beamed before looking Liir straight in the eye. "And we'll discuss those birthday plans tonight, hm?"

"Okay—"

"Kisses!"

Glinda kissed him on either cheek and before Liir knew it he was in the hallway with the door closed behind him. He gave his head a small shake, at a momentary loss of what to do next. How does one go about their day when their entire life was different from yesterday?

Liir did his best to find out.

He went back to his apartment for a bit. Changed his clothes. Thought about The Witch. Washed his face. Tidied up. Thought about his dream. Stared at a broom in his kitchen. Pondered some moves on his chessboard. Thought about The Witch. Looked behind his shoulder. Recalled an essay he wrote in school about The Witch's crimes. Found the essay (he'd gotten a perfect score). Shoved the essay back into his desk. Paced for a bit. Opened his curtains, no—closed his curtains. Thought about The Witch. The Witch. The Witch.

"Calm down," Liir told himself in his mirror. "You're freaking out."

He looked at his reflection. So he really was Vinkun after all. Half Vinkun, anyway. But what was his other half? He noticed his eyes. Blue. Surely from his father, right? Her eyes had been obscured by Emerald City glasses in the photograph but The Witch had red eyes in the museum. Was that real? Was that true?

Was anything true?

Before Liir knew it, he was grabbing his bag and stepping out into the street for a little fresh air. He stepped into a nearby coffee shop he frequented.

"Hey stranger," the barista smiled easily. "The usual?"

Liir opened his mouth to speak but froze as he considered his usual. Green tea.

"Okay there?" the barista asked, his brow furrowed. "You look a little green."

"What?"

"You…don't look very good?" the barista said slowly, giving Liir a funny look.

"Oh—uhm—" Liir stammered. "You're right. I think I'll actually just…"

He turned to leave the coffee house without another word, trudging blindly down the street.

"I'M MELTING!"

Liir jumped and turned to see a vendor selling Witch dolls that screamed when you squeezed them. A child was giggling over the doll as her mother paid for it.

"Don't be shy!" the vendor waved Liir over, catching his stare. "Come take a look! Everything is discounted for our Countdown to Melting Day sale!"

"I-I'm fine thanks!"

Beads of anxious sweat popped out upon his brow. A group of Munchkin tourists squeezed by him wearing matching T-Shirts that said Ding Dong The Witches Are Dead. The Wicked Witch of the East's death wasn't as universally celebrated as Melting Day but Munchkins could usually look forward to a day off work and school.

There were banners, advertisements, amateur reenactors performing for pocket change.

It was everywhere. She was everywhere.

Liir began feeling his breathing shallow. Leaving the apartment was a bad idea. Every sidelong glance felt like a threat. Was everyone staring at him? Could everyone see? Did everyone know?

The vision around Liir's eyes started going blurry as he struggled to get air to his lungs.

"Hey, kid! Behind you! Look behind you!"

Liir smelled smoke. He whipped around and saw that a large Melting Day banner with a caricature of The Witch had caught fire and was now smoldering from the bottom up. Liir stumbled backwards in panic, watching as the flames danced around The Witch's face. It felt as if her eyes were staring directly at him.

"How did that even happen?!"

"It came out of nowhere!"

A handful of onlookers grabbed a nearby bucket of water that'd been set as a reenactment prop and doused the banner before the fire could spread.

"Water saves the day again!"

"It's a Melting Day miracle."

"Did anyone see how it started?!"

"Wait, isn't that Glinda the Good's ragamuffin?"

"Yes, I think that's him! You okay, kid?"

"I'm fine—" Liir wheezed. "Thank you…"

He took off down the street at a near run, booking it towards the palace. He didn't say anything to the sentries as they bid him entry. He didn't greet Glinda in her too perfect study. He went straight to his bedroom and hid under the covers until he could breathe again. Every so often he peeked out and looked towards the center of the room where he'd seen her in his dream. He closed his eyes, struggling to remember the features of his keeper. The sound of her voice, her mannerisms, her eyes…but Liir could not recall them distinctly. His brain wasn't sure which witch to conjure up.

A hand touched his shoulder and Liir tore back the sheet with a startled shout. He sighed and clutched his chest when he saw it was only Glinda.

