Kitchen Witch

26 | The Ritual

Charlotte had built up a little campfire on the beach. The tide was out, and there was plenty of beach for them to set up down from the house. They had carried firewood, a small cast iron Dutch oven, a beach bag with a tea cup carefully wrapped in tea towels, and the ingredients for the tea. They had also taken down two outdoor cushions to sit on and a beach blanket. Charlotte had tried to leave Charlie behind, unsure of how the evening would go, but he was adamant about not leaving Martha's side. The unlikely bond between her very elegant friend and the big shedding dog still baffled her. But she allowed him to come nonetheless, not that she had a choice.

The evening air was warm, that delicious kind of warm that just wraps around your body like a light scarf, weightless and comforting all at the same time. The sun was in the process of making its spectacular descent, casting the sky into pink and purple hues. Charlotte had looked up the expected time of the moon's rise; it was later given its waning position as it moved toward its new moon phase. It gave them time to build up coals in the fire and to set the cast iron pot to boil. Once things were settled with the fire, Charlotte sat next to her friend and took her hand in hers. They sat looking out at the water, taking in the setting sun.

"I never had the chance to give him a proper goodbye." Martha quietly shared. Charlotte squeezed her hand in encouragement, and she continued. "A microscopic virus–" she filtered grains of sand between her fingers, "not only did it ravish his body, taking him away, but it robbed us of goodbye–we didn't even have a funeral."

Charlotte sat in silence, giving space for her friend to grieve.

"He was thriving in Uni, he had found his place. Charlotte, if only you could have seen his excitement. He had struggled so– in high school, never quite fitting in. But university changed that, he found friends, and he loved his program. He had so much life left in front of him–"

The two of them sat watching the sky change colour, sharing precious memories of the sweet boy they had both loved. They laughed and cried side by side as the sun made its final dip.

Charlotte turned to her friend, letting go of her hand. "Are you sure you want to do this? I can't guarantee the outcome."

"I'm very sure– I'm ready to say goodbye."

Charlotte got up from her cushion and opened the beach bag, drawing the cloth-wrapped tea cup. She unravelled it carefully and set the cup and saucer on the blanket. She had put a lot of thought into picking this particular teacup, a dainty blue floral pattern of forget-me-nots that faded down the cup. It was rimmed with gold, which seemed very fitting for Martha. Next, she withdrew several small satchels of herbs and set them on the blanket. Finally, she carefully unwrapped a black obsidian crystal that she had purchased in town from a new-age touristy shop. The store might have catered to the whims of tourists, but the crystals were real, and her research showed that this one particular was known for facilitating the release of negative energies and encouraging a fresh start. She could use all the help she could get with this spell and thought it wouldn't hurt.

Charlotte moved closer to the fire, lingering for a moment and enjoying the heat before removing the cast iron pot with one of the tea towels. She asked Martha to turn on the small LED lanterns she had brought. Next, she scooped sand over the coals and remaining flames to help put them out. She planned on calling on her wind magic, but the flames and wind were not a good match. She knelt close to the pot, closed her eyes, set her intentions and used her breath to steady her nerves. As she did, she called on her magic and created a warm breeze to envelope them. The warm air felt like a familiar friend encouraging Charlotte. 

Next, she added each herb, taking her time to picture its carefully chosen properties in her mind, adding them to her intentions for the spell, layering them upon each other. She let the herbs steep while repeating the ingredients in her mind and then out loud, calling each one like a wishlist. As she rhymed off the ingredients, the breeze strengthened. Once the tea had steeped, she used the tea cup like a ladle and filled it with the tea, placing it in its delicate saucer and handing it to Martha. Martha's hand trembled slightly, making the cup and saucer clink quietly. Charlotte gave her friend a reassuring look and placed the black obsidian crystal in her lap.