The Witch Hunt (a Halloween Story)
The Witch Hunt
I was sitting in my brother's room and watching the old woman across the street. She was sitting on her front porch in a brown wooden rocking chair. On her lap a black cat was cuddled. It was three days before Halloween. My name is Miranda, but everybody calls me Mandy.
"You know, she's a witch" my brother said and kneeled next to me, looking over to the old house and the old woman.
"Mom said we should not talk like that. She said that she is just a little old lady, no more, no less" I told him, thinking that I sounded very grown up, like I was years beyond my true age.
"Yeah, right. If I've ever seen a witch, it's her, trust me!" He insisted.
"Have you ever seen one, before, I mean?" I wanted to know. Tobias was four years older than me, so he could have seen a lot of things that I had not seen yet.
"Yeah, a long time ago. It was around Halloween too. She was evil and very dangerous. She ate up all the little kids she could find." he told me and grinned.
"You are lying!" I scolded him and turned my back to him.
"No, I'm not. But don't worry, I'll make sure she never gets her hands on you. That's what big brothers are for," he quickly said. I turned back to face him and looked at him for a long time. I knew that he loved me and that he would make sure nothing would happen to me. He was my big brother, my hero.
"If she's a witch, then why don't the police come and put her away?" I wondered.
"If it was that easy, then there would be no witches. You can not just put a witch in jail, she would use her evil magic powers and leave. And then, she would be out for revenge!" he explained patiently. I just nodded my head and clutched my Teddy a little tighter.
"You think that she will come and get us?" I finally asked.
"No, witches can not just go around and catch kids as they please. The kids have to come to them on their own free will. Don't worry, Mandy, you are safe here. Now, let's go and wash our hands, dinner should be ready any moment now." He assured me and started to tickle me. Screaming and squeaking I ran to the bathroom to wash up for dinner. Already the old lady with her cat was forgotten. I was eleven years old and our house had been the only place I had ever known as a home. I loved it, I was very happy to live here. We had a big garden with apple trees, cherry trees and strawberry patches. My mom also had patches with tomatoes and oniens and potatoes, but we were not allowed to go there. The garden was framed by flowers, blooming in the prettiest colors, all summer long. In the middle of the garden we had a swing on a field of grass. Close by my parents had their table and chairs. My brother and I spent a lot of time in the garden, swinging, his swing being way high, too high for me to get on, mine being low enough for me to easily get on and off. Tobias could swing very high and often I begged him to push me in the swing so I would get to fly as high as he had. Those were the best years of my life! I was sure that life would go on like that for ever.
After dinner I had to try on my Halloween costume, the first time that I got to see it. I was so excited! My mom had designed it herself and sewn it with her own hands, at night, when I was in bed.
I had to keep my eyes closed, while my mother put the costume on me. When I was finally dressed and allowed to open my eyes, she had put the big mirror in the middle of the room, so I could see myself. I was stunned. I was wearing a long gown, shiny green and orange with gold sprinkes and stars everywhere!
"You are the Queen of Halloween! And you look so beautiful, my darling!" my Mom called out, obviously satisfied with her task. I turned in front of the mirror and smiled, I too, found that I was beautiful enough to be the Queen of Halloween.
"And here, my love, comes the King of Halloween, King Tobias!" my mom said as the door opened. My brother came in, wearing a King's gown in the same color as my dress, on his head a crown, inlaid with colorful stones. In his hand he held a green pillow. On top of the pillow was a crown, just like his, only smaller.
"My Queen, may I present your crown," he said and bowed. Then he put the cushin down and took the crown in his hands, to place it on top of my head, while I could barely hold still and giggled silly. Finally the crown was fixed on my head and I was sure that I was nothing less than a Queen.
When I was in my room, tucked in and supposed to be sleep, I was so excited, I could not find sleep. I was thinking about how beautiful I would be looking on Halloween and wondering if that would help to get the most candy ever. A noise disturbed my thoughts and I got out of bed and walked to my window. An almost full moon was filling the night with its soft light. I could see our driveway and the fence. Three crows were sitting on the fence, staring at me and calling to me. Their eyes seemed to be glowing in the night. Quickly I shut the curtains and jumped back into my bed, pulling the covers up to my nose and touched my Teddy very tight.
The sun was shining into my room when I woke up. The curtains were wide open, as was my window. The cool air of the October morning washed over my face. I quickly got up and shut the window. Before I shut the curtains I looked to our fence. No crows. That was good.
From downstairs I heard voices, stranger's voices and my mom's. Barefoot I went to my door and slowly opened it. The voices were louder now. I could tell, whoever was downstairs was not happy!
Carefully, avoiding the squeaking floor boards, I eased to the stairs and peeked down. I could see through the doorframe of the kitchen. People were sittting at the table. Very slowly and quiet I went down the stairs, afraid that someone would see me and that I would be the cause of the excitment in our kitchen. When I reached the end of the stairs, I recognized our Sheriff, Mr. Richmond and the lady from next door, Miss Rose.
"I just can't believe that something like that would happen here, in our neighborhood!" she cried and wiped her eyes. My mom came to her with a pot of tea and filled up her cup.
"The poor little darling! Unbelievable that no one would have heard anything. Don't they have a one-story house? You should think that you can hear it if a stranger breaks in!" my mom said and then pulled a handkerchief out of her apron pocket and wiped her eyes.
"More tea?" she asked Mr. Richmond, who shook his head.
"No, thanks Nora. I better be going now. I just wanted to make sure, everything is alright here and all your kid are here. My men are searching everywhere for the girl, we should come up with something soon. Just keep the kids inside. I'll be back later." He answered and left. My Mom and Miss Rose sat together at the table, sobbing and drinking tea. I figured that what ever had happened did not have anything to do with me and I entered the kitchen.
"Oh, sweetheart, you are up! Come here, sit down. I'll get you some warm milk" my mom said and pulled out a chair for me. Her eyes were red and puffy. Miss Rose looked at me over her tea cup and grimaced, which I think was supposed to be a greeting smile, but she was so in tears that it looked more as if she had a terrible stomach ache.
"What happened?" I boldly asked and took the cup with warm milk from my Mom.
"Oh, it is so terrible! Little Trudy Miller disappeared last night. No one knows where she is, or what happened." Miss Rose said and started sobbing again.
"Where is she?" I asked. After all, Trudy was as old as I was and I knew that, wherever I went, my parents always knew my whereabouts.
"We don't know. We think that a very, very bad man must have been coming and took her away. Her bedroom window was wide open and she was gone when her Mom came in her room this morning." My Mom explained and held my hand.
The first thing that came to my mind was the witch across the street. The next thing were the three crows with the glowing eyes that I had seen sitting on our fence. I knew my mother well enough, not to mention any of this to her. She did not believe in witches and crows with glowing eyes. But, I had to tell someone. I quickly drank my milk and went upstairs, to my brother's room. He was still sleeping. I sat on the edge of his bed and watched him for a moment. He was sleeping calmly, which ment that I had not been in danger. He had promised to protect me and if I would have been in danger, he surely would have known. I relaxed and then gently woke him up.
"Toby, Trudy Miller went away last night! No one knows where she is!" I told him as soon as he opened his eyes.
"Who went where?" he asked and sat up in his bed.
"Trudy Miller. She is in school with me. You remember her, sometimes she comes over to play. She left last night. Her window was wide open this morning and she was gone!" I told him the details, as good as I knew them.
"Why would she do that?" he asked me. I shrugged my shoulders and then finally remembered more details.
"The Sheriff is looking for her, also Mom said that a bad man, a very bad man, came and took her. But I know what happened!" I looked over my shoulder to make sure the door was closed and then continued in a whisper, " the witch got her! I have seen three crows sitting on our fence last night and their eyes glowed in the dark. I shut the curtains and when I woke up, the curtains and the window were open! But, they could not get to me, they knew that you were here to protect me. That's what happened, they went and got Trudy instead!" When I had finished he looked at me a long time. Then he jumped out of the bed and went to the winow. He was staring across the street to the house with the witch. She was not in her rocking chair.
"Tell me that again, the thing with the crows and the glowing eyes and the window" he said when he turned away from the window. I repeated my adventures from last night and this morning. He listened and nodded his head. Then he sat next to me on the bed and took both of my hands in his.
"You know, I'm not sure that there are really witches out there. I just thought we had more fun, if we imagine that the old lady is a witch. In real, she is just an old lady with a cat. There is no reason to be afraid of her. And the crows, that were just three birds. The glowing eyes were probably reflections from a street lamp. It does not mean anything at all. Alright?" he said and I looked at him, not so sure, what to make of it.
"But, you said yourself, if you ever saw a witch..." I finally said.
"I know and I'm sorry I said that. I just thought it was a fun game for us, to imagine that she is a witch. It was not real, just make believe," he explained.
"What about the witch that came and ate the children, you know, the one you saw?" I whispered.
"It was not true, I made it up, so the game of pretending would be more fun. Forget about the witch stuff, alright? What I don't want you to forget, is that there might be a very bad man out there! Don't talk to any strangers! And don't leave without me or mom or dad going with you. You must promise!" he said and squeezed my hands so tight that it almost hurt me.
"I promise." I said. He hugged me tight.
"Now, let me go and get dressed. It's the weekend, we should go into the yard and play something," he ordered and earned a big smile. I rushed off to my room and fumbled in my closet for clothes to wear. Poor Trudy and witches were far from my mind. Just fun and games, all weekend long!
My clothes in my hands I went around the bed and started screaming. And I screamed on until my mom, my brother and Miss Rose arrived in my room and my mom held me tight in her arm.
