Lovesick Witches

Life or Death

Knock. Knock. Knock. 

We turned to the window. 

"Isn't that Miss Gullet?" asked a terribly worried Sybil Hallow. 

"I thought she was stuck in the past!" added Beatrice. 

My fist tightened as I watched this impossibility manifest right before my eyes. It was Miss Gullet, alright. But how could that be? Hecate had trapped her in the past, and for good this time. 

My eyes flickered to Hecate. Her pupils, now slowly drowning in water, portrayed something so strange. As she gazed at her sister on the outside of the windowpane, I sensed something other than fear. Guilt. Maybe regret. But unlike the rest of us, Hecate did not seem surprised to have come face to face with her evil sibling. 

No. Surely, I was mistaken. Hecate would never have hidden anything from me. 

Yet, I could read her like an open book and understand her more than she could understand herself. And what I understood in that moment was not something I wished to consider, so I brushed it off as best I could. 

"And so we meet again, my precious sister," cackled Miss Gullet through the ancient glass. "I suppose I have some thanking to do. You see, girls, your lovely teacher here, Miss Hardbroom, finally returned to her senses and remembered that family comes first." 

Horrified gasps spread through the room as everyone turned to face Hecate, whose soft eyes focused down to the ground as a tear waltzed down her flushed red cheek. 

"Miss Gullet is... is your sister?" Fenella echoed in disbelief. 

"Surely this can't be true," stated Ethel with too much pride. "Is it true? Miss Hardbroom?" 

At this point Miss Cackle took her hand to the bridge of her nose and gently shook her head. For years she was the only person aware of this secret. Then, I found out. And now all nine of us in this office know. 

"I am afraid it is true," answered Hecate, her voice as quiet as a mouse as she blinked back the multiple other tears trying to escape her eyelids. 

As shocked students surrounded me, I recalled what Miss Gullet had said. That she must thank Hecate. I already knew it from Hecate's expression, but this really did confirm the truth I was trying too hard not to face. Knives thrashed through my stomach as my mind encountered my girlfriend's damaging dishonesty, and I began to feel faint. There was no way Hecate would have set her sister free. No way. I knew she missed her, but she valued the safety of this academy over Miss Gullet. She valued me over Miss Gullet... didn't she? 

"It appears the fire has not yet reached this side of the school," continued Miss Gullet, her icy tone shredding through my skin like shards of glass. "Not to worry - I can easily speed up the process." 

With that, the wicked witch sent her long, bony fingers out in front of her as a ball of roaring flames appeared and shot across the room, setting the old wooden door on fire. 

"Ha ha ha," squeaked Miss Gullet before she swiftly hopped onto her broomstick and set off into the darkening sky. 

I believed everyone must have gone into shock paralysis because for a seemingly eternal few seconds, no one moved. No one spoke. I was sure at least four students were in tears, and not one even looked up. But everything was blurry for me. I felt the heat from the burning door radiate through my bones as the orange blobs grew, creeping up the walls. 

"Well, don't all just stand there!" the commanding voice of Ethel boomed in through my left ear. "Help me smash the window." 

My paralysis remained as I helplessly observed the other students using any available objects to crack the window. Miss Cackle tried to use magic to smash it but was unsuccessful. As seven people worked together to create an escape, I noticed that I was not the only person experiencing this agonising paralysis.