"Stop doing that," Liir rubbed his eyes.

"Who did you think it was going to be, silly?" Glinda said, plopping down on the edge of his bed. "I'm all done with work. See? No tiara."

"Great," Liir mumbled, climbing out of bed and pacing towards the center of the room. "Because I really wanted to talk to you about—"

"Yes, our plans! What do you say to seeing a play tonight? We haven't hit the theatre in so long!" Glinda enthused. "We can catch a musical—or if we're feeling more avant-garde we can see what those kooky drama majors at Emerald U have drummed up."

"I'm sorry…" Liir said in a baffled tone. "Are you actually talking about seeing a play?"

"Yes. Or a musical, as I said."

Liir simply stared at her. Glinda blinked and stood.

"I…thought you liked plays, dear."

"I do—I…" Liir shook his head. "Glinda…why are you pretending like nothing happened?"

"I'm not—"

"You're talking about pastries and tiaras and drama majors as if you didn't tell me that my parents were—"

Glinda darted towards the door and slammed it shut.

"Liir, have you misplaced your mind?!" Glinda hissed. "You can't just talk about these things willy nilly!"

"There. There!" Liir gestured to her. "At least you're reacting to it! At least I know I didn't make everything up!"

Glinda approached Liir with impatiently pursed lips.

"I thought I made myself very clear last night," Glinda said, putting her hands on her hips. "We don't talk about…what we talked about last night."

"But—"

"Buh buh buh," Glinda shook her head. "Nope. Not another word."

Liir glared and stepped out of Glinda's grasp.

"I promised I wouldn't tell anybody. I didn't say that I wouldn't ask any more questions."

"Oh you think you're so clever with your little loopholes—"

"Well I learned from the best!" Liir snapped.

Glinda straightened up.

"I don't much like your tone, Liir. I wanted to share an evening of fun, to go to the theatre—"

Liir snorted.

"What's that sound?"

"As if your idea to see a show at Emerald U isn't a ploy to get me to tour a college campus," Liir accused.

"Well excuse me for trying to broaden your horizons! You keep dilly dallying on your applications and the deadlines are coming up—"

"For the love of Oz, Auntie Glinda! I'm not going!"

Glinda went very still.

"Come again?"

"I am not going to college."

"Oh, yes you damn well are."

Liir, despite his previous adamance, was taken aback over Glinda's rare authoritative tone.

"No, I'm not."

"Not going to college? Not going to—" Glinda shook her head. "No. No, no, no. You most certainly are. You are going to tour, you are going to apply, and you are going to go to college, young man. That is final," Glinda asserted. "Just the way we planned it."

"We didn't plan anything, Auntie Glinda—"

"I didn't mean you!"

Glinda gasped and pressed her fingers to her lips, surprised over what she'd let slip.

"Them?" Liir asked sullenly. "Her?"

Glinda closed her eyes and sighed.

"So you're hell bent on this college thing because of some plans you made with a dead woman?"

Glinda took a deep breath.

"I just…wanted to have a nice evening."

"Well I haven't had a very nice day!" Liir lashed out. "I can't just ignore everything I learned last night, Auntie Glinda! I can't just go back to sleep."

Glinda let out a humorless chuckle and planted her hands on her hips.

"What?" Liir frowned.

"If you only knew how very like her you are."

Liir tensed and took a step back.

"No. No I'm not," he said on impulse. "I'm nothing like her. I'm good."

"Oh gracious. Good this, wicked that," Glinda complained. "It's that same all or nothing mindset that doomed your parents!"

"You're telling me?" Liir gaped. "Look at you! You're Glinda the Good. The Good. It's so much who you are it's part of your name! If I'm obsessed with good and evil it's because of what I've learned from you!"

"There are certain things I need to uphold in my career, Liir. People expect me to—"

"Lie?!"

"And there she is again!" Glinda gestured broadly to Liir. "Oh, Elphie. How you do find ways to haunt me."

"Stop saying that."

"Liir, this is all a very tricky situation—"

"Really? It seems like you handle it just fine. You hid the truth from me for my entire life and barely broke a sweat."

"I did what I needed to do to protect you, Liir," Glinda said firmly. "To protect them."

