Escape the Covenant || Shawmila [Completed]

Chapter 25

The sunlight filters through the glasses of the greenhouse heating up the place to the point it's almost impossible to breath. Sylvia's mother has always loved plants and flowers, and she made her passion the focal point of her magic. In her back garden she has this big greenhouse filled with every type of plant, herb or flower that a witch could think of, and she's kind enough to let her daughter and I practice the making of our concoctions inside of the glassed building. But hiding inside that garden of wonders doesn't mean I can conceal what's on my mind from the young girl next to me.

«Cami, please just spill the beans. Your bad vibes are killing my mood, so tell me what's wrong, let it all out and then you'll feel better»

I look at her with amusement, trying to suppress a chuckle while listening to her know-it-all tone. «Who tells you I have something to say? Maybe it's just a bad day»

«Yeah, sure... like I don't know you. I bet you're all sad and gloomy because of a boy»

«Why all of a sudden everyone claims to know me so well?! » I exclaim grumpily.

Sylvia giggles. «You're easy to read, Cami. You think the opposite only because you always avoid the rest of the people. Now, tell me what's on your mind. I bet it has something to do with the tarot reading I did to you»

Sylvia is very young, she's just stepped into her teenager years, but her intuition amazes me. One day she'll be a great psychic. I try to come up with some story, anything but the cruel reality of my curse, but at the end I surrender. What is the point to keep on hiding it? So I tell her everything, starting from why I'm always alone, adding my recent encounter with Shawn, and finishing with our tormented love story. She's shocked to hear all of that, and it's not even the whole story.

During the last week I completely ignored Shawn. I declined all of his calls, I didn't respond to his messages, and when he knocked on my door, I locked it, casting a spell on it in order to prevent him from breaking in. At the end he slid a letter under my front door and, knowing I was right there, he told me he was sorry. I read the letter and his sharp handwriting showed me he is hurting as much as I am. I was very close do drop any resolution I had to keep my distance and go back to him, but then I remembered I wasn't doing it just for myself.

And if all of that wasn't enough, my gran gave me something else to think about. I asked for her help and she gladly gave it to me, but now I'm pondering if going all the way with her extreme solution is a wise choice. «She gave me this». I show to Sylvia a small bottle filled with a rosy liquid. «My granny says it'll help to numb everything. Which means that when I'll though about Shawn, or when I'll look at him, I won't fell any pain, but I also won't feel any love. I'll become simply numb when it comes to him»

«You're not going to drink it, right? ». But when I don't say anything – because I truly don't know what I should do – Sylvia steals the bottle from my hands. «I'm not letting you make the greatest mistake of your life. You can't simply erase your feelings for someone, especially not when they are that deep! »

«Sylvia, give it back to me» I panic. «I don't know if I'll end up doing it, okay? But don't take that chance from me, you don't get to decide it»

She shakes her head and runs away from me, circling the table and putting some distance between us. «Camila, just stop and think about what you're doing for a moment. Think about the endless possibilities that you could waste by drinking this potion».

«You mean the possibility of dying between flames and bring Shawn with me? » I retort angrily. «Because I prefer to hurt him now and break his heart by being a bitch to him, rather than knowing he is dead! »

«And what if there's something you don't know? Almost every spell has an escape clause, a loophole. I refuse to think there's none for you! »

«Yeah, because you're young and full of hope! But I lost mine a long time ago, Sylvia». I breath out all the air in my lung and sink down on the earthy floor of the greenhouse. «You can't even imagine how happy I would be to have one single chance to change my life. But this curse is going on from decades, from centuries! I'm pretty sure that someone would have broke the spell if it was possible».

«But Cami, listen to me. I have this feeling that something is missing. Maybe you're right and there is no way to break the curse, but at least we can find out what happened at the beginning. Before you decide how to act, you need to know the whole truth». Sylvia is not wrong, but I have no idea how to do it.

«I read every single book about New Poitier at the library, but it seems like the coven doesn't even exist. Everybody here knows about the presence of us witches, but we have nothing to testify it»

Sylvia rolls her eyes and sighs. «Of course you can't find anything at the library! It's a place for simple mortals. All you have to do is ask for direction to the Eldests. They are the guardian of our history, they know everything you'll need»

Okay, maybe now I feel a little dumb. Why didn't I think of that?

«I want to make a deal with you» Sylvia says. «I keep this bottle until we spoke to the Eldests and we find some information, okay?»

«And if there's no information at all? » I counter back.

«Trust me, I know we'll find something. But if there's nothing, like you insist, I'll give it back to you and I'll hope you won't do anything stupid». Hesitantly, I nod.

So I watch as Sylvia hides my only chance for a simple life in her pocket, while I let her take control and guide me into this new adventure.