"Honey, what is it, what's wrong?" she asked, her face all pale and torn with worry. I pointed at the floor, too upset to speak, my finger shaking. Then they saw what had scared me so bad: My Teddy lay on the floor, his brown button eyes gone, in one socket, where the eyes were supposed to be, the yellow, fluffy stuffing of my Teddy came out through a hole. One of his legs lay severed on the floor, stuffing had fluffed all around it.
"What happened to Teddy?" my Mom asked and slowly stooped down to pick it up, holding Teddy in her right hand, his leg in her left and looking around on the floor for the eyes. Outside my window a crow was crowing, it sounded like the vicious laughter of and evil demon.
"The crows, they must have done it," I said in a whisper and got closer to my brother, who put his arms around me and held me tight. My Mom started to say something, but then just came over and ran her soft hand through my hair and kissed me on the forehead.
"Don't worry, sweetheart, I'll fix that poor little Teddy. He'll be just like new!" she said, "now, go on, get dressed."
I watched her and Miss Rose going down the stairs. Then I looked at my brother.
"The crows. The witch. It is real, it is not make believe" I said to him. Instead of answering he just squeezed me tight.
***
Hours later my brother finally convinced me to come outside with him to play. I did not all the way believe him that it was safe and that, despite all I had seen, there were no witches and that those crows were just crows, but it seemed so important to him that I go outside to play that I finally gave in.
After we had enjoyed the swing set for a while, we started to throw my red ball. I missed my turn to catch it and it bounced away from me, red and shiny. I ran after it and chased it to the end of the garden. It slipped under the fence, out of my reach. Quickly I slipped through the space in between the bars and kept chasing it. Toby called something after me, but I did not understand him and my eyes were fixed on the ball. Laughing and squeaking I finally caught up with it. I bent down to pick it up when, suddenly, I heard a small voice calling for help. I stopped moving, frozen I stooped low to the ground, my hands already touching the red ball, and listened.
"Help me, please, help me! Don't leave me here, help me, please!" the voice called, small and fragile. Behind me I heard footsteps coming fast. I knew it was Toby. I still did not move, I just listened to the small voice. I've had heard it before, many times. It was Trudy. It was her voice!
"Hey, I told you to stop, what's wrong with you," my brother said, the softness in his voice taking the edge of his words away. I turned to him and warningly put a finger on my mouths.
"Pssst. Be very quiet and listen," I warned him. He stooped down to me and listened.
And what is it that I listen for?" he asked after a while.
"Don't you hear her?" I asked surprised.
"Who?"
"Trudy, she is calling for help, you must hear it!"
He shook his head and looked around, as if he could at least see her, if he couldn't hear her.
I got up and looked into the direction from where I could hear her calling. Now I realised that I had crossed the street and was almost in the yard of the old woman that liked to be in her rocking chair on the porch. Before the shock, that came with the realization of where I was could effect me, I saw a small figure in a window. Not fully aware of what I was doing, I went closer. Now I could see it all the way, it was a doll, standing in the window, about two feet tall. She looked exactly like Trudy! The doll was the one calling for help!
"Look, Toby, it's Trudy, there in the window!" I called out to him in excitment and pointed at the doll.
"It's a doll. It's not a person. Come on, let's go home" he replied and reached for my hand. I shook him off and walked toward the window.
"Can't you see? It is Trudy! I don't know, why she is a doll, but it is her, she even got her pajamas on, look!" I insisted.
"Help me, Mandy, please, help me!" the small voice, Trudy's voice called.
"Did you hear that? She even recognizes me! Toby, you must have heard her!" I was getting frustrared. Why would he not listen to me, why could he not hear her?
"Mandy, it is time to go home. There is no one here calling anything, you are imagining things, let's go!" he grew impatient.
"Hello there, children. How are you doing?" suddenly a woman's voice said. Startled we turned around and were facing the old lady that used to sit in her rocking chair. Now, close up, she did not look all that old, way younger than from our house. The black cat was close to her, rubbing its back on her legs.
"Hi, I'm sorry to have bothered you. Our ball fell into your yard and we just came to get it back, sorry" Toby said and took my hand.
"Oh, that's alright. It is nice to have you here. Would you like to come inside for some milk and cookies?" she replied and smiled. I quietly shook my head and got closer to Toby.
"I see, you've admired my doll. Isn't she beautiful? I just got her. You like dolls, don't you, little girl?" she said to me. I stepped back, attempting to hide behind my brother.
"I have many dolls inside, they all look so real, you won't find any other dolls with this perfection, won't you come in and see for yourself," she tried to tempt me. I shook my head and pulled on Toby's arm to get him to leave.
"Thank you, but we have to go," he said and scooped up the ball with his free hand.
"Well, maybe you can come back tomorrow night then, for trick or treat. I'll make sure I'll have a treat waiting for you!" she said cheerfully.
"Thank you, that's very kind. Goodbye" Toby said and walked with me away from the old lady and her yard, toward our home. When we had reached the end of her property, we fell into a run and didn't stop until we came through the front door of our house.
"Kids, what is wrong with you!" my Mom scolded us, when we busted through the door.
"We've seen the witch and then we ran," I explained, earning an ellbow from Toby into my ribs, "but it's true. You see it too now, don't you?" I asked him, but he just shook his head.
"There are no witches. I don't ever want to hear something like that from you again, do you understand?" my Mom said angrily. I silently nodded and went upstairs to wash up. Toby followed me. On the top of the stairs he looked back down and then turned to me, when he was sure that no one was waiting for us.
"You are right, I think. I heard the voice, right before the old woman came. And, she is younger too then she was before. I want you to stay away from there, you hear? I think that she is dangerous. Never go close to that house again, without me, promise?" he said and I nodded my head eagerly. When he turned to head for his room I caught him by his sleeve.
"Can I sleep in your room tonight?" I asked.
"Yes, that might be a good idea. Now, go and get ready for dinner, we don't want Mom to get even more upset" he disappeared inside his room.
After my Mom had tucked me in that night, I lay awake, waiting for her and Dad to go to bed. Then I got up and walked to the window. The moon was fuller and brighter than the night before. The three crows were sitting on our fence, looking up at me. I pulled the curtains shut, after I made sure that the window was shut tightly. Then I slowly walked through my dark room to the door. I made sure, no one was in the hallway and rushed to Toby's room.
"Are you awake?" I whispered when I entered the room.
"Yes. I was wondering, what kept you. Come on, you can lay in my bed," he answered and switched on his night light. Giggling I rushed to his bed. He tucked me in tight.
"Where's Teddy?" he asked.
"I don't want him anymore. He has been touched by the evil crows," I replied. Toby nodded and went to his closet. After fumbling in there for a moment, he returned with a blue bunny.
"Here, Mr. Bunny will take care of you." he said and gave me his bunny. I could still remember, when he used to take it everywhere he went.
"Thank you" I said and clutched the blue bunny tight to my chest.
"Alright. Now go to sleep. I'll go to your room and guard it." He kissed me on the forehead.
"No, better stay here. It is not safe. The crows are already out there, waiting," I told him and sat up.
"Don't worry, I'm much too big and too old for them. They won't even come close to me. Now go to sleep, I'll see you in the morning." he left the room and pulled the door shut behind him. Holding his blue bunny tight, I drifted off to sleep.
***
"Toby, Toby! Do you know where....Mandy?" my Mom's shrill, panicked voice woke me up. Before I could open my eyes all the way or sit up, she was by my side, pulling me into her arms and hugging me so tight, it almost hurt. Then she held me away and looked at me. My eyes were finally open and I was awake. I watched her face going from relief to worry.
"Where is your brother?" she asked. I looked at her, confused, not grasping the meaning of her question.
"Mandy, where is your brother? Do you know where he is?" she asked again. Finally I remembered that I had spent the night in his room and that he had went to guard my room.
"He is in my room" I said. She hugged me again and then shook her head.
"He's not in your room. Do you know where he could have gone? Come on honey, think" she urged me. I told her about the crows again and the witch and that he let me sleep in his room, while he had went to my room to make sure neither crows nor witches could come in.
"Honey, I told you that there are no such things as witches. And the crows are just animals, just birds. It is October, the fields are crowded with crows. Come on, get up and get dressed. Today is Halloween. Maybe Toby went somewhere to a friends house. I'm sure, he'll be back in time for the Halloween party at the school and to take you trick-or-treating." She smiled and kissed my jaw then she went out of the room. I got up and went to my room to get some clothes. The window was wide open and the cold morning breeze was freezing the room. I rushed to the window and shut it. Then I remained for a moment, looking out over our garden and across the street, into the yard of the old woman. I could clearly hear Trudy's voice in my memory, calling for help. I wondered, if Toby had found out something and was getting the Sheriff. Then a white piece of cloth caught my eye, hanging from the fence. I quickly went to the bathroom, got washed and dressed and then rushed down to the kitchen.
"Mom, what is that, hanging from the fence, there?" I asked her and pointed out the kitchen window. She came to my side and looked.
"I don't know. Go ahead, eat your breakfast." She instructed me and went out the back door to see what was hanging on our fence.
Moments later she returned, the white garment clutched tight in her hand and rushed passed me to the phone.
All I could gather was that she was talking to the Sheriff, Mr. Richmond, and that he needed to come here right away. My hands shaking I put my spoon back into the bowl with cereal and got up from the chair.
"Mom? Are you alright?" I asked and came closer to her, but she did not answer, instead she was dialing another number on the phone again. Then I heard her talk to my Dad, urging him to come home, right away. My Dad was a lawyer and had been in his office, preparing for a case that was supposed to go to court the next morning. He had been working on this case for the last few weeks and we only saw him during dinner and sometimes for moments before we went to school. It had to be urgent, if my Mom called him away from work. Her urgency scared me and I wished, Toby had come back. Nothing could be all that bad if he was here with me. Since he wasn't, I made another attempt to find out what had happened.