"Protect them from what?! They're dead!"

Glinda hesitated and Liir's face gradually fell.

"They are dead…" Liir asked slowly. "Aren't they?"

Glinda opened her mouth to speak before closing it. She closed her eyes as if to concentrate, as if she was scanning her mind for a loophole. A clever phrasing. Anything.

"Auntie Glinda?" Liir pressed. "They're dead. She melted…didn't she?"

Glinda spluttered for a moment, sighed, and then fell back on an old standby.

"Well it depends on what you mean by melted—"

"They're alive," Liir mumbled, feeling his body go numb. "My parents are…alive?"

"I don't know! I don't know what became of them," Glinda explained. "Just like I've always said."

"But they didn't die."

"No," Glinda confirmed. "At least…not back then."

"Where are they?"

"I don't know," Glinda sighed. "And that is the truth, Liir. I do not know. All I know is that they left Oz. Anything could have happened after that."

"They left Oz," Liir said. "Together. Both of them."

"Yes."

"And they left me behind."

Glinda swallowed. "What you must understand is—"

"Oh I understand. I understand perfectly," Liir said in a tight voice. "They abandoned me. After all this time I find out…I actually was abandoned."

"Oh, honey…"

Glinda stepped forward as if to hug Liir but he stepped backwards.

"Just say it, Auntie Glinda! They didn't want me."

"They didn't plan on you," Glinda corrected. "You were an accident!"

Liir scoffed.

"Oh, please. Most babies are accidents," Glinda sighed impatiently. "But for them? Things were, well…different. More complicated. When they found out they were expecting you they didn't know what to do—"

"So they pretended to die and sloughed me off on their best friend?" Liir said coldly.

"It was a very hard decision to make."

"Yeah well it was a pretty piss poor decision!" Liir raised his voice.

"Mind your linguification!"

"People may not have found out the truth about me so far but they're going to judging by the way things have been going!"

"Whatever do you mean?"

"I mean I'm having public panic attacks. I'm setting fires. I'm destroying entire museum exhibits without even trying!"

"Now, now dear. You needn't worry about all that! We can get you a teacher! Particularly if you go to Shiz—"

"But you've already told me that my magic is different! If you can't teach me, then who in Oz can? Admit it, Auntie Glinda! My magic isn't like other people's!" Liir challenged. "It's like hers!"

Glinda sighed.

"I've got no control over it. People are going to start noticing."

"We'll figure something out," Glinda said, but she didn't sound sure.

"You say I need a teacher, Auntie Glinda…" Liir said slowly. "And maybe you're right."

Glinda eyed him suspiciously.

"Where are you going with this?"

"It's just…if you say she's alive—"

"No," Glinda snapped. "No, no, no. I won't hear it. Don't you even think it."

"Why? Because she wouldn't want to meet the kid she gave up?!"

"Because I haven't a clue where she is, Liir!" Glinda said. "Either of them! It was all so very long ago. It'd be dangerous. It'd be foolish to try and—"

"Well it beats doing nothing!"

"We mustn't go backwards, Liir. We cannot live our lives always harping on the past!"

"How can I go forward if I don't know who I am?!"

"You can't find out who you are from them, Liir—"

"Well I certainly haven't found out from you, Glinda."

"That's Auntie Glinda to you, mister!"

"Right. About that. How do you fit into all this anyway?" Liir continued heatedly, forcing his voice over the lump in his throat. "Did they thrust me upon you? Force you to raise their mistake? How good it was of you to take me under your wing."

"Liir, you bite your tongue."

"Was it out of pity?"

"I'll not hear another word of this."

"Obligation?"

"I am warning you—"

"Or was I just your consolation prize for losing them?!"

"That's it! That's it, mister!" Glinda thrust her hands up in the air. "I didn't want to have to do this but your disrespectation has left me no other choice. Liir Upland, you are grounded."

Liir's eyebrows shot up in disbelief.

"Grounded?"

"You heard me," Glinda asserted, lifting her chin and straightening up as tall as she could go. Which was not very tall.

