The Road to Adaline

Chapter 1

The air was heavy as I walked along the road towards my grandmother's house. The July heat beating down on my exposed skin, the familiar warmth of sunburn budding on my shoulders. I took another deep breath, jealous of the people riding in their cars next to me. How I longed for an air conditioner. I pulled my phone from the back pocket of denim shorts, texting my Mom-mom that I was around the corner. It took her seconds to reply, letting me know the backdoor was unlocked. I smiled slightly to myself, excited to see her. The alley to her house approaches, I hurriedly turn down it and begin to speed walk towards my mom-moms house which is only feet away. The thought of air conditioning filling my brain. Almost like she senses me, the back door opens as soon as I put my foot on the step.

"Adaline, how are you?" My mom-mom grins as I make my way into the house.

"I am well, how are you? I am sorry I could not stop by last week, work has been insanely busy" I apologize. I make it a habit to come see her once a week, especially now that she is retired. The house looks the same as usual, her dinner table in the middle of the kitchen, with fruit in a bowl set on it. My Pops favorite muffins are sitting on top of the refrigerator and paintings of flowers hang along the walls. It felt like a grandma's house, all of her little quirks in one place. I think of the 4 wolf paintings hanging in the living room, along with the statue of a wolf sitting on the side table next to the couch. I resist the urge to chuckle, definitely a place for all of her quirks. I look down at the table once more and see an open book, interestingly enough it looks historical as opposed to her usual fiction novels.

"Don't you worry about that at all Adaline, you come see me enough. I have missed you though." My mom-mom says to me, just looking happy I'm here.. I notice a few new wrinkles along her eyes, the thought of her growing older saddens me. Her hair is still brown and beautiful, even in her late 60's, I pray mine stays gray free for that long.

"What are you reading about?" My thoughts bring me back to the book on the table. My mom-moms eyes light up when I ask. She wears a look of mischief, sitting at the table and opening the book to the page, signaling over to me. It looks like the history of the priestly family, which was her own mothers maiden name. I was opening my mouth to ask why she was choosing to read about her mothers side of the family, when she pointed her finger towards a paragraph halfway down the page. I leaned in and began to read.

Adaline Priestly, daughter of Edwin and Anne Priestly, born 1662. Adaline was a gifted healer, praised throughout the community. She was said to have healed over 1200 people in the short time she practiced herbal medicine. When she was just 20 years old, her family traveled to Pennsylvania from England, where she began to practice medicine again. The villagers here were much different she found out as whispers grew that she was some sort of witch. William Penn put her on trial in 1682. The townspeople stated that the healing of many women, men and children with fatal wounds had been healed at her house. They stated that she would know the sick were coming before they arrived, and the medical room was always prepped for each according injury or illness. The last accusation was when a man tried to rape her, it is said that his heart suddenly stopped beating. She died by hanging on July 20th,1682, leaving behind her brothers, John, and Charles, along with her parents.

My eyes widened with surprise, not only do we share a name, but she died on my birthday. I reached out to touch the pages, closing my eyes, wondering if this was the origin of our family's unique little gifts. Although none of our gifts seems comparable to the witch this woman was. I gasp as my fingers connect with the page, images of what I have to assume is Adaline walking down a dirt road, collecting herbs. She's wearing a long blue dress, a bonnet, and no shoes. I watch her sing to herself

"Maybe in the next life I'll find my love, when the moon shines bright, I'll stand by him, be his light"

Her words turn to a hum as she continues down the road. I realize she is getting further away, so I move to step towards her, a twig snapping under my feet. Her head whips back, and finally I see her face, calm with knowing, and an almost mirror picture of my own. The same rectangle face shape, the same freckles dotted along her button nose, her lips the same color and thinly shaped as mine. The only difference between us is the color of our hair, hers shone a bright yellow, where mine was a deep black. I tried to speak but no voice came out. She shook her head back and forth, reaching a finger up to her lips in a shhh motion. Not yet. I heard her voice clear in my head, but her mouth did not move to form the words. I nod in understanding, and am abruptly woken up on my mom-moms kitchen floor, a sweat forming along my forehead.

"What in the bloody hell was that?"