"Mom, what is wrong?" I whispered, not daring to get any closer to my Mom. Finally she turned around to me, the white piece of cloth pressed tight to her chest.
"My little Angel," she said in tears and stooped down, holding her arms open for me. I quickly went to her embrace. Her body was shaking, she was sobbing heavily, her tears seeping through my sweater.
"What is wrong Mom?" I asked again.
"I can't find your brother, the white cloth on the fence is his shirt, but he is not here" she finally said between sobs. I was frozen, unable to move or to react. The shock hit me hard and heavy. Instantly I knew what had happened to my brother, the crows and the witch had gotten to him. She had him in her power.
The Sheriff arrived, as did my Dad and Miss Rose next door. Soon the house was filled with deputies, neighbors and nosy people. Everybody was talking, busily running from room to room, up and down the stairs, in and out the house. I retrieved to a quiet corner in my Mom's sewing room, Toby's bunny clutched tight to my chest, quietly chanting his name. Hours went by, without him showing up or being found. It was Halloween's eve, not one child came to our door for candy.
Two days later I packed up the costumes my Mother had created for us and put them to the bottom of my closet. I knew that Toby would not come back. My parents still clung to the hope of miracles and waited for a sign of him.
Weeks went by, then months. Finally even my Mom and Dad faced the fact that he was gone, lost for ever. I tried a few times to tell them about the witch and her crows, but they would not listen, even started to punish me and finally took me to see a physchiatric to help for my delusions about my brother.
Not wanting to cause my parents any more pain, I stopped talking about the witch and the crows and gave the doctor the impression that I had learned to cope with loss and grieve and accepted the fact that we had lost a beloved family member.
A whole year had gone by and Halloween was aproaching. I grew restless and spent most of my time looking out the window, watching the witch across the street, as she sat in her rocking chair, her cat resting curled up on her lap. Then the crows appeared in the yard, sitting on our fence and in the trees.
First I left the light on in my room at night, but then even that failed to soothe me and I begged my parents to let me sleep in their room. Being the only child they had left they did not mind to spoil me and put an extra bed in their room. They even left a night light on for me.
Then, three days before Halloween it started, the first child was missing. When the parents entered the girls bedroom in the morning, she was gone. Her window was wide open. The sheriff, the police, even the FBI came to our town and looked for traces of her. They reopened the cases of Trudy and that of my brother, finding a lot of similar facts, but no lead as of what had happened.
I decided that it was time to take my own steps to save all the children in our town and, if possible my brother, Trudy and any child that had disappeared in our area. But how does a twelve-year-old defeat a witch? I had no answer for that. I had to do research! Right after Halloween I started spending hours every day in our library. I read all I could about witches, spells, charms, banishing, binding and spell breaking. My notebook filled with notes, page by page and soon I had been reading every book there was available in our library on witchcraft.
A few important things that I found out were that love had gotten my brother into his misery and love was the key to get him out of it, to that however, I needed more than just my love for him, I needed tools, lots of them!
Right away I started gathering the things I needed. Late in the evening, when it was already getting dark, I went to the cemetery by the church and filled a bag with sand. At home I hid the bag in the bottom of my closet. Next I went shopping with my mother and made sure that she bought an extra pack of salt. While we unpacked our groceries at home I secretly snatched the salt and hid it next to the bag with holy ground from the cemetery. Then I went to our church, way before a mass was held. When I was sure to be alone, I filled up a washed out small glass bottle with holy water. Then I dipped ten pins into the holy water and secured them in a matchbox. On my way out I picked up small pebbles from the churches yard and stuffed them in my pockets. At home I stored it all inside a wooden box my brother had once made for me as a Christmas gift and placed it next to my other treasures. Now I was almost there. There was not much else I needed, but it mainly were things I could not get by myself. The only thing that was left to do by myself was a charm. I had never been good with rhymes, so I was sure it would be the hardest work ever!
I wrote, every day, hours and hours, rhyme after rhyme, but none of them would do. Weeks and weeks went by and I did not have a powerful enough charm to destroy a witch. I started to fear that my lack of creativity when it came to forming a rhyme might be the one thing that would keep me from fulfilling my mission. In school I made notes when something came to my mind, at home I worked on rhymes and at night I dreamed about rhymes. Franticly I was working, keeping lists of words that rhymed and could be useful.
Christmas had passed, I had kept white candles from the tree in my secret place, along with a box of matches. Spring had come and Easter. I kept a stack of wafers from the ceremony in church. Then summer came and my mother got very ill. I overheard the doctor tell my father that she suffered from a broken heart and that there was no cure for it. Miss Rose started coming over on a daily basis to take care of my mother and the household. I liked her being around, she had a kind heart and a ruby ring, which was exactly what I needed!
My mother was not getting better and fall approached, this Halloween I had to be ready, if I wanted to have my Mom back and my brother. There was no delay, no time to waste!
I started to be even friendlier to Miss Rose and even visit her at home. Soon she let me play dress-up with her clothes and jewelry, she enjoyed these games more than any girl my age that I knew about. I must admit that it made me feel less guilty about what I was planning to do.
Finally I had worked out a charm that seemed to be good enough and Halloween was only days away.
And then the news came that I had feared: Two kids from our town had disappeared right out of their homes! Right out of their bedrooms at night and left no traces behind to figure out what might have happened to them. I decided to go to the library for one last time. I pulled out all the reports in the newspapers for our county on kids that had disappeared. I was thirteen years old now and sure that I could handle anything I would find, but I was not prepared for the amount of missing kids that I came up with. As long as the newspaper files reached back I came up with 97 missing kids! Frantically I searched the papers for obituaries. I had found out that the old witch across the street went by the name of Agatha Wilmore. I could not find an ad announcing her birth or her death or that of any of her family members. According to the papers, only one family with that name ever lived here, more than two-hundred years ago. According to the files the entire family, the mother and her three daughters, died in a fire, one-hundred-and-eighty years ago. I took a deep breath and put the books back on the shelves. My knees were shaking, I was sweating. What I had assumed all the time had not been as bad as to know it for a fact, I was hunting a witch. Suddenly I was more scared than I had ever been before, now I had evidence that she was a true witch. Now that I knew what I was up against, I was really scared!
I went back to the shelves and selected a few books that I had been going through months before. Fear had driven me to read a few things over again and again and again. By the time the library was closing I was confident again. I was sure that I had not missed anything that would be important once I would face her.
On the way home I stopped by the church and filled up two more flacons with holy water, as I had done for the last ten days. When I reached our house, I pulled out one of the flacons and a salt shaker. Slowly I walked along our fence line, dripping the holy water and shaking salt along our perimeter. I had done this all week. At night I could hear the crows crowing, but never close to the house. They had not sat on our fence or in the tree again.
At home I looked at the calender. Only four days to Halloween! Tomorrow would be Saturday, the first Saturday after a full moon, the last Saturday before Halloween, the one night when the witch would be at her most vulnerable, her weakest moment! The day when I had to strike, if I did not want to wait another year.
To wait another year at the moment seemed like a good idea, but, according to the calender, in another year my obtions would not be all that good, the Saturday before Halloween would not be the first Saturday after a full moon, which ment that she would not be this weak, she probably would not be as vulnerable as this for years to come, it had to be tomorrow night!
I went to my mother's room and sat down at the edge of her bed. Gently I stroked her face and then held her hand. She was sleeping tight.
"Tomorrow night I will try to make it all right again for us and for many others. If I fail, then I am so sorry, because I know that it will break your heart for good. Please forgive me if I am not successful. I love you." I whispered and kissed her face. Then I pulled her blankets up tight and left the room. In the hallway I met my father who was just going to bed. I said good-night and kissed him on the jaw. Back in my room I opened my closet and took out my collected tools for my mission tomorrow night. I took the pebbles and spread them along the window and around the room. Next I pulled out a small pouched filled with rosemary and sage and sprinkled it along the door and the window. Then I took another flacon with holy water and sprinkled the contens onto the pebbles.
For Christmas I had asked my father to give me an amathyst and smoky quartz. I had requested the same from my Grandparents and Miss Rose when they had asked me what I wished for. I had ended up with two amethysts and three smoky quartz rocks. I went to my shelf and took down the beautiful doll my Grandparents had given me for my birthday a few years ago. She was the most beautiful doll I had ever seen. Knowing that my Grandparents loved me very much, it truly was a gift of love. I put her to the rest of my tools.
I went to my desk and pulled out my notes. One by one I looked up the tools for my mission and checked them on the list. It appeared I had everything I needed, besides the ruby ring. This was the one thing I still had to gather. I sighed deeply and sat down on my bed, looking at my collection in front of me on the floor. When I was sure that I had not missed anything I returned each item into a back pack and hid it in my closet. Then I got ready for bed and said my prayers.
***
Saturday came with a lot of sunshine. The air was warm, it seemed more like a spring day than late fall. I opened my window wide and looked out. Across the street the three crows were sitting in a tree and calling over to me. For a moment I was tempted to mock them by calling them over. But then I decided that pride goes before the fall and it would be better not to tempt my fate.
The day went by real slow, as if it knew that I had urgent business to take care of during the night. In the afternoon I went over to Miss Rose. We had some tea and she read to me from one of her books. Then I suggested to play dress-up. She eagerly agreed and took me to her bedroom. There I slipped into her clothes and she fixed my hair and put make-up on my face. She had a lot of fun making me look the way she wanted me to look and admiring me with the make-up and the hairstyle she had forced onto my hair with lots of pins. When it was time to go on home, I carefully slipped her golden ruby ring into my pocket before I left. In the door I stopped and hugged her tight.
