Witches Brew || Halloweentown

Chapter Four

"Oh, yes, yes. Well, actually, I have to confess that I didn't make it up. I read about it in a book. So, you see, maybe it is real." Aggie said to her grandson.

"A book? What book?" Dylan asked.

"There. Halloweentown." Aggie said as she pulled out the book.

"Let me see." Marnie said.

"Look. A ghost." Sophie pointed out the monster on the page. "Just like we were playing, grandma."

After flipping the page, the twins continued pointing out different creatures.

"Oh, look, and there's a werewolf-"

"And a vampire-"

"And a gnome!" They finished together.

"Dogman." Sophie said while pointing at the werewolf.

"Oh, grandma. This book is so neat." Marnie said.

"It has everything that interests us." Melanie said.

"Great. The weirdo encyclopedia." Dylan said.

"Eww. Snotman." Sophie pointed to a creature covered in slime on the page.

As Aggie flipped the page, Sophie noticed two young witches that looked like her sisters.

"Look, It's Marnie and Melanie." She said.

The twins grab the book, and looked at the girls in awe. "It is us." They said.

"They don't look anything like you. They're way too cute." Dylan said after pulling the book from the twins.

"Oh, yeah." Marnie said.

"This coming from the winner of the ugliest guy contest." Melanie said.

"Well there is quite a resemblance. Perhaps the twins have a secret life we don't know anything about."

"Well, if they are witches, they got the weird part down pat. It's just the magic powers they're missing." Dylan said.

"How about it dears? Have you cast any spells, or taken midnight flights through the sky?" Aggie asked the twins.

"We wish." Marnie said.

"But the truth is, there is nothing special about us." Melanie said.

"Oh no, girls, you're very special. Your Cromwells. And since the dawn of time, the Cromwells have been the most powerful-" Aggie began. Only to be cut off by her daughter entering the room.

"Mother." Gwen said. "It's getting late. Wouldn't want to miss your bus back home."

"Oh, grandma has to go?" Sophie asked. Getting a nod in reply.

"Can't you stay overnight, grandma?" Marnie asked.

"No, dear. Your mother's quite right. If I don't head home by midnight, well, it's just a long time till the next bus. So, kiss grandma goodnight." Aggie said. Then kissed all her grandchildren on the cheek or forehead, and left the room. Heading downstairs to soon talk with her daughter.

Marnie and Melanie sat on Marnie's bed, looking through the book and stopping on the page with the twin witches. The girls stared at them for a minute or two.

After just looking at the page, the two decided to listen in on their mother and grandmother's conversation. So, they snuck downstairs as quietly as they could, and hid behind a wall to listen and not be seen.

"If the twin's training doesn't, at least, begin tonight, their powers will be lost forever." They heard their grandmother.

"Yes! And they will finally be human. Finally be normal. Like their father, like their brother, and like Sophie will be after them."

"Wedding a human father. You're lucky you that you have three children showing powers at all." Aggie said as Gwen was looking for a lid for the bowl of leftover chicken. "Do you really want them going through life, doing things the hard way? I mean look at you, with your plastic bowls, when you know leftover chicken keeps better when it's back on the bone!"

Aggie had turned their leftover dinner back into a live chicken, standing right in the bowl. After a word from Gwen, she turned it back.

"For years, you have been coming here. You've been dropping hints to the girls, and badgering me to start their training. I know that's why you came here tonight, mother. But the fight is over. The clock has finally run out, and you can go home." Gwen ranted.

"Gwen, as much as I think you're making a terrible mistake with the twins, you're wrong about why I came here tonight. Fact is, I came to ask for your help."

"My help? With what?"

"Well, something is wrong at home. Something's happening. Everyday, I find another neighbor has changed. Turned hateful. It's frightening. And soon after that, they disappear altogether."

"Oh, mother. My neighbors disappear sometimes too, it's called moving."

"Gwendolyn! I'm quite serious about this. It's as though something or someone is trying to return us to the dark times. And I fear my powers alone may not be enough to stop it. I need another Cromwell witch. I need you."

"Mother, there are plenty of other witches and warlocks in Halloweentown. Why don't you recruit one of them?"