First spell

"All magic comes from imagination. All magic is a bargain, a pact. All magic comes from willpower."
Miss Mechakucha was pointing to an inscription in a book, which Tadano then read aloud.

Mechakucha slammed the book shut, facing the cover to Tadano's face.
"Here. You know what this is?"

"N-No." — Dano got scared by the loud noise the witch made.

"Here. — Meku pointed to the book's title. It was in a type of alphabet Tadano didn't recognize — This is The Great Book of Magic: Universal Comprehension Edition, written some centuries ago.

"If it's so old, why can I understand it?"

"Duh? — Meku knocked Dano's head — It's literally in the title. It has a spell that makes all words comprehensible to the reader. I don't see the book the way you see it. I read it in its original language. At least I think... maybe it can change to a way I think the language is, but whatever. Those are the three pillars of magic. Repeat them out loud."

"Uh... All magic... is... power?"

"Read it again."

"All magic comes from imagination. Al–"  — Dano got interrupted.

"Ok, ok. Now, try to understand this first part."

"It means I-I... have to... imagine?"

Meku huffed.
"It MEANS you have to VISUALIZE what the spell is going to do. Just saying it would not work. You get it? You're a child, you play a lot, you imagine a lot. You'll probably handle this."

Dano didn't play a lot. She didn't imagine a lot. She just worked. And worked. She used to play, but when she was younger. Embarrassed, Dano stood shut.

"Ok, now the third pillar — Mechakucha continued speaking — all magic comes from your will."

"And the second one?"

"The second one is not really necessary with small spells, which are the ones you will learn first, so we'll skip it for now... Again, willpower. You must have willpower to cast a spell. Doing that needs to be intentional. Almost no spell is cast unintentionally. Besides, potions, if spilled by accident, can cause problems."

Dano was wondering... something bad must have happened for her to be arrested by the police. Something that was Miss Mechakucha's fault, but which made Tadano get blamed for, because of the resemblance between the two. 

"Miss Meku... did you accidentally spill some potion somewhere? Did you do something that made me get arrested?"

"I said that's none of your business."

"Please say it to me." — Dano was doing the most innocent and curious face she could.

"Fine. — Mechakucha sighed — There was this policewoman wearing a dark collar teaching some rookie traffic officers about fines. My car was ticketed during this training. I wasn't feeling very well. I hadn't slept well. So I took off my wand and pointed it towards her butt. Now she has a bunny tail under her pants."

Tadano had a look on her face that said, "Why did you do that?"

Mechakucha kept talking — "After a giggle, I looked in her eyes. She was looking at me as I held my wand. She pointed to her back with her thumb and said something I could read on her lips: I know what you did."

Meku got goosebumps.
"She saw I was a witch. I thought she wouldn't notice. But she did..."

"When was that?"

"Tomorrow morning. I was using a car license plate randomizer spell, so she probably doesn't know which car is really mine. I also used a potion to change its painting, so I think it's all good."

Dano realized a detail didn't fit the story. How did Miss Saisatsu Tenkei know about Meku's age?
"How did she know you were a 900-year-old witch? Tha–"

"I don't know... This leads us to many possibilities. Probably one of the police officers knows magic. Anyway, keep your eyes open."

Tadano had sat down.
"You know? Stand up, Dano. Get your wand. I'll teach you a spell."

"Oh, cool! — Dano was still a little disappointed with Meku's story. In any case, that incident would lead her to cure her mother's curse, as long as she tried to — I'll do my best."

Miss Mechakucha jumped away from Tadano, then pointed the wand towards her.

"Stay still. Lepus Lepus!"

Slowly, a bunny tail got out of Dano's pants.

"Silly, but a good starting point. You saw it? Mentalize it, want it, say it." — She pointed her back to Tadano.

Dano adjusted her feet, pointed the wand, and said out loud — "Lopus Lopus!"

Nothing happened.
"First, Dano, it's Lepus, not Lopus. You have to mentalize the bunny. Remember. Mentalize, want, say. Try again. — while Tadano adjusted her feet one more time, Meku kept saying — Mentalize, want, say."

"Ok, here I go... Lepus Lepus!"

A translucent yellow ray shot out of Dano's wand directly to Meku's back, making a tiny golden bunny tail grow slowly.

"It worked? — Dano was looking for the tail that was still growing — It worked!"

"Yeah, but I have never seen a yellow magic ray before. That's a rare one, but it probably doesn't mean anything."

"And was it supposed to mean something?"

"Sometimes... the ray colors have a type of symbolism. As you could see, my magical ray is colorless, even with the glasses you're wearing. That's because I have improved my spell casting skill, so it leaves no trace."
— The only way to see a visible magic path was with the special glasses Tadano was using.

"The bunny tail is only temporary. In about... twelve hours it will disappear."

"Twelve?!"

"Now, go to your home. — Meku was already kicking Dano out — Come back again tomorrow."

"You want me to go walking home? I don't even know what part of the city this is."

"Is there any place nearby your house that I would know?"

"Oh... I leave right next to an abandoned temple. Why?"

"Can you describe how it is? — Miss Mechakucha said while getting stones in various places, trying to find a teleporting stone — Just... think about the place. Mentalize it. The hardest you can."

Dano closed her eyes. Tightly. She imagined all she could remember about the temple as Meku placed a stone in her hands.

She opened her eyes, expecting to see Miss Mechakucha in front of her. But no, she was in the place she used to play when she was younger, next to her house, inside the temple.

It was already dusk. Dano was wondering if the stone could be used again the day after, so that she could teleport to the witch's house. She walked towards her home, happy to have managed to cast her first spell.

She entered her house. Her mom was lying down on a futon, in the same position she was when Dano left.

"Dano? — Her mom was weakly talking — Is that you?"

"Hi, mom. It's me. —  Dano tried to see if her mother had a fever. She didn't. — Are you feeling well?"

"You brought food?"

"Sorry, mom, but no, I couldn't." — She was ashamed. She didn't work that day. That day was just fun. A fun day that would bring her mom healing at some point, but that didn't make sense in a normal way. Witches didn't exist. At least her mom would think.

Her mother interrupted her thoughts — "You know, Dano... I see you're worried. Don't be. You probably wanted to bring food, but something was... more important, I don't know."

"Mom?"

Dano's mother began to cry — "You know? My dream was to see you having fun. My dream was to get out of this bed and sustain our home. My dream... is to see you guys having fun. Your brother... your sister... you. Now, your brother is somewhere out there. I can't even imagine him having died in a battle. She probably did, but... what do I do?"

Tadano Dano hugged her mother while making a promise. She would do anything to cure her mother, no matter what. She was already wanting to do it, but now it was different. She had perceived a humanity in her mother that she hadn't noticed before.

"I love you, Dano. I love you so much, you and your sister. You're my treasures."

Dano let a tear fall. 

"Sorry, I got too emotional — she giggled, and then coughed — Take the rice here. We'll share the rest of it. Your sister already ate some."

After eating, Dano kissed her mother, who was already sleeping. She got her futon and approached it to her sister's.

"Tomorrow is another day. Tomorrow I'll learn another spell. Someday, I'll cure you. I promise. — She was whispering while handling her wand above her head. Another tear fell. The wand fell onto her head. — Ouch!"