"Mum?" Liliya knocked softly on the pine wood door to her mother's room. "Can I come in?"

Coughing erupted from the other side of the door, prompting Liliya to enter.

"Morning, Lily," her mother greeted her with a grating voice and a laboured smile. She immediately glanced down at Liliya's hands, in which she held the medicine.

"Morning, mum," said Liliya, sitting down next to her on the bed, as her mother struggled to sit up.

Liliya remembered a time when her mother had looked beautiful. Now, strands of hair hung listlessly down to her shoulders, its flaming red colour now faded and matte. Her once bright-blue eyes were dull with pain and medicine. Her body had turned scraggy and withered.

The cancer had broken her.

As soon as she sat straight, she held her hand out to the cup in Liliya's hand, drinking its contents eagerly despite its bitter taste. She breathed a sigh of relief, knowing it wouldn't take long for the potion to do its work and repress the pain.

"How are you feeling today?"

Although the answer was often the same, Liliya always asked. It had become much like a ritual. "Not great, darling. What about you?"

Ever since the new law that banned the harvest of the Ginkgo leaf, among other things, Liliya's answer had also been consistent. "I don't know what to do, mum," she groaned. "My clients come to me because of my specialism with the calming potion. If I can't give them that, they have no reason to come to me. I'm losing all of my clients."

I don't know how much longer I can pay your medical bills...

The thought loomed over them like a thundercloud, ready to strike any moment. She averted her gaze, busying herself with the now-empty cup, to prevent her mum from seeing her eyes fill with tears.

A pat on her arm made her slouch back onto the bed.

"Do you remember how you learned to read?"

Liliya raised her eyebrows, unsure where her mother was going. "No, I don't."

"You were four years old, getting ready to go to primary school, when our neighbour jokingly told you that you'd have to be able to read if you wanted to be accepted into school. You panicked, screaming and shouting, convinced that you wouldn't be able to go to school after the summer. You cried for hours."

Liliya snorted. "Yeah, that sounds like me. Do me a favour and don't ever tell Kit this story. She'll never let me hear the end of it."

"Do you know why I'm telling you this?"

Taken aback, Liliya's smile made way for a frown. "Uh... no," she admitted sheepishly.

"Then let me finish, darling," her mother said, patting her hand. "We were unable to convince you that our neighbour had only been joking. For days you barely slept. Until you decided to take matters into your own hands."

Liliya's eyebrows raised, but she remained silent.

"At some point you decided that you were done worrying. You snuck into your sister's room and stole one of her first school books. You spent the next couple of weeks teaching yourself to read."

"I taught myself to read?"

Her mother nodded. "Every now and then you'd come and ask us what a certain word was, but yes, you did most of it all by yourself."

She fell silent, as Liliya thought back to all those times she and her sister, Rosanna, had sat under the covers together, reading each other stories. Was this how it all had started? A faint ache throbbed in her chest at the thought of her sister. It had been so long.

"My point is," her mother continued in a brittle voice, "that you refused to give up. By the time you went to school, you were able to read full sentences. You were far ahead of your classmates, all because of how you pushed through." She took both Liliya's hands in hers and squeezed them with what little strength she had. "You can do anything you set your mind to. I know things are tough right now, but you'll find a way. I'm sure of it."

A lump formed in Liliya's throat, disabling her from speaking. She leaned forward and carefully wrapped her arms around her mum's shoulders. "Thanks, mum," she whispered.

Her mother nodded into her shoulder. "I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble..."

Liliya jerked her head back. "No! Don't ever say that – don't even think it." She stood up. "You're right. I'm going to find a way. We'll be fine. Both of us."

Her mother smiled up at her. "We will."

Picking up the empty cup from the nightstand, Liliya said, "I'm off in a minute. Can I get you anything before I go?"

"No, that's okay," said her mother. "Although, could turn on the television for me, please? I left the remote on the chair."

On her way to the recliner in the corner, Liliya pushed the button to turn on the television and the screen showed a dark-skinned, elegantly-dressed newsreader. "... refused to comment. In other news, the notorious Memory Thief has struck once more, according to Chief of Police Adam Hanlon. A forty-three year old mother of two was found –"

"Are you sure you don't need anything?" said Liliya, laying the control on the nightstand. "I won't be back for a couple hours, at least."

"I'll be fine, thank you darling."

"Okay," said Liliya, placing a kiss on her mother's cheek. "See you later."

"Chief Hanlon reported that all police efforts are going towards the investigation, but that there are no confirmed suspects as of yet."

The lulling voice of the news reporter haunted her as she pulled the door shut behind her.

Kit's living room was small. She lived in a one-bedroom apartment with an open kitchen. It wasn't that she couldn't afford anything bigger, she just didn't need it. Her house was filled with pictures, on the walls, on cabinets, even on her nightstand. Many were of her and Liliya, but she also had a lot of herself with her brothers and parents. Liliya had always liked her friend's home; even when it was empty, it still felt alive.

The mugs clinked against each other as Kit set them down on the table, a few drops of boiling hot tea spilling over the edges onto the elm-wood table. Liliya quickly wiped it away with her sleeve as her best friend sat down opposite her.

"How's your mum?"

Liliya shot her a look.

"That bad, huh?"

"It's like she's tired of staying strong, sometimes," Liliya muttered. "I don't know how much longer she can keep going."

"I'm sorry, Lil. I wish there was something I could do," said Kit, worming her fingers around her mug.

Liliya nodded, staring into her tea. "How about you? Found a new fling yet?"

Kit's lips pulled into a wide smile, her eyes glowing with mischief. "Possibly. Had to arrest a guy for drunk driving the other night. Now that he's sobered up, he seems pretty desperate to get out of the ticket. If you know what I mean." She wiggled her eyebrows.

