Chapter 8
ARIANNA
The drive to my aunt’s house takes about two hours.
She lives in Sweetville. The town is small, with only one grocery store and a single coffee shop.
My aunt lives on the outskirts of the village, in an old cottage that has been in my family for generations.
It was my grandfather’s until he died when I was ten.
After that, my Aunt and I moved in. I never wanted to live here; there were too many memories that I would rather keep buried.
Other Wiccans we know have said that my family is cursed—death seems to come for us early, and in very mysterious ways. My aunt says it’s because we’re from a powerful bloodline, so of course that comes with its troubles.
I’m not sure we can still hold to that powerful claim anymore.
I can cast a few spells, but that’s it—any magical abilities worth noting seem to have died with my grandfather.
My aunt can cast spells, but she chooses not to.
She says that the humans who do still live here will have even more to gossip about if they start seeing purple smoke coming out of the chimney and her flying on a broomstick.
I smile to myself at the thought. Not once in my life have I seen a witch or warlock fly on a broomstick—another myth the human world seems to like telling.
I pull up outside the cottage, turning my car off and just sitting there, taking a breath as so many memories run through my mind, bringing tears to my eyes.
The cottage is still the same. It has three windows at the front and a small wooden door; the outside walls are cream with wood beams making a cross-like pattern over the front.
The dark color of the beams matches the thatched roof, which looks like it could do with some work.
Aunt May refuses, saying, “This cottage will never fall or burn; it was built that way hundreds of years ago.” I just nod and agree with her.
The garden at the front curves round to the back.
It’s looking a little overgrown now, but it has a wide variety of herbs and flowers, perfect for making potions and elixirs.
People from the village may talk about my family, but they always come here, begging for help when modern medicine can’t fix them.
Getting out of the car, I pull my suitcase out and head towards the gate.
It swings open for me—the cottage knows I’ve come home.
As soon as I start walking up the garden path towards the door, I can almost feel the joy that I’ve come back; the plants and flowers sway to caress my arms and legs.
As soon as I get to the front door, it swings open and I can feel the protective wards hug me as I walk in.
“Aunt May?” I call out as I drop my bags to the floor. I look around the hall and can’t help the laugh that comes out. “Nothing has changed,” I say to myself. There are pictures of my family lining the walls—past and present. Lost and gone.
To the left is the main living room, where my granddad used to sit.
He said it was his spying room, that he could keep an eye on everything from there.
He used to say that there was so much to discover in our world, and we didn’t need a TV for that.
It wasn’t until he died that I found out he kept the tv hidden in a cupboard by the window.
I turn and make my way out of the room and down the hall towards the kitchen.
As I walk past photos hanging on the wall, I stop when I come to one of my mum and dad on their wedding day.
My mum looked so beautiful in her long lace gown.
I pick the photo up and just stare at it for a moment.
They seemed so happy. I can only hope that one day I’ll know what that feels like—to love and be loved back.
Placing it back down, I move a little further down and pick up a picture of my grandfather and me.
He’s in the garden digging from the looks of it, and I’m trying to help. We’re both laughing.
This house holds so many memories that I can almost hear the laughter and voices of past lives. That makes me sad. This house used to be so full. Now it’s just my aunt May.
I head into the kitchen with still no sign of her. I know she’s here somewhere because there are fresh cookies on the counter, and I can smell toffee pudding cooking in the oven—my favorite.
Picking up a cookie, I go straight to the large fridge and pull it open. I take out the lemonade and then move to one of the many cabinets for a glass. I take a sip before I place it on the counter.t The back door is open, and now that I think about it, my aunt is most likely in the garden.
Stepping out, I take a deep breath as the smell of the flowers hits my nose, making me smile. My smile gets bigger when I hear my aunt.
“Well, it’s nice of you to finally show up,” she laughs, putting down her basket of trimmings to give me a hug.
“It’s eleven o’clock in the morning, Aunt May, that’s not late,” I smirk as she pulls back to look at me.
“It is when you don’t come and visit often.
It’s been almost six months.” She looks sad when she says those words.
She’s right, it has been a long time, but I have my reasons as to why I haven’t come back more often.
Moving to pick up her basket, I follow her into the kitchen and place it next to the sink.
“I know… I’ve been busy with the club an—”
“Dating, I hope?” She cuts me off and looks at me with a smirk.
She looks so much like my mum did when she was younger, so much so that I often find myself wondering if my mum would have looked like this when she got to fifty. Would she have had the same salt and pepper hair? Glasses? Her frame is slight but strong.
I pick up another cookie and shake my head. “I don’t have time for men, Aunty.”
“Why not?” Her tone comes out sharp, but I know she means no harm. She thinks I need a man to look after me.
“I work too many hours, I hardly have enough time for myself, let alone adding in a man.” I nibble on my cookie, leaning against the counter, knowing that this isn’t over yet. I know I’m in for a lot of questions I’m not ready for.
“You have time for a young man, lady, you just haven’t found the right one yet. You will make time when he comes along.” She gives me a knowing look as she moves to pull the pudding out of the oven.
“You are just like your mother, you know. I remember her being all career-minded until your father came along. Suddenly she had time, and a few months later, she was married with a baby on the way. Life has a way of changing things, you’ll see.”
