“Today, I am thirteen years old.”

  “Liar. You’re only twelve. And your birthday was two days ago.”

  “Today, I am fourteen years old.”

  “Stop making yourself older! I’m older than you!” Riel chases Lonnie around the new yard as he laughs. Ethel and Alaric watch from a few feet away, laughing along with him. “Don’t hurt yourselves,” Alaric calls.

  “We won’t!” They call in unison. Lonnie dissolves into giggles. Riel looks away, heart pounding.

  The new house is smaller than the villa in Nook, but it looks nice, and it has two stories. Riel peers up at the roof, wondering how easy it would be to get on top of it.

  Down the lane, Riel can see a large floating platform piled with their belongings. Two of the people who work for the air rail have agreed to help them move today. Their air magic supports the platform as it glides up the hill.

  “The movers are here!” Lonnie cheers. Riel starts moving in their direction, excited to unpack.

  “Lonnie, Riel!” Ethel calls, interrupting them. “Here, take this and go get yourself some snacks from that shop down the hill. I don’t want you getting in the way of our helpers.” She hands Lonnie a silver piece.

  “Why don’t I get to carry it?” Riel complains. Ethel smiles and laughs. She taps Riel on the nose, then drops another piece into Riel’s hands. “Go on, then,” she prods. “Don’t lose the change.”

  “Finlow!” Lonnie exclaims as they skip down the street together. “This place seems fun. And we’re gonna get to go to lessons with other kids!”

  “Yeah, but your dad’s gonna be the teacher,” Riel says.

  “True,” Lonnie giggles. He reaches over and takes Riel’s hand as they settle into a more relaxed pace. Riel looks away to hide how hot her face is burning. She still hasn’t been able to get that under control.

  Lonnie leans in and nuzzles his head against hers. “I’m getting taller than you,” he says contentedly.

  “Are not.”

  “Am too.”

  “No way.”

  “Wanna bet?”

  “Yes.”

  Lonnie laughs again. Riel looks around, examining the community. The homes are small and boxy, sometimes one story, sometimes two. Plenty of them are built into the steep hillside. There are many low stone walls and retaining walls, and many stone and wood staircases where the incline gets particularly steep. Some of the homes double as shops or community spaces, like the home where they sell snacks. Riel had seen and smelled evidence of tasty treats on the way through Finlow. She’s glad that they’re already getting the chance to go see what they offer.

  Riel feels good about this place. The people look friendly and the new home looks fun. Riel will get her own bedroom, and she can decorate it however she wants. She and Lonnie are together, Janos and Torin will be coming to see them, and there’s going to be plenty of space to garden.

  Coming up the hill in the opposite direction of Lonnie and Riel are a group of three, two men both holding the hands of the kid between them. They’re holding hands for good reason: the kid’s face has a laurel of flowers encircling their head, and it covers their eyes. Riel slows a bit.

  “Is that—” Riel begins.

  “Mino?” Lonnie finishes excitedly. He raises his voice to a shout. “Mino! Mino, is that you?”

  The kid’s face turns towards them and her hands let go of the two men to part the flowers in front of her face. She’s smiling. That is so definitely Mino.

  Riel and Lonnie run over to her and the three all crash into a big hug.

  “What the heck, you went to the Overground!” Lonnie exclaims. “Why are you here? It’s been months, Mino!”

  Mino steps back. The flowers spring over her eyes again as she signs, “The sun didn’t agree with me.” There’s a huge shit-eating grin on her face.

  Riel looks up at the two men with Mino. “Who’re you?” She asks.

  “These are Bee and Wilder, they’re my brothers!” Mino signs. She must have understood who Riel was asking about even without seeing.

  “Did you bring them back with you?” Lonnie asks, excited. But Mino shakes her head.

  “Adopted brothers. Or, they adopted me,” she says. “I can explain more later.”

  The taller man that Mino gestured to as she signed Wilder asks, “And who are these two, Mino?”

  “This is Lonnie,” Riel says. “I’m Riel. We met Mino when she was trying to find the Overground, so we took her to the door.” Riel immediately regrets speaking. Did she explain it well enough? Do they think she’s weird?

  “Your hair is so short now, Mino,” Lonnie enthuses. Mino nods emphatically, flowers bouncing. Her hair is above her shoulders now. She was a little taller than Lonnie and Riel when they met, but Riel suspects she’s grown even since then.

