Page 49 of Charmed, I'm Sure
I lean in close to her ear, not slowing the stirring even slightly. “Taking over so you can enjoy your coffee. Don’t worry, Trouble, I’ve got this. Let go.”
She turns her head, looking at me as if it’s for the first time. She blinks slowly, her eyes flicking across my face as I concentrate on the task that I can’t fail at. This feels like a big moment, one of those moments that will break methrough her walls. She’s never let anyone this close, not just literally, but emotionally as well. I can sense it in the way her body is tense, in the flicker along her jaw, and in the confusion radiating off of her. She doesn’t know if she can trust it, but I’m here to show her that she can always trust in me, inus.
She doesn’t say a word, simply ducks from under my arms, and walks to her coffee. She takes a few sips, still watching me as if she can’t believe it.
Trying to lighten the mood, I say, “So what exactly are we making?”
“Eclipsera,” she says with a shrug, continuing to sip on her coffee as if that answered everything.
I nod my head. “Right, and what exactly does it do? Is there a reason you are sweating more than a marathon runner at the end of their 5k?”
She glares at me. Probably shouldn’t have mentioned the sweat, but come on!
“I don’t even know if I’m allowed to tell a non-magical person any of this. But since you seem to be a dog after a bone, I’ll give you as much as I think will keep me out of trouble. Uh, so obviously you know about Samhain, but do you know it’s more than a cute festival?”
Without slowing down or even taking my eyes off my task, I say, “Can’t say that I did. It’s not exactly as if anyone handed me a guide or pamphlet on all things Pumpkinridge.”
She doesn’t say anything or continue what she was saying. I glance up to find her glaring at me.
“Did you even look in your welcome basket?”
Shit. “Uh, would I be in less trouble if I said I’ve been so distracted by your beauty that I haven’t even thought about it?”
She just blinks at me. Her mouth forms a tight straight line with one hand on her hips.
“Noted, yeah, no, I haven’t looked in the basket. I just thought it was things from the shops and coupons.”
She shakes her head. “It is that, but there is an actualpamphlet inside that goes over traditions, species, and events in our town. There is even a section, a very brief section, over our town history. I would know since my sister painstakingly forced me to sit through all her edits of the damn thing.”
“So you are saying that it’s even worse that I didn’t read it?” She keeps staring at me, as if I’d asked the dumbest question. “Right, okay I will read it tonight. I swear.”
“Good. But yes, there is a section in there that goes over our events that surround each of the major holidays. For example, Samhain isn’t just a fall festival with pumpkins and ghost stories. Sure, we do those things, but that’s more for the kids. For the witches, we will do a veilwalk at dusk.”
My eyebrows quirk, barely wanting to move for fear she will stop talking and opening up to me. I feel the hair along my arms rising, sensing the shift between us. That feeling of anticipation on a ride, when you know the big plummet is coming.
“It’s where we walk the boundary of the Whispering Pines, lighting spirit lanterns and whispering the names of our ancestors as we thin the veil between the living in the dead. Something that naturally occurs that night, we just assist it to aid our loved ones’ journey by calling their names across.”
“Interesting, I’ve been wondering how there are ghosts here, but I never recall seeing them in Jasper.”
She walks to the cauldron with a glass jar full of something green and leafy. She pops the lid open and drops a few sprigs into the bubbling dull gray liquid I’ve been stirring.
“It’s not that you don’t have them in your town; it’s more likely that the veil is thick enough that you just aren’t able to see them. In Pumpkinridge, our veil is intentionally thin so our ancestors can visit more regularly. Although during Samhain, it is nonexistent in comparison. It has to exist to a degree otherwise we wouldn’t be able to seal it again. You don’t want spirits to roam freely without restrictions.”
“So, you are saying that for my entire life I’ve had ancestors floating around and watching everything…”
She smirks. “Something you don’t want an ancestor to see?”
My cheeks warm as the blush spreads. “There’s been a few moments…that I hope nobody witnessed.”
“I have to know,” she prods.
I roll my lips in, pressing my teeth down on them.
“Fine, keep your secrets,” she says as she places the jar down, grabbing another jar full of what looks like roses. “As for your question, yes, most likely.”
“Ah, good. Yeah…alright, what else do the witches do?”
She drops a bunch of dried rosebuds into the cauldron, the liquid hissing as each one hits it. “We also have an ancestral circle where they cast a shared spell honoring our lost witches. I’ve never taken part, but Elora says that it’s a long, beautiful thing. Something I have no intention of experiencing.”