I stood by the door at the bakery, hoping to close up, when I saw a regular customer and a friend walking down the parking lot, her two children in tow. She wore the look I knew well, the look of troubles. Part of me wanted to close up quickly and pretend we were closed already, but instead of listening to my instinct telling me that this is a problem we do not need, I opened the door with a smile.
“Welcome Laura, you are just in time!” Children walking next to her were happy to see me and did not look in distress. At least that was encouraging.
“Just in time for some last minute donuts, aren’t you kids?”
The children smiled back and the young girl ran toward me, jumping into my arms, while the boy was his usual serious self. I noticed Laura had been crying since her eyes were red, her cheeks all puffy and her lips swollen as if she had been biting them. I closed the door behind them and flipped the sign to CLOSED, before anyone else mistook us for being open. .
Laura was a young mother to two little witch kids, while not having any magic herself. She used to be a good looking woman, with her dark blond hair and vibrant green eyes, but life and probably husband, beat that vibrancy out of her, so now she looked like a rag that someone threw on the floor and stomped on. I knew little of her situation, but what I did know was that she ran away from her sorcerer husband a couple of years ago, and she was deep into hiding. When my cousin Mia and I took over the bakery, Mia put a spell on the store that called out to people in the area in need of magical help. People like Laura who are in trouble and are looking for help, maybe not even knowing what kind of help, are attracted to the bakery and come in for a donut or two. The spell that Mia created gently suggests to people to share their problems with her, and the spell was incredibly intricate and difficult to maintain. It takes a couple of days to cast and needs to be redone every full moon so that it keeps its potency and calls out to people in trouble. My cousin has a kind face and a welcoming personality so people are drawn to her even without the spell.
Laura was among our first customers for both the bakery business and Mia’s Twilight cauldron store, requiring a very delicate spell that would help her and her kids to disappear. Mia, being a witch of considerable power, made a wonderful spell called The Hideaway, which she can imbue into candles, essential oils and incense, and it hides a magic signature of everyone within the area of the smoke or mist. Laura came to us with a problem and did not even know how to ask for help, but once she said she was on the run, Mia knew exactly what she needed and gave her a sample for free. Ever since then Laura has been a regular, admitting that the spell was the only reason why she was allowed to put down roots and raise her kids as she wanted to. Seeing her in distress was something that has not happened in years, so naturally I was worried about her and her children, since she has become more of a friend than just a customer.
“Hey Sasha, is Mia available?” Laura whispered. I escorted the kids to the display of our tiny donuts, and called my cousin, who was preparing new samples of cookies to be sold if the interest would be big enough.
“Cousin, you have a customer!”
Laura sat behind a little table, with her back to the wall, so she had a perfect view of the kids, who were still admiring the tiny donuts, and the front door, checking for any danger that could have followed her. Mia appeared at the counter, carrying a selection of freshly baked cookies.
Before you saw my cousin, you heard her, because she wore several beads which clicked and clacked as she walked. Her usual ensemble consisted of tight fitting shirts and long flowy skirts with many beads on her necklaces and bracelets, as she believed it made her seem more like a witch, even when I told her that at least to me, she looked more like Esmeralda the gipsy. Everyone loved Mia, no matter what she wore or how she looked, so if she wanted to adorn herself with layers and layers of beads that was her choice. Kids loved her because she was colorful and silly, adults loved her sense of humor and her smarts, the supernatural community loved her magic and her neutral stance.
I’m not a human myself, but lone shifters are far more common than lone, powerful witches. The local coven knew about Mia and made several attempts to bring her into the coven, but she was not a normal witch, just like I was not a normal shifter. Coming from Eastern Europe our magic was old and forgotten, and we didn’t really fit into the fairly new American supernatural community.
Mia was beautiful by any standards imaginable. She had long soft curls, light brown hair, clear blue eyes, a nose that was a bit long but it fit on her oval shaped face, full lips and rounded chin. She was tall and had just enough fat to make her desirable, while not being chubby or skinny. She walked with grace, to her own music, always smiling. Dressed as a fashionable gipsy, she wore a colorful skirt and white blouse, making the outfit pop with a deep purple scarf that was wrapped around her neck. She wore several long necklaces, bracelets, earrings and a few rings, all made out of colorful stones. The jewelry was actually homemade by another customer of Mias, who didn’t have a lot of money, so Mia accepted jewelry as payment instead.
She saw the kids first and immediately went to their side, picking up Sarah and twirling her around.
“You are so much bigger than the last time I saw you, little witch!” Sarah was giggling in her arms and continuing twirling even after Mia put her down.