  “What are you two doing in Finlow?” Mino asks.

  “We’re moving here,” both Riel and Lonnie say at the same time. They look at each other, then laugh. Mino flaps her arms around—not saying anything as far as Riel can tell, just expressing general excitement.

  Mino turns in the direction of Bee and Wilder, but she looks up a little too high. “Can we have a sleepover tonight?” Wilder turns and looks at Bee, also with pleading eyes.

  Bee chuckles. “We’ll have to check with their guardians, sweetheart.”

  “Do you want to go talk with Mum and Da right now?” Lonnie asks. Mino nods furiously, pushing her flowers away from her eyes. Lonnie points back to their new house. “They’re just up the hill, so—”

  Mino starts running immediately, hands still holding her flowers. Riel follows her, too excited to wait. Mino picks out Ethel and Alaric immediately and runs directly up to them, already signing away. Mino can’t see their confused, amused expressions, but Riel can.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  “Mum, Da!” Lonnie calls, jogging to catch up. “That’s Mino, my friend. And Riel’s friend, too. She lives in Finlow and we didn’t know! Can we have dinner and a sleepover together tonight!”

  Ethel smiles down at them, then in the direction of Mino’s brothers. “You two do remember that Janos and Torin are coming over tonight to help us get settled in, don’t you?” Riel’s heart falls.

  Lonnie shoots a quick glance to Riel and Mino before turning back with a counterpoint. “They can come too!”

  Mino nods, bouncing up and down. “We know Janos and Torin too!” She says. Mino knows the cousins? Maybe they will still be able to hang out tonight!

  Alaric laughs. “These kids are on a mission, Ethel, you might as well say yes.” Lonnie and Mino cheer. Riel smiles. She honestly missed Mino, often wishing she could hear what kind of advice the kind girl would give her. She’s excited to find out about what Mino’s been up to.

  Ethel turns her attention to Bee and Wilder. “Hello, my name is Ethel, and this is my husband Alaric. I hope this is okay with the both of you.”

  “Do not worry, dear Ethel!” Wilder proclaims. “This is more than okay with both of us!” Bee chuckles.

  “Yeah, the kiddos asked us first, so there’s no need to worry.”

  “Good,” Alaric says. “I hope Janos and Torin do not mind a change in plan… and I must ask, is it possible for everyone to meet at your home? As we are just moving in, it will likely be a bit of a mess.”

  “That’s fine. But be warned, if we’re having this party at our place, there’s gonna be a lot more people involved.”

  Mino claps her hands together and spells out some names, switching hands to make the different ones clear. “Iris, Fio, Basia, and Serra coming too?”

  “Hang on,” Lonnie says. “I know some of those names! Fio, Basia, and Serra?” He clarifies. Mino nods, pushing some flowers away from her eyes curiously. How does Mino know them?

  “We met them right before we met you!” Lonnie explains. “Fio and Basia are dating, and Serra is Basia’s younger sister?” Mino nods so fast Riel is afraid her head will come off. Wilder steps forward.

  “I am glad that you know my friends, new friends!” He says. “Now there is only one person left for you to meet.”

  “Who’s that?” Riel asks.

  “My girlfriend, Iris!”

  Mino turns around, moving more slowly for once. She signs something to Bee that Riel can’t see. He pauses, hesitating.

  “Yes, we can invite Lev,” he says. “Not Chat, this time.”

  “Who are Lev and Chat?” Lonnie asks.

  “Lev is my good friend,” Mino says. “He’s a little older than us.”

  “Chat is technically our father,” Wilder explains. “But he lives in Brindle.”

  Riel winces. She’s studied maps of the Underground enough times to know that he definitely won’t be able to come to a party held tonight.

  “Goodness, so many people,” Ethel says. “This will certainly be a warm welcome to our new community.”

  In the end, Ethel, Alaric, and Bee get all the details worked out, planning food and contacting the people who are farther away. Riel and Lonnie walk with Mino and her brothers back to their home. It’s quite a ways up the hill, almost at the very top. Mino’s house is really nice: two stories, with a little bit of yard in front and a small garden. On the right there is a wood-and-wire fence and some trees and brush separating their home from the next. On the left, there’s a steeper incline separating them from the next home.

  Mino brings them through the front door directly into the kitchen. There aren’t a ton of decorations inside, except for some obviously made by Mino.

