Moon Witch

Future

Two little witches sit in the warm glow of the kitchen, sitting at the table with bags of herbs to be organized. A third rests in the arms of their mother, snoozing against her shoulder. Maggie adjusts the baby, two-year-old Evanora, to better stir the concoction bubbling in her pot.

"Mom, do we have to put all of these in jars?" The eldest of the three, ten-year-old Aradia, complains. She falls back against her chair, crossing her arms. Maggie turns around, smiling.

"Sorry, Aradia. They have to be organized and put away before your father gets home," Maggie turns to her middle daughter, Thalia, who's six going on sixty, "Do you have anything to say on the matter?"

"No, Mom," The ever serious girl studies each herb as she puts them in their corresponding jars.

"I thought so," She turns back to her pot as her potion boils over the rim, "Damn. Aradia, can you take your sister, please? I need both hands for this." Maggie meets her eldest daughter halfway, handing the baby over and going right back to the potion that's hissing as it boils over onto the stove. The Moon Witch rushes to clean up her mess, shutting off the stove and moving the pot onto the stand next to the kitchen sink.

"Looks like you have your hands full," Julien says as he walks through the front door. He hangs his jacket from the hook on the wall before going over to help his wife clean up her mess.

"I was doing fine until the potion bubbled up. Now I have to start over. I scorched the bottom and now it's lost its potency," Maggie says as she wipes the brown-green goop off the burner.

"What was it?" Julien sees his help isn't needed. He sits at the table with his daughters, "Where's Eva?"

"I put her in the living room, Dad," Aradia says. She's still putting herbs away, albeit reluctantly. Her sister, on the other hand, is still working diligently.

"Oh, Jule, in case I forgot to tell you: my mother is coming over in a little while for dinner," Maggie rinses out her pot and puts it back on the stove. She moves to the table to get the proper ingredients.

"What? Why? We saw her last week," Julien whines. He picks at a bare stem of a piece of lavender. Maggie takes it from him and drops it in her potion.

"She wants to see her granddaughters, and Rose and her family are out of town. I know she drives you nuts, but bear with her until dinner is over. Okay?" Maggie pauses stirring in herbs to ruffle her husband's hair.

"I'll consider it. For a price," The grin he flashes makes her weak in the knees. It always has.

"You drive a hard bargain," Maggie says with a grin, bending down to kiss Julien.

"Ew! Mom! Don't do that here!" Aradia shrieks, covering her eyes with one hand, and her sister's with the other.

"Go on then, both of you. Go wash up before Grandma gets here," Julien says, laughing to himself, "Your mother and I will clean up the table." The two girls scurry away from the table, leaving behind them a massive array of herbs waiting to be stored away. Maggie sets to work, not looking at labels. Julien follows close behind, putting them in the right jars. Organization to her chaos. Like always. He was relieved to find out Thalia inherited his organizational skills. The other two, however, are as chaotic as their mother and Julien finds it exhausting. But at the same time, he wouldn't have it any other way.

"Jule, will you wake up Eva and get her ready for when my mom gets here? I'll finish putting all of this away. I still have to put my sleeping draught in bottles. I have three people I have to deliver to tomorrow," The last little detail trails off as she says it, thinking aloud again. Julien smiles his lopsided grin.