“Shawn, you look more and more like a man, instead of a boy.” Shawn looked somber but shook her offered hand.
“Maybe you should consider stopping growing for a month or so?” She said as she stepped back, taking him in. Shawn, being all of 11 years old, just shrugged and went to his sister, who was picking out which tiny donuts she wanted to try today. I didn't know how old Sarah was, but I guessed around five or six. I catered to the kids, offering the leftover tiny donuts, while my cousin focused on Laura. They tried to speak silently, but my hearing was good enough to listen in.
“I need more of Hideaway,” Sarah whispered.
“Kids are having nightmares of their father, asking where they are and to tell him the address or general location. I don’t know what else to do…” I felt her eyes on the kids.
“Sometimes I wish they weren’t witch born. I just want my kids to be safe.” The last sentence was accompanied with a sigh and a few tears.
“Sasha,” I heard my cousin say,
“Can you go make some tea for Laura, and maybe cocoa for the kids?” I beckoned to the kids. “Come on little ones, let's go find some tiny marshmallows to soak in nice hot cocoa.” Sarah made a squealing noise and ran to the back of the bakery, into the kitchen. Shawn lingered, looking back to his mom. I touched his shoulders and said:
“Don’t worry about your momma, she will be fine. My cousin has her back.” I winked at him.
“And I have yours.” He did not smile back, but slowly went to the back of the bakery as well. Sarah went and sat behind a table in a corner, while Shawn stood next to her, keeping an eye on the doors, visibly worried about his mom. It was not their first time in my kitchen so they knew not to touch anything hot and wait where it's safe. If this would be a social visit we would go to our apartment which was located right across the hallway from the bakery, but I wanted to keep the kids close to their mom, just in case.
I took the electric kettle and poured water in for the tea. For the cocoa I found a smaller pot and filled it with milk.
“I just don’t like my cocoa with water,” I said softly to the kids, throwing them a smile. While water was being boiled and milk was heating up, I went and sat across the kids wanting to make them feel safe and talkative. I found tiny marshmallows in a cupboard with the cocoa powder, so I put it on the table, but the kids didn’t even notice. In a desperate attempt to get their attention I ate several tiny marshmallows, oohing and aahing how good and fluffy they were. Sarah was happy to follow my example as she grabbed a fistful of the marshmallows and threw them in her mouth, but Shawn was being stubborn.
“So what’s wrong?” Shawn made a frown face, but Sarah had no problems telling me all sorts of secrets.
“Mommy said it's a secret, and she told me not to tell anyone at school.” She made a point of taking more marshmallows,
“But you are like my aunty and she tells you stuff anyway.” She peeked at her brother, but decided to continue.
“I had a bad dream.”
“You did?” I raised an eyebrow.
“I have bad dreams as well. They happen sometimes,” I said softly. Shawn made an odd noise.
“I dreamed of the bad man eating Shawn.” I threw a marshmallow in my mouth thinking of what to say next.
“Did anything else happen? In the bad dream?” Sarah looked at Shawn.
“He dreamt I got eaten as well. He just doesn’t want to tell mommy, because she got really scared when I told her my dream.” Shawn finally opened up to add:
“I just didn’t want her to worry. I have been having bad dreams for a while, but mom always makes such a fuss out of everything.” I nodded,
“Moms do like to make fuss and most of the time they don’t fuss over nothing. Did she say anything about why she fussed?” The kids shook their heads. Shawn continued:
“She didn’t say, but I know. She is scared that our father will find us and take away our magic.”
The kettle made a whistling noise so I stepped away to find some mugs thinking about what the kids told me. I poured boiling water in a big tea cup and added a special tea mix my cousin makes, making the tea calm and soothing and for the kids I found some smaller cups with colorful cartoon characters all over them, adding cocoa powder that we have specially ordered from Belgia. My own mug is more akin to a soup mug, big and deep, with a Pooh bear on it. I heard Mia’s beads and she was suddenly in the kitchen asking if tea was ready. I gave her a mug for Laura, and took the two smaller mugs to the kids. Their eyes shone with anticipation, and even Shawn seemed more relaxed as he put several marshmallows into his mug.
“Shawn,” I started carefully.
“How long have you had dreams about your father?” Cocoa was too hot to drink, but he used a spoon to fish out a marshmallow and while he was blowing on it, to cool it down, Sarah answered the question.
“Since my 5th birthday, when my magic lit up.” I blinked in surprise.
“What do you mean Sarah, when you say that your magic lit up?”
Sarah looked me straight in the eyes. “I have big big magic now.” She flung her arms wide and almost hit her brother in the face.
