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She had waited patiently.
It was the day before Sooz's seventeenth birthday, and she had waited patiently. For seven years, she had dreamed of the song that Molly had taught her, practicing it in her head but never daring to do so aloud. Seven years since she had last seen her friends, years older than her but still more dear to her than anything. She had been a good daughter to her parents in that time—after Wilfrid had grown up and left the town to pursue his fortune elsewhere, she had stayed with her mother and father, helped tend the flocks and churn the butter, and she practiced the song in her head all the while.
The night before her birthday came, she couldn't sleep. Instead, she sat up with her dog Malka, petting the old creature absently as she thought about what would happen the next day. A friend would come, that's what Molly had promised. She hoped dearly that it would work—it had to work, Molly had promised. She hadn't promised it would be Molly herself, though—only that someone would come. She hoped dearly that Molly and Schmendrick, the great magician, would be the ones to come to her. And so went her thoughts, around and around again in a circle, until the sun rose on her seventeenth birthday.
Not knowing what to expect, she hugged her parents more tightly than she usually did, thanked them for everything they had done for her (for she hoped she would be leaving with Schmendrick and Molly on their travels, and she couldn't just leave without telling her parents how grateful she was). Then, she set out to the Midwoods, Malka by her side.
The Midnight Woods were safe, now, with the Griffin seven years dead. Sooz walked slowly—Malka was old, after all, and besides, Sooz was a little afraid of what would happen, and despite her excitement, she was also very nervous. What if nothing happened? What if she whistled the tune for hours on end, and no one came? But that wasn't a thought that she could afford to think right now. She set her mind to making sure she didn't trip over any brambles in the path, and focused on that rather than her fears.
Soon, the girl and her dog came to the clearing where the good King Lir had fought the Griffin. Where she had seen the unicorn. Where real magic had happened. She walked to the middle of the clearing, and took a deep breath. Without allowing herself to think about it, she squeezed her eyes shut and whistled the tune that had haunted her dreams for seven years. She whistled it a second time, then a third for good measure. Then she waited, forcing herself to breathe calmly, eyes still tightly shut.
For a moment, she was sure nothing had happened. And then, from nearby, off to her right, she heard the beginnings of another melody, one that she had almost forgotten.
Soozli, Soozli,
speaking loozli,
you disturb my oozli-goozli.
Soozli, Soozli
would you choozli
to become my squoozli-squoozli...?
Sooz's eyes shot open, and she took off toward the sound of the voice, Malka in her wake. She didn't run far before she came across two horses coming toward her, their riders old and worn but smiling nonetheless. The woman rider had slipped off her horse by the time Sooz approached them, and wrapped the girl in a warm hug.
“I knew you'd come,” Sooz whispered fiercely into Molly's chest, before looking up and smiling at Schmendrick. “I knew you would.”