Sprinkle of Magic

"Excuse me, Miss? I need you to shut down your laptop, please. We're landing, soon." Light brown eyes snapped up at the sound of the voice, shielding the screen without thinking before she gave a simple nod. She saved the page she was writing before shutting down the laptop, watching the flight attendant smile from the corner of her eye. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she stuffed the computer back into her carry on bag. As soon as her baby was safely on the floor in front of her, her hands gripped the arms of the chair tightly. This was her least favorite part about flying. That's a lie, actually. She hated every bit about flying, there was always something that could go wrong. Before she could over think anything, the plane started its descent, and her eyes squeezed shut. She didn't open them again until the captain came over the loud speakers, and she heard the people around her standing up.

She grabbed her bags and scooted through the line in silence, doing the same when she went to go get the rest of her bags from the baggage claim. She had a bit of a hard time walking, with three backpacks, a laptop case, and two full suitcases, but lucky for her she didn't have far to walk. As soon as she was out of the terminal, she saw an old man leaning against a rusty gray van, twirling his cane absent minded like. "You should actually use the thing, instead of playing with it, yanno." As soon as the words left her lips, the man's head shot up, and a smile spread across her face. Of course, she noted the slight hint of fear in his eyes before it disappeared, so she brushed it off. She laughed as she approached, setting her suitcases down when he opened his arms for a hug. She held onto him tightly, a smile playing on her lips. "It's good to see you again, Granda." She whispered against his chest, which caused the old man to hug her tighter.

"Same to you, Maerin. Same to ya." The smile was still in his voice, and Maerin rolled her eyes as she pulled away from him, picking her bags back up.

"Please, Granda. We go over this every time I visit. Just Mae." The old man held his hands up in defense, though he chuckled, which caused the girl to join in the laughter. The two simply laughed as they loaded up Maerin's bags into the van. As she climbed into the passenger seat, she noted the time on the dashboard and groaned. "Yer gonna make me work, aren't ya?" She asked the question in a slightly whiny tone, her bottom lip sticking out in a pout. Her grandfather just laughed at her again.

"Of course! I can't run the bakery by meself!" He laughed harder at her groan of protest before the pair drove the long two hours from Dublin to Belfast.

Almost as soon as the vehicle was shut off, the old man shuffled out of the car, grabbing Maerin's suitcases, while she was left for the multiple backpacks and laptop case she'd brought with her. She never knew how much to bring, since she had no idea how long she'd be able to stay in one place. It was always different. "Maer- Erm. Mae. Yer room is still tha same. Get yerself settled then come across the street, ya?" Her grandfather stood in front of her, now, his hands empty, while she was still struggling with the bags in the back seat.

"Of course. I'll take a shower, then be over, Granda." The old man gave her a warm smile before he hugged her tightly, placing a kiss to the top of her head.

"It's great to have ya home, Mae." He whispered before he limped across the road, finally using his cane instead of just twirling it around. A sigh escaped Mae's lips before she shook her head, dragging her bags into the large house after closing up the van.

It only took her a few minutes to drop all of her bags on the floor in a corner of her room. She wouldn't bother unpacking, she hardly ever did. No one place ever lasted long, why would this time be any different? Without over thinking anything, she searched through her bags for a new change of clothes, since she'd just been stuck on a 9 hour flight and she was a little smelly. After grabbing out an old False Puppet t-shirt covered in holes, a black tank top, and black skinny jeans, she hurried up and took her shower.

Her hair was still damp almost an hour later when she pushed open the door of her family's bakery. She cringed a bit when the over head bell chimed her arrival, and she was instantly swept away by her grandfather and put straight to work in the back.

Her final weeks of summer went by the exact same, mostly. "Mae! I need ya up here!" Her head snapped up when she heard her grandfather's voice. He never called her to the front, but she did so without asking any questions. She slipped on a pair of gloves before she was even at the counter, and instantly got to work preparing people's orders and checking them out.

She was in the middle of checking someone out, she hadn't even looked up, too focused on the job. "Maerin?" The voice shocked her, causing her head to whip up, thinking she was hearing things. No, she'd been right. The red-head stood in front of her, looking as shocked as Maerin felt.

"Talia?" Maerin's own voice was quiet as she stared at her old friend. Of course, she remembered the growing line, so she coughed awkwardly before handing her the box of sweets. "It's on me." She said softly, Talia nodding in response as she took the box. "I'll erm...See you Monday." Maerin whispered before she ran straight into the back room, making another girl take over the front. This was a little too much for her. She hadn't expected to see anyone she knew at the bakery, let alone having that person remembering her. She didn't know if it was a good thing or not, but she couldn't help but remember the dream she'd been having for years. The shadow that haunted her every night, who was becoming more clear by the day, and who had started to look like her old neighbor.

She shook the thoughts out of her head as she took over her stool again, pushing away all of the negative thoughts as she worked on the cupcakes in front of her.