It was a stormy night. The wind was howling and the rain was pouring. Someone was knocking on the door. I felt my heart had skipped a beat. I opened the door gingerly and saw…
Hi, my name is Charisse. I had just woken up from my sweet, long nap. In the traditions of our neighbourhood, we told myths about a witch who tells morals to children in a stormy Halloween night. ‘It seems like it’s a perfect chance for the witch tonight,’ I thought.
I saw Amber after I opened the door. She’s my new neighbour who’s about my age and a weird friend. She is a brunette, with crystal-like blue eyes. She wore a gorgeous black dress and a crumpled witch hat, slightly covering her left eyebrow. The reason I said she’s weird was because she always mentioned ‘witchy’ things whenever I talked about witch-related things, like magic.
“I felt like we can see a witch tonight!” Amber exclaimed. Her hands were shaking. “It’s the very first time I can celebrate Halloween with you!”
‘Plink.’
Suddenly, we heard sounds coming from the kitchen.
‘Plink.’
We walked on our tip toes, held ‘finger guns’ and paid attention to our surroundings.
‘Plink. Plink. Plink!’
It went louder and louder as we were approaching the ‘crime scene’.
‘Plink!’
Once we arrived at the kitchen, we found out it was actually water dripping from the tap.
“It’s weird.”
“It’s interesting!”
Amber and I spoke at the same time.
“Well, I mean it’s weird,” Amber corrected herself. I had no idea why she did that though. Then, there was something lurking in the shadows. It moved fast so we weren’t able to see it, especially in a dark environment.
What was it ? Was it a mice? Or was it my Pomeranian, Snowy?
Amber turned on the lights and we saw a Bombay cat sitting beside the window. It had a silver name plate, carved with the word, ‘Salem’. Shortly afterwards, it got away.
The cat’s name was Salem? The very same spelling of the famous witch trial? Was it a clue left by the witch?
“What did you see, Charisse?” Amber asked me.
“Nothing, I didn’t manage to see it clearly,” I lied, but somehow I was uncertain about it.
“Oh okay,” Amber acted weirdly. Was she hiding something from me?
In the following hour, we searched around the house, hoping for a clue of the witch, but nothing was found. So we ended up taking a rest and relaxing on the couch. I once thought of giving up, but when I saw Amber reading seriously, I really didn’t dare to tell her, or at least, not now. All of a sudden, Amber jumped up from the couch. She exclaimed, “I found it! I found a way that can summon the witch! It says that we can have a friendship ceremony. Can you help me?”
“Okay,” I replied.
She gave me a friendship bracelet to wear on my left hand and asked me to close my eyes. After that, she started to chant. I peeked a little and felt sorry for this innocent Amber.
Sometimes, life doesn’t give us what we want, no matter how pure the wish is, like praying for a unicorn, or like now, praying for the witch to appear. Then, I had a ridiculous thought: I would be the bad guy to end this dream, for once and for all.
“Stop it, Amber! It won’t work! There are no witchcrafts or other magics or supernatural stuffs in this world!” I grumbled. There was a moment of silence, then tears began to drop from Amber’s eyes, making me feel guilty for what I had said.
“Charisse, you’re the worst!” Amber cried. She ran into the bathroom and locked the door.
‘Knock. Knock.’ I knocked on the bathroom door.
“Go away!” Amber yelled.
‘Amber, listen, I’m sorry. It’s just… you’re not behaving like yourself.”
“What do you mean? I thought you liked witchcrafts.”
“I don’t really like them, but you shouldn’t really change yourself in order to get others’ acceptance. People may like the real you, but only if you are willing to show it.”
‘So…” Amber dried her tears, “Are we friends?”
“Yeah, of course, Amber,” I comforted her. She opened the door slowly. I hugged her.
“Now let’s go and find the witch, even if she doesn’t show up,” I told Amber, but she stopped and said, “I think I know where the witch is.”
“What? Where?”
Amber pointed at me, ” Remember? Mrs. Svorski mentioned that the witch in the myth tells children morals?”
I realised she was talking about me. I couldn’t believe myself. Amber put her witch hat on me, “Now you’re the witchy one here, my friend!” We both laughed.