Lady- Anne grey

Part ten: Grandmother Willow

We were trodding through the shrub land as I led Melissa and her sister back to Alex. We were walking for about 5 minutes in silence, until I broke it. " so, do you guys live in the forest?"
" yep right here, we have a tree house a few kilometres away," she blurted out," I mean, we're orphans, but me and my "sister", yeah we're not actually blood related, we just call ourselves sisters because we've grown up together and both been abandoned."
The story made me feel sorry for the girls and I looked at them in a different way now and I felt bad for lying to them. But all that mattered at the moment was healing Alex. We finally reached him and I waited for their reaction. " oh no," Melissa said, I could hear the concern in her voice as she turned to her sister," do you think she can fix him?"
" I dunno, it with take a long time and a lot of hard work to heal this lad, but It's not impossible." Her sister replied, frowning as she revealed the gash on his leg. " well we know just where to take her!" Melissa exclaimed.
" fantastic!" I replied, hesitantly, where would they take me, was this some sort of trickery? All I could do was trust them, after all,Alex's life was on the line.
We all carried him through the thick trees and shrubs, until we reached a humble looking cottage, with clay walls and a straw roof. " here we are, grandmother willow's cottage, she's ought to know how to help this lad." Melissa said, addressing the house.
" who is grandmother willow?"
" well she is a gypsy from South America, but she moved here a few years ago, she looks as old as time, no one really knows her age. She believes in reincarnation and magic, she owns potions and lots of animal eggs as well!" Melissa's sister said, jolting with excitement, it's the most she had talked since I met her!
" woah..." I replied, feeling a little uneasy,
"Don't worry Victoria she knows what she's doing, I'm sure she can heal your friend...." Melissa hastily added, trying to comfort me.
I took a deep breath, and Melissa softly knocked on the door, using a large golden knocker.

Melissa opened the unlocked door, to reveal a cramped room, and a strong scent of incense washed over me. I tried to hold back a cough, as I didn't want to be rude or alarm anyone; besides, I could get used to it. Melissa led us in and I placed Alex on a patched up sofa, a dark brown colour, with tender, soft pillows on each side. There were vast canvases scattered across the mossy walls, with paintings of birds, the sea and forests! It was beautiful. The house was warm and had a comfy feel to it, with dim lights filling the room. On the floor were woven rugs, with floral patterns on them and there were different types of plants in wonderful  pottery. There were oil lanterns in the shapes of diamonds and the whole room had a starry atmosphere. " this is amazing!" I cried, admiring the various gemstones and jars filled with 'frogs eyes' and 'wisps'.
Too busy exploring the house, I had totally ignored the elderly lady sitting on the window nook, reading a book about 'Ancient legends'. She had her frizzy silver hair, with a few streaks of dark brown in a vibrant handkerchief, with most of it hidden, her eyes were bright orbs of wisdom and the colour of the ocean. She wore a long skirt, down to her ankles, with floral patterns and a peculiar bright blue blouse. Her skin was light brown with many wrinkles and there was a gemstone on a golden chain across her forehead. Red beads were around her neck and she had a kind smile. She was barefoot and crossed her legs on the bed, looking amused. " why, hello darling how could I help you?" She asked curiously looking deep into my eyes. Then she looked over my shoulder at Alex, who lay unconscious on the sofa, then at the sisters. " oh no, what has happened?" She cried, hurriedly getting to her feet and scrambling to the sofa. " we need your help grandmother willow." Melissa sighed.