"Miss Rose, I love you. You have always been there for us and we would not know what to do without you. I want to thank you for everything and if I should ever diappoint you, I am truly sorry," I told her and kissed her jaw.
"Oh, sweetheart, I love you too. You could never disappooint me! Now go on home and get a good nights sleep." She replied and kissed me back. Tears of affection and guilt had crept into my eyes. I swallowed hard and left. I hoped and prayed that my mission would succeed and I would bring no further pain to the people I loved.
Before I went home I went to the church to fill up two flacons again with holy water. Then I lit two candles and prayed for myself, for my family, my brother and all the souls that had been caught by the witch.
At home I sat down at my desk and wrote a letter fo my family. In the letter I explained that I was going to destroy the witch. If I was not returning I hoped that they would finally take this as evidence that the witch was real and responsible for all the missing children. I put as much detail in my letter as possible, even explaining how I was about to destroy the witch, hoping that if I failed that they would pick it up right there and maybe find a way to save us. When I was finished, I put it inside an envelope and sealed it. Then I placed it on my pillow on my bed. To make sure the letter would not be touched by anyone but my family I sprinled the letter and the pillow with holy water, rosemary, sage and salt.
In a little bowl on my desk I soaked pebbles in holy water and salt. Then I practiced my charm again. First I read it from the paper, three times and then I mumbled it without looking at my note. No hesitation, no stumbling or stuttering. I had it! I heard my Dad come up the stairs. Quickly I opened my door to wish him a good night, so he would not come into my room and ask questions.
When I was sure he was asleep, I gathered my tools for my mission:
The bag with holy ground, salt, rosemary and sage, pins soaked in holy water, flacons of holy water, dried lavender, which I had taken from my mother's linen closet, the smoky quartz and amethyst stones. The four candles I had saved from Christmas, two of then I had dyed black. I packed it all in the bag, stuffing my pockets with flacons of holy water, little pouches of salt and the pebbles I had soaked in holy water. I fixed the pins on my shirt and slipped Miss Roses ruby ring on my finger. Last I put the sheet with my charm in my pocket, slippen on the back pack and picked up the doll. I pinned a small sheet of paper with a poem Toby had once wrote for me on my birthday to the doll's apron.
Carefully I opened my door and looked into the hallway. All was quiet. I shut my door behind me and felt as if I left everything behind that had ever mattered to me.
Avoiding any noise I slowly decended the stairs, crossed the kitchen and opened the back door. To make sure it would not give me away I had oiled the hinges in the morning. Smoothly it opend and I slipped out into the night.
A pale, shrinking moon was watching as I left the safety of the house and then the yard. Nowhere was a sign of the crows. Stooping low to avoid being seen I crossed the road and entered the garden of the witch. My heart was beating hard and loud, I was sure, everyone could hear it, all the way down the street to the tavern.
The darkness seemed more intense in the witches yard. It seemed more quiet too. Not one sound was heard from a creature of the night. Chills went down my spine. I slowed down, not intentionally, but fear is what came over me so strong, I had almost stopped moving. Dark and forbidden the house loomed in front of me. Fog had come up and was covering the ground. I was sure that when I left our house, there had not been a sign of fog. I pulled one of the flacons with holy water out of my pocket and held it ready in my hand. Then I took a deep breath and thought of my brother. Toby, whom I loved so much and who had been gone from us for two years now. For him, I knew, I could do it. Slowly I kept going toward the house. The only sound in the night was the hammering of my heart and my heavy breathing. Now I reached the front porch, the place where the witch used to sit in her rocking chair, the black cat curled up on her lap. The curtains on the first window I spotted were drawn tight. No light fell through the window, no shadows were seen behind the curtains. I crept forward until I had reached the stairs. The rocking chair was standing empty and abandoned. Carefully I climbed up the four steps and found myself in front of the door. Before I could really decide what to do next, my hand reached out and knocked on the door. I was startled, it had not been my intention to knock, but now it was too late, the damage was done. Pale and shaking I stood there and awaited what ever evil would show itsself in the doorframe. I did not need to wait long. The door opened with a creaking sound and dim light escaped the house.
"Well, well, well. Look who came to see me that late at night!" the witch said and looked at me with cold grey eyes. I swallowed hard and desperatly thought of something to say.
"So, what is it that you want, child?" she asked before I could make up my mind about what to say.
"I..., well..., humum..., good evening," I finally managed to stutter and then held out my doll in front of me, "I brought my most beautiful doll to show you. You had asked me to come and look at your dolls, a long time ago, when I was still little. Now I thought I come to see them and show you my doll. Maybe we can trade..."
She looked at me the way a snake must look at the mouse right before it will be swallowed and digested. And I very much felt like a mouse, small, fragile, caught.
"Well, then come on in. If I invited you, then I will show you my beautiful dolls," she stepped aside and held the door open for me. Her skin was grey and wrinkled. Her clothes were old, worn and washed out. Her hair was grey, almost white and hang in limb strings over her shoulders. She smiled, revealing rotten teeth and gaps, but her eyes stayed cold. I dared not to look at them too long, I was afraid that she would be able to take my soul through my eyes if our eyes connected. I stepped past her and dripped a few drops of holy water with every step I took to seal the way for other witches, or for her escape. From the corner of my eye I could see her shudder when she came close to the drops I had spilled, but she did not seem to know what it was that made her skin crawl.
"Here, this way, child," she said and led me to a room to the left. The black cat was sitting on an arm chair, her eyes more green than anything I had ever seen. When I was in the room I could not believe my eyes, everywhere, on shelves, on tables, on the floor, in the window, on top of an old piano, all around me were dolls.
"Run Mandy, run, get out of here! Save yourself!" I heard Toby's voice. I swallowed hard, trying not to let her see that I could hear him.
"Now, here are my dolls. What do you think? Are they beautiful? Are they the most wonderful dolls you've ever seen?" she asked and I silently nodded. It was time. I had to hurry, I had to do what I had come to do. The more time I waisted the more I would endanger myself. I held the doll out to her.
"Here, could you hold this for a moment?" I asked, "I have another doll with me that I would like for you to see." I pulled my backpack down and rested it on one of the empty armchairs to open it. I quietly smiled while my back was turned to her. When she had taken the doll from me her hand had touched mine, the one that was wearing the Roses ruby ring and she quickly pulled away, as if I had burned her. With a quick move I spilled a hand full of pebbles around me.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'll get them up right away" I mumbled and grabbed the bag with the holy ground in one hand a small saltshaker filled with a mix of rosemary, sage, lavender and salt with the other. I slung the strap from my backpack over my arm and turned around to face her. All the time I could hear Toby warning me and then other voices warned me. Ignoring them I smiled at her.
"Here, that must be it, please, sit down" I said and while she sat in her chair, placing the cat on her lap, I started pouring the dark dirt from the bag on he floor, starting by her feet and quickly going around the chair in a circle. At the same time I sprinkled as much from the salt shaker mix as I could.
"What are you doing!" she screamed and then whispered, "who are you?"
I ignored her to the point that I was not aware of her saying anything at all. I placed the smoky quartz and the amethysts in front of her in a half circle and then pulled out the candles and lit them. I stepped back into my own circle of pebbles.
" On this eve of the 28th of October I cast a spell
and the effect I created I must now quell.
May this evil spell from Agatha Wilmore be lifted
and the freedom we seek be gifted!" I started to chant my charm.
"Noooo! Stop it! Stop! What do you think you are doing! I will curse you! Stop! Now!" the witch yelled from the chair. I kept my eyes and ears shut to her, paid no attention and carried on. While I spoke I opened another bottle of holy water and started shaking it toward her. It made her scream and cry, howl and curse, but I could not hear her, I only heard my own words.
"Never will this spell reverse
or place upon me any a curse.
In this night and this hour
I, Mandy, call upon an ancient power,
to take the witch, possessed by evil away
from this place, this land and this day,
reverse the evil she caused,
restore all the life she has paused!"
The candles' flames shot up in the air, thunder roared over the house. Smoke rose from the dirt I had dug up on holy ground and placed around her chair. She screamed louder, her curses got more evil.
"Ancient powers, angels and all good forces,
I call upon your mercy and support,
destroy the witch, destroy the witch and all her curses,
come get her, come get her and take her to court!"
I was yelling on the top of my loungs. Bright lights came from every where, sparks shot across the room and then it all went dark.
When I opened my eyes and blinked, loving arms held me and Toby's face looked at me. I grasped for air and struggled to sit up.
"You saved me, you saved us all!" Toby said and tears were running down his face. I looked around and saw many faces, all smiling at me, most of them under tears.
"The witch..." I asked and looked around, worried and afraid.
"She is gone, the light took her away, right before you collapsed on the floor. My little sister, who would ever have thought that the little scardy cat would have that much courage!" he said softly and kissed my jaw.
"It was not courage, it was love. Too many people are unhappy without you all. Missing you almost killed our mother. It was love that destroyed the witch," I said and got to my feet.
One after the other the children that had been dolls came to thank me. Most of them were younger than me. I hugged each one of them. The room was filled with love and happiness.
"Let's go, let's get out of here," I finally said. We went to the front door, which was no longer in the frame. On the porch three dead crows were lying, their necks broken, heads and wings twisted, beaks open as if in a last eternal cry.
"Now I feel safe!" I said after I had looked at them for a moment.
From all over people were coming toward us. The light and thunder must have caused quite a spectacle. Everywhere kids were finding their parents or other relatives. Finally my parents and Miss Rose came together with Mr. Richmond. The town was ours again, happiness had found it's way back into our lives.
