Mostly Normal: Magic Cannot Cure Sickness

Chapter Twenty One: Saying the Final Goodbye

Tears welled in the corners of eyes that were normally always filled with a sparkle of magic and tease, after all she was an older sister. Groups of mourners stood in large circles as they waited for the pyres to be brought out. Black was the only color that they wore, that and the clothing that some were forced to wear. Nia blinked back her tears and held her head high as she watched the children of Athena that had not been affected by the disease brought out the coffin that contained her sister. It did not possess a lid, as most coffins did. The cloth that she was shrouded in was embroidered with books and symbols that represented pranks she had pulled in the past, though Hecate's symbol took up the majority of the cloth.

The small girl looked so peaceful as she lay there, her hands crossed across her stomach. Her lips were still a bright orange, as she had been dreadfully ill when she had passed away. The fire popped and fizzled as they placed the body in the center of the raging flame. Nia's eyes welled up in tears again as she thought of how much she had failed her sister. Her orange-tinted lips opened and magic flowed through her voice as she sang:

"I gaze

At the moon

And I think of long-forgotten days

When you

And I

Were together, under the blue skies.

Are you there

Somewhere?

I see your magic soaring high.

Are you there

Somewhere?

Stars are your magic in the sky.

I hear

Melodies

From the stars that hold your greatest hope.

They shine

Brighter far

Then the songs of anyone back home.

Are you there

Somewhere?

I see your magic soaring high.

Are you there

Somewhere?

Stars are your magic in the sky."

For a while there was near silence after Nia had finished her song, except for the crackling of the fire that was burning Natalie's body. Then Bea, who was still sick but was being assisted by Will and Nico, stepped forward.

Her voice was ragged but she managed to project it over the large group of campers that surrounded the fire.

"Dear friends, family members, you all mean a lot to me, really you do, but no one meant as much to me as Natalie did. She was the only one that really understood me. She got all my jokes and wanted to actually do stuff with me... when nobody else did. She made my life worthwhile, but... but I'm afraid I never did for her what she did for me." Bea's already ruined voice cracked on these last words and Nico and Will gently guided her back into the crowd. Again there was near silence.

"As you take my sister," Nia rasped, "Please bring my brothers back to me. Don't you take them away from me too. Please."

"Please."