Eilise, God, And The Witches [Fake Tattoos #2]

Freak of Nature

October, 1964

Lahrlin continued to keep the situation with Eilise a secret the best she could, but she suspected John already knew and was waiting for her to confess. But she couldn't talk to him about it, not yet. She still wasn't sure what had happened that night. Whatever it was, it was convincingly something.

If there was anything she was sure of, by whatever force of truth she had in her life, she was to train Eilise to be a witch, as her mother taught her. Since that day she has been teaching Eilise in the ways of the craft, but she had to be subtle as to not alarm her husband.

Before Lahrlin married John, her mother made him swear an oath to God that he wouldn't interfere with his future daughter being taught the ways and that he would never enter the apple grove or cause it harm.

He swore on his knees. Lahrlin had never seen a man so scared before in her life.

Lahrlin's mother was a true master of the craft. It was as if her thoughts just turned into reality. Lahrlin had never achieved that. Despite being a so revered third sister. She always thought her mother had made a mistake in choosing her as a successor. Perhaps one of her sisters had been the truly magical one. Maybe it skips a generation, Lahrlin thought.

As soon as John had managed to get away from Lahrlin's mother, he told Lahrlin, "I know what I swore in there, and I do. I swear it if that's what it takes to marry you, Lahrlin. But I swear this too. I have a hard time believing any of this is under the good Lord's ways, mysterious or not. But, I can't say I understand the ways of women. So as long as this stays the way of women, I have nothing to say on the matter. But if I do..."

But if he does... Best He doesn't.

The girls were screaming from the bus to the door.

"Mother!" Bethany cried. "Eilise is ruining my life! My sister is the freak of nature that talks to God! It's all over the school!"

"Bethany!" Lahrlin shouted.

"This happens in kindergarten and I'm hearing about it all the way up in the second grade! My friends are asking me if I can speak to George Washington!"

"What was I supposed to do?" Whined Eilise. "They were talking about God and Jesus and how that Halloween is short for All Hollows Eve and that is the night before All Saints Day." She took in a breath, "But then God said that All Saints Day was actually much later in November and that our calendar got messed up somewhere around seven-hundred A-D."

"You said this to a teacher?" Lahrlin asked.

"Well..." Said Eilise. "I had to! She didn't know she was wrong!"

"See!" Cried Bethany. "I'm not exaggerating!"

"Bethany!" Lahrlin shouted. "Go to your room. I want to talk to Eilise."

"Why I am I being punished?" Bethany cried. "She's the one that's being crazy!"

"Bethany," Lahrlin spoke with a firm tone, "you wanted your own room, now go enjoy it. Not a word about this to your father or I'm going to start agreeing with him that you're not old enough for your own room yet."

"This is so unfair," Bethany pouted as she stomped her feet up the stairs.

"Eilise," said Lahrlin, "come sit with me on the couch would you?"

This past August, they had almost all but replaced the furnishings in the house. They hadn't bought anything new since time they had to burn Elisabeth and Thomas's beds.

It wasn't just the furniture. For the most part, everything was good. There was a feeling of lightness and life that Lahrlin hadn't felt in the house for a long time. She couldn't help but think that Eilise was a part of that.

"Eilise, how do you think your teacher felt when she was corrected by her student?"

"I think... I think she was embarrassed." Eilise said.

"That's right," said Lahrlin, "because it's her job to teach the class, not yours. You don't want your teacher to get fired, now do you?"

"No!" Exclaimed Eilise. "She's real nice and I like here. It's just that God said..."

"But God isn't the one who told her she was wrong in front of the class. He's not the one who did that. It was you. Don't you always tell me that God says we have free will?"

"Yes, Mother."

"So it was your choice to do that. God didn't make you. Don't blame your choices on him."

"Yes, Mother."

"There's something I want you to understand. As we get older, Eilise, we have to learn how to keep secrets. Just because we know something that someone else doesn't, it doesn't mean we have to tell them."

"But why?" Asked Eilise. "What's wrong with just telling the truth?"

"Because, Eilise, we're special, you and I. When we speak, our words have power. Power scares people. That's why they get embarrassed and turn red. That's why they tease... Because if they thought for a moment that any of it was true... They'd poop right in their pants!"

Lahrlin grabbed Eilise by the tip of the nose and Eilise laughed.

"No..." Eilise laughed. "That's not true."

"It's is!" Now Lahrlin was laughing too. "I saw it happen to your father once!"

"No!" Eilise was gasping for air with laughter. "He didn't!"

"It's true! It was the day he asked me to marry him! But don't let Father know I told you. You know how embarrassed he gets. It will be our secret, okay?"

"Okay," laughed Eilise.

"And no more repeating God's words or telling people about him, okay? Our secret? So people don't get embarrassed?" Lahrlin pleaded.

"Okay," said Eilise.

"And you'll apologize to your teacher. I'm going to send a note with you so she knows you were honest and told me what happened. Don't worry, you won't get in any trouble as long as you make your teacher feel good about herself and about you."

"Okay, Mother."

"I've got one more secret I want to share with you, since I know I can trust you now. Are you ready?"

"Of course I am, Mother."

"Go upstairs and get the new dress I made you. We need to hurry before your father gets home. I'm going to show you what it means to be a third daughter in our family."