Coastal Coven

1

The thick fog that had consumed the town the night before began clearing as I lifted my heavy head from my flattened pillow, which I knew I had to replace eventually. This coastal weather did not regret leaving behind a film of salty condensation on the window pane by my head as the early morning sunlight filtered through. Golden Rays were interrupted by the outline of three small plants on the windowsill, creating shadows that looked like silly creatures. My mouth tasted like morning, which added a discomfort as my eyes continued to readjust to the dim light. I tried to run my hand through my golden beach waves of hair until my fingers were interrupted by what I knew was an unfathomable maze of tangles. After untangling my hands, I got out of bed, tossing a stuffed rabbit aside, slipping my feet into white slippers. It was a Saturday, which meant that I was going to hang out with the gang -- my coven.

Slowly, I trudged to my bathroom and turned on the shower. Minutes passed as I waited for the freezing water to heat up. I made the mental note to ask mom to fix the water heater as I nearly slipped entering the shower. Another mental note, buy a shower mat.

I stood in the shower for what felt like a moment but must have been ages, savoring the feeling of the water cascading down my skin. It was when my mom pounded on the door, I snapped out of my trance.

"Natalie is here. Hurry up." She sounded irritated as usual. I turned off the water and grabbed a towel, hesitating before drying myself. Near every ounce of me wanted to turn on the water again, but my best friend was probably waiting for me. I wrapped the towel around myself and stepped out of the bathroom, walking back into my bedroom. There, I was greeted by Natalie curled up in my sheets, counting the glow-in-the-dark stars on my ceiling. For a 17 year old, my room obviously seemed a bit childish, but I didn't care and she didn't mind. She smiled at me when I walked in.

Natalie, my best friend, is part of the coven I'm in. She is a sea witch that associates herself with almost any body of water. There was always some drying sand stuck to her ebony skin, her eyes warmer than a Californian beach in June. Her short, kinky black hair creating the most gorgeous corkscrew curls. Natalie wasn't the tallest, but was almost like a goddess, being one of the most gentle souls I knew. She was also gorgeous.

"You take forever in the shower." My best friend complained, readjusting a charm bracelet.

"You take forever in the ocean, my dear friend." I laughed and threw my towel at her, "don't look."

"I won't look, yeesh." She groaned as she resumed counting the stars.

"So, will we be riding to the meeting house today?" I grabbed a white shirt with a cute succulent printed on it and matched it with a pleated, black skirt.

"Yeah. Andy wants to organize a road trip to Wavebreak Point." Natalie stated as she tried to roll back in order for her feet to touch the wall behind her. Wavebreak Point was a meeting place for witches in the Pacific Northwest. It was only fifty miles up-coast, but the road was unforgivingly curvy and had many awkward turns. Andy, the coven's "leader", was always wanting to go to Wavebreak Point, since the town nearby sold amazing supplies for witches and pagans in general.

"Really? Will the other covens be there? I need some tips on what herbs could enrich my fertilizer." I laced up my boots. I was the botanist witch of my coven, who dealt with plants and ingredients and nature in general. Natalie responded with a lazy shrug as she sat back up, looking at me as I brushed my hair in a half-assed attempt to tame it.

Giving up, I grabbed my Witch-On-The-Go, which was a black shoulder/book bag with our coven's logo spray-painted on it along with do-it-yourself witchy patches sewed on the flap. Inside contained pouches of herbs and crystals, candles and matches, incense, and my Book of Shadows. Everyone in our coven had one. Natalie had hers, so I flung mine over my shoulder as I waited for her to re-tie the laces on her weathered converse.

We bounded downstairs, where I spotted my mom downing what must have been her third cup of coffee. She seemed to be lost in thought, only acknowledging us with a small nod when I announced our departure.

The door opened and I was greeted by strong, salty air. Natalie skipped over to her turquoise cruiser as I unlocked my yellow one. Little did I know, today was about to be interesting.