The End
copyright by Birgit and Roger Pratcher
I was sitting in my brother's room and watching the old woman across the street. She was sitting on her front porch in a brown wooden rocking chair. On her lap a black cat was cuddled. It was three days before Halloween. My name is Miranda, but everybody calls me Mandy.
"You know, she's a witch" my brother said and kneeled next to me, looking over to the old house and the old woman.
"Mom said we should not talk like that. She said that she is just a little old lady, no more, no less" I told him, thinking that I sounded very grown up, like I was years beyond my true age.
"Yeah, right. If I've ever seen a witch, it's her, trust me!" He insisted.
"Have you ever seen one, before, I mean?" I wanted to know. Tobias was four years older than me, so he could have seen a lot of things that I had not seen yet.
"Yeah, a long time ago. It was around Halloween too. She was evil and very dangerous. She ate up all the little kids she could find." he told me and grinned.
"You are lying!" I scolded him and turned my back to him.
"No, I'm not. But don't worry, I'll make sure she never gets her hands on you. That's what big brothers are for," he quickly said. I turned back to face him and looked at him for a long time. I knew that he loved me and that he would make sure nothing would happen to me. He was my big brother, my hero.
"If she's a witch, then why don't the police come and put her away?" I wondered.
"If it was that easy, then there would be no witches. You can not just put a witch in jail, she would use her evil magic powers and leave. And then, she would be out for revenge!" he explained patiently. I just nodded my head and clutched my Teddy a little tighter.
"You think that she will come and get us?" I finally asked.
"No, witches can not just go around and catch kids as they please. The kids have to come to them on their own free will. Don't worry, Mandy, you are safe here. Now, let's go and wash our hands, dinner should be ready any moment now." He assured me and started to tickle me. Screaming and squeaking I ran to the bathroom to wash up for dinner. Already the old lady with her cat was forgotten. I was eleven years old and our house had been the only place I had ever known as a home. I loved it, I was very happy to live here. We had a big garden with apple trees, cherry trees and strawberry patches. My mom also had patches with tomatoes and oniens and potatoes, but we were not allowed to go there. The garden was framed by flowers, blooming in the prettiest colors, all summer long. In the middle of the garden we had a swing on a field of grass. Close by my parents had their table and chairs. My brother and I spent a lot of time in the garden, swinging, his swing being way high, too high for me to get on, mine being low enough for me to easily get on and off. Tobias could swing very high and often I begged him to push me in the swing so I would get to fly as high as he had. Those were the best years of my life! I was sure that life would go on like that for ever.
After dinner I had to try on my Halloween costume, the first time that I got to see it. I was so excited! My mom had designed it herself and sewn it with her own hands, at night, when I was in bed.
I had to keep my eyes closed, while my mother put the costume on me. When I was finally dressed and allowed to open my eyes, she had put the big mirror in the middle of the room, so I could see myself. I was stunned. I was wearing a long gown, shiny green and orange with gold sprinkes and stars everywhere!
"You are the Queen of Halloween! And you look so beautiful, my darling!" my Mom called out, obviously satisfied with her task. I turned in front of the mirror and smiled, I too, found that I was beautiful enough to be the Queen of Halloween.
"And here, my love, comes the King of Halloween, King Tobias!" my mom said as the door opened. My brother came in, wearing a King's gown in the same color as my dress, on his head a crown, inlaid with colorful stones. In his hand he held a green pillow. On top of the pillow was a crown, just like his, only smaller.
"My Queen, may I present your crown," he said and bowed. Then he put the cushin down and took the crown in his hands, to place it on top of my head, while I could barely hold still and giggled silly. Finally the crown was fixed on my head and I was sure that I was nothing less than a Queen.
When I was in my room, tucked in and supposed to be sleep, I was so excited, I could not find sleep. I was thinking about how beautiful I would be looking on Halloween and wondering if that would help to get the most candy ever. A noise disturbed my thoughts and I got out of bed and walked to my window. An almost full moon was filling the night with its soft light. I could see our driveway and the fence. Three crows were sitting on the fence, staring at me and calling to me. Their eyes seemed to be glowing in the night. Quickly I shut the curtains and jumped back into my bed, pulling the covers up to my nose and touched my Teddy very tight.
The sun was shining into my room when I woke up. The curtains were wide open, as was my window. The cool air of the October morning washed over my face. I quickly got up and shut the window. Before I shut the curtains I looked to our fence. No crows. That was good.
From downstairs I heard voices, stranger's voices and my mom's. Barefoot I went to my door and slowly opened it. The voices were louder now. I could tell, whoever was downstairs was not happy!
Carefully, avoiding the squeaking floor boards, I eased to the stairs and peeked down. I could see through the doorframe of the kitchen. People were sittting at the table. Very slowly and quiet I went down the stairs, afraid that someone would see me and that I would be the cause of the excitment in our kitchen. When I reached the end of the stairs, I recognized our Sheriff, Mr. Richmond and the lady from next door, Miss Rose.
"I just can't believe that something like that would happen here, in our neighborhood!" she cried and wiped her eyes. My mom came to her with a pot of tea and filled up her cup.
"The poor little darling! Unbelievable that no one would have heard anything. Don't they have a one-story house? You should think that you can hear it if a stranger breaks in!" my mom said and then pulled a handkerchief out of her apron pocket and wiped her eyes.
"More tea?" she asked Mr. Richmond, who shook his head.
"No, thanks Nora. I better be going now. I just wanted to make sure, everything is alright here and all your kid are here. My men are searching everywhere for the girl, we should come up with something soon. Just keep the kids inside. I'll be back later." He answered and left. My Mom and Miss Rose sat together at the table, sobbing and drinking tea. I figured that what ever had happened did not have anything to do with me and I entered the kitchen.
"Oh, sweetheart, you are up! Come here, sit down. I'll get you some warm milk" my mom said and pulled out a chair for me. Her eyes were red and puffy. Miss Rose looked at me over her tea cup and grimaced, which I think was supposed to be a greeting smile, but she was so in tears that it looked more as if she had a terrible stomach ache.
"What happened?" I boldly asked and took the cup with warm milk from my Mom.
"Oh, it is so terrible! Little Trudy Miller disappeared last night. No one knows where she is, or what happened." Miss Rose said and started sobbing again.
"Where is she?" I asked. After all, Trudy was as old as I was and I knew that, wherever I went, my parents always knew my whereabouts.
"We don't know. We think that a very, very bad man must have been coming and took her away. Her bedroom window was wide open and she was gone when her Mom came in her room this morning." My Mom explained and held my hand.
The first thing that came to my mind was the witch across the street. The next thing were the three crows with the glowing eyes that I had seen sitting on our fence. I knew my mother well enough, not to mention any of this to her. She did not believe in witches and crows with glowing eyes. But, I had to tell someone. I quickly drank my milk and went upstairs, to my brother's room. He was still sleeping. I sat on the edge of his bed and watched him for a moment. He was sleeping calmly, which ment that I had not been in danger. He had promised to protect me and if I would have been in danger, he surely would have known. I relaxed and then gently woke him up.
"Toby, Trudy Miller went away last night! No one knows where she is!" I told him as soon as he opened his eyes.
"Who went where?" he asked and sat up in his bed.
"Trudy Miller. She is in school with me. You remember her, sometimes she comes over to play. She left last night. Her window was wide open this morning and she was gone!" I told him the details, as good as I knew them.
"Why would she do that?" he asked me. I shrugged my shoulders and then finally remembered more details.
"The Sheriff is looking for her, also Mom said that a bad man, a very bad man, came and took her. But I know what happened!" I looked over my shoulder to make sure the door was closed and then continued in a whisper, " the witch got her! I have seen three crows sitting on our fence last night and their eyes glowed in the dark. I shut the curtains and when I woke up, the curtains and the window were open! But, they could not get to me, they knew that you were here to protect me. That's what happened, they went and got Trudy instead!" When I had finished he looked at me a long time. Then he jumped out of the bed and went to the winow. He was staring across the street to the house with the witch. She was not in her rocking chair.
"Tell me that again, the thing with the crows and the glowing eyes and the window" he said when he turned away from the window. I repeated my adventures from last night and this morning. He listened and nodded his head. Then he sat next to me on the bed and took both of my hands in his.
"You know, I'm not sure that there are really witches out there. I just thought we had more fun, if we imagine that the old lady is a witch. In real, she is just an old lady with a cat. There is no reason to be afraid of her. And the crows, that were just three birds. The glowing eyes were probably reflections from a street lamp. It does not mean anything at all. Alright?" he said and I looked at him, not so sure, what to make of it.
"But, you said yourself, if you ever saw a witch..." I finally said.
"I know and I'm sorry I said that. I just thought it was a fun game for us, to imagine that she is a witch. It was not real, just make believe," he explained.
"What about the witch that came and ate the children, you know, the one you saw?" I whispered.
"It was not true, I made it up, so the game of pretending would be more fun. Forget about the witch stuff, alright? What I don't want you to forget, is that there might be a very bad man out there! Don't talk to any strangers! And don't leave without me or mom or dad going with you. You must promise!" he said and squeezed my hands so tight that it almost hurt me.
"I promise." I said. He hugged me tight.
"Now, let me go and get dressed. It's the weekend, we should go into the yard and play something," he ordered and earned a big smile. I rushed off to my room and fumbled in my closet for clothes to wear. Poor Trudy and witches were far from my mind. Just fun and games, all weekend long!
My clothes in my hands I went around the bed and started screaming. And I screamed on until my mom, my brother and Miss Rose arrived in my room and my mom held me tight in her arm.
