Not a sickness

They had arrived at Tadano's house.
"Excuse me... I'm coming in." — Dano said while inviting the witch into her house.

It was an old house, side by side with an abandoned temple. The front of the house smelled bad, but inside it was normal. Just like an old house would smell. It was small and organized. Separated by a curtain, Dano's mother was lying down on a futon, covered by a blanket.

"Dano, my daughter, is it you?"

Dano opened the curtain — "Hi, mom... are you feeling okay?"

"I'm good, just a little queasy. Did you bring any food?"

"Yes! I brought some today. I couldn't sell any broom today, but I talked to that restaurant guy again. He gave me a lot of rice, look." — Dano opened the rice she was still carrying. It was cold. "You want me to put some for you?"

Dano's mother spotted the woman behind her daughter. Miss Sutaru noticed it and went to talk to her.

"I'm sorry. I'm Miss Sutaru. I gave your daughter a ride so she could get home faster."

Dano's mother was still staring at her. She was beautiful. The most beautiful living creature she had ever seen.

"Are... are you and angel?"

"No — Sutaru giggled, pretending to be embarrassed — what do you mean?"

In fact, she had already noticed the condition of Dano's mother. She was sick. At least this was what Tadano's family thought. Miss Sutaru noticed, by some symptoms, that some black parts of the body were not related to a normal disease, but to a magical one. In other words, she wasn't sick, but cursed.

"Dano, little girl, can I talk to you for a moment?" — Miss Sutaru had to do something, but she couldn't. She didn't know healing spells, nor did she have healing potions she could use against a curse.

They were in front of the house.

"What happened, Miss Sutaru. You look worried."

"Your mom. What happened to her? For how long has she been sick?"

"Oh. Since last year, I think. It's been almost a year and... uh... eight months." — Dano said while raising proudly six of her fingers, four from one hand and two from the other.

"How can I tell you this...?" — Miss Sutaru was trying to find the right words, but it was probably better to say it directly. — "Your mom... she is... cursed."

Sutaru raised her head, looking directly at Dano's face. She was confused.

"Uh? How can my mom be a course?"

"That's not what I'm saying. Your mom is not sick. Someone cast a spell to make her feel bad. To make her feel sick. You know what I mean now?"

The facts were fitting in Dano's head like a puzzle.

Suddenly, Dano cried out loud.
"who did dis? pweese Mistaru, why don you save her?"

"Calm down, Dano — she said it while petting — someone will think I'm doing something bad with you. I can't do it, because I don't know any healing spell. I'm the witch of beautiness. I have never needed to heal someone, so I never learned how to..."

"So can't we call another witch to do it?"

"I don't think there is a witch nearby who would know a healing spell. From what I know, they are no longer as necessary as before, due to the development of medicine and other technological areas."

After a moment of silence, Miss Sutaru had a thought.

"I can't believe I'll do this." — she muttered. "Kid, if you want to save your mother, the best way would be... learning yourself a healing blessing spell. I can't do it because I'm busy with my things, but the cheapest way, since you are... poor, would be learning it yourself."

Dano was shocked. And excited. And nervous. Didn't she say it was dangerous? That turning into a witch was risky? It didn't matter anymore. Her mom was sick in a way that just she could solve. As long as she tried to.
"So how would I become a witch, Miss Sutaru?"

"I know someone who owes me two BIG favors. I can ask her to teach you some magic. But where would she be living now?"

"May I go this night? I'm able to. I'm ready to." — Dano was excited.

"For now, go get some sleep. I'll ask a friend tonight if she knows where this witch is living. Tomorrow I'm going to grab you here, in front of your home."

Dano entered her house while waving to Miss Sutaru, who was already flying away on her broomstick. She looked even more gracious in the dusk light. Dano sighed.

"Mom, do you need me to do something else today? Can I go to sleep?"

Her mom was already sleeping. She ate a little bowl of rice and put it in a visible location so her sister could see it.

Adjusting her hair, which had been slightly tousled by a sudden gust of wind, she noticed she had lost her metal-shaped clips. She wasn't materialistic, but she liked the way she looked with those.

"Now I see why my hair is getting into my mouth." — she thought.

After some time, Dano lay down on a futon at the other side of the curtain that kept the children away from mom's sickness.

She couldn't sleep. Her eyes were closed, but her mind was working fast. It was cold. Her sister arrived home late.

Dano whispered loudly — "There's rice on the table. Can you check mom, see — she yawned — if she is cold."

She listened her sister eating the rice from a bowl. Before it was emptied, Dano was already snoring.