"I don't even live here! I'll just go home—"

"You mean back to the apartment that I pay for?" Glinda laughed shortly. "I don't think so. You'll stay right here under my roof until we figure out what to do—and don't you even think about leaving the palace or I'll have the sentries detain you!"

"So you're putting me under house arrest?!"

"Call it whatever you like!" Glinda declared with a toss of her hair. "But that's my final word on the matter."

Glinda strode to the door and grabbed the handle.

"This is crazy!" Liir protested heatedly. "You can't just ground me—"

"I very much can," Glinda said, turning.

"You're not my mother, Glinda!"

Glinda froze and her face slowly fell. Liir swallowed, briefly regretting his hostility, but stood firm so as not to forfeit their fight.

Their first fight.

"You're right, Liir. I am not your mother," Glinda said calmly, though her voice trembled. "And I have never once pretended that I was. But I made a promise to protect you and that is what I'm going to do. Even if you hate me for it."

Glinda left and closed the door behind her before Liir could further debate her on the matter. As part of his confinement, dinner was delivered to Liir's room by a staff member. Glinda did not join him for his meal. However, come evening, Liir heard his door crack open. He was laying sideways on his bed, his back to the door, and he did not turn when he heard her enter.

"Liir?" Glinda called.

Liir said nothing.

"Liir, honey?" Glinda tried one more time.

Nothing.

"Okay. Okay, then. Goodnight, darling," Glinda said. "I love you."

Liir closed his eyes.

He waited until he heard the door click behind him, signaling Glinda's leave. Hours passed and Liir's stayed unmoving, helplessly sickened by a single question.

Could he trust his godmother?

Liir felt his stomach twist, despising his doubts. Glinda had always been there for him, but even after learning all he'd learned, his lifelong question still remained! Why? Why had she kept him? Why did she stay?

All along, perhaps Glinda's dedication to him had been about his parents…and never about him.

Liir sat up in bed. If he couldn't trust Glinda, if he couldn't trust Oz, perhaps it was time he started trusting in himself. His parents were out there and, whether they wanted to see him or not, they held the answers he craved. Liir sat down on the ground facing the window, crossed his legs, and slammed his eyes shut. The dream he'd had of his keeper buzzed in his brain. Nothing about it had felt like a normal dream. He had never meditated before…but it seemed a good place to start.

"Come on, come on…" he muttered to himself. "Show me something. Anything."

He sighed heavily, feeling silly.

"How do I find you?" Liir mumbled, recalling his dream. "Show me the way."

Footsteps.

Liir opened his eyes with a tiny gasp, looking around. There was nobody around that could have caused the noise. He closed his eyes again, but the more he strained to focus, the less progress he made. He took a deep breath through his nose and out through his mouth.

"I just need to shut off my brain…" he mumbled to himself. "Shut off my brain."

There are no more stairs…this must be the attic.

Liir's eyes shot open and he sprung to his feet, going towards the window with restless urgency. His heart thumped with adrenaline. He looked behind his shoulder. The attic.

Fearing he may lose the fragile intuition he'd grasped, Liir acted quickly. Without much thought he dressed, tugged on a pair of boots, and threw his bag over his shoulder before crossing towards his bedroom door. Surely Glinda wouldn't post sentries outside of his wing? He peeked outside his door and found that his instincts were correct. He probably wouldn't have the same luck if he tried to leave the palace, but that was no concern.

He wasn't leaving the palace. He was going deeper into it. He was going up.

Ducking around corners as stealthily as he could manage, he navigated down a corridor until he came upon a set of spiral steps. His surety grew the higher and higher he climbed, certain that his senses were guiding his step. But despite the boost in confidence his hazy vision had provided, nothing could have prepared Liir for who he'd find upon bursting into the top most attic of the Emerald Palace.

She sat in an old armchair, her pink robe and slippers sharply contrasting the dreary surroundings. Her short, unstyled hair fell limply against the sides of her face. She looked tired, so tired, and resigned.

"Auntie Glinda?"

Glinda calmly looked towards Liir as if she'd been waiting for him for hours.

"Hello, sweetie."

Her voice sounded croaky and rough like she'd been crying. Liir's theory was further proven by her red eyes and puffy makeup free face. Liir couldn't recall the last time, if ever, he'd seen Glinda without makeup.