"Honey, what is it, what's wrong?" she asked, her face all pale and torn with worry. I pointed at the floor, too upset to speak, my finger shaking. Then they saw what had scared me so bad: My Teddy lay on the floor, his brown button eyes gone, in one socket, where the eyes were supposed to be, the yellow, fluffy stuffing of my Teddy came out through a hole. One of his legs lay severed on the floor, stuffing had fluffed all around it.
"What happened to Teddy?" my Mom asked and slowly stooped down to pick it up, holding Teddy in her right hand, his leg in her left and looking around on the floor for the eyes. Outside my window a crow was crowing, it sounded like the vicious laughter of and evil demon.
"The crows, they must have done it," I said in a whisper and got closer to my brother, who put his arms around me and held me tight. My Mom started to say something, but then just came over and ran her soft hand through my hair and kissed me on the forehead.
"Don't worry, sweetheart, I'll fix that poor little Teddy. He'll be just like new!" she said, "now, go on, get dressed."
I watched her and Miss Rose going down the stairs. Then I looked at my brother.
"The crows. The witch. It is real, it is not make believe" I said to him. Instead of answering he just squeezed me tight.
***
Hours later my brother finally convinced me to come outside with him to play. I did not all the way believe him that it was safe and that, despite all I had seen, there were no witches and that those crows were just crows, but it seemed so important to him that I go outside to play that I finally gave in.
After we had enjoyed the swing set for a while, we started to throw my red ball. I missed my turn to catch it and it bounced away from me, red and shiny. I ran after it and chased it to the end of the garden. It slipped under the fence, out of my reach. Quickly I slipped through the space in between the bars and kept chasing it. Toby called something after me, but I did not understand him and my eyes were fixed on the ball. Laughing and squeaking I finally caught up with it. I bent down to pick it up when, suddenly, I heard a small voice calling for help. I stopped moving, frozen I stooped low to the ground, my hands already touching the red ball, and listened.
"Help me, please, help me! Don't leave me here, help me, please!" the voice called, small and fragile. Behind me I heard footsteps coming fast. I knew it was Toby. I still did not move, I just listened to the small voice. I've had heard it before, many times. It was Trudy. It was her voice!
"Hey, I told you to stop, what's wrong with you," my brother said, the softness in his voice taking the edge of his words away. I turned to him and warningly put a finger on my mouths.
"Pssst. Be very quiet and listen," I warned him. He stooped down to me and listened.
And what is it that I listen for?" he asked after a while.
"Don't you hear her?" I asked surprised.
"Who?"
"Trudy, she is calling for help, you must hear it!"
He shook his head and looked around, as if he could at least see her, if he couldn't hear her.
I got up and looked into the direction from where I could hear her calling. Now I realised that I had crossed the street and was almost in the yard of the old woman that liked to be in her rocking chair on the porch. Before the shock, that came with the realization of where I was could effect me, I saw a small figure in a window. Not fully aware of what I was doing, I went closer. Now I could see it all the way, it was a doll, standing in the window, about two feet tall. She looked exactly like Trudy! The doll was the one calling for help!
"Look, Toby, it's Trudy, there in the window!" I called out to him in excitment and pointed at the doll.
"It's a doll. It's not a person. Come on, let's go home" he replied and reached for my hand. I shook him off and walked toward the window.
"Can't you see? It is Trudy! I don't know, why she is a doll, but it is her, she even got her pajamas on, look!" I insisted.
"Help me, Mandy, please, help me!" the small voice, Trudy's voice called.
"Did you hear that? She even recognizes me! Toby, you must have heard her!" I was getting frustrared. Why would he not listen to me, why could he not hear her?
"Mandy, it is time to go home. There is no one here calling anything, you are imagining things, let's go!" he grew impatient.
"Hello there, children. How are you doing?" suddenly a woman's voice said. Startled we turned around and were facing the old lady that used to sit in her rocking chair. Now, close up, she did not look all that old, way younger than from our house. The black cat was close to her, rubbing its back on her legs.
"Hi, I'm sorry to have bothered you. Our ball fell into your yard and we just came to get it back, sorry" Toby said and took my hand.
"Oh, that's alright. It is nice to have you here. Would you like to come inside for some milk and cookies?" she replied and smiled. I quietly shook my head and got closer to Toby.
"I see, you've admired my doll. Isn't she beautiful? I just got her. You like dolls, don't you, little girl?" she said to me. I stepped back, attempting to hide behind my brother.
"I have many dolls inside, they all look so real, you won't find any other dolls with this perfection, won't you come in and see for yourself," she tried to tempt me. I shook my head and pulled on Toby's arm to get him to leave.
"Thank you, but we have to go," he said and scooped up the ball with his free hand.
"Well, maybe you can come back tomorrow night then, for trick or treat. I'll make sure I'll have a treat waiting for you!" she said cheerfully.
"Thank you, that's very kind. Goodbye" Toby said and walked with me away from the old lady and her yard, toward our home. When we had reached the end of her property, we fell into a run and didn't stop until we came through the front door of our house.
"Kids, what is wrong with you!" my Mom scolded us, when we busted through the door.
"We've seen the witch and then we ran," I explained, earning an ellbow from Toby into my ribs, "but it's true. You see it too now, don't you?" I asked him, but he just shook his head.
"There are no witches. I don't ever want to hear something like that from you again, do you understand?" my Mom said angrily. I silently nodded and went upstairs to wash up. Toby followed me. On the top of the stairs he looked back down and then turned to me, when he was sure that no one was waiting for us.
"You are right, I think. I heard the voice, right before the old woman came. And, she is younger too then she was before. I want you to stay away from there, you hear? I think that she is dangerous. Never go close to that house again, without me, promise?" he said and I nodded my head eagerly. When he turned to head for his room I caught him by his sleeve.
"Can I sleep in your room tonight?" I asked.
"Yes, that might be a good idea. Now, go and get ready for dinner, we don't want Mom to get even more upset" he disappeared inside his room.
After my Mom had tucked me in that night, I lay awake, waiting for her and Dad to go to bed. Then I got up and walked to the window. The moon was fuller and brighter than the night before. The three crows were sitting on our fence, looking up at me. I pulled the curtains shut, after I made sure that the window was shut tightly. Then I slowly walked through my dark room to the door. I made sure, no one was in the hallway and rushed to Toby's room.
"Are you awake?" I whispered when I entered the room.
"Yes. I was wondering, what kept you. Come on, you can lay in my bed," he answered and switched on his night light. Giggling I rushed to his bed. He tucked me in tight.
"Where's Teddy?" he asked.
"I don't want him anymore. He has been touched by the evil crows," I replied. Toby nodded and went to his closet. After fumbling in there for a moment, he returned with a blue bunny.
"Here, Mr. Bunny will take care of you." he said and gave me his bunny. I could still remember, when he used to take it everywhere he went.
"Thank you" I said and clutched the blue bunny tight to my chest.
"Alright. Now go to sleep. I'll go to your room and guard it." He kissed me on the forehead.
"No, better stay here. It is not safe. The crows are already out there, waiting," I told him and sat up.
"Don't worry, I'm much too big and too old for them. They won't even come close to me. Now go to sleep, I'll see you in the morning." he left the room and pulled the door shut behind him. Holding his blue bunny tight, I drifted off to sleep.
***
"Toby, Toby! Do you know where....Mandy?" my Mom's shrill, panicked voice woke me up. Before I could open my eyes all the way or sit up, she was by my side, pulling me into her arms and hugging me so tight, it almost hurt. Then she held me away and looked at me. My eyes were finally open and I was awake. I watched her face going from relief to worry.
"Where is your brother?" she asked. I looked at her, confused, not grasping the meaning of her question.
"Mandy, where is your brother? Do you know where he is?" she asked again. Finally I remembered that I had spent the night in his room and that he had went to guard my room.
"He is in my room" I said. She hugged me again and then shook her head.
"He's not in your room. Do you know where he could have gone? Come on honey, think" she urged me. I told her about the crows again and the witch and that he let me sleep in his room, while he had went to my room to make sure neither crows nor witches could come in.
"Honey, I told you that there are no such things as witches. And the crows are just animals, just birds. It is October, the fields are crowded with crows. Come on, get up and get dressed. Today is Halloween. Maybe Toby went somewhere to a friends house. I'm sure, he'll be back in time for the Halloween party at the school and to take you trick-or-treating." She smiled and kissed my jaw then she went out of the room. I got up and went to my room to get some clothes. The window was wide open and the cold morning breeze was freezing the room. I rushed to the window and shut it. Then I remained for a moment, looking out over our garden and across the street, into the yard of the old woman. I could clearly hear Trudy's voice in my memory, calling for help. I wondered, if Toby had found out something and was getting the Sheriff. Then a white piece of cloth caught my eye, hanging from the fence. I quickly went to the bathroom, got washed and dressed and then rushed down to the kitchen.
"Mom, what is that, hanging from the fence, there?" I asked her and pointed out the kitchen window. She came to my side and looked.
"I don't know. Go ahead, eat your breakfast." She instructed me and went out the back door to see what was hanging on our fence.
Moments later she returned, the white garment clutched tight in her hand and rushed passed me to the phone.
All I could gather was that she was talking to the Sheriff, Mr. Richmond, and that he needed to come here right away. My hands shaking I put my spoon back into the bowl with cereal and got up from the chair.
"Mom? Are you alright?" I asked and came closer to her, but she did not answer, instead she was dialing another number on the phone again. Then I heard her talk to my Dad, urging him to come home, right away. My Dad was a lawyer and had been in his office, preparing for a case that was supposed to go to court the next morning. He had been working on this case for the last few weeks and we only saw him during dinner and sometimes for moments before we went to school. It had to be urgent, if my Mom called him away from work. Her urgency scared me and I wished, Toby had come back. Nothing could be all that bad if he was here with me. Since he wasn't, I made another attempt to find out what had happened.
