The first things to do turned out to be collecting the broken or cluttering items and pulling them out to the front lawn to be set to trial. A whether, they would go back inside, would become her mother’s latest, future projects, or were good to be sold, or were too far gone to be salvaged.

  There were so many items that it took a few days to get through them. A sprinkle of times Tarren and Farris would pop out of nowhere offering to help them with whatever they were doing. It seemed at least they were better at helping then they were at playing.

  The first time Mom whipped around and pointed at Farris.

  “Okay are for against this item?” He’d jumped but blurted out.

  “For!” He squeaked. Her mother hummed and nodded.

  “Great your this pieces lawyer.” She informed him. He looked to Tarren who looked equally as baffled.

  “If your for an item it means you think it’s still good. We’re going to analyze it’s bad features and you argue it’s good ones. If we all vote Against they it goes to the banishment zone where we will later tell what kind of banishment it will get.” Nia had explained. They both looked baffled. Nia nodded it was a game she truly enjoyed but she’d had to explain it a few hundred times. Most of her friends over the years hadn’t care for it but Tarren and Farris soon after jumped in with defenses or critique of an item.

  Whenever Farris was for an item and succeeded in talking it’s best points and Mom would look it over before nodding.

  “I see vision. Excellent job.” He would nearly jump with excitement.

  When they got through all the items that would go back into the house and got to the banishment rounds.

  “Our Father would be willing to buy all of the banishments.” Tarren had offered. Her mother crossed her arms considering.

  “Even the broken things?” She asked. Both boys nodded. Mom hummed then nodded.

  “He has to transport them.” Mom agreed and the boys beamed.

  “Our Uncle has a truck!” Farris informed her. Mom smiled at him.

  “Very good. Let him know he can pick them up at any time.” She told him. That night a truck pulled down there driveway and a man dressed in a farming outfit as if he’d just come from a field jumped out. Nodded at Mom and Nia before patting a hand on Farris’s and spoke to Tarren and the boys helped him load as much as they could onto the truck.

  He walked over to Mom.

  “Ms. Marn, I’m Leo.” He offered. “I have placed all that I can fit truck. Is it alright if I come back tomorrow to get the rest?” He asked in a respectful nod. Mom’s lips turned up nodding.

  “Perfect the boys will probably be here again tomorrow as well and I would be over-joyed if you were the one who picks them up.” Mom agreed standing.

  “Bye, see you tomorrow.” Nia called, to Tarren and Farris who slowed blinking before waving back at her at first slowly but at least Farris built up excitement. Nia, was starting to wonder if it was that they didn’t want to do things or if they didn’t know. Nia, put a pin in her mind to try explaining how things worked before doing them.

  “Also Leon you can absolutely call me Keina.” She offered. “I’d love to be friends.” She added. Leo paused and nodded once before turning walking a few feet away ducking and effortlessly flipping Tarren over his shoulder and grasping Farris around his middle letting him dangle.

  Farris let out a string of giggles while Tarren kicked his feet. “Uncle Leon.” He complained.

  It hadn’t taken Mr. Leon to clear out everything though he’d had to make one extra trip then he’d originally thought. The other times Nia ran around helping with the boys. Getting everything in the trunk.

  “Mr. Beodulf.” She’d called him and he’d twitched and glanced down at her.

  “Sorry not used to little kids not calling Uncle Leon.” He’d admitted and after a moment of silence. “You could call me Uncle Leon if you want.” He offered slowly.

  “I can call you Mr. Leon.” She’d offered back. She’d always felt weird about giving people who weren’t forever, forever names.

  “Better then Mr. Beodulf.” He agreed after a second.

  Every time he left he flung one of the boys in some tilt-a-twirl while Nia waved from the porch.

  The next day Tarren and Farris didn’t show up and Nia had to admit she was just a little disappointed. But there wasn’t much time to be disappointed as the ran around the house figuring what would go where. At some point Mom, stopped narrowed her eyes then smirked picking up a ball they’d found behind one of the maybe millions of book shelves. Tossing it up and catching it before handing it to Nia.

  She turned Nia and pointed to the almost pitiful reminisce of what had once been a chandelier. All the glass work was shattered around it and they couldn’t even find where the light switch was for it. Mom stumbled back and grabbed two pairs of goggles and handed one to Nia. Nia put them on confused before her mother pointed up again.

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  “It had to come down anyway.” She told her and that was when Nia noticed the last flower bud shape on the end of the arms.

  “You have as many chances before we loose the ball.” He mother told her. And so Nia spent what had to be forever tossing the ball missing, locating the ball tossing again and again until finally. It shattered. In sprinkling beautiful rain of glass.

  “I’ll get the broom.” Her mother called laughing. Nia blinked as light flared, stood up and flew out of the last remanence of glass and up the swirl of stairs. Nia stumbled to follow it’s path with her eyes before whipping around to find her mother’s back turned to magic.

  Nia almost voiced what she saw when her mother’s phone rang. She paused in her sweeping to glare at the phone rolling her eyes before answering.

  “Mr. Beodulf, what can I do for you?” She asked. Nia paused and shook her head glancing at the light. No. She was probably wrong.

  Nia watched Mr. Beodulf walk up the drive for the hundredth time lately. He almost had a sixth sense that told him exactly when her mother was considering a calling contractors. He always showed up with his slew of recommendations. People who knew the property who would know how to handle anything she needed.

