ALFA'S WİTCH (Midnight Oath)

Roots;

As I descended the mountain road, I saw the old mountain house. The anger from the incident in the town center had vanished from my face in an instant. The moment I saw the house, it all melted away. It was as if it were a living, breathing structure. It was exactly as I remembered from my childhood. But it seemed to have aged over the years.

A two-story wooden structure beneath the gray-haired winter, its steep roof covered in snow, frosted windows barely letting in pale light, and the chimney looking as though it had long since given up. This was my grandmother's heaven. My childhood sanctuary. Now just an empty shell filled with memories and dust. It was still a refuge where I wanted to shelter, where I wanted to find myself.

I got out of the car and approached the door with the creaking of the veranda. The key was still in the same place. On the dusty lintel above the door. I took the key, and with trembling hands, I pushed open the heavy wooden door. The silence of years settled upon me. The smell of old wood had merged with the heavy breath of forgotten time. The pale winter light filtering through the windows made the dust particles suspended in the air dance. Everything screamed that no one had touched it in a long time.

"Grandma..." I said, calling out to the empty house. "You really left me quite a magnificent mess. How did you think we'd celebrate Christmas in this house?" I laughed.

Yes, it looked intimidating, but I had to start somewhere.

I rolled up my sleeves and got to work.

For hours, I swept and wiped. My hands ached, and some back pain had been added to the mix. But the house was slowly beginning to remember itself.

By the time I finished, the sun had already begun to retreat behind the mountains. And at that moment, I remembered the supplies in my pickup truck.

Yes. The supplies...

I grabbed my coat and went outside. Just remembering my "shopping adventure" in town made my blood boil all over again.

Earlier that day, after the funeral:

Since I had decided to stay here, I thought I'd take care of the house's needs. I had walked into the town's general store with just a simple list: some vegetables, canned goods, coffee, bread. Basic things needed for survival.

The moment I stepped inside, all eyes focused on me, conversations stopped. People looked at me as if I were covered in blood or a wild animal had entered.

The old man at the register "yes, the one who yelled at Jo" crossed his arms over his chest and looked at me with a hostile expression.

"I have nothing to sell to the likes of you, Rose's daughter!" he said.

"The likes of me?" I repeated, incredulous. "You mean... paying customers?" I asked.

"Rose's daughter," he hissed in my face. He threw the word out like poison. "You bring bad luck. Your grandmother brought death to this town. Now you've come here to finish what she started!" he said.

I froze in shock. The people around were silently nodding their heads. Everyone agreed. What did they go through? I wondered!

"I just want to buy some food," I said, trying to keep my voice calm.

A woman with a sour face shouted, "Go back where you came from."

At that moment, my patience ran out. I slammed my palm hard on the counter.

"Fine!" I shouted. "Keep your stale bread and canned goods! I'll go to the next town. But know this, my grandmother was worth more than all of you combined. There was more kindness in her fingertip than in this entire town!"

I stormed out like a whirlwind, jumped in the car, and drove an hour to the next town. The people there were normal. Even warm-blooded.

You already know what happened after that.

So here I am now. In front of this old house, as the sun disappeared behind the mountains, I stood by my pickup truck, grabbed the first box, and carried it into the house. It took three trips to carry everything inside.

As I set down the last box, my phone rang. Maya's name was flashing on the screen.

"Hello," I said, a bit breathless.

"Eva! God, finally! I was going crazy. How are you? Are you okay?"

I collapsed onto the old couch. Despite sweeping it multiple times, it was still dusty, and the moment I sat down, a cloud of dust rose into the air.

"I'm surviving," I said with a laugh. "Barely. This place is a complete madhouse, Maya. The people... they're seriously insane. They refused to sell me food. I had to go to a town an hour away."

"What? Eva, that's completely insane! Why are you still there?"

"I promised my grandmother," I said, my voice softening.

There was a brief silence.

"Eva... you gave her a beautiful funeral. You honored her. Don't you think you've done enough? You can come back home. You can even come to my place. You don't have to torture yourself in those freezing mountains."

I closed my eyes. My grandmother's wise, loving gaze appeared in my mind.

"She wanted to spend her last Christmas here. With me. Specifically with me. I promised her. I think it'll be good for both of us. A few weeks... then I'll come back. Besides, it'll be like therapy for me, peace and quiet..."

"Okay," Maya said helplessly. "What about work?"

"I talked to the hospital. I took a month off," I said.

