X. The Witch

Cara

"I only wanted to watch this one because it's the longest in the series and I wanted to spend as much time with you as possible, "he admitted rather bluntly.

His gaze was hot on me. My body was burning up. Everything was hot, the air, him, my body. All on fire. I was afraid my cheeks would soon burst into flames.

"I like you, Cara and I am certainly not letting you go. Ever. " He said it emphasising on the ever. Unknowingly, my body quivered with what I could only identify as delight. The way he talked, the dominance in his voice, it drove me wild.

Ivan's now darkened orbs shimmered. They sparked with an emotion I couldn't pinpoint.

"..."I was at a loss for words, completely speechless. My mouth was wide agape. Maybe he would close it with his. My mind toyed with the insane idea of kissing him then dismissed it quickly before I acted.

Surely I had no common sense around this man. He drove wild with emotion. Emotions I had never felt.

"Do not worry..." he spoke again. In a careful and gentle manner, he stroked a hand over my brown locks. "I will be patient with you,  malen'kiy ." I had no idea what that last part meant...hell, even the part in English was incomprehensible. Patient for what?

He said nothing else. We did not speak for a while but continued to watch the movie as if the conversation never happened. Same as before, I saw him looking at me from the corner of my eye. This time I did not ask why.

I found my body leaning towards his. Eventually I was resting my head on his chest and his arm was around me.

Usually I was not this comfortable with males I barely knew but a strong indescribable force drew me to Ivan like metal was to a magnet. It was such a strong pull, one that my body could not ignore.

***

Alice parked the motorcycle on the street. I couldn't wait to get off. For the last twenty minutes I had been on top of that death machine hanging onto Alice for dear life as it went at a thousand miles an hour.

Not surprisingly, I had the worst ever seen case of helmet hair. The only cure was to shave off all of my hair. I should have put on my hoodie on top of my head before the helmet. But I didn't, now I looked deranged.

"Couldn't we have just taken my car? I would have strapped your little death machine to the top of my trunk."

"This was fun. Where else would you have gotten a rocking new hairstyle?" She joked. Slightly embarrassed, I raked my fingers through my raccoon's nest of a head in an attempt to neaten it.

Alice had unbelievably managed to convince me to accompany her to her grandma's house. I was promised cookies and muffins and if I didn't get them soon, there was gonna be a brawl.

We were in the middle of the town. A long line of kiosks and shops lined the streets making the town look even busier.

Alice parked the dead machine, her ' precious baby' as she called it, on the street not even bothering to chain it up or something.

"Aren't you worried someone will steal your 'precious baby'?"I asked in a somewhat mocking tone, adding air quotes. There was nothing Alice loved more than her bike.

"I have my own security measures. Do not worry about them." With a smile of confidence on her face she went to the door of a kiosk. The sign clearly said  'we're closed' but that did not stop my determined friend.

She tried to push the door open but it didn't work. As Alice tried to open the locked door, my thoughts went to the events of the previous night.

I thought of the things Ivan had said to me, the look in his eyes. He was either being candid or he was very proficient at lying. I had told myself it was the former

I had hardly slept. Not because of the loud howling and growling of the animals in the forest just outside my window nor the insanely loud ticking of dad's new grandfather clock placed outside my room but because of him.

That man had weaselled himself into my each and every thought. Now I scarcely went five minutes without thinking about him.

He had said he would see me today. I guessed it would be around the same time as the day before. There was no chance dad would arrive home early. Candidly speaking,  I was looking forward to it. The whole day I had thought of nothing else.

"Cara!" Alice shouted, bursting my bubble of thought. "Stop day-dreaming. Come on!" She was annoyed. How long had I been in my daze?

A bell rang as Alice pushed through the door of the small boutique named Kogo's potions and palm reading. The minute we walked in I could already tell the woman was living in twentieth century New Orleans.

A potent earthy smell hit my nose like a truck. Despite the disturbing smell, my body was beginning to feel relaxed and my nostrils were clearer.

"What's that smell, Alice?" I queried about sticking my nose up.

"It's not pot if that's what you are thinking...she only has weed on Weekends...plus Monday."

Weed? All grandmas are different, Cara.

"Oh...then what is it?"