  Nia half wondered if he was some sort of scam artist. But seeing as her mother seemed to take everything Mr. Beodulf said with a grain of salt, Nia never felt worried. If she did take his recommendations it was only after having them look at the house and give a quote and if Mom found an alternative way to handle the same situation she did it. But it seemed most of his recommendations were decent. Or at least that’s what Mom would grumble after a contractor would leave. One of the big things though that was an instant no for any contractor with Mom though was, she and Nia had to help.

  Nia had heard her mother argue with a hundred people that she was fully aware that she did not have the ability to do everything but she would do a little bit of everything.

  To be honest, Nia thought her mother had driven a few insane, but Mom always got her way somehow.

  Once what Nia called the excitement rush wore off, they started scheduling off days. When Mom would fall into once of her various ever changing hobbies and Nia had a chance to explore.

  Nia ran down the steps and like every one of her adventure days like clock work she was cut off by Tarren and Farris.

  “Nia can we play Kick ball!” Farris asked excitedly. The first time they’d cut her off he’d blurted out “Want to play collect sticks?”

  “I don’t think that’s a game.” Tarren had told him and Farris’s face had fallen in a way that was continuing to support the theory that they just really didn’t know any games for some reason.

  “Okay, how do you play?” She’d agreed and followed through there stumbled piece together rules of the game collect sticks. It turned out a mess but a fun mess. Then the next day she’d offered a game explaining the rules and they loosened up and really played and once again it was fun.

  “Okay. Have you played kickball before or is this a new game?” She asked.

  “The kids at the park play it.” Tarren offered.

  “They won’t let us join when they play.” Farris added. Tarren elbowed Farris and Farris glared at him.

  “That’s mean. We can’t play full kickball with just us but we’ll figure it out.” She offered. “Come on, we need a few things to play.” She told him and ran inside the boys on her heals.

  “Mom!” Nia shouted as soon as she got in the house. “Mom!” She called outside the kitchen. When she called Mom, a third time Mom came around the corner.

  “What’s with all the yelling?” She asked.

  “We need stuff to play kick ball.” She told her. Her mother considered.

  “Take the card board in the hall, and I think we have a kick ball in the car in the trunk. Or it might be in the blue tote but it will need to be pumped up.” Her mom thought. “Which is possibly absolutely in the blue bin.” She offered.

  “Okay!” Nia called running off to retrieve what they needed. Once they had it set up. They mostly just played Kicker, Tosser, Catcher and switched every couple turns. When they were spent after playing. They went in and found Mom in the kitchen looking around.

  “I might take up baking. I don’t think I’ve baked.” Her mother grumbled before opening the refrigerator a pulled out Lemonade from the corner store, that everyone called the corner store even if it wasn’t actually on a corner. She poured it into glasses that were some of what she called monster mugs. They dipped and swirled in interesting ways just able to still be used. Then she pulled out various snack packs and placed them down.

  “Chose, but you only get one choice.” She told them drinking her own lemonade.

  “Cupcakes.” She thought glaring at the empty counter that did not hold cupcakes. Nia hummed wondering how many cupcakes they’d be eating for a while.

  The same day the stand mixer was purchased was the first day she ran down the stairs and her friends were no where to be seen. She darted for the woods. Time to explore.

  Once again she walked for what felt like forever but every time she turned she could see the house and she didn’t see any movement in the window. When Nia asked about the attic her mother had, looked surprised.

  “I still haven’t been able to get it open.”

  “I saw someone up there though.” Nia grumbled. Her mother paused for a moment then looked up.

  “Maybe it’s a ghost.” She offered. “Or one of Fae.” She offered and had, laughed.

  Mom had a lot of stories about the Fae, though Mom had a lot of stories about a lot of things. She used to walk through areas searching for glimmers of evidence and when she ran home her mother would always get super excited for her and insist on her showing her. Whatever Nia found her mother encouraged. Even when Nia realized later it wasn’t magic or the Fae.

  “Magic is everywhere and it’s beautiful and exciting but always think it through. Because one creature’s magic is another creature’s curse.”

  Nia paused and tilted her head as she heard murmuring. She looked around thinking it was Tarren or Farris maybe they would go as far as tracking her down in the woods to prevent her from exploring it. Instead of Tarren or Farris though she blinked and the tiny furry body that scurried by. She blinked because she was almost sure saw fabric around the furred body.

  It ran away before she could tell for sure. Nia, explored for a little longer but her mind was to absorbed by furry creatures with clothing that she headed home. When she got back to the house she saw the boys looking around but not crossing the edge of the woods for her. They looked relieved when she ducked through the tree line.

  Nia ran forward and ran into them hugging them.

  “Hi! It’s too late for kickball do you guys want to hang out inside?” She asked.

  “Okay.” Tarren breathed. Inside they sat in the living room where she retrieved colored pencils and started sketching various animals not in clothing she saw in the woods before she ventured to draw the outfit she saw. She hadn’t managed to see what kind of animal it was.

  Eventually Mr. Beodulf came in with her mother looking at them sitting around the living room like they might just be hiding things under the carpet. Nia decided Mr. Beodulf was the perfect example of Not Fun.

  “See you guys later.” Nia told them hugging them again.