Their crutch leans against the rock. As May finally exits into the clear field behind their house, brushing aside the last of the bushes, they perk up. “Where were you? It’s been nearly three hours!” they shout.
“Got lost,” May answers vaguely. “Did you find the witch?”
June holds up a glass vial the size of a soda bottle. A purple-tinted liquid swishes inside it, emitting a faint glow across June’s freckled face and reflecting off their glasses. “Yeah. The Witch’s name is Lotus, apparently. Xe’s kinda creepy.”
May sits down on the rock next to them. “How much did it cost?”
June tsked. “Get this -- xe asked for my bark.”
May blinked. “Like. Tear it off your leg?”
“Yeah.” June shudders. They gesture to their calf, where a patch of the gnarled pine bark that stretches up their entire leg has been ripped off, revealing sensitive, red skin. Small brown protrusions were already visible, the first signs of regrowth. “It smarts, but, y’know. Worth it, I guess.”
May looks up at the periwinkle sky. A couple of stars have started to appear. “Yeah, worth it.”
A silence stretches between them. May doesn’t care to break it. She’s too exhausted from the long hike, only wanting to catch her breath before they go inside.
“You seem pleased about something.”
May turns her head towards her twin, who watches her with an attentive gaze. “Hm?”
“Did… something happen in there?” June picks at their fingers. “I was… Worried. About you.”
May blinks owlishly at her sibling. Then a burst of laughter erupts from her, startling June. “Gods. What’s getting into you?” She jumps off the rock, grabs the crutch and hands it to June. “Come on, I wanna go back already.”
As she walks on ahead toward their house, she feels June’s gaze on her hands. Her fingers tighten around the gifted flower crown she holds behind her back. She doesn’t turn around or stop, even as she hears a soft grunt as June gets up and follows with an exasperated, “Yeah, yeah.”
In the corner of her eye, May sees a glint of gold twinkling in the shadow of the trees and grins sharply to herself.