___

  My phone vibrated in my pocket.

  I’ll pick you up at your place. Send me your address later. I’ll see you at 6pm on Thursday.

  I guess that solved my ride problem, I thought, grinning at the thought of seeing him again.

  ___

  The rest of the week went by smoothly. Or at least as smoothly as it can with sleep deprivation due to staying up late on the spell. And the knowledge that every time I did it, my body could, and probably would, get worse. My wrist just ached constantly now, thankfully it was a light enough pain that I could ignore it for the most part.

  I had been so wrapped in school, work, and the spell that I had actually forgot about the night out with Ryan until I was woken up Thursday morning by my phone vibrating on the bed next to me.

  Morning. Still on for tonight?

  I rolled over and typed out my reply.

  As long as you don’t mind giving me a ride, then yes.

  Only a few moments later, and I already had his response.

  Of course. See you at six then.

  This was 30 minutes early than I would normally get up, given that my alarm was set for 7:15am, but I was already awake so I thought I may as well take my time getting ready.

  I moved to get up and gasped as a sharp burning went through my side, near my ribs. Gingerly lifting the edge of the shirt I had slept in, I confirmed my fears. A pale gray swirl lined the side of my rib cage, quite a bit larger than the shadow on my wrist. And it still hurt a lot. It hurt to take a deep breath, like a stitch when you’re running, but worse.

  For a few moments, I just tried to take in short breaths, not daring to move and make it worse. How was I going to go to work like this?

  But after a few minutes, the burning subsided a little, and I could sit up fully. I stood then, grabbing clothes and heading to the shower. I walked slowly, trying to limit the amount I moved my side.

  After struggling to take off my shirt, I stood in front of the mirror, staring at my left wrist and right side together. Both the same ash color, and swirl pattern. Though the one on my ribs, being larger, was more curved.

  Sighing, I turned on the taps and let the shower warm up. The hot water seemed to help with the aching a bit, and it was nice to be able to take full breaths again. The pain was still there, but it was manageable.

  Since it was Thursday, I didn’t have class and instead only had a full shift at work. I got into my jeans and black shirt that counted as my work outfit and tried to decide what I should wear tonight to meet Ryan.

  Laying out tight black leggings and a tank top, with a white blouse, I figured that would be good enough. It’s not like he asked me out on a date right? My heart sped up.

  Was this a date? He hadn’t said specifically, but maybe this was more to him than I thought. I took a breath and shook my head, clearing it. I’d just have to see what happened tonight.

  Walking to work, I tried not to think about Ryan. But the more I tried not to think about him, the sweatier my hands seem to get, and the more nervous I felt. A rustling sound came from the leaves on the street to my right. Turning, I spotted the same brown-orange that I had spent the last few days hoping to glimpse. My fox. I smiled at it, glad to see it again. At least, I thought it was the same one, it was hard to tell with all the dirt.

  It seemed odd that it would be here, I hadn’t even crossed to the park yet. This was just a street lined with cars, and noise. The fox hadn’t moved since I spotted it.

  Moving slowly, I took the crackers from my bag, sliding them from an exterior pocket. I offered it out to it, making a mental note to look up what foxes actually ate afterwards. I knew I might be late for work if I stayed too long, but I had to try.

  The fox approached slowly, but not like I would’ve expected from a wild animal. Instead of slinking towards me cautiously, it only walked. Head up, ears straight, and walked calmly, like a pet.

  It reached for my fingers, but didn’t back away this time as it ate. Grabbing another piece of cracker, I expected the fox to take it like before.

  Instead, the fox moved around to the side of where I was crouched. Farther away from the food I was holding. I didn’t dare move, not sure if I was even breathing. Then it calmly placed it’s chin on my knee and sighed.

  Focusing on keeping my balance, I shuffled as gently as I could to have better balance. My shoe scuffed the cement, giving off a scraping noise against the leaves, and I winced, sure it would run. But it didn’t.