“It used to be small, like a little fire right here,” she motioned to her chest, right above her heart,
“But since my birthday it has been growing and growing and growing. It’s really big now.” She said with a smile, while I tried to make my face blank. It wasn’t all that hard, since hiding my emotions was something I had to do since I was a kid.
“When did you start having nightmares then, Sarah? Shawn has been having them for a while, what about you?” Since Sarah was too busy slurping the hot cocoa from the spoon, Shawn took the opportunity and answered for her.
“Three nights in a row,” He either ignored the hotness of the cocoa or he chilled it down somehow, because his cup was half empty already.
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I covered my face with my palms, thinking. Nightmares were not good as the dreams could either be prophetic or their father was looking for them, but they could also just be a dream. I felt like I didn't have enough information about Laura and her situation to judge the severity of the nightmares and what to make of them. I also wasn't an expert in dreams or magic and how they might work together in children who have incredible magical potential. The big issue at hand was also their father, who Laura claimed was an incredibly powerful sorcerer. Not all sorcerers are evil, but good ones are the exception of the rule. Knowing that Laura ran away from her husband, father of her kids, I can imagine him being evil or at least bad enough to hide his children away from him. But eating or taking kids' magic away is something I can’t really imagine any good man would do.
I smiled at the kids, patted them on the head and went to the front of the bakery, where Mia and Laura were whispering. I looked at my witchy cousin and made a motion for her to notice me.
“Switch with me.” I think Mia was more surprised than Laura, but she got up. When she walked past me, I whispered:
“Ask about the nightmares.” With that information Mia went to the kitchen and I went to sit next to Laura, who had clearly been crying and looked very upset. For a few minutes I sat in silence, allowing her to compose herself. She took a sip of her tea before she started talking.
“I bring troubles to your door, and yet you still…” I didn’t let her finish her sentence.
“Laura, you are not just a valued and regular customer, but both me and Mia consider you a friend.” She smiled weakly. I put my hand over hers and whispered.
“I don’t ask people about why they come here and seek my cousin, usually I wait until they are comfortable enough to talk. Sooner or later, truth is told and problems are solved, one way or another. But you have been coming here since your little girl was a baby, and you still haven’t told me your story. It’s time Laura, you need to tell me.” She looked scared. Smell of terror emanated from her body and I blinked in surprised because I didn’t expect terror. She tried to tug her hand back into her lap, but I was holding it firmly in my hands. She sat there quietly, until we heard Mia walk back in.
“Kids went to the apartment to find some books and toys.” Mia said as she was sitting down. She put her hands above both of our hands and whispered a spell:
“That, what is said here and now, let it be a secret, forever and ever. Let us be unseen or unheard, in this house, in this place.” She said the spell in English so that Laura would understand what she said, but I knew that the original spell was not in English. I never realized it doesn’t matter what language you say the spell, as long as you know what you are doing, but I also never had more than just a passing interest in magic so there is a lot I don’t know or care to know.
“You are safe here, Laura. It’s a haven for the troubled, always has been and will be as long as we live here. Spell that I cast was an extra measure, but now you can really trust that you are safe and protected in this house. It’s time.” Laura’s mouth was a thin line, but I could see her resolve weakening.
“I don’t know if I told you this before, but I was born into a prominent witch family in Seattle.” She started talking, but she wouldn’t lift her head to look at us.
“Sadly I was born without magic. It has been happening more and more lately, especially in the oldest witch families. There are children born with no magic even to a male and female witch and that has never happened before in the known history. To help this issue they have been breeding the kids out to other families, trying to see what happens, if it’s simply inbreeding or if the lack of magic is caused by something else. They call children like me a witch kin, and two times out of five, if a witch kin has a child with a full witch, that child is a full witch.” I tried really hard not to look at Mia. She has had a lot of witches making propositions, so maybe it wasn’t all for love, like we thought. Having a witch from one of the oldest european families might be a huge bonus for a declining witch family. New genes and all that.
“If a witch kin marries a human and has kids, they are nine times out of ten, human. Witch families usually let children like me marry for love, since there are more and more of us and we are becoming less relevant, but all my cousins and my sisters were also born witch kin, and my family was desperate for a new generation of witches.” She looked into my eyes and angrily said:
“I was 17 when Mikhael came with a proposal of marriage to my family. He was a sorcerer of some renown from an old family. who wanted to marry a witch, but there were no witches to marry, so my family offered me. Unbeknownst to me they came to an arrangement that if children would be born during the marriage, he would keep all the males and my family would get all the females. My family laughed at his mention of male witches, for they are extremely rare and treasured. They did not think we would have any children at all, since sorcerers are hard to breed and they are not known to have any kids at all. To them it was not a big deal to get rid of one of the many witch kin girls they had, for this experiment.” She swallowed in anger and resentment.
