Hi.
Some crazy stuff has happened recently, and I need to talk about it.
That’s me in the title, by the way. Inez Martinez. Fifth of seven siblings, two sisters and four brothers, eighth grader and I really did recently meet a witch.
This story, I think, really starts when Coach Chase, our PE teacher here at middle school, disappeared. Last we heard of her she’d been riding her bike somewhere in town.
And afterwards, we got a new teacher. Coach Millbell.
She was beautiful. And when I say beautiful…I don’t just mean beautiful. I mean GORGEOUS. She looked like a giant, sentient Barbie. Sorry for the weird metaphors.
We had her for some time, and then…it happened.
I was feeding my baby brother Alejandro (youngest of all of us), when I heard a knock on the door. It was my best friend (and secret crush) Jillian Parkinson. Normally I would have been overjoyed to see her, but she was pale - well, as pale as one could get with that beautiful black-coffee skin of hers - and shaking.
“What’s wrong?” I asked her.
“Millbell.” was all she said.
“What about her?” “She’s a witch.”
I laughed. “Jill.” I said. “I know you don’t like the teachers, but I’m pretty sure Millbell isn’t a witch.”
“I saw her.” she said. “She was sucking…something out of Miranda Keynet.”
“Ew!” I laughed again.
“No.” she begged. “I’m being serious. There were beams of light coming from her and Millbell was getting prettier.”
“How is that possible?” I joked.
Jillian’s fists started to shake. “I should have known you wouldn’t believe me.” she said, and turned to walk away.
“Wait!” I yelled. She paused.
“Let’s assume this is for real and you aren’t making a joke. How do I get proof she’s a witch?”
“I don’t know! Look in her bag or something!” she yelled back before leaving.
Alejandro started wailing from the kitchen.
…….
The next day at school, I had doubts.
But then, Coach Millbell asked me to stay behind after class.
It suddenly occurred to me that she always aked a student to stay after class, and the next day, that student always turned up sick. How had I not noticed that before?
I started looking at her with a bit more suspicion.
“Wait here.” she said in that beautiful voice of hers. “I just need to go to the bathroom.”
And she left.
I mentally debated whether to look in her bag or not. But eventually I succumbed to urges.
I looked and found an unmarked book.
Her spell book, I half-jokingly thought.
I picked it up and read through it.
And what do you know.
It did have a bunch of spells and potion recipes.
I’m not going to list them here, for obvious reasons, but I looked through the book and became more terrified of Millbell all the while.
Speak of the devil, Millbell cleared her throat behind me.
I turned around with the book still in my hands.
“Really, Inez.” she sighed. “I was only going to take a little bit of your life force. But now, because of your mistakes, I’ll have to take it all and erase people’s memories of you later. You’ve created so much work for me. Really disappointing.”
She snapped her fingers, and suddenly I was unable to get up from the chair I was sitting on.
Little streams of light started emanating from me, and believe me, they hurt like HELL.
I don’t know why I was awake when Miranda and the rest were unconscious. I guess she was using the spell in a stronger form or something.
Suddenly, in the haze created by this spell, I remembered something I had read in the book. The reverse of what she was doing to me now. An aging spell. I just needed to think some words and think about her at the same time. Really, really hard.
The problem was, due to the spell’s effects, I could barely form a coherent thought.
But eventually, I thought the words, which again, I will not post here. The little streams faltered for a moment, and I gained confidence.
I mentally repeated them. Louder.
“Inez.” said Millbell. “You are really being quite disrespectful at the moment.”
I kept thinking them, louder and louder until the streams stopped. Millbell was getting gray streaks in her hair.
Louder.
Wrinkles.
Louder.
Her hair started falling out.
And that was when I went in for it.
I mentally shouted them as loud as I could, with her mental picture strong in my mind.
It all happened in seconds. Her skin rotted away, her bones crumbled and soon all was left was pile of dust. I stood staring for a few seconds, then took off with the book.
……
A lot has happened since then. Our new-new PE teacher, Coach Larkett, is the sweetest ever and as far as I know, definitely NOT a witch.
But I am.
I’ve been learning the spells and potions from the book. I’ve even made myself a wand, but really it’s just a chopstick. And there’s a certain potion I’m supposed to dip it in every morning for it to even work.
I told Jillian about everything, and we’ve made up. She’s learned a few spells herself too, but not to my extent. I’m a self-taught witch now.
And at least now I know all witches aren’t evil. That assumption we should have left behind with the Puritans and the witch-hunters anyway.
But even so, I worry about the ones who are.
The one thing I haven’t told Jillian, the love of my life, is that I walk in dread now. I don’t think Millbell was alone in this. Someone had to have taught her those spells.
And what’s more, I found a picture of Millbell in a book in the public library. Turns out, she hasn’t changed a bit since 1805.
And what about the other evil witches out there? I have no doubt there are good witches, but still, I’m very witch-conscious now. You can’t forget an experience like the one I had. I’m a witch, but a reluctant one.
I don’t want to spend the rest of my life afraid of myself.
But I hope anyone who reads this post is careful.
Anyone in your life could be someone like Millbell.