  I looked at its coat, able to see more clearly now the parts where the orange had turned brown with blood and dirt. The fox twitched its back every now and then, as if it was itchy, and I felt the weight of its head rest further against my leg. It’s eyes closed.

  Something was wrong. Animals were cautious creatures by nature, it shouldn’t trust people like this. Maybe it was a pet? Or, I thought, maybe it was rabies? But, despite its coat, it didn’t look sick.

  Taking a breath, I reached out a hand and almost recoiled at the texture of the caked mud and who knew what else was on its coat.

  How had it become so dirty? Did foxes clean themselves? I really didn’t know, but I placed my hand along its back anyway. I kept my gaze on its face just in case it decided to show aggression, or moved to bite me. Even if, logically, I doubted I could move fast enough with it this close to me.

  “Who are you?” I asked it quietly. It didn’t answer, but it lifted its head and moved away slowly. I was about to let my hand drop from its back, when it nudged my wrist instead. It continued to press against my arm until the sleeve of my sweater moved up, revealing the gray mark. That’s when it started to growl, its body hunched lower to the ground.

  It didn’t break eye contact with the mark until I cautiously stood up and moved my sleeve down.

  The fox stopped growling then, turning around to saunter off, glancing back at me only once before disappearing around a corner street up ahead. I stooped down to grab the bag of crackers I had dropped, and tucked them away again. What had just happened?

  Knowing I would be a few minutes late now, I hurried on to work.

  #

  Thankfully, my manager wasn’t upset at me being a few minutes late. I was almost always early anyway, she seemed more worried that something had happened. There was no way I was going to explain that I found a fox this morning that acted nothing like any animal I had ever encountered before. I assured her it was nothing, making an excuse about my alarm not being set correctly.

  During my shift, I had moments where I was starting to doubt what had happened. Maybe I was hallucinating from the spell?

  On my break I looked up what foxes ate normally, beside from the obvious meat. Shockingly, crackers were not on the list. But a quick search revealed that they’d eat almost anything, so I decided to grab some cheese the next time I went shopping.

  My second search was more private. Normally, I tried not to look up spell stuff at work. But I had managed to grab a corner table, and sat diagonal, so no one could see what I was looking at.

  Scrolling through the forum, there wasn’t anything suggesting that hallucinations was a side effect. There were more posts saying they have the painful shadow-swirls on their skin as well. I clicked on the same post as before that said the spell had worked. Skimming the words again, one line stood out to me: Think about what you’re messing with.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  It was an important though. There was a reason that death wasn’t easy to undo. It isn’t natural. It goes against the very nature of most magic. Magic is supposed to be more in touch with the natural world, and bringing people back once they’d crossed to the other side was no only difficult - it breached a lot of moral and ethical codes too.

  As far as I know, aside from that one post, I hadn’t actually ever heard of anyone being successful at it. There have always been rumors of course, but to actually bring someone back there had to be a high cost. The world doesn’t easily allow itself to become unbalanced.

  After my break, I went back to making lattes and serving scones. It was a fairly average day, with the weather being colder today, more people were wanting something warm. During a break in customers, I glanced around the shop. The counter I worked behind held espresso machines and milk steamers, along with fridges and ovens in the back to keep and bake the food items.

  A group of students sitting at a table caught my eye and one of the girls waved, I waved back. She was in one of my classes - Astronomy, I think, but I didn’t know her name.

  On the opposite side of the counter, facing the customers, were glass displays with our food items placed under the lights. It was a welcoming place, both for students and for those who were working.

  Despite the comfortable atmosphere, by the time my shift was almost over I could feel the nerves about the upcoming meeting with Ryan kicking in. I started glancing at the clock on the wall behind me and paced whenever there was a break in orders. Emma noticed my anxieties and let me go a bit early, despite me showing up late to begin with. I thanked her as I headed out the door.

  Walking home, I hesitated again by the street and the park, wondering if the fox would be there to greet me again. It wasn’t. I didn’t mind too much though as I wrapped my jacket tighter around me trying to stave off the wind. It had certainly gotten colder while I was working. Still, a small feeling of disappointment settled over me as I made it into my apartment building.