“I had no choice in this at all. As soon as I finished high school they informed me I was to marry Mikhael and be his. I was not happy, but Mikhael was very handsome and charismatic. We met and went on several dates as well, before the wedding.” She started whispering.
“I think he was slowly spelling me. Some love charm or something. Because yes he was good looking and yes, he was charismatic and older and more experienced, but I remember so little of our dates. Even our wedding is a blur.” There were tears trailing down her cheeks, falling on her shirt. I looked horrified, while Mia’s face was blank. We dared not to interrupt her, for fear she would stop talking.
“I don’t remember the sex, but I do remember the magic. There was a massive pentagram under the bed, and although I am witch kin and can’t do magic, I can still feel it. We had several bedrooms in the house, and one was specifically for when we had sex and I was ovulating. I swear he used magic on me to keep me subservient. You have to understand, I never had much of a spine, but I had some hobbies and wishes. I wanted to become a zookeeper and work with the animals. After the wedding, all I wanted was to please my husband, be healthy and fertile and that’s it. When he wasn’t there it was like I didn’t exist.” She was almost visibly shrinking in front of us. Her arms were hugging her body, her head was low and she just looked so small.
“I have no words to explain it. I had to be spelled or charmed in some way, because there is no other explanation. I don’t think I loved him…” She did not finish her thoughts. She was trying to convince us so hard that she was spelled and that it wasn’t her fault that it made me suspicious. She was young and impressionable, and Mikhael was older and charismatic. She may have been spelled or maybe she was just in love. She could be ashamed of her feelings, and that's why she is so quick to turn to magic. I know that there are spells that make you lustfull, but I don’t know if true love spells actually exist.
“I became pregnant quite quickly, within months! It was a surprise to Mikhael and to my family and for the first time I was praised and not considered a failure or a burden.” Her hand gestures were becoming more and more wild.
“It was the happiest I have ever been. Mikhael was a doting husband, taking great care of me, feeding me, being a warm, welcoming person. We stopped having sex in the bedroom with the pentagram and life became easier. We even slept in the same room for the longest time, even though I had my own bedroom in the other wing of the house. Nursery was made and an ultrasound showed I was carrying a boy.” She stopped for a while and took a sip of her tea. She used this time to compose her thoughts.
“I think this is where the fog started lifting. Mikhael was ecstatic that I was carrying a boy. He was saying a lot about a deal he made with my family, and how we can keep our first child. It’s where I found out about the deal and that my female children would be sent to my family. I tried to object, they were my children, but I just couldn’t. Do you know how horrible it is, when you try to be mad at someone and you try to talk to them, and you just can’t? The words would not leave my mouth… And Mikhael knew it. He saw me trying to talk and being unable to, and he just laughed. He made fun of me, saying that if I have something to say, I should just say it. When I started to cry in frustration, he hit me.” She put her hand on her left cheek, rubbing it gently. I changed my mind about her being spelled, this was clearly a spell of some sort. I sighed silently, but her story was far from over.
“I gave birth at home, in the bedroom where Shawn was conceived. He had a strange witch come into the house, helping me. I don’t know who she was, but everytime she touched me I screamed in pain and horror. It was the single most horrifying experience in my life. Sometimes I have a nightmare about that woman, where she takes my newborn son and eats him, in front of me. She then takes my womb out and eats that as well, leaving me to bleed out. I told that fear to Mikhael once and he just said that I am lucky, that she owed him a favor, because he would not put it past her, to not do just that.” Laura was shaking now. I don’t know if it was the cold or fear, but the whole bakery had a stench of horror and despair. I made a face and looked at Mia. She was pale, because just like me, she remembered a story we were told as kids, about a witch eating newborns as payment for her help…
“I barely remember Shawn being a baby. I know I had a wetnurse helping me take care of him, but my memory only clears up when I had my miscarriages.” I couldn’t help myself, I gasped a little. She said miscarriages, not a miscarriage. That means that there were several of them.
“I think it was five or six miscarriages, before Sarah. I honestly can not say, my memory is that bad. But in the last few months all the spells that Mikhael put on me, stopped working. He did not know of course, because I still acted foggy. I pretended I was sick quite often, so he would leave me alone. I don’t know if it was Shawn’s magic that sobered me up, or maybe it was Sarah herself. But one of my children brought me out of Mikhale’s hold and I was free. I started plotting my escape, because I knew I carried a girl this time, and she would be sent to my family. At that point I hated my family as much as I hated Mikhael. They gave me to him and left me there, not even checking up with me one time.” Her tea was gone and she looked at Mia.
