My mother brought me back, the first time. She cast a spell and I ended up on the soft garden grass, shaking, confused and relieved. I never asked her how. My powers took so much space after the Special Day that I barely thought about it.

And then she left anyway.

My hands began to play with the necklace. The pendant was still glowing, and oddly enough, it comforted me a little. 

I remembered going into her room after school and putting it around my neck. I had always wanted to wear it. Its glow was reassuring, it was something else to focus on rather than my hands. Mother probably knew, when she gave it to me. She knew I would need something to comfort me after she left.

The London night was crisp, cold, and empty. Nothing like the warmth I felt earlier this evening. No bodies walking around. No rain anymore, either.

Loneliness, and a little fairy perched on a bench, waiting for things to happen. My inner world in a nutshell.

I may have fallen asleep.

“Meira?”

I knew this voice. 
Niall was facing me, his perpetual smile on his face.
“How did you find me?” I said, sitting down. I didn't realise I was lying on the bench, and my body was numb.
Another new experience.

His smile turned into confusion:
“I...I don't know why I came here. I closed the shop and was on my way home, and...I don't know, here you were.”

I said nothing. I didn't dream during my improvised nap, so I couldn't have seen him, and his soul couldn't have reached me.

He sat next to me.
“You're bright.”

He gestured at my glowing hands. So, Niall's soul was asking for me after all.

I didn't know what to say. My gift was well known in my community, my world, but here? All I read about powers and such was the Humans never believed. When they did, they would turn it into either legends or weapons of destruction. Could be even worse to tell Niall “You're dreaming of me because your soul is in pain and I'm the only person who can help you.” A bit over the top, after a coffee and a meet-up on a bench at midnight.

Niall didn’t say a thing, though. Looked at my hands like everything was normal, then looked up the sky.

A sky without stars.

“You're familiar, Meira." his voice broke the silence. “You look like someone I know, or someone I may have known before, I don't know.”

“There are a lot of things you don't seem to know.” I replied, still unsure of his reaction.

He sighed: “You are right.” A pause. “Do you have anywhere to go?”

I shook my head: “I'm trapped here.”

“Come at mine, then. There's something I need to show you.”

“That's very fast.” I snapped, but deep down I knew I was safe. He was my mission after all.

“Just like in the movies!, he laughed, and then "Have you ever watched a movie?”
I shook my head.
“You really are a challenge!”

And we disappeared into the night.

Turned out Niall's place was in the opposite direction from the bench.

We walked in silence (a trend, it seemed, after my quiet journey to the Council with Aidan) until we reached his home. A single room and kitchen perched on the last floor of one of these giant London buildings.

“Welcome.” Niall said quietly, when we entered. “I am going to make some tea, make yourself at home. I have some clothes you can borrow, if you want.”
My silk dress was still wet and I was freezing cold. His pair of skinny black jeans and red hoodie, as he called it, were life saviours.

I quickly changed behind the kitchen door and looked around: a bed, an armchair, a lot of modern technology objects I'd read about during my studies (a “laptop” was the word to describe a pocket computer if my memory served me well) and a little kitchen table full of paper and pencils.

I looked up; the walls were covered in black and white art picturing a young woman with a sword. She looked young, around my age, and the different drawings were showing her in different fights, one with what looked like a dragon, and many others with blurry silhouettes. Just like in my vision this afternoon.

One sketch drew my attention: a drawing of the same woman, staring out from the page...With a splash of yellow on her hands.

“That's why I look so familiar, I guess.”

Niall was back in the room, two mugs in hand: “I have been dreaming of this since I was ten. My parents sent me to see doctors and professionals, and they all agreed it was because I was lonely, isolated and I didn't take it well. Truth is, I loved being alone; at least I could focus on what I would see at night and draw it. I changed school, took art classes and made a few friends. And eventually, the dreams disappeared.”

“But they came back.” I said.

He nodded: “A few months ago, they came back, like a story I haven't finished reading. I saw battles, and this young woman trying to protect me. I remember calling you in my dreams. And last night, you said you'd come and help me.”

He paused.

“How did you find me, Meira?”
“Your soul was literally screaming for help and relief."

“Sounds just like me, indeed.”

I looked again at the wall.

“That doesn't make any sense" I said. Why didn't you tell me you knew me, this afternoon? Why can't I connect with your soul?”

Niall sat on his bed. He looked exhausted.

“It was busy, and I wasn't entirely sure it was you. But something made me walk past the bench you were sleeping on, and it clicked. You're her.” He gestured at the wall.

“What do you mean by connect with my soul?'”

So I sat down as well, and explained. I explained the OtherWorld, our missions, my mission. How it started, the Council, and how I somehow managed to connect with him before going through the Portal.

Niall listened, processing all the information. I thought it would have been harder to explain, but everything flowed, like it was meant to be.

“So what are you, Meira?” he asked, when I finished my story.
“A fairy/sorcerer/witch... That's how humans describe us anyway.”

“And for real?”
That was a good question.

“I'm just a healer”, I replied, after a brief silence.
“Maybe you're more.”

Maybe you're wrong, I thought to myself.

Eventually, Niall closed his eyes. Time to get some rest.

“What do these dreams mean?” He asked, drifting to sleep.

I didn't answer. I was only supposed to heal souls.
It suddenly dawned on me that maybe I wasn't the right choice for this mission.

Raindrops hitting the window, a quiet and beautiful sound to wake up to. Niall was still sleeping.

What a night we had, witnessing his black and white nightmares, talking to him in his sleep to try and ease his mind. His dreams were terribly similar to the vision I had, back in his little coffee shop.
My powers didn't seem to work the same way with Niall. We talked, both awake, for hours, but his soul remained guarded. And the moment he drifted to sleep, I could see.

I could see everything.

And it wasn't good.

I tried to move as quietly as possible, leaving the comfy armchair and putting my boots on.

I had to find the Portal. Talking to Aidan was crucial, vital. Every minute counted.
For Niall, and for others.

I scribbled a little note saying I would be back soon and left.

The outside world was grey again, but it didn't surprise me, not after what I saw last night.

I came back to the bench, where no one else was sitting, and focused on the Portal. It must have been there, somehow. I landed there twice; it couldn't be a coincidence.

I never believed in them.

My necklace glowed brighter as I was moving towards the tiny square of grass facing the bench. It could be it.

It could be.

Eyes closed, my hands touching an invisible flow of energy. I fell into a void.

I was going home.