  Getting home earlier than I planned, I called out for Tanya as I walked through the front door, and turned around to get my keys out of the lock. Nothing. She must not be home yet, I thought.

  I swung off my bag and let it sit on the couch while I went into my room. I had plenty of time to shower and get ready before Ryan showed up. My stomach felt tight with nerves, already.

  Grabbing my clothes and my towel from this morning, I walked into the bathroom, shutting the door. Undressing, I stood in front of the mirror again, wondering if it was just in my head or if the marks had gotten darker during the day.

  Gingerly, I pressed my fingertips into my side, my reflection in the mirror grimaced as the pain radiated from the mark and I saw glimpses of - something, flash in front of my eyes. It had happened too quickly for me to make out what it had been, but a feeling of uneasiness stayed with me. It was more than just anxiety from meeting Ryan. This felt, different.

  I turned on the shower, hoping the hot water and steam would take away the odd heaviness that had settled in my chest.

  Back in my room, freshly showered, I then remembered that I couldn’t wear a normal t-shirt or the tank top I had planned for tonight. I rubbed my wrist absently as I bent down to open my dresser drawer, my side screaming in protest as I did.

  What have I gotten myself into, I wondered silently. And this is just the beginning, how much can a person handle of this? I let out a loud sigh and moved some of my shirts around trying to find some long-sleeved ones.

  My bedroom door slammed open, and I stood upright, hastily grabbing the towel wrapped around me so it wouldn’t fall.

  “Ever heard of knocking?” I yell as Tanya comes barging in.

  “You’re going on a date with Ryan tonight?” She was grinning widely, and I made a show of gesturing to my lack of clothing ,and turned to retie the towel so I could have both of my arms free. Then Tanya walked up and placed my lower arm.

  “Hey, what’s that?” I froze, and then tried my best to look calm as I slowly moved my arm away from her.

  “Oh, it’s nothing, just a bruise. I think I must’ve got it at the cafe.” I waved a hand dismissively and went back to looking through my dresser.

  “You should be more careful. But what we should be talking about is how you’re going out with Ryan tonight.” I smiled in spite of myself, still rummaging in my drawer and finally pulling out a long-sleeved black shirt that had a lace pattern on the sleeves and back. “And also, that you left your backpack on the couch again.” I looked over at her as I heard a thud as she dropped my bag against my bed.

  “And you need to learn to knock.” Motioning for her to turn around I put on my clothes, choosing tight dark jeans to go with the shirt. It wasn’t fancy, but then again, since it wasn’t officially a date, it didn’t have to be.

  “It’s not a date,” I told Tanya as I sat down on my bed and motioned for her to do the same. Unsurprisingly, she refused, choosing to pace back and forth instead.

  “Why did you not tell me? We could have gone shopping. I could’ve done your makeup. Not that you don’t look great already, but…” She looked slightly offended before turning to look at me, crossing her arms over her chest. I held up my hands innocently.

  “It’s not a date.” I repeated. “It’s not a big deal, he just wants to talk, and it’s just coffee.” And maybe dinner, I added silently. Tanya raised an eyebrow at me as if she could hear my thoughts.

  “Just coffee? Wait, you’re going back to same place as the other night, aren’t you? And you didn’t ask if I knew someone who could drive so—“ Her eyes went wide. “He’s picking you up?” She squealed. “That’s so exciting!”

  “It’s really not a big deal,” I tried to protest. “It’s just coffee.” But it was too late. Tanya was already rattling on about how dreamy Ryan is and how nice we’d look together. I just rolled my eyes and let her carry on as I applied light foundation, mascara and lipstick. But I was smiling. Tanya was a good friend, even if we didn’t always have interests in the same things.

  She eventually calmed down and we ended up talking about other things. Her job at the pilates and spin studio, and our college classes. She was majoring in Kinesiology, but unlike me in my second year, she was already in her third. And before I knew it, the doorbell rang from downstairs. Ryan was here.