Liliya laughed. She was never quite sure how much of her stories Kit made up and how much of it was true. What she did know was that Kit had had a lot of bad experiences with men in the past, and somewhere along the way she'd stopped taking them seriously.

"I heard on the news that the police department has another big case on their hands."

Kit groaned. "The Memory Thief? He's been back at it for months. Now some big-shot lawyer's wife has been targeted, and suddenly the press is all over us? Ridiculous."

"I dunno," said Liliya, sipping her tea. "If he's been at it for that long, maybe it's about time people started making a big deal of it."

Kit shrugged. "It'll be fine, I'm sure. My division hasn't been brought into it yet, so it can't be that big a deal."

"Right." Liliya rolled her eyes. "Because your division is too busy rounding up innocent people who are simply trying to survive."

A few seconds of pressing silence filled Kit's living room, before she burst. "Goddamnit, Lil, that was you?"

Trying her hardest to keep the blush from reaching her cheeks, she lifted her chin up. "Yes, it was me. That law is ridiculous, and you know it!"

"I don't make them, Liliya!" Kit sighed in exasperation. "You can't go around breaking laws just because you don't agree with them. You know better than that!"

"I don't have a choice, Kit!" She spread her arms, almost knocking her tea over in the process. "I've got three clients left, two of which have already told me they're looking for a new healer. How am I supposed to pay my mum's hospital bills, let alone the bloody rent like this?"

Kit took a deep breath, then deflated like a balloon. "I know you're struggling. But getting into trouble with the police is going to make things even worse for you."

Liliya averted her eyes, the blush finally taking control of her face. "I couldn't even get the stupid herbs, either. It was all for nothing."

"Hey," said Kit, placing her hand over Liliya's. "I'm here if you need me. I've got enough saved up to help you out for a while."

"Thanks," Liliya muttered, unable to meet her friend's gaze. "I'll be fine."

"You always are," said Kit. "Which reminds me. How the hell did you get away yesterday? We've searched everywhere."

She cocked her head, unable to stop a grin from spreading across her face. "I hid in a bar. They did search the place, but the barman covered for me."

Kit leaned back in her chair, her eyes sparkling and a wide smile on her face. "The barman, huh? Sounds like you found yourself a fling as well."

"What?" Liliya exclaimed. The blush, that hadn't quite disappeared yet, came rushing back. "I met the guy once."

"Exactly, and he can already make you blush."

Her cheeks stung at Kit's giggles. "Shut up."

"No, seriously, what was he like? I reckon he was sweet, if he lied to the police for you. Sexy? I bet he is, being –"

"Stop it!" Liliya laughed, swatting her friend. "Fine, I'll tell you, if it'll shut you up."

Kit squealed like a schoolgirl and leaned forward so as not to miss a single word.

"He was... nice," said Liliya. "He made me a drink and we talked for a bit. He's just as much against that new law as I am. It was nice to have someone to talk to about that."

"Hey! You have me!" Kit exclaimed indignantly.

"Yes," said Liliya, raising an eyebrow. "Yes, but you have the annoying tendency to point out that 'laws are there for a reason' and 'you have to adhere to the law whether you agree with it or not'."

"Well, you do!"

Liliya out her hands in the air. "Hey, I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm just saying you're annoying."

Kit glared at her and crossed her arms. "Alright then. Fair enough. What else did you two law-breakers talk about?"

She fiddled with her braid as she thought back to the previous night. "Not a whole lot more actually. He asked if I'd come again."

Kit gasped, suddenly sitting up straight. "Please tell me you said yes."

"I don't think I actually answered."

Her friend groaned loudly. "You are so bad at this. How did you get so unbelievably terrible at this? Mark my words, you are going to go back, even if I have to drag you there with my bare hands. Is that clear?"

"Why are you so excited about all this anyway?" Liliya laughed. "You haven't even met him."

"Because it's been over a decade since you last talked to me about a guy." Kit put a hand on hers. "You deserve this, Lil. You deserve to be happy."

A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. Unsure where to look, she picked up her mug and took a sip from her tea. "Well, he was pretty cute," she admitted, as a way of thanks.

"I knew it! Come on, details."

With a laugh, she thought back to the man behind the bar. "Well, he's about a head taller than me, quite skinny, with kind of wild, blonde hair. Same style as your ex... What was his name? Xander? He did have an earring in one of his ears, though."

Kit frowned. "That doesn't have to be too bad. Depends how it looks on him."

"It looks as though he grew up fifty years ago." Liliya giggled.

"That bad, huh?" said Kit, cocking her head to the side.

"Pretty bad."

They burst into laughter together.

"That's okay, he'll take it out for you, I'm sure," Kit grinned, eyes gleaming with excitement. "So what's his name?"

Liliya opened her mouth to respond, but hesitated. "You're not gonna rat him out to your colleagues, are you?" Not telling on Liliya was one thing, but covering for a random stranger she'd never even met was something else entirely.

Kit scoffed and waved her hand dismissively. "Why would I do that? If I brought this guy in, I'd have to tell 'em about you, too. You know I'd never do that. Besides, didn't you say you didn't get any of those herbs? So technically, you didn't even do anything wrong."

Liliya giggled. Her friend was a great cop, but protecting the people she loved was even more important to Kit than her sense of justice. "Nyron. That's his name."

"Nyron, huh?" said Kit. "Nyron the barkeeper. I'll see if I can find him and do a little background check on him. Gotta make sure you're not dating a crazy guy."

Liliya's eyes widened. "No, don't do that! That's awful!"

Laughing, Kit got up and took the two empty mugs into the kitchen.

"Besides," Liliya called after her, "I'm not dating him!"