Callahan: A Gothic Tale

Just a Bit of Hocus Pocus

23 Just a Bit of Hocus Pocus

"It's a full moon tonight. That's why all the weirdos are out." -Dani, "Hocus Pocus"

8 pm, Six Weeks and Four Days In, Mid-Autumn 1994, Ambient Lounge, Yoga Nook

It went into a rabid deer that jumped off a cliff. All moms and kids ok. But Scythe's still alive.

Maggie's text echoed in the recesses of her mind as she turned her attention to the movie of the evening—"Hocus Pocus." Surrounded by glittering tea lights overhead, she saw Harry approach bearing a tray laden with freshly-popped popcorn, sparkling cider, and what appeared to be—?

"Gourmet dark chocolate from the market," he finished her unspoken thoughts with a subtle smile as he laid the tray on the floor in front, breaking off a tiny piece to feed his PMS-affected girlfriend, who closed her eyes, savoring its bittersweet taste and what seemed to be hazelnut and almond notes.

"Harry, you're the best," she murmured.

"I aim to please," he replied, his eyes twinkling, as he began playing the film from Macy's laptop. They drew closer, their visages angled just so for a kiss worthy of Venus and Cupid, when—

TAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAP—

The pair shot apart as Macy strode to the source of the noise, the frost glass cubic windowpane. A crow, its beady eyes calculating, was perched just outside, hell-bent on in its solitary mission to make Harry and Macy's lives as miserable as it possibly could.

"Go! Shoo!" she hissed at the unyielding creature, its head upturned for a second more, before resuming its incessant ruckus. Macy scanned the room for items to thwart the errant aviary creature. What do crows like? She recalled her book report on blackbirds from grade school. Perhaps they like shiny things?

She turned back to face the crow, but it had vanished, almost as if into thin air. Had she imagined the creature? Brow furrowed, she closed the blinds then returned to her seat in the yoga nook. "What'd I miss?" she asked.

"I paused it, so, nothing, luckily. Sparkling cider?" he offered her a glass flute brimming with the jaune-hued beverage.

"Ooooh, yes please."

8:30 pm, Mid-Autumn 1994, Ambient Lounge, Yoga Nook

Nibbling on a second piece of dark chocolate, Macy took another sip of her sparkling cider as they watched Thackery Binx become transformed into a cat, then saw how the time sped to present-day scenery. Boy meets girl. An adventure ensues...

"I must say, I'm surprised nobody picked up on the cat being Thackery," Harry remarked. "I mean, the signs were all there—"

Macy laughed. "Harry, humans are really narrow-minded. Like, agonizingly so. Even if you shoved the cat in front of them and it talked, they'd think it was an instrument of evil—"

"True. The poor boy—"

TAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAP—

She groaned. There it was again. But what if—? She recalled the first day she met Cora, the latter woman's blackbird-esque ring glittering. And the way Cora had single-mindedly attempted to track them. Not to mention the times she herself had surveyed the collegiate landscape, noticing a dark-hued bird intent on scrutinizing their every move. What if...what if Cora were the bird? What if they were one and the same? "Um, Harry—" she paused.

"Yes, love?"

"Can..." she hesitated. "Can humans turn into birds?"

"Hmmm...based on your sister Mel becoming a fly for that nearly ill-fated hot second, I would hazard to say...yes, it is certainly possible. But ill-advised—"