"Mom, what is wrong?" I whispered, not daring to get any closer to my Mom. Finally she turned around to me, the white piece of cloth pressed tight to her chest.
"My little Angel," she said in tears and stooped down, holding her arms open for me. I quickly went to her embrace. Her body was shaking, she was sobbing heavily, her tears seeping through my sweater.
"What is wrong Mom?" I asked again.
"I can't find your brother, the white cloth on the fence is his shirt, but he is not here" she finally said between sobs. I was frozen, unable to move or to react. The shock hit me hard and heavy. Instantly I knew what had happened to my brother, the crows and the witch had gotten to him. She had him in her power.
The Sheriff arrived, as did my Dad and Miss Rose next door. Soon the house was filled with deputies, neighbors and nosy people. Everybody was talking, busily running from room to room, up and down the stairs, in and out the house. I retrieved to a quiet corner in my Mom's sewing room, Toby's bunny clutched tight to my chest, quietly chanting his name. Hours went by, without him showing up or being found. It was Halloween's eve, not one child came to our door for candy.
Two days later I packed up the costumes my Mother had created for us and put them to the bottom of my closet. I knew that Toby would not come back. My parents still clung to the hope of miracles and waited for a sign of him.
Weeks went by, then months. Finally even my Mom and Dad faced the fact that he was gone, lost for ever. I tried a few times to tell them about the witch and her crows, but they would not listen, even started to punish me and finally took me to see a physchiatric to help for my delusions about my brother.
Not wanting to cause my parents any more pain, I stopped talking about the witch and the crows and gave the doctor the impression that I had learned to cope with loss and grieve and accepted the fact that we had lost a beloved family member.
A whole year had gone by and Halloween was aproaching. I grew restless and spent most of my time looking out the window, watching the witch across the street, as she sat in her rocking chair, her cat resting curled up on her lap. Then the crows appeared in the yard, sitting on our fence and in the trees.
First I left the light on in my room at night, but then even that failed to soothe me and I begged my parents to let me sleep in their room. Being the only child they had left they did not mind to spoil me and put an extra bed in their room. They even left a night light on for me.
Then, three days before Halloween it started, the first child was missing. When the parents entered the girls bedroom in the morning, she was gone. Her window was wide open. The sheriff, the police, even the FBI came to our town and looked for traces of her. They reopened the cases of Trudy and that of my brother, finding a lot of similar facts, but no lead as of what had happened.
I decided that it was time to take my own steps to save all the children in our town and, if possible my brother, Trudy and any child that had disappeared in our area. But how does a twelve-year-old defeat a witch? I had no answer for that. I had to do research! Right after Halloween I started spending hours every day in our library. I read all I could about witches, spells, charms, banishing, binding and spell breaking. My notebook filled with notes, page by page and soon I had been reading every book there was available in our library on witchcraft.
A few important things that I found out were that love had gotten my brother into his misery and love was the key to get him out of it, to that however, I needed more than just my love for him, I needed tools, lots of them!
Right away I started gathering the things I needed. Late in the evening, when it was already getting dark, I went to the cemetery by the church and filled a bag with sand. At home I hid the bag in the bottom of my closet. Next I went shopping with my mother and made sure that she bought an extra pack of salt. While we unpacked our groceries at home I secretly snatched the salt and hid it next to the bag with holy ground from the cemetery. Then I went to our church, way before a mass was held. When I was sure to be alone, I filled up a washed out small glass bottle with holy water. Then I dipped ten pins into the holy water and secured them in a matchbox. On my way out I picked up small pebbles from the churches yard and stuffed them in my pockets. At home I stored it all inside a wooden box my brother had once made for me as a Christmas gift and placed it next to my other treasures. Now I was almost there. There was not much else I needed, but it mainly were things I could not get by myself. The only thing that was left to do by myself was a charm. I had never been good with rhymes, so I was sure it would be the hardest work ever!
I wrote, every day, hours and hours, rhyme after rhyme, but none of them would do. Weeks and weeks went by and I did not have a powerful enough charm to destroy a witch. I started to fear that my lack of creativity when it came to forming a rhyme might be the one thing that would keep me from fulfilling my mission. In school I made notes when something came to my mind, at home I worked on rhymes and at night I dreamed about rhymes. Franticly I was working, keeping lists of words that rhymed and could be useful.
Christmas had passed, I had kept white candles from the tree in my secret place, along with a box of matches. Spring had come and Easter. I kept a stack of wafers from the ceremony in church. Then summer came and my mother got very ill. I overheard the doctor tell my father that she suffered from a broken heart and that there was no cure for it. Miss Rose started coming over on a daily basis to take care of my mother and the household. I liked her being around, she had a kind heart and a ruby ring, which was exactly what I needed!
My mother was not getting better and fall approached, this Halloween I had to be ready, if I wanted to have my Mom back and my brother. There was no delay, no time to waste!
I started to be even friendlier to Miss Rose and even visit her at home. Soon she let me play dress-up with her clothes and jewelry, she enjoyed these games more than any girl my age that I knew about. I must admit that it made me feel less guilty about what I was planning to do.
Finally I had worked out a charm that seemed to be good enough and Halloween was only days away.
And then the news came that I had feared: Two kids from our town had disappeared right out of their homes! Right out of their bedrooms at night and left no traces behind to figure out what might have happened to them. I decided to go to the library for one last time. I pulled out all the reports in the newspapers for our county on kids that had disappeared. I was thirteen years old now and sure that I could handle anything I would find, but I was not prepared for the amount of missing kids that I came up with. As long as the newspaper files reached back I came up with 97 missing kids! Frantically I searched the papers for obituaries. I had found out that the old witch across the street went by the name of Agatha Wilmore. I could not find an ad announcing her birth or her death or that of any of her family members. According to the papers, only one family with that name ever lived here, more than two-hundred years ago. According to the files the entire family, the mother and her three daughters, died in a fire, one-hundred-and-eighty years ago. I took a deep breath and put the books back on the shelves. My knees were shaking, I was sweating. What I had assumed all the time had not been as bad as to know it for a fact, I was hunting a witch. Suddenly I was more scared than I had ever been before, now I had evidence that she was a true witch. Now that I knew what I was up against, I was really scared!
I went back to the shelves and selected a few books that I had been going through months before. Fear had driven me to read a few things over again and again and again. By the time the library was closing I was confident again. I was sure that I had not missed anything that would be important once I would face her.
On the way home I stopped by the church and filled up two more flacons with holy water, as I had done for the last ten days. When I reached our house, I pulled out one of the flacons and a salt shaker. Slowly I walked along our fence line, dripping the holy water and shaking salt along our perimeter. I had done this all week. At night I could hear the crows crowing, but never close to the house. They had not sat on our fence or in the tree again.
At home I looked at the calender. Only four days to Halloween! Tomorrow would be Saturday, the first Saturday after a full moon, the last Saturday before Halloween, the one night when the witch would be at her most vulnerable, her weakest moment! The day when I had to strike, if I did not want to wait another year.
To wait another year at the moment seemed like a good idea, but, according to the calender, in another year my obtions would not be all that good, the Saturday before Halloween would not be the first Saturday after a full moon, which ment that she would not be this weak, she probably would not be as vulnerable as this for years to come, it had to be tomorrow night!
I went to my mother's room and sat down at the edge of her bed. Gently I stroked her face and then held her hand. She was sleeping tight.
"Tomorrow night I will try to make it all right again for us and for many others. If I fail, then I am so sorry, because I know that it will break your heart for good. Please forgive me if I am not successful. I love you." I whispered and kissed her face. Then I pulled her blankets up tight and left the room. In the hallway I met my father who was just going to bed. I said good-night and kissed him on the jaw. Back in my room I opened my closet and took out my collected tools for my mission tomorrow night. I took the pebbles and spread them along the window and around the room. Next I pulled out a small pouched filled with rosemary and sage and sprinkled it along the door and the window. Then I took another flacon with holy water and sprinkled the contens onto the pebbles.
For Christmas I had asked my father to give me an amathyst and smoky quartz. I had requested the same from my Grandparents and Miss Rose when they had asked me what I wished for. I had ended up with two amethysts and three smoky quartz rocks. I went to my shelf and took down the beautiful doll my Grandparents had given me for my birthday a few years ago. She was the most beautiful doll I had ever seen. Knowing that my Grandparents loved me very much, it truly was a gift of love. I put her to the rest of my tools.
I went to my desk and pulled out my notes. One by one I looked up the tools for my mission and checked them on the list. It appeared I had everything I needed, besides the ruby ring. This was the one thing I still had to gather. I sighed deeply and sat down on my bed, looking at my collection in front of me on the floor. When I was sure that I had not missed anything I returned each item into a back pack and hid it in my closet. Then I got ready for bed and said my prayers.
***
Saturday came with a lot of sunshine. The air was warm, it seemed more like a spring day than late fall. I opened my window wide and looked out. Across the street the three crows were sitting in a tree and calling over to me. For a moment I was tempted to mock them by calling them over. But then I decided that pride goes before the fall and it would be better not to tempt my fate.
The day went by real slow, as if it knew that I had urgent business to take care of during the night. In the afternoon I went over to Miss Rose. We had some tea and she read to me from one of her books. Then I suggested to play dress-up. She eagerly agreed and took me to her bedroom. There I slipped into her clothes and she fixed my hair and put make-up on my face. She had a lot of fun making me look the way she wanted me to look and admiring me with the make-up and the hairstyle she had forced onto my hair with lots of pins. When it was time to go on home, I carefully slipped her golden ruby ring into my pocket before I left. In the door I stopped and hugged her tight.
