Lady of Light

The Knife Thrower

Claire glared at the man, who had just pushed her aside on the stairs down to the metro train. Where was the courtesy? She could have slipped and fallen on her neck if her best friend Nina hadn't caught her in time.

"Bloody idiot!" Nina growled annoyed, but her discontent was immediately replaced by a smirk when she saw the man trip on the last step; his knees and hands hit against the concrete, and he let out a yelp before getting up as fast as possible as if it hadn't hurt, although he limped considerably.

Despite the fact that Nina was an absolute angel, she could be exceptionally gleeful at times,

"Still quite the witch, huh?" asked Nina, laughing as they got out in the rain, and unfortunately left the merciful shelter of the metro station. "I bet you used some tripping spell on that sod."

"If I was a witch, I would have made the rain stop. Or at least foreseen it so I could have brought an umbrella," Claire replied calmly and hunched, pulling her leather jacket above her head. "The man tripped because he tripped. You're too caught up in coincidences."

"I beg to differ," continued Nina enthusiastically. "The first time is a coincidence. The second time is karma. Third time is witchcraft."

Convincing Nina was absolutely pointless, and Claire should have given up ages ago. Not that she didn't want to be a witch, it was just strange to have a false label on. If she had been a witch she would have summoned heaps of money, jewellery, a huge house, well-tailored clothes... Claire sighed; it wasn't any good dreaming or believing things would drop down from the sky if you closed your eyes and waited long enough.

Nina was talking on and Claire quickly snapped out of her reverie to be a good listener and friend.

"... like the time you cursed Tiffany with blistering rash at the day of prom, because she had said your face was too ugly to show off in a dress. Delicious revenge, nom nom!"

"There was no rash, it was acne, and she said nothing of my face. She said no dress could salvage my bony figure, and that's a nice reproduction of her words," Claire replied calmly.

Her statement didn't go well with Nina. If Tiffany had said something about her body, it was the body that had to be damaged not the face – it had to be an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. It simply couldn't be an eye for a tooth.

"Are you sure it wasn't your face?" she asked displeased. "I could have sworn it was."

"She said some mean words to Catherine on the same day that included her face. Maybe Catherine is a witch?"

"Catherine, who? Oh, yeah, that poor thing who struggled with both self-confidence and acne. It must be hard on her. Can you imagine not loving yourself? I mean if you're not gonna love your own skin, who would? Anyways, last time I saw her, she didn't seem to struggle with either."

"I'm happy for her," said Claire and shrugged. "She was the only decent girl at school. Besides you." She quickly added the last words and Nina laughed.

"Hmm, I still think Tiffany said something about your face. It was a wonderful prom, though, no amount of makeup could cover that rash!"

"Acne," Claire corrected again.

"Rash," persisted Nina. "Claire, I've never known a person who didn't get payback for abusing you!"

Claire arched an eyebrow. "Abusing is a very strong term, Nina."

"Okay, do you like taunting better?" Nina began and took cover by her doorstep, fiddling with the keys. "Want to come in?"

"No, thanks. But I'll see you tomorrow?"