“Breakfast is ready!”

James opened his eyes. It was Saturday, which meant that his mother had made breakfast again. He yawned and stretched out his arms as he sat up in bed. The smell of sausages creeped into his bedroom causing him to grin. They were his favorite. He stumbled out of bed and rubbed his eyes with the backs of his thumbs.

“Ouch!” he yelled, yanking his hand away from the fresh cut on his cheek. When he looked down and saw the ring, still firmly attached to his thumb, his heart dropped into his stomach and he was reminded of the night prior. Any hope he had of it being a bad dream was now completely shattered. He tried once more to remove the ring but stopped when his thumb began to hurt from the extreme tugging.

“You can’t be serious…” he mumbled.

“Hurry up or it will get cold!” his mother shouted.

He looked around his room and everything seemed to be in the right place, nothing missing. Just to be safe he even checked inside his closet, which was thankfully devoid of witches. The only thing out of place here, was this sinister looking ring.

“Coming!” James yelled down the hall as he opened his bedroom door. Upon entering the dining room, he found that his mother and sister had already started eating without him.

“Good morning sleepyhead,” mumbled his sister through a mouthful of food. He gave her a lazy nod, sat down, and started eating as well.

His sister, Sara, was only a year younger than him. Her long brown hair was clumped into several knot clusters and most of it stood in the air from the way she had slept. James watched as she dripped syrup on the otter pajamas she was wearing and noticed that it wasn’t the first time she had done so. However, the real mess covered her face. Her round face covered in food mixed with her wild hair made her look like a rabid squirrel. James grinned.

“Aren’t you going to the library this morning?” he asked.

She replied with the same lazy nod he had previously given her. This was typically the way they communicated.

“Will you return a book for me?”

Another nod.

“Thanks.”

James glanced down at the hand he was keeping carefully tucked under the table and found the ring staring back at him. For a moment he considered chopping his thumb off but quickly abandoned that train of thought. However ugly it was, it wasn’t worth losing a thumb.

“You need to eat more mom,” Sara said softly as their mother pushed her plate forward, unfinished. She had not been eating very much since their father passed away last Christmas, almost eight months ago. In fact, she was hospitalized for the first three weeks because she wouldn’t eat at all.

“I’m fine Sara.” She replied, picking up her coffee mug. James watched his mother’s face soften as her eyes became cloudy and he exchanged a nervous glance with his sister. They could always tell when she was thinking of their father.

“What happened to your face James?” asked Sara once the silence had grown too long. He stared at her for a moment, confused, before he realized that he had cut it with the ring.

“Oh, nothing. I think I cut it in my sleep somehow,” James lied awkwardly. He was never a good liar and his sister always knew when he tried. However, she simple nodded again. She must not have cared enough to press him for the truth he thought. James cleared his plate and, once his sister had finished, grabbed theirs as well.

“I’ll do the dishes!” protested his mother. Standing, she tried to grab the stack from his hand, but he spun around her instead.

“You cooked. I’ll clean.”

“Thank you!” shouted Sara as she ran back to her room. His mother thanked him as well and kissed him on the cheek before leaving to get ready. She had errands to run today, which included dropping Sara off at the library.

As he rinsed the dishes one by one and placed them in the dishwasher, he listened to the two of them shuffling around the house. Their home was small, and the walls were thin which meant that sound carried from room to room easily. He looked up and watched the dust float through the sunbeams breaking past the curtains before finishing the dishes. When he had, he grabbed a rag and proceeded to dust off the bookshelves in the living room. The windows did not seal properly so everything was covered in dust most of the time.

Their living room was the biggest room in the house. They had a small leather couch and several bookshelves filled with countless books but no television. Their father was strictly against owning one and on the few occasions there was something he wanted to watch they would all go to a friend’s house.

“Where is that book?” Sara shouted from her room.

“I’ll grab it for you!” yelled James as he ran back to his own room. He ran past his sister’s room, which was the first door on the left, and entered his which was the next door. The master bedroom, which belonged to their mother, was on the other side of the house. Once he had found the book, lying on the ground next to the nightstand he had set it on, he met his sister in the living room and handed it to her.

“Thanks again.” She nodded.

“We’ll be back by dinner,” said his mother as the two of them walked out the front door. “Do you need me to pick up anything?” James thought about asking for a new thumb so he could cut off the ring but refrained.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Nothing I can think of,” he said smiling. She hugged him and he closed the door.

The rest of the day passed without much else happening. James spent most of his time staring at the ring and wondering what exactly had happened to him. What worried him the most though, was what would happen next. He had a bad feeling about the whole situation however, that wasn’t to say he was without gratitude. No matter how hard he tried to be angry or wish that the witch hadn’t shown up, he just couldn’t bring himself to commit to the feeling. He was happy to be alive, and he knew he had her to thank for it.

“Witch or not, she can’t be too bad of a person since she saved me, right?” he asked aloud.

When it came time for dinner, his mother and sister had still not returned.

He tried to call their cellphones but neither of them answered. It was not unusual for them to run late so he fixed a sandwich for himself. His sister would often get caught up in a new book at the library and beg their mother to let her read it a bit longer before they checked out. This led to their mother picking up a book as well and the two of them would forget what time it was altogether as they drifted away in a sea of words. When the loss of their father became too much, the comfort of books became their escape. Afterall, their love of reading came from him.