  Mino says, “Want to see my room?”

  “Yeah!” Lonnie says. Riel nods, then remembers that Mino can’t see her. But Mino is already pulling them through the kitchen and into the family room. There are two doors on the left, one of which is decorated with a huge amount of paper flowers and Mino’s name.

  Mino’s room is shaped like an L and it has a big window looking out into the backyard, which has a small increase in elevation a few feet from the home. Right below Mino’s windows, a cute little vegetable garden sits. Farther out in the elevated area there is a big green space enclosed by a tall wooden fence. Riel sees a few trees, some hanging lights and streamers, and an old, wooden, picnic table.

  Riel looks back to see Mino signing again. “I didn’t know you were friends with Janos and Torin!”

  “My mom knew their moms,” Lonnie says. “I’ve been hanging out with them since I was a baby. They like Riel a lot, too.” They don’t like her that much, but Riel likes hanging out with them.

  “You know them too?” Riel asks. Mino nods.

  “They helped me and my brothers find someone who could tell me about my flowers. That guy was Bee and Wilder’s dad. Things with him are complicated, but he’s kind of like my dad now, too.”

  “I’m glad you found your family,” Lonnie says happily.

  “What was up with the flowers anyways?” Riel asks.

  Mino smiles widely, and instead of answering, she takes her socks off and walks around. Behind her footsteps, small flowers sprout up from the ground.

  “I can grow them!” Mino signs, a big happy smile on her face. “It’s my magic!”

  “Lucky,” Riel says as a hot pang of jealousy flares through her. “I still don’t have magic yet.”

  “It might take a while,” Mino says. “I’ve been down here a lot longer than I thought, more than five years now.”

  “Oh wow,” Riel says.

  “Are the flowers going to keep growing?” Lonnie asks.

  Mino shakes her head. “They stopped growing once the ring was pretty thick,” she says. “They haven’t grown anywhere else on my body. But Lonnie, I learned that most kids who grow up down here get magic by ten. Do you have magic?”

  Riel tenses. Lonnie really hates talking about this. He looks down at his feet, then looks back up and forces a smile as Mino pushes the flowers away from her eyes. “No, not yet,” he says brightly.

  Mino, thankfully, doesn’t push. She just nods and pats Lonnie’s shoulder, then says: “Who do you think will get here first, Torin and Janos or Serra and the others?”

  Wilder pokes his head in the door. “Hello, small friends! Your mother has informed me that you must return to your home by the hour, and that only leaves you a few minutes!”

  “Aww,” Lonnie says. “I guess we have to go, Mino. But we’ll be back later tonight with good food! My dad makes the best desserts ever.”

  Wilder laughs. “Oh ho ho, we’ll see about that! No one can beat the great baking duo that is Iris and Wilder!” He disappears from the doorway.

  “Your brothers are kinda cool,” Riel says quietly. Mino smiles happily and nods.

  When the three emerge from Mino’s room, Wilder is already busy at work in the kitchen. A tall woman is with him now, watching him appreciatively. This must be Iris, then.

  She spots them and stands a little straighter. “Oh, hello, little cuties!” She exclaims. “Are you two Mino’s friends?”

  “I’m Lonnie,” Lonnie answers. They’ve been doing a lot of introducing today—which is probably typical when moving to a new place. “This is Riel. We just moved here, but we met Mino before.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” Iris says, smiling. “I’m Iris.”

  Lonnie nods. “We heard about you from Wilder,” he tells her. Her smile grows devious.

  “Did you?” She nudges Wilder with her hip, teasing him with her eyes.

  “Are you going to be here tonight, Iris?” Lonnie asks.

  “Of course, are you two?” She responds.

  “Yeah! We’re going to sleep over. And we’re bringing friends!”

  Iris laughs. “Well, goodness. It’s going to be quite crowded here. We usually have little parties once a month or so where everyone spends the night. It seems as though now we might be adding new members.”

  Riel turns to Mino, surprised. “You didn’t tell us you were inviting us to a party you have with your friends,” she says. Mino shrugs, unusually bashful. “You’re my friends, too,” she says. “I want you and my other friends to be friends so I can hang out with all of you. I like having friends over, because it makes me feel more like we’re a great big family.”

  Mino’s words hum in Riel’s heart. That sounds like something she would like, too.