The Witches Trilogy

The Witch in Green

It was dark. No stars. No moon. No life. No sound except the sky rumbling with warnings of a rainstorm. The cold breeze picked up her hair and swirled it around her face. Heedless of the storm approaching, she raised her cupped palms up to the sky and chanted. The candles, one of every color, around her flickered out. All but one.

A solitary green candle burned bright. Green. For new beginnings. For growth. For envy and for possessiveness.

''When you're green, you're growing. When you're ripe, you're not.''- Ray Kroc.

Closing her eyes, she chanted louder. The winds whistled. The Moldavite pendant around her neck burned green. Sighing, she closed her fingers around it. Her naked body trembled but she didn't feel it. Her skin was hot.

Then, she saw him. Human. Real. Alive.

Slowly, she let her arms drop to her sides. He watched her. Speechless. Confused. Enchanted. She wanted to go to him. She couldn't. Let him come to me. Then the ritual will be complete. She waited. She watched. She hoped.

It could've been days, hours or minutes but, after a while, he began walking to her. Thunder clapped. She shivered in anticipation. The candle burned bright. The winds howled. He took her into his arms and let his lips hover above hers. She could've pulled him down. She didn't. He must come to me. She closed her eyes and waited. His breath whispered across her slightly parted lips. Kiss me. Please.

He pulled her in for a hug. She opened her eyes. Perplexed. She looked up at him. Pleading. She gripped his arms, felt the strength beneath them. Don't go. Please. Tears swam in her eyes but she knew. She knew from the look in his eyes. There was no hope for them. There would be no tomorrow for them. The candle burned bright. New beginnings. She had to start anew.

She watched him go. His head hung low. The rain slapped against the grass and she felt her heart shatter. There would be no life after him. There could not be. Suddenly livid, she raised her cupped palms and chanted. She chanted to the heavens above. Chanted for herself. Chanted for him. Chanted for the world. The pleas of a scorned witch.

Her frigid hands closed around the pendant on her neck. She thought about the love she thought they'd share. She thought about how he made her feel. The rain pelted against her body. Tears slid down her cheeks. She wanted to call out to him. He wasn't far away yet. She couldn't. She would ruin the spell. Whatever would be done, he had to take the first step.

She watched him walk away. Tall. Regal. Strong. Her rock. She whimpered and sank to her knees, covering her face with her hands. She wept. She screamed. She cursed the elements.

Then, from the darkest corner of her mind sprouted a thought like some evil tree. Someone else would feel his touch. Someone else would know what he tasted like. Envy rose within her. Hatred. Jealousy. Hot and bright, it seared through her and she fought the urge to scream. Her eyes narrowed dangerously and she stood. Erect. Proud.

The candle burned brightly. She chanted a curse. He was hers. Always and forever. Possessiveness. Mine. Then she paused. She couldn't send it upon him. She loved him. She hated him. It was all too much. She could never hurt him. She hugged her arms to her body and whimpered. She regretted not pulling him down onto her. He would've never said no.

She looked around. The grass beneath her pulsating with energy. She could heal if she really wanted to. It would take a while but she would heal. She whimpered again. She couldn't imagine life without him. No hope. No life. Nothing. She would try to move on. He had made his choice. It wasn't her. She looked up into the heavens and whispered two words. Growth. She couldn't grow. She gave him too much of herself. She was empty. There was no life. Damning the elements, she made a choice.

She glanced at the edge of the cliff. New beginnings. She chanted quickly, apologetically. Then, she held onto her pendant and threw herself over the cliff, into the swirling black depths of the ocean. The candle burned brightly underneath the force of the rain. Green. Green for new beginnings. Green for growth. Green for envy and possessiveness.