When Magic Speaks - NaNoWriMo 2020✔️

2

The gods blessed Hural with its first snowfall of the season the following day. The snow usually came just in time for Halloween but this year, it came a little later. It arrived in soft flaky tuffs, the kind that covered you like a vanilla sprinkle cupcake but didn't blind you. The snow was the reassurance this town needed that life would continue on as per usual. No one knew that the farm girl on the edge of town had wandered into the dark kingdom last night so the snow was a perfect distraction from that. The white flakes fell just enough to mask any evidence of what had happened on Marma Quilm's back porch. Besides, the less these people knew the better.

Wiss awoke that morning to the blinding light outside her window, as well as a cloud of confusion fogging her and...dirt on her feet. She noticed it as she swung her legs off of the bed, dried dirt crumbles flaking off of her toes. What the hell? She frowned, having absolutely no recollection of any of last night's events. Again, something that was for the better. Wiss couldn't remember the last time she'd woken up to dirty feet. It had been at least three months...why now?

The beauty (and curse at times) of living in such a small cottage was that no smell or sound flew under the radar. It took no effort at all for Wiss to pick up on the smell of pancakes emanating from the kitchen. Most mornings Amma was too focused on the garden or the field to prepare such a hearty meal. Wiss didn't mind it, but she only ever took the time to cook when she was hiding something. She must've assumed the syrup would distract Wiss from raising suspicion. She did possess a wicked sweet tooth.

"Amma," Wiss mumbled, turning the corner to a kitchen table stacked with flapjacks and berry bowls. Marma glanced over her shoulder but didn't bother turning to face her as she furiously conjured up a new plate of pancakes.

"Mornin' sweet," Marma sighed, dunking the messy bowls into the sink. Most of the time Wiss was sure her grandmother thought she was still eight years old. Though even that young Wiss was self aware of her Amma's trickery. Wiss took a seat at the table. These might've been deception pancakes but she wasn't about to reject them either. She filled her plate as she watched her busybody Amma.

"What happened last night?"

Marma glanced to the side, barely shooting Wiss a gaze before turning around to join her. "What do you mean?"

Wiss watched her grandmother - did she really think she was that unaware? "Amma, I woke up to dirt-soaked feet again. It hasn't happened for a while..."

Every time Wiss awoke to messy feet, her grandmother became even more secretive than usual. She was hiding something and Wiss had never been able to crack the code. She had to be a sleepwalker, that had to be it. But where exactly did she go? Amma knew something but she was as stubborn as a wild mane. Wiss wasn't confident enough to push her. 

When Amma didn't answer, Wiss continued. Her grandmother was avoiding eye contact now too.

"I know I sleepwalk."

Amma finally raised her eyes then, looking at her hopelessly confused granddaughter before lowering her gaze again. Something was lingering in the back of her mind but it didn't take much effort at all for her to lock it away again. "Yeah," Marma mumbled, taking a bite of her breakfast. "I thought for sure I'd sealed the doors..."

Marma was talking more to herself than to Wiss, thinking out loud. Almost as if she were attempting to crack the code herself. If last night's events had been out of her control or knowledge, maybe it...

"Maybe it was the work of magic," Wiss teased. Yes she'd pried but now she wanted the tension to simmer. There's always seemed to be an aura of tension in this little home. For looking so quaint, it sure felt stifling.