“I finally escaped. I faked labour pains, and he went to pick up the midwife. I drugged the wetnurse with sleeping pills, took my son and ran. I had no goal in mind, I just wanted to get away from the house of horror, so my babies would be safe. I drove for days, no goal, just drove. I slept a little in the car, feeding Shawn with fast food. I stole money from the wetnurse before I left so I had a couple of hundred dollars on me, but after a few weeks I was out of money. I gave birth to my daughter by myself in a car, only Shawn to help me. He was the one who was holding the newborn Sarah, while I cut the cord.” She closed her eyes and whispered:
“I think he healed me as well. I remember giving birth, cutting the cord, and then nothing. I think I was bleeding quite a lot, but when I woke up, the bleeding stopped.” She was now tapping the table with her fingers.
“I left the car in a bad neighborhood with keys in the car because I knew someone would take it and that it would make it back to Mikhael. Shawn used his magic to help me steal a new car and he also made the ATM drop money. I am so ashamed when I think about how I used my son's magic, but I had no other choice.” I finally interjected in her story.
“There is no judgment here Laura.” She smiled bitterly, but finished the story.
“That’s what we did for a while. I would take a new car in each town, take kids to the ATM to get some money. Three months on the run…” Suddenly she sat up straighter, feeling better about herself.
“We found your bakery about three months after I escaped. Shawn was actually asking me for something and we stopped in several bakeries, but he didn’t like any of them. He kept insisting I need to drive there, and get him a donut. I don’t even know why I listened, other than he was really the best little man, and he didn’t ask for stuff often. When I saw your bakery I finally understood. I felt the magic, but it was so warm, so welcoming, so unlike what I was used to. Before I entered I cried a bit, because I finally felt safe.” Her eyes were teary again, but this time the tears were accompanied with a smile.
“Mia, you immediately knew what I needed. Something to hide me and my children from magic and you offered the spell immediately. I left the bakery with donuts and Hideaway. That first night, we stayed in the hotel and I put oil on my children and we finally felt safe. That horrible feeling that someone or something was after us was finally gone.” I don’t remember her first visit, but Mia obviously did. She took a moment to answer.
“There is a spell on the bakery that attracts a certain kind of person. Those in need of help, in need of protection and safety. Spell attracts people like you, the people I can help, and hides it from people who would abuse my help. There isn’t a lot I can do, but the Hideaway spell is one of my best inventions. I’m glad it helped you, that’s for sure.” Mia looked happy and that made me smile. Because every time Mia is happy, so am I.
“I stayed in the hotel for the whole week, thinking about my next move.” Laura continued.
“I realized it was time I stop running and build up my defenses. Your spell gave me just that. I rented a house, with a promise of being able to buy it, and started a protection circle that would hide us, without your help. The protection that I was setting up takes years to finish, so your help was still essential for me and my children. And now,” there was a sob escaping from her,
“I am finally so close to finishing the protection and somehow he has found us. I don’t know how, but I feel the bad energy as soon as I go outside, it's always there waiting for me and the kids. I just need a few more months before the house is spelled completely, but I just know he will be here before that.” Tears were back. She covered her face with her hands, sobbing quietly. We didn’t even hear the kids, but suddenly they appeared, hugging their mom. Sarah, the little princess, looked at me and said:
“Save us aunty Sasha. I know you can. Mother said so.” I sat up straighter and Mia did as well. She looked at me with her eyes in shock.
“Did you mean mommy told you so?” She tried to elaborate, but Shawn was the one who answered.
“It was Mother. She came to us in a dream, chasing the bad man away. She looked weird, half shadow, half human, hidden between the trees and yet standing on a meadow. The half moon was behind her and..., “ He stopped, frown on his face. Sarah took my hand in hers:
“She was human, but she wasn’t human. She told us to find the guardian. The guardian who protects the witches and guards against all evil. She said to tell you...,” Shawn and Sarah both said it in one voice at the same time.
“Tell my chosen one that Mother wants her to help you, for you two are the children of the future and in need of a strong guardian.” Their eyes glazed over and they both looked at me, still saying it in one voice:
“Time to step out of the shadows, to accept the place that the Gods created you for. Be the guardian you were meant to be, and grow out of the witch’s shadow..” There was an eerie atmosphere in the bakery, and a silence so great you could hear a pin drop. Children moved to hug their mom, and I stared at Mia in horror.