Nightlights

As soon as Elsie had entered the Istina common room for the first time, she understood why they called it a house. It could so easily become a home. When she felt Istina accept her, her anxiety about the whole witch thing and homesickness melted away- well, partially. To say it had let go its tight grip from around her stomach already was too much to even hope for. She was simultaneously a homebody and an avid explorer, and she knew she’d see the day where she figured out how that could possibly be.

Such was the case that just a week into her wild adventure of Aniva Institute schooling, she was already curled up by the common room’s fire, the Floo Network in the flames. Mireille Leon was beaming at her, eyebrows in a suspended state of excitement and intrigue.

“Elzie! My lovely little light,” The L’s rolled off Mireille’s French tongue with eloquence, “Aniva is being good to you?”

Elsie was so completely present in that moment, she looked around to the paintings of the room to the high ceiling, to the nice lights to the couch she was curled up in the corner of, feet warmed by old pink socks and palms warmed by steaming rooibos tea, and felt a shiver of euphoria rush from the nape of her neck to the small of her back.

Her smile was infinitely genuine, “Absolutely.”

“Parfait,” Mireille nodded. “What house did zey sort you to?”

“Istina,” She replied, and almost began to ramble off a house summary, in case Mireille didn’t know, but she’d always had her head in books and if she didn’t know what Istina was, she’d still be thrilled for Elsie no matter what anyway.

She clapped, which Elsie heard but did not see. “Oh my! My Elzie’s an Istina! Oh, Chelsea, she’s-”

“I heard!” and suddenly, Chelsea Lach’s face moved into the flames where Mireille’s had been. “Congratulations, Els. I have so many questions. How’s Beau? Was a cat the right choice? What’s your favorite class- oh, which ones do you hate?”

Despite the rambling nature her speech should have taken, it came off as collected and ordered, and her voice just calmed Elsie down as if her arms had been around her.

She glanced over at Beau, the smallish kitten who was curled up on the end of a table, tail swaying gently over the side. She’d let him outside her dorm when most everyone went up to bed, so he could explore the common room a bit. That had been overwhelming for him- now he was out cold, purring softly every few minutes.

“Beau’s an excited little furball,” She said, still looking at him. “I’m not his best friend yet, obviously. He won’t sit next to me on the couch. Or on the other side of the couch, for that matter. But he’ll be charmed by Christmas, you can bet on it.”

Chelsea smiled. “And your classes?”

“Oh! Well, I just adore the astronomy classroom, I don’t think that class will be too hard to understand. And I met some nice people in potions, but those instructions, I-”

There was suddenly a bark and a ringing giggling, and the flames showed the back of Chelsea’s head. What she said next Eloise couldn’t make out.

And more suddenly, Eloise’s face caused the flames to flare, because she jumped into view with such exuberance. “Elsie!!”

“Hi, Eloise!” She could feel her cheeks beginning to hurt. Her cheeks, and the slightest pain in her chest that felt like a tear, like her heart was trying to rip open her chest and fly home.

“I miss you!” Her big, untamable curls bounced as she nodded and smiled.

“I miss you, too.”

“I’ve been writing! Like you told me to!’ Eloise had been a storyteller said she could form sentences and dream, and though she wasn’t entirely literate, Chelsea helped her turn her speech into writing, and anything she’d learned in kindergarten she practiced at home. Eloise loved it- she was a girl of wonder, and Elsie would do anything to keep that alive in her.

“Eloise, that is so wonderful,” Her heart was warmer than her tea-clutching hands.

“Luke’s at practice,” Eloise frowned. Elsie had no clue which of his plethora of hobbies he was currently at practice for, and seeing that Eloise had no described which practice, she probably had no clue either. “But I’m saying hi for him,” She paused. “Hi!”

Elsie laughed, and realized how quiet the common room actually was. “I should sleep,” She lowered her voice, and also realized her tea was next to empty.

“Oh, okay Elsie,” Eloise reciprocated the whispering. She heard Mireille ask Chelsea in the background, Elzie’s leaving already?. She’d probably forgotten about the burden of time zones.

“Goodnight!” Elsie whisper-cheered, and a chorus of three voices whisper-shouted the same back to her, Eloise’s beaming face and wave the last thing before the fire died out.