The Last Fallen Star by Graci Kim (the mitten read aloud .TXT) 📗

in the hidden pocket of her hanbok. I nod back, and she gives me a quick smile.

“Welcome, fellow witches, to a very special occasion,” Auntie Okja says, starting the ceremony. “For today, we initiate our newest healer into the Gom clan.” She continues with the preamble before inviting Mrs. Kim, the Gumiho elder, to take over.

“Now let’s get this initiation started.” Mrs. Kim steps forward and rubs her wrists together. As her gifted mark glows silver, she chants a spell under her breath. Before our very eyes, a young man materializes in front of the altar, clutching his stomach in pain. He looks so real, it’s hard to believe he’s just a Gumiho illusion.

“Please help me,” he gurgles to Hattie. “There’s something wrong with me.”

Hattie immediately springs into action and goes to the man’s side. She assesses him thoroughly while calming him with reassuring words. Then she announces, “This patient is suffering from internal bleeding. I will now perform a blood-clotting spell.”

Eomma lets out a relieved sigh beside me as Hattie rubs her wrists and casts the spell with familiar ease. All those practice sessions between them have paid off—Hattie looks calm and composed; her lisp is hardly noticeable as she pronounces the difficult Korean consonants.

One down, two to go!

Mrs. Kim reveals the second test, and it’s obvious to everyone what this patient’s ailment is. She is missing big chunks of flesh from her legs, and the other clans, who aren’t used to seeing so much blood, cover their eyes.

I, on the other hand, do a small fist pump. This one’s easy. Hattie needs to do a muscle-grafting spell, followed by a flesh-replenishing spell. And I know she can perform both. “She’s got this!” I whisper to my parents, and they nod back in agreement.

Hattie rubs her wrists again, and when her gifted mark glows gold, she holds her palms over the patient’s legs. As Hattie’s chanting grows in volume, the patient’s wasted limbs begin to transform, the hollowed cavities of sinew and bone filling with muscle and flesh.

“Another pass!” Auntie Okja announces. “Only one more spell to go.”

Hattie grins, and I clutch my hands. She’s almost there!

Mrs. Kim reveals her final test, and a frail old man appears where the woman was lying a moment before. He’s in the fetal position and unusually still. I lean forward, trying to figure out what he’s suffering from.

Hattie crouches down and assesses him from head to toe. She pauses at his face and then again at his neck and at his wrist. She frowns, and I look to Eomma and Appa. “What is it? What’s wrong with him?”

Appa’s forehead creases. “I think it’s a trick question.”

Eomma nods, swallowing hard. “I think so, too.”

I look back at the man and rack my brain for possible ailments. He’s not bleeding, and none of his bones look obviously broken. He doesn’t seem to be in pain, and he’s so still it looks like he’s not breathing.

Then it dawns on me.

“Oh my Mago.” I breathe out.

I look to Hattie just as she rechecks the man’s pulse a third time. She takes a moment to gather her thoughts. Then she stands confidently and announces to the council, “This man is not alive. And while there are certain spells that can bring mortals back to life, it is against the council’s code of conduct to do so, as it would break the sacred covenant the clans have with the Spiritrealm. For this reason, I will refrain from casting any spells to revive this patient.”

“Wise answer, initiate,” Auntie Okja declares, her voice booming with pride. “And you are correct. You have officially passed all three tests, and your Gi is now yours to keep and use at your will. Please come to the cauldron to receive your blessing from the Cave Bear Goddess.”

As cheers and applause fill the sanctuary, Hattie walks over to the cauldron and holds her wrist over its mouth. The cauldron trembles into action, and with it, the food and drink offerings on the altar start levitating out of their bowls. It looks like we’re in outer space and experiencing zero gravity.

A deep guttural wail escapes from the cauldron as Hattie’s Gi and gifted mark glow Gom gold. The glow spreads from her wrist up her arm, through her torso, and down her legs until she is completely bathed in warm light. Then, with a loud, thunderous boom, a bolt of blinding white light hits Hattie.

When the light subsides and we can see again, all the food and drink have disappeared to the Godrealm, and Hattie is grinning widely.

The crowd breaks into another round of applause, and Eomma bursts into tears. Appa claps furiously, and I jump out of my seat to cheer at the top of my lungs. “She did it! You did it, Hattie!”

Hattie completes her vows, and as she nears the final words, the blood starts pumping through my body in double time. Are we going to do this? We’re actually going to do this. We shouldn’t do this. No, we definitely should not be doing this. At one point, I even contemplate leaving Hattie there and running away while I still can. This is officially the worst plan ever.

But then Hattie looks over at me and makes a subtle drinking motion, and my nerves ignite like flint. I can’t run away now. My sister is doing this for me. We’re doing this together, and it’s going to work, darn it! The line Sometimes you gotta burn your fingers to enjoy the s’more rings in my ears.

Hattie and I exchange one final look. One determined nod. And then I take a deep breath and count to three.

“Now, Riley!” Hattie calls out.

I rip the potion out of my pocket and throw back half the liquid before I can change my mind. It burns slightly as it makes its way down my throat. But there’s no turning back now. I have to commit.

Eomma and Appa stare in shock, frozen in their seats, as we start