"I see... But Eva, please don't forget your vitamins. You hate the cold, that mountain house is definitely below freezing. You're going to get sick."

I laughed. She was right, but I had to appear strong. "If you keep talking like this, I'm going to freeze on this couch. I need to get firewood, I have to light the fireplace..." I murmured hastily.

"Okay, okay! But you're texting me every day, deal?"

"Promise. Talk to you later, Maya."

"Bye bye, take care of yourself!"

I hung up the phone and put my coat back on. The sun had almost disappeared, the air was rapidly cooling. I needed to light the fire before nightfall.

The woodshed was about twenty yards from the house. A tiny structure buried in snow. I opened its creaking door and grabbed an armful of firewood. I filled my arms so much that I could barely see in front of me.

I started walking toward the house. My long ash-blonde hair was whipping in the wind. I couldn't see ahead, so I turned my head to the side and moved forward.

And that's when I saw it.

At the entrance to the forest path... about ten meters away... stood a massive wolf.

No. It wasn't a wolf. Much bigger.

It was the size of a bear. Its reddish-brown fur gleamed in the fading daylight. But what truly froze me were those eyes, burning amber eyes. Intelligent. Conscious. Looking into my eyes with a piercing gaze.

The moment I stepped back, my foot slipped on the ice.

The firewood in my arms scattered into the snow with a thud. I fell on my back. My breath caught. I couldn't move. I could only stare at those eyes.

And then... it vanished.

I blinked. The path was empty. Trees. Snow. Silence.

"What's happening..." I whispered, trembling.

I jumped to my feet, grabbing a long piece of wood to protect myself. I frantically scanned the surroundings with my eyes. There was nothing. No tracks, no shadows, no movement.

Did I imagine it? Am I losing my mind?

The sky was beginning to darken. The air was becoming sharper, colder. I needed to get inside.

I quickly gathered the scattered firewood, looking over my shoulder every second. Finally, I ran to the house.

As soon as I got inside, I slammed the door shut and locked it. My hands trembling, I lit the fireplace. The flames came to life instantly, crackling and sparking, filling the house with warm and safe light.

I had calmed down a bit. Sometimes people experiencing psychological distress could hallucinate. Maybe that's what I had experienced. I shook it off and pulled myself together.

I hadn't had coffee in days. Yes, coffee addict that I am, I hadn't even thought about it. I headed to the kitchen and made a strong, dark coffee. I sat on the floor in front of the fire, trying to calm my racing heart.

Even if it was real, it's just a wolf. A very large wolf. Completely normal for the mountains... right? I murmured.

Then I took a sip of my hot coffee.

I'd had enough action for one day. I just wanted to rest a bit now. But the universe chose to surprise me again.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

I nearly spilled my coffee.

I fixed my eyes on the door. Who would knock at this hour? At the top of a mountain? In the middle of nowhere?

My mind immediately jumped to worst-case scenarios. Townspeople? Did that giant wolf-thing learn to knock? Gathering my courage, I stood up fearfully.

I went to the window and looked out through the frosted glass.

On the porch stood a young woman about my age. She had curly auburn hair braided into two plaits, freckles on her cheeks, and a warm, reassuring smile on her face.

Cautiously, I cracked open the door.

"Yes... can I help you?" I asked.

Her smile widened. "Hello! I'm Eleanor!" she said cheerfully.

I just stared for a moment. Was I supposed to know her?

She laughed. "Oh, sorry! Um... do you remember me? I'm Elly!" she said.

I frowned. My brain was working slowly from exhaustion.

And then... the memory hit me.

That girl with wild hair, a gap-toothed smile, laughing in the mud. We used to play together as children, making mud cakes.

"Elly?!" I gasped. "I can't believe it! Mud pie Elly?!"

"That's me!" she squealed joyfully.

I threw the door wide open. I hugged her. She squeezed me tight too.

"Welcome back!" she said, her eyes sparkling. "I heard you came back to town, I had to come see you right away!"

This was the best thing that had happened to me today. An old face, a face that still loved me—I was so happy to see it.

"Come in, come in!" I said. "It's freezing outside."

She stepped toward the warm light of the fireplace, rubbing her hands together. Then she looked at me with an affectionate expression in her eyes.

"I can't believe you're here," she said in amazement.

"Me neither, I'm so happy right now," I managed to say. I suppose I had found something in this cursed town that would let me breathe a little...