Blair Firespark's Arc

Chapter 4 of 8

Blair woke up when the sunlight came through the cottage windows. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. The girl with braids wasn't on the floor anymore. The water bottle with the kitty face was gone too. Blair sat up fast and checked behind the little wooden chair and under the table. Nobody was there. She ran to the door and pushed it. The hook latch hung open, swinging a little bit in the morning air. Blair's fire got all tiny and cold in her chest. She looked on the table and found a piece of paper with words written in black marker. The letters were big and wobbly like someone drew them fast. Blair couldn't read most of them but she knew the word "sorry" because Mommy made her write it lots of times. She traced the letters with her finger and her eyes got hot and wet. A folded map sat wedged against the doorframe. Blair opened it and saw drawings of the playground with a long winding path that led to tall buildings far away. Someone had drawn a star at the end. The girl had to move to a new city. She didn't leave because Blair was bad at being a leader. Blair pulled out her special book and turned to the rainbow page she had kissed. She picked up her purple marker and drew a big X right through the brave girl's picture. Then she stopped. Her hand shook. The girl wasn't mean, she was just gone. Blair put down the purple marker and picked up her blue one instead. She drew a question mark next to the X because she didn't know which page the girl belonged on anymore. Friends weren't supposed to leave in the middle of the night. But the girl left a note. She said sorry. That meant something. Blair took her purple marker again and drew a tiny heart in the corner of the X. Blair walked back to the pink cottage and stood in the doorway. The empty room looked different now, with dust floating in the yellow sunlight and no one sitting on the floor. She had made hero headquarters to keep helpers safe, but safe wasn't enough if they still had to leave. Blair held her walkie talkie and looked at the stone compass in the distance. Next time she found a special kid, she would ask them first if they were staying. She would ask them if they needed a safe place or if they needed something else. One helper left, but the detector still worked. Blair tucked the note and map into her book next to the question mark page. She locked the cottage door with the hook latch and headed toward the compass. Losing someone didn't mean she had to stop looking. It just meant she had to ask better questions.