Witches of the Night

I was late. Again. It was the third time this week I was late for dinner, or the closest thing I got to dinner, and my roommate was going to kill me. But despite the fact that I was horribly late, I couldn't help but stop when I came to the wreck. It was only a stone's throw away from my apartment and I'd passes it everyday, before and after whatever happened, happened, but tonight it was like I had a sixth sense, I just knew: something was going to happen.

And that's when I heard it. That noise. It reminded me of the sound of brakes squealing on an icy road. It only lasted for a moment; not even long enough for me to believe I hadn't imagined it. The only thing that kept me from chalking it down to stress and walking away was that feeling I had. I knew, from the moment I woke up today, that something was going to happen. I didn't know what or when or even where; all I knew was it was going to happen and that when I heard that noise, that feeling came back, ten fold.

So, going on that feeling, I took a leap a faith and decided to take a look around. The gate squeaked as it opened, slowly revealing the grounds surrounding the old storage building. As I steeped over the threshold, I felt a cold breeze and as I walked further along the seedy path made in the weeds by the wandering homeless I could have sworn someone was watching me. Before I could turn around and check though, I was hit in the back of the head. The path came up to meet me and the world turned black. I was out cold before I could scream for help.

I came round to faint whispering, which stopped immediately when whoever was doing the whispering realized I was waking up.

"Ah, finally; you're up, we were afraid you were on your way out of this world.", I heard someone say in the gloom caused by the minimal lighting in such a large room. The voice was throaty and rough. A smoker, I thought.

"Don't tell the girl that; we don't want to frighten her." This voice was scolding, but softer, more like a grandmother.

I was really only half aware of what was going on but I felt the need to reassure them none the less. "No, no, it's OK, I'm fine. Really. Just a little bump.", I said, because despite the fact I had just been knocked on the head and kidnapped by these people, I felt an instant warming in my heart towards the probable smoker and gran-motherly figures I could only just make out from my position on the floor.

"Oh, sorry dear," yet another voice exclaimed, "We do forget the limitations of your human senses."

"Gracie!", the grandmotherly voice scolded again. "She doesn't need to know."

"Sorry.", the voice I thought was Gracie said, dismissively, as she jogged around the room, turning on lights as she went.

"Did you say 'your human senses'? Are you not human too?", I asked, expecting them to tell me it was an ongoing joke between them.

Since the lights had been switched on I could now see the three women standing around me and the look that passed between them. Instead of answering my question, one of them stepped forward and said; "Let me make the introductions, I think it's about time we stopped being so rude. I'm Mary Lou, that's Grace, but we call her Gracie, and that's Natalina.", she explained, pointing first to the woman on her right, then to the one on her left.

Mary Lou reminded me of my mother which was ironic as she was the one I thought of as grandmotherly and my mother was yet to be a grandmother, me being her only child.

Gracie seemed older than the other two but she was the one running around and the one who was currently helping me into a chair and fussing over my thin jacket and lack of a coat.

Natalina was exactly as her voice suggested she'd be; rough yet kind hearted. I could tell by her eyes; the were warm despite the almost-glare she wore.

But I wasn't letting it go that easily. "What do you mean by 'your human senses'? You are human, aren't you?" Natalina answered immediately, as if she were trying to get somewhere important and my question were just slowing her down.

"No, we're not, we're witches." 

For a minute I couldn't process this information, but the second I did, I was incredulous. "Is this some kind of joke? Witches? You've got to be kidding; Like I'm going to believe that."

"It's no joke," Mary Lou said sadly, "I wish she hadn't told you, but now that you know, you have to promise you won't tell anyone."

"Tell anyone? I'd sound like a nut job! Just like you all do right now!" I was sticking with incredulity; no way could witches exist. It was just impossible.

Gracie changed my mind on that fact almost instantly. She turned to me, whispering something I thought might have been Latin, and pointed at the table beside me. For a minute nothing happened and I was about to make a comment about the lack of witchcraft. But my words were stopped in their tracks when the table shook itself out and galloped around the room like a horse before stopping in front of me, making a faint panting sound, with an air about it that expected a reward for it's display.

I nearly blacked out again. But this time, not from a bang to the head. "But..." I stammered, waiting for the words to form in my head so I could speak them.

"Yes, It's all very amazing," Mary Lou said impatiently, "But you must promise not to tell anyone about us."

I gulped and moved my wide-eyed stare from the panting table before me to Mary Lou. She looked worried and hurt, which snapped me out of my daze straight away; I didn't know her from Eve but I just hated to see her look so vulnerable.

"Yes, of course; I promise. I'll never tell a living soul."

"Thank you," Mary Lou breathed, "We'll be leaving soon anyway, but it's nice to know there are still people out there we can trust."

"Why are you leaving?" I asked, feeling a slight pull at my heartstrings.

"We only came here for the solstice, to let our powers rest,. You see, at this time of year our powers get a bit.....out of control and we have to leave the coven to get a handle on them. By the fact that table didn't blow to pieces when Gracie tried to do that I know our powers are settling down and we will be able to return home soon."

"So.....that was you three? The destruction of this building?"

"Unfortunately. We thought the solstice was over so we were testing our powers before we returned home, but we were wrong and things got a little.....out of hand." Gracie said, mournfully, looking around at the wreck this building had become.

"I think it's time you returned home, Alice. It's getting late." Natalina said, showing that warm heart I saw in her eyes.

"OK, I will. Are you going to be OK here? Do you want me to bring you anything?"

"No, we'll be fine. Time for us to move on." Gracie looked a bit sad as she said this.

"Will I ever see you again?" I asked, wanting to see Gracie's smile again.

"You just might. Run along now, girl, your roommate is worried sick." Natalina laughed as she ushered me out.

I looked back once more, only to be met by darkness. I never did see them again, but I'll always remember that night.

When I got home, Angie was worried sick. She'd called my cousin, who I was really close to and who also lived in the city, and everything.

To this day, I never did tell anyone about Gracie, Mary Lou and Natalina. The three witches who opened my mind to new possibilities and help me realize; not everything is as it seems.