I chew on my cookie without answering. Yes my mother dropped everything for my dad, but they were meant for each other.
Shrugging, I push off the counter and move to sit at the table at the back of the kitchen.
“I just don’t want to waste my time, Auntie.
I’ve dated. Just no one I’m ready to give everything up for. ”
She turns to me and grins. “Want me to cast a little spell?”
I shake my head fast, horrified. “No, no magic… I want it to be natural if it’s going to happen.” Plus, what she doesn’t know is that I already cast my own couple of years ago, and all I got were dreams of a blue-eyed man.
“Well, just ask and it’s done.” She winks.
“Auntie?” She turns to face me. “Why did you never marry?” I ask her. I’ve always wondered.
She frowns for a moment and then comes to sit opposite me at the table, her eyes turning sad. “I dated and I thought I found the one,” she says as she leans back in her chair, and I can tell she’s choosing her words carefully.
“Just say it,” I prompt her.
She looks thoughtful for a moment and then sighs. “When your mother and father died, things changed a lot for the family. It was only your grandfather and me left, and we had to be careful who we trusted.”
I was young at the time when all this happened, but I remembered a huge fight. “You argued with him about it?”
My aunt May nods her head. “I had a boyfriend, and your grandfather didn’t trust him. He was right not to.” A small tear leaks out.
“What happened?” I ask.
“He was trying to steal something from us, from your grandfather.” Her voice turns hard.
“He broke into this house when we were away. The wards let him past because I’d given them permission to let him in.
He didn’t get far though. The cottage knew he was up to no good and locked him in the cellar.
” She laughs and I let out a surprised giggle.
This cottage has always had a mind of its own.
I used to think it was ghosts when I was younger.
Picking up my lemonade, I take a sip. “What happened to him?”
My auntie stands, pulling her shoulders back, and I know that’s the end of the conversation. “He left,” is all she says.
“What do you mean, he left?” I stand up as well, wanting to know more, but my aunt just shakes her head.
“Don’t worry your pretty head, okay? He left, and that’s the end of it.” Her last words come out in a tone that tells me not to push, so I just nod.
“Okay, I’m going to go shower,” I say as I pick up my drink and take a sip.
“Ari? Sometimes things are better left in the past.” I decide not to answer. Best not to upset her further.
I give her a kiss on the cheek as I leave the kitchen, grabbing my bag on the way and heading upstairs.
There are six rooms on the upper floor, a bathroom and five bedrooms. My room is the last one on the left, next to my granddad’s. My mum and auntie’s rooms are at the other end, with a spare room in the middle that’s used for storage.
I push my bedroom door open., It’s stayed the same since I left a few years ago, my double four poster bed in the center, and my closet to the left along with my vanity.
The room is painted white with blue and gold features.
Walking over to the bed, I throw my bag on the floor and then flop down, pulling out my phone as I remember to call Lucy.
It rings for a bit, and then she answers, sounding out of breath.
“Lucy? Everything okay?”
“Yes… yes… I’m just… Ari, I need your help.” She sounds panicked.
I frown and roll over onto my front. “What do you need?”
“Do you remember that guy, Justin?”
I smile and nod. “Yes, I do… The hottie with the blonde hair?”
“Well, he called and now I’m going on a date with him.”
I squeal and thump the bed with my fist in excitement. “Yes! Oh my god, why didn’t you tell me this morning when I was leaving?”
I can almost see her biting her lip and it makes me grin.
“He only called about an hour ago, he’s in town and wants to go for dinner… Ari, what do I wear?”
I hear her moving off the bed, and I know this is about to get serious. I sit up, thinking for a moment. “What are the options? You can’t be too slutty on the first date… unless you think you want to be slutty. Do you want to be slutty?”
She giggles, which I take as a good sign. “Slutty? What does that even mean?” she says, shyly, Lucy has never been very forward when it comes to dating..
“It means will he be seeing Kitty on the first night? Or are we going to be good?” I tease.
She growls at me and then bursts out laughing. “Ari, no… no kitty on the first date. Just dinner.”
Sighing, I get off the bed and move to sit in the window. “Okay, fine. Wear the white and yellow dress. You look hot in it, plus it shows off just enough to tease him.”
She laughs as I hear the wardrobe door open. “Are you sure? I was thinking about the black dress with silver heels?”
I shake my head even though she can’t see me.
“You’re not going to a funeral, Luce, plus it’s summer.
The other is a lot nicer.” Lucy hasn’t been on a date in forever.
We make a point of not dating anyone from the club, and since we spend most of our time there, we don’t get many chances to meet someone outside of it.
We talk about her date for the next half an hour before she must leave.
“Text me when you get home, okay? I want to hear how it went,” I say and Lucy giggles.
“Yes, I’ll text you, if it’s not too late, I’ll call you.” I can hear her excitement, and it makes me excited for her.
“Love you, Ari.”
“I love you too. Stay safe.” With that, we hang up the phone. I head into my ensuite and turn on the tap. One thing I love about my old room is the rain shower. I could spend hours here, and I plan on doing just that before dinner is ready.