Almost two years had passed since the accident. Poppy was folding her clothes and neatly placing them in her suitcase.

She could hear her uncle making a racket in his room; Oh my God, I don't even want to think what his room will look like when he is done. And she laughed.

"A better niece would help him, but sorry uncle, not me. I love you, but you will never be a responsible adult if you can't even pack a suitcase by yourself," she whispered to herself.

To commemorate Poppy’s parents’ death anniversary, Joe had made sure that they would be on holiday every year during that time; a celebration of their life.

She picked up a frame and put it in her suitcase; she always travelled with it. It was a picture of her parents' wedding, her favourite.

The photo showed her parents on their wedding day wearing beautiful, embroidered Boubous. An African robe worn by men and women all over West Africa. Both her parents looked stunning in their wedding outfits.

Poppy was immensely proud of her Fulani heritage. Her dad told her stories about his tribe and he had planned to take them to Beka, his home, one day for a holiday.

She suddenly let out a chuckle. She has just spotted her uncle Joe in the photo. He looked so young! He was a teenager at the time, but was already towering above half of the wedding party in the picture.

His blonde hair was all over the place, but he too looked very handsome in the traditional outfit.

She sighed and whispered to herself, "I wish I had been there. I miss you so much, Mum and Dad!"

Her bottom lip quivered; she quickly stuffed the picture in the suitcase and sat on her bed.

Since the death of her parents, Poppy had become an introvert, a bit of a recluse. She would spend even more time hiding in her bedroom instead of spending time with her peers.

She had stayed close to only one friend, Chloe. She had never noticed how many conversations with her friends included the mention of parents. Every gathering felt like knives cutting into her heart at the mere mention of that subject.

Slowly but surely, she avoided them until eventually; she cut herself from them completely. She never spoke to her uncle or Millie about that. Chloe was the only one who knew.

Lately, she had found a new passion, books. Reading a book and getting swept into another world was her escape.

She got up, walked to her bookshelf, and picked up a few books. Among them was an Egyptian fairy tale.

The prince and the three fates. This one will be perfect to read on the plane, she thought, smiling before throwing it in her bag. As usual, her uncle had chosen an exotic destination. The departure from Egypt was finally here.

Then she looked at her tulip placed on her bedside table. The leaves were dying. She instinctively touched them to revive them, but nothing happened.

She experienced a moment of sadness. Her powers had disappeared just after the funeral. Joe and Millie told her it could have been the grief of losing her parents that caused it and they will return, eventually.

She frowned. When will they return? What if it is permanent? Who am I without my powers?

She shook her head, pushing all her negative thoughts away. She didn’t want that to spoil the excitement of the trip.

She heard his bedroom door slam and smiled; wow, done already?

By the time she opened her bedroom door, she could hear him downstairs. Time for a break, she thought, following him down.

She found him in the kitchen, standing next to a very familiar face. A pair of grey eyes were staring back at her.

She screamed in joy and ran into her arms yelping, "oh, Millie! I am so happy to see you! I was afraid that I could not say goodbye before we left for Egypt."

Her cousin smiled at her. "I had to see you. I could never let you travel without getting my goodbye hug, so I close up the shop early and here I am!"

Millie threw her arms around her cousin and embraced her tightly.

A year ago, Millicent Navaz finally opened her dream shop; a remedy and herbal store. She has been working really hard to make it a success.

Unlike Poppy and Joe, who lived on the outskirts of Hurst Green, she lived in the town. She drove, so the commute was just a mere 20 minutes, and she could visit as often as she liked.

Millie was thirty-three years old, soft-spoken, fun, and a certified herb nerd.

Poppy took Millie by the hand, pulling her toward the stairs and said, "Come on, Cuz! I need you to braid my hair before we leave. Can you do criss-cross this time?"

"Wait, a minute! I've frozen some of your favourite muffins and brought them with me. They are in the oven," replied Millie with a smile.

"You have the timer on! We'll hear the bip. Come on, please!" Insisted Poppy while pulling her out of the kitchen.

"Yes, sure! Anything you want!" she said with a giggle.

Millie tilted her head and shouted in Joe's direction from the stairs, "Joe, can you please take out my muffins from the oven when the timer goes off? Can I also have a tea with no sugar? Use my little bag of herbs. It is on the kitchen table. I am doing a cleanse. Thank you, Joe!"

And Joe repeated, "Muffins in the oven and tea with no sugar. Noted! Coming right up!"

He opened the oven, and a delicious smell came pouring out. Not only could Millie do hair like a professional, but she was also an excellent baker, and her tropical spiced muffins were to die for.

He had asked her for the recipe, and despite repeated attempts, he just never reproduced the same results as her.

He had long suspected that she had deliberately left her secret ingredient out to ensure no one could successfully imitate her creation.

While carrying a platter to the girls, he smiles; Millie was always in a cleanse, just like his sister, Maggie. His heart beat fast. His chest tightened as tears filled in his eyes. Soon enough, a tear dripped down his cheek.

"If you only knew how much I miss you, Maggie," he murmured to himself

He wiped his tear with his sleeve, took a big breath and turned the doorknob to Poppy's bedroom. Poppy was sitting on a chair, and Millie was standing behind her, braiding her hair.

A delectable smell filled the room. Poppy immediately closed her eyes, took a whiff of the aroma and said with delight, "Hmmm! I love the smell of freshly baked muffins. They are so yummy!"

"The Egyptian tour has added Aswan to our itinerary for free; can you believe that? We are going to have a wonderful holiday!" Joe said joyfully while putting down the tray and taking a seat in another chair.

Millie made a sad face and said, "I wish I was going with you guys, but summer is the best time to keep the store open. You'll have a fabulous time!"

Poppy winced. She loved to have her hair braided, but she hated the hair-pulling part. She adjusted her position to signal to her cousin that she was uncomfortable.

She looked at her uncle and added, "I guess it will just be the two of us again this year. Maybe we should cancel and stay here with her!"

Joe giggled. "The short answer is no."

He then turned to Millie. "We will try to miss you a little."

Millie grimaced, "That's okay; I'll punish you both by raiding your fridge and eating all your food."

Poppy grinned, "In that case, Egypt, here we come!"

Millie placed her arms around her and whispered in her ear, "Bon voyage, darling! Don't forget to bring me a souvenir."

She then planted a kiss on Poppy’s right cheek.