The Witches of Marble Falls

V

Emilia and Valerie packed their backpacks and left the house early that morning, wanting to avoid their aunts and their younger siblings. They had too much to discuss to be distracted by anyone else. As they walked down Twin View Lane to the main street, their hands found each other and their fingers laced together.

'Something is going on with Aunt Kittie, Emi—there's something strange in that house, and I don't know how to describe it.' Valerie confided, adjusting her backpack on her shoulder.

'I know what the strange feeling in the house is, but I don't understand it. When I stormed out, Agatha found me. I threw a rock at her, and she held up her hand—the rock stopped and fell out of the air. It stopped; it didn't touch anything.' Emilia said. She looked around the town, at the stone buildings and store-fronts and cobblestone side-walks. The town held so much history and memories, Emilia felt the energy all around her. The whole town had the same strange vibrational energy their aunts' house had. 'I know what it is, Val... It's magic.'

'Magic doesn't exist, Emi. Mum told us: magic is something from a fairy tale.' Valerie said, stopping. Emilia looked her sister in the eyes.

'Mum lied, Valerie. Mum lied to us about a lot. She said our aunts hated her and hated us. She said that our aunts chased her away.' Emilia said, grabbing her sister's other hand. 'She lied to us about why she ran away from here, she lied to us about this town, about our family. And, please believe that—mum lied to us about magic.'

'I can't believe that magic is real, Emi. It flies in the face of science. There is no proof magic exists in this world—it's pure fantasy.' Valerie explained. Emilia sighed and dropped her sister's hands. She felt defeated. Valerie was the one person Emilia thought would understand, but she denied the entire thing. 'Let's get to school, Emi. We don't want to be late.'

'Right.' Emilia mumbled, keeping her eyes on the ground as they continued their walk in silence. She couldn't get her mind off the strange feeling of the town; she couldn't stop thinking about what Agatha had done by the lake. Something was happening in their aunts' house, and she wanted to figure it out.