  Scooping up my bag from beside the bed, I checked myself in the mirror quick before I left. My shoulder-length hair was down and wavy, like normal.

  I had turned down Tanya’s offer of a makeover, and I probably would’ve looked more striking had she done my makeup instead. But I reminded myself — this wasn’t a date.

  As I descended the stairs and wished Tanya a good evening, I remembered his curiosity when I mentioned the fox, and his hands — they had been so warm. It was like — I stopped in the middle of the step and took a breath. It was like a spell, but it couldn’t have been. Maybe I had felt something else, or maybe it was just another hallucination from the spell, like the flashes of images earlier. Either way, I didn’t have much time to contemplate it as I went and met Ryan downstairs.

  I was surprised to see that he had entered the building already and was waiting at the entryway for me.

  “Hey,” I greeted, trying to make myself sound more at ease than I was. He was wearing jeans and a black short-sleeve dress shirt, swirls of his tattoos on his arm clearly displayed. “You didn’t have to wait for me, I could have just met you out at your car,” I spoke as he opened the front door and let me outside. Instantly, the wind pulled at my jacket. The weather had dropped even further since I’d gotten home, and I hugged my arms around me, trying to keep warm.

  “Well, for one,” He started as he caught up and walked beside me, turning left down the block. “I had to park a few cards down, and two, you don’t know what my car looks like.” He stopped and gestured to a black and very clean looking car. “And three, I wouldn’t have been able to do this.” He opened the passenger door and offered me his hand. I took it, almost gasping at the shock of cold, and turning my face away as I blushed at the gesture. I mumbled a thank you as I swung my legs in and he shut the door before moving around to the driver’s side.

  The drive was quiet to begin with, and I fiddled with the hem of my shirt. I wanted to bring up the fox, or even what happened with his hands the other night. But magic wasn’t something I shared with others. No one knew. And I didn’t feel comfortable bringing it up with a stranger. Finally, Ryan clicked on the radio and set it low to some soft rock station. At least it filled the silence.

  It seemed like a long drive to get to the coffee place this time. Last time, I had been surrounded by the incessant gossiping of Tanya’s friends to fill up the journey. And while they were annoying, it did make it less awkward.

  Finally, Ryan had asked me about my classes, and we passed the rest of the ride talking mostly about my degree. All Ryan said was that he wasn’t in school.

  When we arrived at the restaurant, he had to circle the block a couple of times to find a parking spot. As he shifted the car into park, he suddenly spoke.

  “So, you do spell work?” He had taken off his seat belt and turned to look at me. I was too stunned to speak. As he moved, part of his tattoo appeared out from under the collar of his shirt. He caught me looking and gently pulled down the collar of his shirt so I could see better.

  “They closely match the tattoos on my arm. I have other ones too” I wondered exactly what he meant by that, but didn’t know what to say about it. “So,” He shifted slightly, releasing his shirt. “I’ll ask again. You’ve been doing spell work?” I couldn’t meet his eyes, instead, I let my gaze rest on where I playing with the edge of my shirt again. A nervous habit of mine, along with the chewed edges of my fingernails. He looked too, right as I noticed it myself. My sleeve had moved up slightly, the gray swirl was visible.

  Slowly he grabbed my arm, giving me plenty of time to pull away if I wanted. But instead I let him, guiding my arm closer to him and looking at my wrist. His other hand softly pulled the material of my sleeve back, revealing the whole dark ashy patch in the yellow street light streaming into the car.

  “It’s just a bruise.” I heard myself quietly protest. But I didn’t know what the point was in denying it any further.

  “No, it’s not.” This time, as he spoke, he lifted his gray eyes to mine, and I matched his stare. We were too close, and this was too much. Too soon. I broke away from his gaze and took my arm back, rubbing my wrist where the mark was.

  “No,” I admitted, not meeting his eyes again. “It’s not just a bruise.”