Chapter 3 - ARIZONA
855 Words
It’s not wrong when they’ve done worse, my darling girl...When they are the ones that are starving us…They live off the magic that belongs to us too. They kill, they destroy…They accuse us of wrongs we did not commit…They deserve this. Witches should not be alone in our whirlpool of tears and sorrows.
I think of Mama’s words as I stand in line. All around me are excited murmurs. All so hungry for magic.
Teeth…Cries…Three little fairies…
“Make me proud, Ari.” Mama taps me on the shoulder and smiles.
Her teeth…In the dim light of the cave they are growing. Her eyes glow red on her pale green face. She snaps at me…
I scream and back away. Away from the line of little witches awaiting their initiation.
The room goes still. All eyes fix on me as if I’ve suddenly transformed into a fairy. Mama’s hurt. I can see it in her watery eyes. No longer red but a deep blue.
“I wanted you to live, sweet girl. I wish you didn’t hate me for it.”
That stings. There’s no way in the world I can hate my Mama. I just…I wish I can understand how she can love me yet kill those fairy children. They were crying…Calling for someone named Rosa...
“Marion…Get your charge in her place or else I will be forced to erase. If we can’t follow our own rules and stay united, what chance do we have against the fairies?”
The Head Witch’s voice, cold, matter-of-fact. Erase…Dissolve into dust…Mama tugs at me and pulls me into place. I can hear her saying sorry over and over.
Disgrace…I hear someone mutter. How much of a weakling am I before them all? Also…If being strong means ripped throats and dripping blood…Do I want that?
You will die…
The torches on the cave walls burst into flame. Cheers erupt from the crowd around us. On the large rock, the Head Witch waves her hand over the huge black cauldron. It is filled with…
Just animal blood, I promise…
“Are you going to chicken out of drinking, Ari? Or throw up?” The boy in front of me laughs. His tiny eyes mock me with an easy cheerful grin.
“She’s the i***t sort that thinks she is so much better than us and she can survive without blood. Guess what, stupid? You can’t!” The girl behind me chuckles. I feel sick at the excitement in her tone. And dread…I’m a Witch. Why do I feel like everything here is wrong?
“Silence…” At the Head Witch’s voice, all babbling mumbling, etc stops quicker than a heartbeat. She has that effect on people. Everyone takes her seriously. And not just because she is the person with the most power here.
“Today is the most important day for our kind. Today, new members are welcomed and fully embraced as one of our own…”
And those who fail are killed… You don’t say that…Do you?
As she continues to speak, I watch her fingers. Long and wrinkled like dead tree branches…Her nails are long, tinged with red specks.
“And hence I call upon our new members to be loyal. We have always been labeled as undeserving and merciless. But what are we supposed to do in a world that denies us everything? Come forward. May you be able to carve us a new future.”
One by one they walk. Drink a share of blood and pledge loyalty. It will soon be my turn. My turn to gulp down blood…
What if I don’t want to?
You’ll die, i***t!
“ARIZONA!”
All too suddenly it’s my turn. I feel my Mama’s hands on my back as she gently pushes me on to the platform.
“Drink for magic rightfully ours! May your loyalty always be with the Witches.”
Everyone applauds as I move towards the cauldron. I watch my Mama’s proud smile and imagine her hugging me after I completed this nightmare.
All you have to do is close your eyes and drink…
I lean forward and that’s when I notice it. The piece of yellow ribbon. Floating helplessly on the surface like a child screaming for help.
“Drink, Arizona!”
I look at the Head Witch then at the ribbon. The fatal question falls from my lips. Slowly…Like a little boat heading towards a rock.
“How many…How many did you kill for this blood?”
Silence descends like a shroud. My Mama’s face falls. I see her mouth the word no like a prayer.
The Head Witch does not look angry. Just disappointed. She sighs and touches my shoulder.
“Loyalty is sometimes hiding the truths you know for the sake of your people.”
“You killed them…” I say probably the stupidest thing I can.
She sighs again and gestures to my mother.
“Take care of your charge.”
Translation: Kill her
The next thing I notice is my Mama hugging me. Salty tears prick at my shoulders. But I am numb and dry-eyed. Then I am escorted out of the cave. It is only then she looks at me in the eyes. Surrounded by the night sky, stars, and endless forest of dead trees and dry grass, she hugs me again.
“Go, my darling little girl…And live.”
It is only when she disappears back into the cave that the tears start falling.
“Mama…” I mutter to the heartless night sky.
- Writer
