The Magician's Witch

Adventures in Homesteading

The rest of the day passed quickly. Dara and Milad worked on cutting posts for the enclosure for the donkey. Bakhita, Laleh and Eilis worked on scrubbing out the two barrels the guys had procured for them, using warm water and soap and a scrub brush to get the worst buildup out of them.

After about half an hour on her knees in a hunched position inside the mouth of the barrel, Eilis growled, "This is bullshit," and crawled out of it. Getting to her feet, she stood back, then waved a hand at the brush. The brush began scouring the inside of the barrel of its own accord.

Bakhita turned an accusing eye on Eilis. "You've been holding out on us."

Eilis chuckled. "A temporary bout of amnesia," she joked. She turned to the other barrel, holding out her hand to Laleh who held the other brush. Laleh handed it to her, watching Eilis with rapt attention. Eilis waved her hand over the brush, and it practically jumped out of her palm and began scrubbing.

Next, she turned to an empty bucket. Eilis pointed at it, then pointed in the direction of the stream. The bucket quivered, then rose a few inches off the ground and began to float its way over to the water. As the ladies watched, the bucket dipped itself into the water, scooped out some water, then levitated its way back to where the trio stood.

Eilis took the bucket by the handle, and it lost its animation, returning to its ordinary self. Eilis tipped it forward, splashing the inside of the first barrel with fresh water. She waved her hand again, and the barrel upended itself, dumping out the sudsy contents.

Bakhita and Laleh watched all of this with perplexed fascination.

"Well," Bakhita began, turning to Eilis. "I think you've got this handled. Laleh and I will work on making food."

Eilis nodded, smiling wryly to herself.

The two girls left her.

"If only I could make the brooms sprout arms and have them carry the water to and from the stream," Eilis mused after they had left. "That would be a nifty trick."

When the first barrel was clean, Eilis sent the bucket back to the stream to refill itself. She repeated the process multiple times until the barrel was full almost to the brim. She then took a piece of canvas cut from the roll the guys had brought home yesterday, covering the hole on top. She placed three large rocks on top of the canvas to hold it down until Milad and Dara could make a proper lid for it. She then turned to the remaining barrel, lifting it to stand erect and covered with more canvas.

Feeling drained, Eilis trudged back around the corner of the house, heading back inside to help with dinner.

As Eilis got ready for bed that night, she positioned her pallet off to the side of the fireplace in its usual spot.

Before she could slither down between her blankets, she heard her name emanate from the little mirror by her pillow. With a goofy grin on her face, she picked it up.

"Hi," Eilis murmured shyly. "Just to warn you, we have an audience."