It wasn’t until the next morning, when they were still missing, that he truly became worried. James called their phones again and again but each time he was sent straight to their voicemail. He was getting ready to go looking for them when someone knocked on his front door. Within a second he crossed the entire house to yank it open, praying that they were finally home safe. When he did so he was greeted by the town sheriff and his heart sank. A feeling he was growing all too used to lately.

“James.” The sheriff spoke softly.

“Y-yes sir?” James replied nervously. The sheriff looked around for a moment.

“May I come inside?”

“I’m in a hurry actually. I need to go find my mother and sister. They’ve been gone all night.”

“I’m afraid your mother and sister were in an accident last night.” The sheriff’s face grew pale and James could tell he was fighting his own emotions. The sheriff was an old friend of his father’s and even though he hadn’t been around since his passing he was still as close as anyone could be to family.

“What…What happened?” he asked slowly.

Time stood still as James listened to what the sheriff had to say. A drunk driver had hit them going almost one hundred miles an hour. As his mother and sister drove through a stoplight, the drunk ran a red light and slammed into the driver’s side door, knocking them sideways. The car in the other lane didn’t have time to stop and slammed into the passenger side door. His mother died instantly, but his sister apparently bled out while waiting for an ambulance to arrive. Aside from losing consciousness, the drunk was fine. The man who stole the last of his family away from him, was fine.

“I’m so sorry James, if there is anything I can-” The sheriff was cut off as James closed the door between them. He couldn’t understand what was happening in his life at all right now. He managed to cheat death, but his mother and sister weren’t that lucky. His eyes filled with tears and his mind spun in circles. His heart somehow felt as if it would explode and deflate at the same time. He wanted to scream, to yell as loud as he could, but every time he tried to his throat would just close up or the energy would drain from his body.

He balled his hands into fists and rocked back and forth on the ground for hours, maybe even days. He wasn’t sure. He cried until his eyes dried out and it burned to close them. He choked on his screams until finally, after much effort, he managed to force them out. Once he had, he screamed until his lungs felt like they had torn apart and he passed out. Then when he woke, he would repeat the cycle.

His first sane thought came days later, when he pulled himself to his feet for a glass of water. Once he had drank it, he realized how thirsty he really was and drank several more. Afterward he stumbled over to the couch and collapsed upon it.

“Who was it?” he mumbled to himself. “Who did it?”

More and more he wanted to know who it was that took his family from him. His sorrow gave way to anger and as he stewed, his anger gave way to hatred. His blood began to boil, and his ears were hot to the touch. By chance, the ruby eyes of his new ring caught his attention. They seemed to resonate with his growing rage. As they stared back at him one thought became clear in his mind. Vengeance.

“I’ll make him pay.” James stood and went for the front door but stopped as soon as he touched the door handle. Realizing that he had no idea where to start, or what he would do if he did find the man, had drained him of his rage. In its place was…nothing. An empty space. He released his grip and placed his back against the door. After sliding down to the floor, he placed his head between his knees and closed his eyes.

“Mom… Sara…” he called out softly. “Please come home. Please, just be alright. Please. Please! Please! … Please…”

“Sweetheart, I’m fine. Are you feeling okay?” asked his mother.

James lifted his head immediately, his heart skipping into overdrive. He looked around for his mother, allowing a small light of hope into his chest, only to find that she wasn’t there. What he did find, however, was the red-haired witch who was leaning against the wall smiling.

“No. NO! Don’t you dare use her voice!” James shot to his feet and rushed toward her, reaching out his hands to grab her by the collar. She snapped her fingers and he froze.

“I wouldn’t if I were you,” she warned in her usual threatening tone of voice. “You know, I really had hoped you would open the door though.”

“Don’t use her voice!”

“Or what?”

James’ struggled to reach toward her once more but still could not move.

“Is that really all you can muster?” she said, in his sister’s voice this time.

The rage he had felt vanished instantly as tears flooded his eyes. He dropped his attempts to push forward and shifted his gaze to the floor.

“Please… just don’t… I can’t take it…” The witch released her hold on him, and he fell to his knees.

“Was that not okay? I thought you would have loved to hear their voices again,” she said sarcastically. James was silent.

“Why didn’t you save us?” His mother’s voice.

“Brother, help! It hurts so much!” His sister’s voice.

“Stop! This isn’t funny!” he cried out. “Why are you doing this to me?!”

James slammed his fists into the ground so hard that his knuckles cracked, and his skin tore open. He wanted to leave and go after the man who killed them, but he couldn't bring himself to move.

“Get up. You’re a man, aren’t you?”

He looked up at her, tears falling from his eyes.

“If you want to do something about it, then get up.” Her voice was firm, but no longer mocking.

“What can I do?” James dropped his gaze once again. “If I find him, I’ll kill him. If I kill him, they’ll arrest me. If they don’t then they’ll shoot me. Either way my life is over.” James dropped his head to the floor and grabbed a handful of hair in each hand. “My life is already over!” he cried into the carpet. “There’s nothing I can do!”

“Get up. Let’s go,” she commanded, materializing her broom just as she had the last time. “I have something to show you.”

She pulled him to his feet and pointed to her broom.

“Get on.”

James swallowed his spit as he prepared to object but changed his mind as their eyes met. Somehow, he felt as if his terrible life would be much worse if he disobeyed her right now. Reluctantly, he climbed behind her on the broom. Without warning they shot forward, bursting through his living room window. With all his strength he gripped her waist and pressed his head against her back. The last thing he saw before clamping his eyes shut, was his broken window slowly repairing itself as the world rapidly shrunk beneath his dangling feet.