"Miss Rose, I love you. You have always been there for us and we would not know what to do without you. I want to thank you for everything and if I should ever diappoint you, I am truly sorry," I told her and kissed her jaw.
"Oh, sweetheart, I love you too. You could never disappooint me! Now go on home and get a good nights sleep." She replied and kissed me back. Tears of affection and guilt had crept into my eyes. I swallowed hard and left. I hoped and prayed that my mission would succeed and I would bring no further pain to the people I loved.
Before I went home I went to the church to fill up two flacons again with holy water. Then I lit two candles and prayed for myself, for my family, my brother and all the souls that had been caught by the witch.
At home I sat down at my desk and wrote a letter fo my family. In the letter I explained that I was going to destroy the witch. If I was not returning I hoped that they would finally take this as evidence that the witch was real and responsible for all the missing children. I put as much detail in my letter as possible, even explaining how I was about to destroy the witch, hoping that if I failed that they would pick it up right there and maybe find a way to save us. When I was finished, I put it inside an envelope and sealed it. Then I placed it on my pillow on my bed. To make sure the letter would not be touched by anyone but my family I sprinled the letter and the pillow with holy water, rosemary, sage and salt.
In a little bowl on my desk I soaked pebbles in holy water and salt. Then I practiced my charm again. First I read it from the paper, three times and then I mumbled it without looking at my note. No hesitation, no stumbling or stuttering. I had it! I heard my Dad come up the stairs. Quickly I opened my door to wish him a good night, so he would not come into my room and ask questions.
When I was sure he was asleep, I gathered my tools for my mission:
The bag with holy ground, salt, rosemary and sage, pins soaked in holy water, flacons of holy water, dried lavender, which I had taken from my mother's linen closet, the smoky quartz and amethyst stones. The four candles I had saved from Christmas, two of then I had dyed black. I packed it all in the bag, stuffing my pockets with flacons of holy water, little pouches of salt and the pebbles I had soaked in holy water. I fixed the pins on my shirt and slipped Miss Roses ruby ring on my finger. Last I put the sheet with my charm in my pocket, slippen on the back pack and picked up the doll. I pinned a small sheet of paper with a poem Toby had once wrote for me on my birthday to the doll's apron.
Carefully I opened my door and looked into the hallway. All was quiet. I shut my door behind me and felt as if I left everything behind that had ever mattered to me.
Avoiding any noise I slowly decended the stairs, crossed the kitchen and opened the back door. To make sure it would not give me away I had oiled the hinges in the morning. Smoothly it opend and I slipped out into the night.
A pale, shrinking moon was watching as I left the safety of the house and then the yard. Nowhere was a sign of the crows. Stooping low to avoid being seen I crossed the road and entered the garden of the witch. My heart was beating hard and loud, I was sure, everyone could hear it, all the way down the street to the tavern.
The darkness seemed more intense in the witches yard. It seemed more quiet too. Not one sound was heard from a creature of the night. Chills went down my spine. I slowed down, not intentionally, but fear is what came over me so strong, I had almost stopped moving. Dark and forbidden the house loomed in front of me. Fog had come up and was covering the ground. I was sure that when I left our house, there had not been a sign of fog. I pulled one of the flacons with holy water out of my pocket and held it ready in my hand. Then I took a deep breath and thought of my brother. Toby, whom I loved so much and who had been gone from us for two years now. For him, I knew, I could do it. Slowly I kept going toward the house. The only sound in the night was the hammering of my heart and my heavy breathing. Now I reached the front porch, the place where the witch used to sit in her rocking chair, the black cat curled up on her lap. The curtains on the first window I spotted were drawn tight. No light fell through the window, no shadows were seen behind the curtains. I crept forward until I had reached the stairs. The rocking chair was standing empty and abandoned. Carefully I climbed up the four steps and found myself in front of the door. Before I could really decide what to do next, my hand reached out and knocked on the door. I was startled, it had not been my intention to knock, but now it was too late, the damage was done. Pale and shaking I stood there and awaited what ever evil would show itsself in the doorframe. I did not need to wait long. The door opened with a creaking sound and dim light escaped the house.
"Well, well, well. Look who came to see me that late at night!" the witch said and looked at me with cold grey eyes. I swallowed hard and desperatly thought of something to say.
"So, what is it that you want, child?" she asked before I could make up my mind about what to say.
"I..., well..., humum..., good evening," I finally managed to stutter and then held out my doll in front of me, "I brought my most beautiful doll to show you. You had asked me to come and look at your dolls, a long time ago, when I was still little. Now I thought I come to see them and show you my doll. Maybe we can trade..."
She looked at me the way a snake must look at the mouse right before it will be swallowed and digested. And I very much felt like a mouse, small, fragile, caught.
"Well, then come on in. If I invited you, then I will show you my beautiful dolls," she stepped aside and held the door open for me. Her skin was grey and wrinkled. Her clothes were old, worn and washed out. Her hair was grey, almost white and hang in limb strings over her shoulders. She smiled, revealing rotten teeth and gaps, but her eyes stayed cold. I dared not to look at them too long, I was afraid that she would be able to take my soul through my eyes if our eyes connected. I stepped past her and dripped a few drops of holy water with every step I took to seal the way for other witches, or for her escape. From the corner of my eye I could see her shudder when she came close to the drops I had spilled, but she did not seem to know what it was that made her skin crawl.
"Here, this way, child," she said and led me to a room to the left. The black cat was sitting on an arm chair, her eyes more green than anything I had ever seen. When I was in the room I could not believe my eyes, everywhere, on shelves, on tables, on the floor, in the window, on top of an old piano, all around me were dolls.
"Run Mandy, run, get out of here! Save yourself!" I heard Toby's voice. I swallowed hard, trying not to let her see that I could hear him.
"Now, here are my dolls. What do you think? Are they beautiful? Are they the most wonderful dolls you've ever seen?" she asked and I silently nodded. It was time. I had to hurry, I had to do what I had come to do. The more time I waisted the more I would endanger myself. I held the doll out to her.
"Here, could you hold this for a moment?" I asked, "I have another doll with me that I would like for you to see." I pulled my backpack down and rested it on one of the empty armchairs to open it. I quietly smiled while my back was turned to her. When she had taken the doll from me her hand had touched mine, the one that was wearing the Roses ruby ring and she quickly pulled away, as if I had burned her. With a quick move I spilled a hand full of pebbles around me.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'll get them up right away" I mumbled and grabbed the bag with the holy ground in one hand a small saltshaker filled with a mix of rosemary, sage, lavender and salt with the other. I slung the strap from my backpack over my arm and turned around to face her. All the time I could hear Toby warning me and then other voices warned me. Ignoring them I smiled at her.
"Here, that must be it, please, sit down" I said and while she sat in her chair, placing the cat on her lap, I started pouring the dark dirt from the bag on he floor, starting by her feet and quickly going around the chair in a circle. At the same time I sprinkled as much from the salt shaker mix as I could.
"What are you doing!" she screamed and then whispered, "who are you?"
I ignored her to the point that I was not aware of her saying anything at all. I placed the smoky quartz and the amethysts in front of her in a half circle and then pulled out the candles and lit them. I stepped back into my own circle of pebbles.
" On this eve of the 28th of October I cast a spell
and the effect I created I must now quell.
May this evil spell from Agatha Wilmore be lifted
and the freedom we seek be gifted!" I started to chant my charm.
"Noooo! Stop it! Stop! What do you think you are doing! I will curse you! Stop! Now!" the witch yelled from the chair. I kept my eyes and ears shut to her, paid no attention and carried on. While I spoke I opened another bottle of holy water and started shaking it toward her. It made her scream and cry, howl and curse, but I could not hear her, I only heard my own words.
"Never will this spell reverse
or place upon me any a curse.
In this night and this hour
I, Mandy, call upon an ancient power,
to take the witch, possessed by evil away
from this place, this land and this day,
reverse the evil she caused,
restore all the life she has paused!"
The candles' flames shot up in the air, thunder roared over the house. Smoke rose from the dirt I had dug up on holy ground and placed around her chair. She screamed louder, her curses got more evil.
"Ancient powers, angels and all good forces,
I call upon your mercy and support,
destroy the witch, destroy the witch and all her curses,
come get her, come get her and take her to court!"
I was yelling on the top of my loungs. Bright lights came from every where, sparks shot across the room and then it all went dark.
When I opened my eyes and blinked, loving arms held me and Toby's face looked at me. I grasped for air and struggled to sit up.
"You saved me, you saved us all!" Toby said and tears were running down his face. I looked around and saw many faces, all smiling at me, most of them under tears.
"The witch..." I asked and looked around, worried and afraid.
"She is gone, the light took her away, right before you collapsed on the floor. My little sister, who would ever have thought that the little scardy cat would have that much courage!" he said softly and kissed my jaw.
"It was not courage, it was love. Too many people are unhappy without you all. Missing you almost killed our mother. It was love that destroyed the witch," I said and got to my feet.
One after the other the children that had been dolls came to thank me. Most of them were younger than me. I hugged each one of them. The room was filled with love and happiness.
"Let's go, let's get out of here," I finally said. We went to the front door, which was no longer in the frame. On the porch three dead crows were lying, their necks broken, heads and wings twisted, beaks open as if in a last eternal cry.
"Now I feel safe!" I said after I had looked at them for a moment.
From all over people were coming toward us. The light and thunder must have caused quite a spectacle. Everywhere kids were finding their parents or other relatives. Finally my parents and Miss Rose came together with Mr. Richmond. The town was ours again, happiness had found it's way back into our lives.
The End
copyright by Birgit and Roger Pratcher
Labels: Halloween, hunters, paranormanl, spook stories, spooks, supernatural, witches
posted by R&B Pratcher at
2:15 PM
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