Emma
I’ve never been so happy in my entire life.
“Oh, honey.” My mother’s hug is the second best thing I’ve ever felt . . . even better than the yogurt the nurse gave me when
I said I was starving. “I’m so glad you’re all right.”
“I’m more than all right, Mom. I’m fantastic.”
My parents look kind of surprised to hear this, and I can’t really blame them. I’m in the hospital getting IV fluids, after
all, and the lady cop said that unless I cooperate, I might end up in jail for all the terrible things I did.
But I’m happy to cooperate if it means helping Hecate.
Because as good as my mother’s hug felt, nothing in my life has ever felt as good as Hecate’s hand when it stroked my head.
I know how weird that sounds. But when she touched me, I just knew: I am loved. Gaia is not our enemy. There is no enemy. There is only love.
And I need to spread the message of that love as far and as wide as I can.
I feel really sorry for Haley, because she will never know Hecate’s love. She squandered her chance at that. I’m not even
sure if Haley was ever a believer. Could she really have been in it only for money?
I did think it was weird that Haley kept asking for “donations.” But it never occurred to me she might be spending those donations on herself—not until they were marching us off the island (in zip ties!
Like criminals!), and I got a really good look at that tent.
The forest rangers were tearing it apart, I guess to look for clues, but maybe also because camping is illegal at Satan’s Seat.
That’s when I saw the mini fridge Haley said was only supposed to be for her probiotic yogurt was instead filled with meat,
processed foods, and alcohol!
All the things Haley told us not to eat because Hecate wants her acolytes to be impurity free were inside that fridge! Not
just cake and champagne, either, but hot dogs! And beer! And nacho cheese dip!
It turns out Haley spent all the money we gave her on things for herself, like that tent and mini fridge and even a laptop.
That lady cop said Haley’s got millions in an overseas bank account and she was trying to get more by kidnapping poor Mr.
Merit.
Haley is lucky to have escaped Hecate with her life . . . even if it isn’t going to be much of a life, since she’ll probably
have to spend it behind bars. Hecate is all loving, but we can’t have people out there doing things in her name that are not
only illegal, but immoral.
It’s not totally my fault I did all those bad things, though. The doctor says part of the reason I followed Haley’s orders,
even when I knew they were wrong, was because my reasoning was impaired due to sleep deprivation and starvation. It’s a “common
practice in cults, to keep members obedient.”
I wanted to object to the use of the term “cult,” but considering everything the doctor says is wrong with me—malnutrition
and poison ivy and exhaustion and maybe Lyme disease and some other possible parasitic infections (which, gross)—I think maybe
she might be right.
I overheard the doctor tell my parents, “My primary concern for her is mental and emotional. She’s still insisting she saw the Goddess of Witchcraft.”
Then she told Mom and Dad I’m going to need something called exit counseling.
That’s fine. Because I know if I’m truly going to serve Hecate, I need to be as healthy as possible, both physically and mentally and emotionally.
Meg and I agree we need to educate ourselves, because there’s a lot of work ahead, and we can’t let what happened with Haley
happen again.
But we have to start planning right away. I’m going to need at least a law degree if we’re going to make the kind of world
impact we hope to. Meg is going to study biology and chemistry and go for a medical degree.
Fortunately Mom and Dad say that Fordham has agreed to delay my admission, so I can start in January, if I want to.
And I do want to. Meg and I both agree: the best way to serve Hecate going forward isn’t by living off the land, but by educating
ourselves to be the most powerful witches we possibly can be, and then get out there and change the world.
I can’t wait to get started.