"Not sure. Just a bunch of herbs...and some wolfsbane–" she suddenly threw her hand over her mouth, her eyes widening.

"Wolfsbane?"

"Uh...yeah. She believes in the supernatural...which totally does not exist." Alice laughed in a rather peculiar manner. I scrunch my eyebrows at her weird behaviour.

"Moving on please."I broke the tension. Alice had been keeping something from me. Ever since we met, just a few days before, she had been mysterious and really private about her life outside of school. We had only been friends for a few days so I figured she just needed to get more comfortable with me before telling me anything too personal.

The shop was dimly lit. The ambience was relaxing and unnerving at the same time. My body felt at peace.

Thousands of peculiar objects littered the shop from the counter tops to the many shelves. Some are beautiful like the peacock feathers, others not so much.

"Alicia, you brought a friend?" Someone suddenly spoke from behind me. Turning my head, I saw an aged woman standing on the other side of the room. I had not heard her come in. She came out of nowhere.

Alice stilled, then relaxed, "Kogo! This is Cara."

Kogo approached. In her hands was a pile of wood, all different kinds. She suddenly dropped them on the floor and stepped over them.

"Cara...I am Kogo." She swiftly pulled me into her warm embrace. She smelled of herbs and earth, a rather refreshing scent.

This woman could have been more than seventy years old but you would not tell. Her skin was softer than a baby's bottom. The only way to tell her age was in her eyes.

Her orbs shine bright green. I saw age in them.

"Hi Kogo," I squealed out in her tight hold. For an old woman, she was very strong. Thankfully she let go before I passed out.

"Alicia has told me so much about you."

"Kogo! Don't call me that."

"Don't mind Alicia. The girl hates her own name. Come sit. I must read you...Then we'll have muffins." The sound of muffins is a big motivator for me. I quickly obliged. We went past the opening with the bead curtain.

It was a small room with no windows and practically nothing except for a short table,  a few colourful pillows on the floor and a bunch of candles.

"Sit. Give me your hands so that I may read you...but first..."she disappeared into the other room and came back with a hint wicker bin. The bin had a bunch of cards in it, tarot cards.

The cards were different from others I had ever seen. They were obviously not store-bought.

She placed the deck on the corner of the table and  stared at me, pursing her lips.

"That doesn't belong to you."She pointed a bony finger at my hoodie. I nodded."Take it off,  dear. And the necklace. Only personal belongings can be worn during the reading."

I was spooked, she guessed the exact two things I was wearing that weren't mine. The necklace was my mother's while the hoodie was Ivan's. I had worn the necklace everyday ever since my mother left in order to keep a part of her with me. I had no excuse for wearing the hoodie. I just like it...I liked the scent.

I took both of them off. Alice took them and went to the other room.

Kogo snapped her fingers loudly and the candles in the room all lit up. I nearly jumped out my own skin.

It's probably a magic trick. Relax...

Her techniques were rather unorthodox. That or I really knew nothing about reading.

"Why only personal belongings?"I asked curiously.

"They mess with my magic. It confuses your fate with theirs."

" Your magic? Magic isn't real."

"Not for all of us. Magic is everywhere, darling, just in different quantities. Questions later, let's continue. The palm reading first." She pulled something out of her pocket. I was expecting something like a dragon's tooth but instead it was a small bottle of hand sanitizer. She rubbed some on her hands.``You wouldn't believe where I was just ten minutes ago."

"How did you know which ones weren't mine?"

"I am a witch, dear," she said bluntly. "Don't worry, I am...one of the good ones."

This woman was deranged...mental. Did she seriously believe she was a witch?

"You don't believe me? Fine. Let's begin." She wasn't a witch. Just crazy or dementiated. She was old so I let her believe what she wanted to believe.

Putting my shaking hands out, I prayed it went well. She took them in hers and closed her eyes. I copied what she was doing and shut my eyes.

I kept my eyes closed as she moved her hands over my palms, running her fingertips over the lines. This was a bad time to have ticklish hands. I had to really concentrate on not laughing or pulling away.

"You didn't have to close your eyes...I am done, Cara." I saw the smile on her face and the worry in her eyes. It was clear as day." Your fate is intertwined with another's ."

***