The Darkside

Phantom Memories

I got off the floor and hurried out of the room to find Aunt Cassie and Melissa coming out of their rooms. "What the hell is going on?" they asked at the same time. "I don't know, but I think it's Charlie," I said, hurrying down the stairs, followed by them. When we reached the cellar, we noticed Charlie leaning against the wall in fear, screaming "Get away from me!"

"Charlie, what's wrong?" I asked. "It's her, she's come back for me!" he replied. "Who has come back for you?" I asked, looking around but seeing no one. "It's the witch who turned me into a monster, don't you see her? She's right in front of you," he replied. "No, I don't see anybody," I replied. "But she is right there!" he said, pointing out. "There's no one here except us," I said, but he kept insisting that the witch was there. He then turned to Melissa and asked, "You see her, don't you, Melissa?"

"Sorry, Charlie, I don't," Melissa said. "What about you, Aunt Cassie? Don't you see her either?" he asked. "I'm sorry, dear, but I don't either," she replied. "So now I'm going crazy, am I?" he asked, falling to the floor. "No, you're not; there must be an explanation for this," I said, "Aunt Cassie, could this be a side-effect of the potion?"

"Perhaps," Aunt Cassie said. "We should call Brian, he might know," I said, and as I did, he appeared, saying "You summoned me?" giving Charlie such a scare, he almost jumped out of his skin. "Who's that? Don't say you didn't see that," Charlie asked, frightened. "Oh, don't worry, Charlie; he's here to help," I said, trying to calm him down. "OK, who is he?" Charlie asked. "He's my advisor, and I got him down to help us with your issues," I replied. "What's an advisor? Oh, never mind, just help me," Charlie said, putting his head between his legs. "So, what seems to be the problem?" Brian asked. I related the whole saga, to which he shook the head, saying, "I know what this is."

"OK, so can you share it with us?" I asked. "Well, I think what he's experiencing are Phantom Memories," he replied. "Phantom Memories?" I asked, confused. "I remember hearing about that from my mother," Aunt Cassie said. "You've heard of it from Nana? Why didn't you say this earlier?" I asked, annoyed. "I had forgotten about it," Aunt Cassie said. "Well, what are Phantom Memories, what can we do to stop them, and why is he having them in the first place?" I asked. "Phantom Memories are imaginary memories, and the reason for them is the witch's blood that's coursing through his veins," Brian replied. "So, what can we do about it?" I asked. "You should check the grimoire for a spell," he replied. "Alright," I said.

We looked through the grimoire and found a spell marked 'Phantom Memories'. It was a complex spell as it involved making a potion to go with it. The potion had to be made with the witch's blood, hair, and nails, which meant we had to go back to the Hidden Forest and go through the same gruelling experience we did yesterday. "Aunt Cassie, we have to go to the Hidden Forest again," I said with regret. "Yes, we do; sooner the better," she replied. "Then why not go now when she's still weak?" I asked. "OK," she said, yawning and we got ready to go. Brian joined us as he did before. Melissa requested to come with us, but I declined.

We went into the Hidden Forest and found the dark witch where we left her. I checked her pulse to make sure she was still alive, which she was. We then clipped off her nails and some hair, after which we drew some blood from her veins. As we left I turned around and looked at her. She was still asleep and looked so peaceful. When we reached home, the sun had risen and Jared's vehicle was in the driveway. As we walked in, Jared walked up to us, saying "Why didn't you inform me about Charlie's new situation?"

"What could you do about it?" I asked, annoyed. He replied, "I'm sorry, Octavia; I know you're doing everything you can. There's nothing I can do but be worried, but he's my brother and the only living relative I have." I felt bad for being angry at him. "It's OK, I'm just tired," I said. We gathered the herbs available in mom's garden and afterwards, Jared and I went out to get the rest of the herbs from a shop called 'Hazel'. It was named after Hazel, a witch who specialized in potion-brewing. "Hi, Octavia," she said and looked at Jared from head to toe. "Don't worry, he's a friend," I said and explained the situation. "Why didn't you call me for help? We witches should stick together," she said. "I didn't want to burden you with our problems," I replied. "Are you kidding? I would have loved to see a Juangrand," she said.

"Well, I promise to call you the next time I have a problem," I said. "Please do. Your mom used to help my mom all the time," she said. "I did not know that. My mom even kept the fact that I am a witch from me; Aunt Cassie is the one who told me. If not for her, I would have ended up in a psych ward," I said. "Oh, I'm sorry. Maybe she was trying to tell you at the right time," Hazel said. "I don't know. Maybe," I replied. "It was nice to see you after so long, Octavia," Hazel said as we left. "Likewise," I said, waving at her. I dropped Jared at the station and, as I came home, Aunt Cassie rushed towards me with a panicked look on her face.