A Witch Story

I.

Worried Glances

“Will you all hurry up? We were supposed to open up the shop five minutes ago!” Sherry yelled up the stairs. She checked her watch. They were all definitely behind schedule. She tossed her hair as Maria bounded the stairs, her black curls bouncing on her shoulders. “Could you be any slower?” Sherry demanded. “Yeah, wanna see?” Maria rolled her eyes. “Sherry, relax. Okay?” “No, Maria. I will not relax,” she retorted. “Come on ladies, chop-chop!” Lena and Isabel descended down the stairs next, still adjusting their hair. They grabbed their coats and slid into those. “What took you guys so long?” Sherry asked angrily. “We were fixing our hair,” Lena replied. “Well hurry up next time!” “Geez, Sherry, don’t have a cow,” Isabel said. Sherry looked around. “Where’s Blaire? Blaire! Come down now!” She started for the stairs. “Blaire’s going to come down later, Sher,” Lena said quietly. “Well, why on earth--“ Sherry froze. She turned her head slowly and mouthed, ”Still?” Isabel nodded. “She told me that she felt it again, so she didn’t want to risk anything by being in public.” “This has been going on for weeks now,” Maria intoned, gazing in the mirror. “She was doing so well.” “She was. But until this passes, Blaire wants to remain as careful as possible.” Sherry nodded. She may have been the biggest nag in the house, but she understood that Blaire meant what she said to Isabel. “Well, then. I guess we should all get down there then.” One by one, the girls quietly departed the house where they lived as a coven, leaving their last member huddled in the bathtub. ********************************************************************************** ********** Blaire clutched her knees tighter to her chest, her nightgown clinging to her dampened body. She had been in the bathtub for over an hour, and hadn’t moved an inch since. After the cold sweat she woke up to around seven this morning, she didn’t want to take any chances with being around humans. Lena had walked in on her while she was in the tub, so she summoned Isabel. Isabel came right in, Lena at her heels, and Blaire told them, ”I had a feeling again. This one was strong, so I jumped in here.” They immediately understood.

So, after explaining to their narcissistic Maria and the uptight Sherry, all four of them left for the book shop, leaving her to soak in her fear. After a few more minutes of remaining still, and listening to her shallow breathing, Blaire exited the tub cautiously. She grabbed a nearby towel and wrapped it around herself, sinking to the floor. Despite her panic attack, she remembered what her doctor had told her: “Relax, take things slowly, don’t rush anything, or you might lose control.” She took deep breaths and, using the rim of the tub for support, rose up. The feeling was passing now. Blaire smiled a little, relieved that her irrational fear was subsiding. She was proud of herself for knowing what steps to take; how to deal with controlling her power. The feelings were coming less and less, while she grew stronger everyday. So, with that speed bump out of the way, she left for her room and began dressing for work. ********************************************************************************** ********** Isabel was putting money in the register while Sherry was taking inventory, something she did everyday. Lena was stacking new copies on shelves for the fiction section, and Maria was arranging the window display, but instead was gazing at her reflection in the glass. Sherry pulled another hissy fit when they opened up late, again, but the others ignored her. As leader of their coven, she was often stressed with daily tasks such as managing the store, training the younger students they had occasionally, and most importantly, keeping their magic hidden from humans. Their true identity had never been revealed to humans, since Sherry was gifted not only with telepathic abilities, but with covering witches up with cloaking spells. They had never been threatened with the presence of another coven, or some evil warlock who ruled himself. The only other witches they were friends with was the Tree Root Coven that resided in Newport, Rhode Island. Sherry’s group was called the Juniper Coven after the evergreen tree Lena had grown when she first discovered her true power. That and the word juniper sounded very appealing to the five. It had been Sherry’s idea to form the Juniper Coven. All five of them had a strange ability they couldn’t quite explain, so they stuck together like glue. When Graduation Day came, all of them were packed and headed off to Salem, Massachusetts, which was, after all, Witch Capital, USA. Their parents agreed that this was the right thing to do, so they sent them off with enough money to start the shop and pay off the first month’s rent. Forming the coven was Sherry’s idea, so she was voted their faithful leader, and took over all the big tasks, the others helping her whenever they could. Since the move from New Milford, CT to Salem, MA, the girls had had no problems. Until recently, when Blaire almost set the house on fire. Now each of them had a special power that they learned to control over the years; some easier than others. Sherry was gifted with telepathic abilities, like moving things with her mind and listening to people’s thoughts. Maria could talk to animals, and summon them when she required their attention. Lena could grow plants, and control their size, or the speed rate at which they grew. Isabel was psychic, so she got visions of the future; mainly about people she didn’t know personally. But as for Blaire, she wasn’t as lucky as the others. Blaire developed a unique ability referred to as Pyrokinesis, which means that she can start fires with her mind. Isabel remembered when Blaire first confessed

to her what she had; she had never seen anyone with so much fear in their eyes before. Blaire would suddenly ignite for no apparent reason, and she managed to destroy a few things: a wooden chair, a spoon in her hand, the occasional toothbrush. It scared her stiff, but before she could do any real damage, Blaire started meditating and relaxing more so stress wouldn’t cause her to catch fire. Also, she found staying in water suppressed the feeling in her gut. Soon afterward, she was in complete control and joined the Juniper Coven, where she was able to finally be a real girl. For three years, she was in control and loved working at the girls’ book shop. Then, about two weeks ago, as Lena and Blaire were setting the dinner table, Blaire felt this tingle in her gut. She thought it was nothing, but it grew until she recognized what it was. Without any warning to Lena, the fire inside of her caught on to her cells and ignited them until the fire broke through the surface of her skin. Lena screamed and cried out for Sherry to hurry. By the time she arrived, Blaire’s fire had multiplied onto the tablecloth and it turned into a blazing board of orange. Isabel and Maria filled two huge buckets of bathwater and dumped them onto Blaire and the table. They managed to extinguish the flames before they spread to the framework of the house. Sherry asked questions as to what happened, why Blaire had lost control like that. Blaire could only stay quiet and still. She hadn’t felt that tingle inside of her for years. A few days later, it happened again, this time with Maria’s best shower curtains and matching bath mat. The next week, Blaire’s whole bed caught fire from a nightmare she had. It left scorch marks on her walls and ruined her favorite pajamas. Sherry analyzed her symptoms and took her to a doctor who secretly specialized in witches. He couldn’t figure out why this was happening either. He told Blaire that she should just try to relax and breathe in and out. He also mentioned that there was no way in knowing how long this would continue for. So for the rest of the week, whenever Blaire felt the tingle, she jumped into the bathtub and filled it with cold water to stop the flames from escaping. It had everyone on edge, constantly worrying that Blaire would erupt and set the whole block aflame. That’s why as they were walking to the shop, all of them kept casting worried glances over their shoulders, as if the fire were following them at that very second.