Witch

Chapter Twelve

"Wh--where did she…?"

I hear coughing a sputtering come from the mother, so I quickly take her by the shoulders and lift her up.  It brings pain to my own arm, but I disregard it.  I hoist her to a sitting position while glancing around the kitchen for any signs of the mysterious little girl.  "Mother, are you alright?  What happened?"

There's a bout of coughing.  I can't see her face, as hair is covering it.  She grabs me with a shaky hand.  "Willow."

"It's me." 

She takes her other hand and moves her hair away from her face.  What I see next take me by surprise.  My mother's once young-looking face is lined and creased.  Its jowls hang with old skin.  Her eyes are smaller and sunken deep into her skull, rimmed with red and purple.  Her violet hair begins to turn a drab gray from the roots to the tip.  I gaze her hand, its long fingernails beginning to pierce my skin.  You can make out every knuckle and vein and bruise through her hand and arms. 

"What happened to you!?"  I gasp and slowly back away from her.  I feel myself starting to tremble with some kind of unknown fear. 

"I saw the girl,"  Her voice is creaky and disturbing.  It sounds worn out.  "The girl!"

"Mother, please!  You aren't in your right mind!"  I yell.  "Mother!"

"The girl did this!"  she points her finger across the way down the hallway.  "That one."

I look to where her finger is pointing.  "There's no one there.  Please, Mother, snap out of it!"

She drops her hand and says.  "Not anymore.  That girl must be hiding from me.  Now where are you, dear?"  Her voice turns to sweet and kind.  She stands and idly peers around the dormitory.  "Come out now."

I stand as well, and begin pacing, thoughts running through my brain at lightning speed.  "I think I can fix this. I remember seeing something about an age reversal potion a while back, but I can't remember the ingredients."  I take my fist and pound my forehead a few times.

"Where are you hiding?"  She's in the bedroom now, looking into the closet and trash can.

"I think it was wood from an oak tree. No.  Pine tree.  Ugh!"  I slap my face a few times.  "I have to get a hold of myself."  I run into the bedroom and take Mother by the shoulders.   I lead her into the study where I sit her in my chair. 

"Why, Willow, I think I've almost got her!"  She insists on getting up, but I won't let her. 

"There is nobody in here!"  I pound out the words like a baker on bread dough.  I have to make my point clear. 

"But, I saw her."

"No!"  I yell and fall onto the floor.  I become a whimpering mess.  This is too much.

After about a minute of this, I feel tiny footsteps behind me.  "Here I am."  The footfalls stop.

I slowly rise, and it is true.  She is there.  Her pointed face cast down on me.  What is a little girl like this doing at the College?  Why is she hiding out in my dormitory?  A million and one thoughts course through my brain as I try to make sense of the situation.

My mother is apparently an incoherent, old woman.  She was collapsed on the ground, but then rose and rapidly aged into what she is now.  She was in search for a little girl who had found an excellent place to hide, but hasn't showed herself until now. 

I cannot begin to wrap my head around it.

"Why, hello,"  My mother looks at her and smiles.

"Go take a nap!"  The little girl snaps.  "It's all your fault my cover is blown!"