"Auntie Glinda…what—what are you doing up here?"

Glinda stood and smoothed out her robe with shaky hands before stepping towards the center of the room.

"I come up here a lot," Glinda explained, her eyes glancing up at the rafters. "Whenever I start feeling jaded. Whenever I start taking things for granted. I come up here and sit for awhile…just sit. Sit and remember."

"Remember what?"

"Remember…what it's all for," Glinda said hoarsely, turning her gaze back towards Liir. "Remember who it's all for."

Liir watched her silently. Curiously.

"I'm up here because I knew that you'd be coming," Glinda said.

"How can that be?" Liir asked. "I didn't even know—"

"I knew," Glinda said with a tragic smile. "I knew because history has a funny little way of repeating itself. And this…" She gestured grandly to the room with disdain. With reverence. "This is not the first time someone has left me behind in this very attic."

Glinda broke with a sudden, defeated sob and Liir, unable to help himself, approached her with sympathy.

"Auntie Glinda…please don't cry—"

"But am I wrong?"

Liir couldn't answer and Glinda looked down, nodding her head with tear-stained cheeks.

"Yes. See? It's as I thought," Glinda said. "I'm pretty smart, you know."

Shame burned and brewed in Liir's chest.

"How did you know?" Liir asked quietly. "What I was planning to do?"

"Oh I knew it the moment I tried to ground you," Glinda said with a sad laugh. "A delusion of grandeur on my part. Oh, Liir. How could I hope to keep you grounded…when it's in your blood to fly?"

Glinda crossed the room and grabbed a broomstick from the corner. She handed it off to Liir who hesitantly took it.

"But…what do I do with it?" Liir asked. "I-I can't fly."

"I don't believe that," Glinda shook her head. She bent to grab something she'd been keeping beside her chair and presented it to Liir. "You simply need the right tools."

Liir hesitated as he looked upon the leather-bound book and shook his head.

"Auntie Glinda…I can't. It's not mine. She gave it to you."

"And now I'm giving it to you. It's your birthright, Liir," Glinda urged. "And something tells me you'll have an easier time reading it than I ever did. Go on, then. Go on."

Liir took the book with shaky hands and Glinda knelt on the ground before the broom. She gestured for him to kneel beside her and he did. He opened the book to a page Glinda had marked and she nodded.

"That's the one. The one she used."

Liir hesitated for a moment.

"I don't know if I can read it…"

"Well," Glinda said in an ironic tone. "Until you try…you'll never know."

Liir hunched over the book and squinted at the funny writing. He spared a skeptical glance towards the broom before attempting to speak the incantation. His speech was halting, uncertain at first, but as he read on he grew in confidence with the language. As if he'd known it all his life.

Both Glinda and Liir gasped when the broom rattled and jumped to life, and Glinda clutched his shoulders.

"You did it!" she squeaked. "Oh! I told you, Liir. Didn't I tell you?"

Liir stared at the animated broom with wide eyes, shaken and speechless over what he'd managed.

"Oh, Liir. You're trembling," Glinda breathed. "Here…"

Glinda stood, hastening to grab a cloak from the corner. Stooping before Liir, she wrapped it around his shoulders. Liir took the broom in his hand and stood. Breathless, Glinda folded her hands over her heart as she looked at him.

"My how you've grown," she said in a hushed voice. "How you've grown into yourself."

"I don't understand…" Liir said. "Why aren't you trying to stop me?"

"If I believed that I could stop you then I would," Glinda confessed. "But you are your mother's son, Liir, in ways you are only beginning to understand. My heart learned the hard way, time and time again, that once Elphaba made her mind up to something? There wasn't a force powerful enough in Oz that could stop her."

Glinda shook her head and turned to grab a bag beside her chair. She put The Grimmerie inside of it and held it out for Liir.

"Take this bag instead. Go on, now," Glinda nodded. "It's all packed for your journey. I must ask that you do me one favor though."

"What is it?"

"There is a gift in there for them. Elphie and Fiyero. If you find them…make sure they get it."

"Okay," Liir nodded.

"And..." Glinda said. "And…"

She hesitated.

"What?"

