'This is it?' Vera stood in front of the shabby orphanage. 'I think this is it.'

She knocked thrice at the wooden door of the orphanage. Or should've been thrice if it not were for her knuckles piercing through the orphanage's thin doors. "Oops... I hit it too hard...? Sorry, I guess.'

She just stood there awkwardly for three seconds. Three full seconds that felt like an hour. An audible gasp was heard as the doors creaked open. A grey-haired lady stood in front of her, eyes shaking in fury behind her round, wiry glasses. She was wearing a navy blue dress, with its collar reaching just below her chin.

"What have you done!?" screamed the grey-haired lady. Loud footsteps on the wooden floor thundered as the old lady put her hands on her waist. "Do you know how expensive-"

Her tirade was cut off as several children pushed her aside and pounced on the unprepared Vera. Luckily, both of them managed to regain their footing on time.

"Big sister Sarah!" said the children.

"Have you brought toys?"

"Do you have food?"

"Papers?"

Vera just stood there, dumbfounded. 'Just who are these children?' She felt a sharp pain behind her eyes that blinded her for a moment, and the next thing she knew, she recognized them all.

'Anne, Frank, Roy,' remembered Vera as she looked at the three children hugging her waist. 'And there's Lotte,' thought Vera as the saw the short blonde hair and those rosy pink cheeks of the child who greeted her enthusiastically a while ago. She also saw four more children staring at her in awe.

The old lady cleared her throat, who had a straight face. 'Miss Mana,' recognized Vera. 'Thank the heavens she's calmed down.'

"How are you going to pay for the door," Mana said with a hint of seething anger.

'Or not.' Vera just looked at the interesting pebble down the ground.

"Do you want some potatoes?" asked Vera half-heartedly.

---

After hours of Mana's tirade, she finally calmed down. She just sighed.

"Why are you here?" asked Mana.

"Oh, I'm here to give you these." Vera handed her the bag full of salves. "And this," she gestured towards the sack of potatoes, "is a gift from Meda."

Mana thanked her for the goods. She asked the older children to take them both and place them at the storage room.

Both of them walked out of Mana's office. Vera saw the children playing in the reception room. Vera smiled as she saw them. Mana took notice of this.

"Happy?"

"I just remember someone..." Vera trailed off, remembering her little sister. Mana let out a small smile at her answer.

'Wait, I completely forgot about the mission! Maybe the wisher is here?' She decided to ask Mana.

"If I may just ask," asked Vera hesitantly, "how many children are here in the orphanage?"

"Hmm..." The grey-haired lady thought about it for a moment. "Considering Leroy and Yannie got adopted a few weeks back, there are around nine children here. Why?"

"Nothing, just curious." lied Vera. 'Nine? But I just saw eigh-'

Someone tugged at her clothes. She looked down and saw Lotte's teary blue eyes. "Sarah, Sarah!"

"That's Big Sister Sarah for you," reminded Mana, but it only fell upon Lotte's deaf ears.

"Play with us! Please?" Vera was about to refuse, but another look at Lotte's teary eyes and rosy red cheeks melted her heart.

"Fine, but just for a while, okay?"

"Yay!" cheered Lotte. She turned back and shouted at the other children. "Sar-" Mana sent her a stern stare. "I mean, Big Sister Sarah is playing with us!"

Lotte then grabbed Vera's hands and dragged her towards the other children.

---

Hours later, she said her goodbyes towards the children. The children also cheerily waved back at her.

'That was very tiring,' mumbled Vera as she began to traverse the steep yet paved path up the hill where the apothecary was located. She noticed the sun was setting.

'It was just sad that the wisher wasn't there.' She cleared out the negative thoughts out of her mind. 'At least I've had fun.'

Several stumbles and close falls later, she finally saw the apothecary. She encountered a couple with crestfallen faces, but she ignored them. She entered the apothecary and announced her presence.

"Meda! I'm back!"

She waited for a response. She looked at the counter, where the table was very messy. Several books and scrolls were laid open over it. She read their titles. 'Love and Passion? Strangest Curses and Counters? What are these doing here?'

She inspected the materials even further. 'Parenthood: Blessings, Supplements, and Conception. The Art of Baby Making. WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE?'

She tried to grab another one, but her hands bumped into another book, which felk down the table. She reached for the fallen book first. Basic and Intermediate Curses and Its Counters, it read.

She placed it over her table and went searching for Meda.

---

She found Meda hunched over her desk, tens of scrolls laid open before her. She observed her for a moment before clearing her throat. Meda looked over her shoulders in surprise.

"Oh, Sarah, you're here." Meda stood up. "When did you arrive?"

"Not that long, but I've been searching for you for a while already." Sarah changed the topic. "What are you doing? You seemed so serious about it."

"I was just searching for potion recipes for the customers. Their case seems challenging."

"Really?" asked Vera, intrigued. Meda just nodded.

"I actually feel challenged about it. They only come once in a while, and I welcome the challenge."

Vera just raised one of her eyebrows, unconvinced. "What was their issue?"

"If you are curious, ask them tomorrow. They'll be returning."

She just nodded, still suspicious about the problem. 'What is their problem? Seems interesting. Maybe they're the wishers?' She dropped the topic.

"If you don't have any questions, please don't bother me anymore."

Meda returned and focused back on her scrolls. "This is not it," she whispered while shaking her head. "None of these will work."

Vera turned away and went back to her quarters. As she was about to step out, she heard a loud crash. Her head whipped back at Meda, who was standing over the fallen jars and scrolls. She walked over Meda, and inspected what happened.

"What happened?"

"Nothing." Meda put her hands behind her back. Vera saw her holding something, but she did not perceive it clearly. She noticed Meda's eyes appeared slightly shaken, as if she was guilty or panicked.

"You're lying. Tell me what really happened." Vera tried to peek behind her.

"I said it was nothing." Meda just shifted even more, determined to hide the thing on her hands from Vera.

"But-"

"It really is nothing! Just go! I can do this myself!"

Vera just raised her hands in surrender." Okay, okay. If that's what you want." She turned around and stepped out the room.

She didn't see Meda's sad smile as she clutched the innocent black feather behind her back.

'I'm sorry, Sarah, my child.'