Rose Bloom

Chapter 3: Black Magic

After talking with the principal, Marissa went straight home. In other days she would hang out with her friends until five o’clock when her parents came home. Her parents didn’t really care what Marissa did at school or with her friends simply because they were too busy to mind. So Marissa was free to go out whenever she wanted. But today was an exception. Marissa’s plan was more than stopping Mary to go to the play; and to fulfill the true plan she needed something from the Chest. The Chest was a place where all the family secrets were kept. She had known about it since a dinner when her parents accidentally gave away a part of the secret.

They were all sitting at the table when Marissa’s little sister began saying that some children she knew didn’t believe in magic (Theodora was three years old then and she believed in magic).

“Sweetheart, nobody knows for sure, but when you really believe in magic it proves out to be true. Like Aunt Joan. She believed in magic more than anyone else.” Her mother said.

“She believed in magic too much if you ask me.’ Her father put in.

“Why, what happened?” Marissa was getting curious.

“Not something good anyway. That’s enough, now let’s eat.”

“Do you have any memories of her?” Marissa wanted to know more.

Her mother shook her head, but Marissa could tell she was lying. After a while she found out that there was a chest in the attic which was locked, and she figured out the answer to the secret about Aunt Joan (whoever that was) must be in there. She though it was the only way of making a back-up plan, because there was no way she was going to stick on the improvised one.

As she was going home, she tried to imagine where the key could be. And by the time she arrived, she had figured it out. Marissa went to her parents’ bedroom and opened the drawer where they kept the documents. That drawer was forbidden to her-and her sister- because it had important files. Marissa had thought the only good place to keep the key to a family secret was in a forbidden place. As she searched through the documents (handling them with care so nobody would find out she had looked there) she finally found a rusty key.

She rushed in the attic where she found the Chest in a far corner, hard to be seen. It was as old and dusty as she remembered when she first found it. She put the key in the lock and… it was a perfect mach! When it was opened all the dust came out. Marissa coughed several times before she looked in there. Nothing special! Just pictures of an extremely old lady who must have been Aunt Joan and some letters. It was amazing how old the woman was; and most of the pictures were black-and-white! Aunt Joan looked like a… hag! What did her mother say about Aunt Joan? That she believed in magic! Aunt Joan must have been a witch! There were so many letters, but they were almost eaten by rats and she couldn’t even understand the writing. Marissa was so disappointed; she could have learnt many things from the letters! Fortunately, she found a letter which could be read, because it was more recent. This is what is said:

My dear Claudia,

  As your aunt I must tell you I have moved. Not that it would make any difference to you and Tom. You never thought about me, like my sister didn’t think about me either. Nobody cares about me. That’s the reason I started on magic in the first place. But my equipment says I have to write one last letter mentioning my new address. I don’t know why, but my equipment always tells the truth. So here is my address: Maplewood Forest number 4. I am convinced you won’t reply, but then you’ve never replied, so it won’t be a surprise.

From your unwanted aunt.

P.S: This is the last letter you’ll ever get from me.