The Witch and The Moon

Chapter One

Author's Note: This is my first time writing a short story in light novel style. Please take care of me.

* * *

If you were to report to me "The moon is out today", I would gladly stay indoor for the entire night.

After all, the moon is dangerous to me.

* * *

I watched the snow fall, quietly, upon the died forest. It fluttered in the breeze like dove feathers, covering the entire area.

A house atop of a hill not too far away lighted up, and a group of three children swam outside and looked up at the gray sky with open arms, warmly welcoming the freezing ices as if they were diamonds. One started to gather the snow on the ground and began to build what I assume, a snowman. Perhaps she already had a carrot and two buttons in her pocket as the book instructed me? The other two lied on the ground and began to flap their fins, competing to see who would make a better snow angel even though they were both males.

It was a scene glassed through Margaret's crystal-ball that I borrowed from her for my own amusement.

Immediately thought of her, I heard strange noises outside - most were rumbling footsteps and whispers, phrases that only a few made sense.

Without the necessity to knock, the wooden door was slammed open, revealing two women fighting in the doorway with their nonstop arguments.

"Marie! There you are!"

I didn't bother to look behind.

"Hey! That's my phrase!"

The voices were shrill, ringing, and high, piercing through my ears that I almost had to cover them. It was simply not my cup-of-tea for a quiet person like me, nor did I expect it to happen so soon in the morning.

"Marie, are you watching those humans again? What have Margaret been teaching you these days? Getting you interested in such things...."

"What do you know? As a psychologist, I must analyze the experiment from time to time in order to expand our knowledge, which in our amazement led us to research in the most dangerous and fascinating creatures - humans. It is quite handful for witches children of our kind to learn about it!"

"Blah! Such a long speech! Getting our lovely Marie to learn about it, don't you think that you've gone too far? Who would have thought our own sister would dirty our own dear little one?"

As she said so, Ellen immediately rushed to me and warped her arms around my neck, attempting to pull me into a light hug but to no avail, as I furrowed my eyebrows and slapped her on the wrists.

"Please stop fighting over me, sisters. I'm old enough to learn about this stuff."

I huffed after Ellen pulled her arms away with fake tears on her face.

"Ah, alright. You don't have to slap me you know. It hurts me that my own dear little one hit me."

Whined Ellen, rubbing her hurt wrist.

She is in charge of teaching me magic everyday. She was supposed to be the second daughter, however, her and Margaret were accidentally born at the same time, causing them to be twins. Not only that but she also lost a bit of power in the house.

"Hah! Serve you right! I'm so happy that Marie punished you for me. You're on my side now, right Marie?"

This is Margaret Holoien. Even though that she is Ellen's twin sister, she is mistaken as the third sister by many people because of her elder looks.

"SHUT UP ALL OF YOU!! YOU NEED TO RECONSIDER ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE, YOU KNOW!!!"

That loud voice downstairs belonged to my eldest sister, Nancy Holoien. She was currently taking a nap, I supposed, judging how jumped my two sisters were when they heard the noises for not being cautious.

And this is me, Marie Holoien, the youngest sister.

My real name is Mary-Anne, but everyone shortened it to Marie. I'm fine with either way as long as they don't ridicule it.

I released a sigh as I turned around and started to gather my materials into the brown leather bag that rested on the chair next to me.

"To your question, no, neither. Please tell Nancy that I'm not going to have breakfast with you guys today. I had it earlier. I'll be off in the wood."

"Again?"

Margaret questioned.

I nodded.

"I promise I'll be back for magic lessons. At least, I'll make it for Animal Transformation Arts."

Ellen clicked her tongue and glared furiously at Margaret.

"Seriously, you're making her become obsessed with the outside world more."

"W-What?! That's not my fault! I simply let her borrow so she too can be a psychologist and ditch your class!

"Anyway, Marie. You must return for the Lunar Foreordination. It's a week from now on."

I hesitated for a second, though I'm sure my expression must looked expressionless to them.

Then, I nodded slowly.

* * *

Now that I think about it, there was no moon at where I lived. Although, a red moon and the sun would meet each other once in a month.

At that time, a portal would open, a white dazzling light that is as bright as the star Sirius shone through it.

It was both beautiful and hazardous at the same time. In my world, anything that stands in its way will be transformed into dust and swept away like trashes.

Our family could do nothing but locked ourselves in the basement on those days. Because it happens unpredictably, we were sometimes not prepared and got injured.

Now that reminds me another thing. Family.

To begin with, we didn't exactly have parents.

All I can remember is that I lived with my three sisters and a cat named Jay.

It sometimes rise my curiosity, though, that if we are on this planet there must be some sort of....source. Origin. Root. Or translated into my vocabulary, parents.

"Do we have parents?"

----Was something I often asked my sisters.

"I don't know. Where do you think babies come from?"

"Please just answer the question."

"Hahahaha. Yeah, we do. But they are very, very, very, very, very far away. There's a lot of distance between us that is unreachable in all kinds of forms."

"Are we orphanages then?"

"....Close. But also not close. Nancy will tell you someday, okay?"

The conversations mostly ended like that, or what my memories said.

My curiosity was being fooled around for a short time before came to an end, like a being that must suffered pain before the life faded from their bodies and vanished into nothingness.

I didn't really get lonely until a man showed up.

A man with violet hair named Larry.