"Liir…" Glinda said softly. "Would you please tell Elphie that I'm sorry?"

"Sorry for what?"

"Tell her I'm sorry…" Glinda sniffed. "For breaking my promise."

Glinda was suddenly overcome and she put her hands to the sides of her face as a fresh wave of tears overtook her.

"Oh, my tears," Glinda shook her head, dabbing at them as she wept. "And would you like to know the silly thing, Liir? The really silly thing? I've been hoping that this day would come for your entire life. I've wanted nothing more than for this very day right here to come."

"What day is that?"

"The day…that you'd get to meet them," Glinda said, managing a devastated smile. "And the day they'd get to meet you."

"I'm scared, Auntie Glinda," Liir admitted. "I'm scared to meet them."

"Oh don't be scared," Glinda shook her head, stepping forward to grasp Liir's elbows. "No, no, honey. Don't be scared."

Liir looked at Glinda, his heart racing, unsure of what to say. Unsure of where all of this left things between them.

"Auntie Glinda…"

"Listen to me. When you meet them…when you meet her…" Glinda warned. "Well. Just remember that with Elphaba? There is always more than meets the eye. As for Fiyero—well. It's impossible not to love Fiyero—"

"Did you love him?" Liir asked impulsively. "My father."

He shouldn't have asked, but Glinda answered anyway.

"Yes. Oh, yes," Glinda exhaled. "Oh, honey…I loved them both."

The confession was faint but instinctual. Certain. As if she couldn't have held it in if she tried. Liir glanced down for a moment, feeling as if he'd just intruded into a private sector of Glinda's heart.

"And that is precisely what you need to carry with you, darling."

Glinda took Liir's hand in both of her own and held it against her heart.

"If you and I—" Glinda choked and took a steadying breath before continuing. "If we're to part now, for however long fate wills it, remember something for me. I am not a perfect person, Liir. Sometimes I think you're the only person left who doesn't expect me to be. And I—" Glinda swallowed. "I know that I've hurt you, sweetie. I am so very sorry that I have. But please when you think of me…when you think of your Auntie Glinda?"

Liir swallowed a lump in his throat as he listened.

"Know that I only ever did what I thought was best for you. We all did," Glinda stressed. "We were all very young, Liir, though we may not have known it then. We were young and foolish and frightened. But from the moment you were born, no—even longer than that, the three of us did what we believed to be the best thing for you."

Liir glanced down, uncertain as to how Glinda could so confidently speak on behalf of his absent parents. Even so, when Glinda lifted his chin with her fingers he couldn't help the tears that flooded his eyes as he looked upon his godmother.

"You were not born out of wickedness, Liir," Glinda whispered, wiping Liir's tears with her thumb. "You were born out of love. If you remember nothing else…please remember that."

"I will," Liir sniffed. "I'll try."

Liir dropped his bag and broom and nearly collapsed forward to hug Glinda. In turn, she hugged him in the way that only she ever could.

"I love you, Liiry. My precious godson," Glinda wept. She selfishly clutched him tighter as if it could ever prevent him from leaving. "And I hope—oh, Liir. I hope you're happy."

Liir nodded and pulled away from Glinda before he could lose his nerve. Glinda whimpered as he did, suffocated by the sudden emptiness in her arms. He strung on his bag, which was heavy, and collected his broom. Steeling himself, he walked towards the wide-open ledge and lost his breath as he peered over the side. He trembled terribly as he mounted the broom, trying to channel a shred of his mother's alleged bravery.

He hesitated a moment, as if to second guess his decision, but it was far too late for that. The force was out there, urging him towards the horizon. He had to trust in the gravity that was pulling at him. Even so, he couldn't help but look back over his shoulder, needing a final push.

A final blessing.

"Auntie Glinda?" Liir called, his voice cracking as he did.

Glinda rushed forward and reached up to take his hand, squeezing his fingers encouragingly.

"Yes, honey?"

"I…" Liir said, meeting her eyes. "I hope you're happy too."

Liir's fingers slipped out of Glinda's grasp but her hand stayed outstretched towards the horizon long after he'd already disappeared into the night sky, watching tearfully as her last remaining loved one vanished over the rainbow.