Witches Curse

Ceremony day (Part 2)

I watched my mother carefully as she stepped into her shoes and shrugged into a white blazer. She had opted for all white today, a white pencil skirt, white button down shirt, and white pumps went perfectly together under her blazer. Her dirty blonde hair was wrapped neatly in a CEO style bun. Mine just hung straight and I looked down at it wondering if I should have done something more than simply brush it for a day like today. My mother glanced at me and chuckled.

“It looks fine dear. Not all of us have hair that’s naturally as straight as an arrow, you know. Some of us have to put in tedious work to get our hair to cooperate.” I smiled. My mother always seemed to be able to read my mind.

She glanced at the clock on the wall. “Come now, we don’t want to be late, not today.” She placed her hand between my shoulder blades as we scurried out the door.

Our lawn was small and looked out onto a plain neighborhood with the same square cookie cutter houses. Each lawn had 2 bushes on either side of the walkway that led up to our homes with two trees on the outer side of the bushes. Everyone had a small flowerbed in front of our porches as well. I enjoyed them as they were the few splotches of color found in our community.

On the sidewalk with her back turned to us was my friend Rachelle, she had a curvy body and long brown wavy hair, but her eyes were a beautiful shade of sapphire green. She and I were rarities. Most people in our society had brown hair and brown eyes. I stuck out like a sore thumb and so did my mother. Our family was the only one here that had blonde hair and ice blue eyes. Here and there there were others like Rachelle who had brown hair and bright colored eyes, but they were uncommon.

A slight breeze played with her hair as she stared up at a cloudless blue sky. She wore a black dress and flats. In hindsight she was dressed much more appropriately for a humid summer day like today. I would probably keel over before the ceremonies ended. Nothing to be done for it now, however.

She turned as my mother and I descended the steps from the porch and smiled wide for us. I skipped up to her and gave her a quick hug before anyone noticed. Here no matter how close you were, formal greetings were preferred such as handshakes and curt nods and tight smiles that were never genuine.

“Good morning my dear.” My mother gave Rachelle a quick side hug. She viewed Rachelle as another daughter, she had been in my life since we were in diapers.

“Good morning Mrs. Holden! What a lovely day for ceremony!“ Rachelle clapped her hands together. She was one of those people who always seemed to be in high spirits and could find the good in anything.

“It most certainly is! Hard to believe you and Eleanor are already of age. I just know you two will go on to do great things.”

“Well I could have already been doing great things but we had to wait until our late bloomer became of age.” I gave Rachelle a sideways glance and she winked at me as she looped her arm through mine. This was the most informal contact we were allowed in public. Rachelle was born the first of May. I was born on the thirty-first of May. These ceremonies took place on the last day of every month. This kept our class sizes extremely small throughout our childhood. The government liked it that way, we were easier to teach in small doses especially since we were considered children until the age of 21. They didn’t even bother using terms such as teenager or young adult. They wanted a term that conveyed how little we knew until we became 21.

I rolled my eyes. “Oh please, you would have had to keep your patience with or without me.”

“True.” She said as she looked up at the sky. “But teasing you is a lot more fun.”

My mother chuckled next to me.

We fell quiet as we came closer to the town center. Chatting was always to be kept to a minimum so as not to cause what the officials called “sensory overload” as people traveled to school, work, errands, and home. I was beginning to think the rule was in place so it was easier for them to eavesdrop on us.

We turned down a cobblestone side street and a large, black wrought iron archway and fencing loomed far ahead of us. I felt my heart race as I realized this was the day every citizen dreamed of. No boring classes, being able to go to work and make our own way, get our own houses and families… I realized I wasn’t certain if I was ready for any of it. My mother reached forward and gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze. I think my anxiety was palpable. Rachelle on the other hand seemed to skip along beside me without a care in the world.

As we cleared the archway I noticed that a great many people showed up for us to have a class of only ten people. Then again peoples families, friends, even distant relatives showed up for the ceremony. As well as every government official minus a few guards to keep the peace. Everyone was offered the last day of the month off to attend ceremonies if they wished. However they could also go to work, run errands, or simply lounge at home if they pleased. The government always liked to point out how generous this was.

The grass was perfectly green and trimmed to perfection. There were 10 white chairs in the center in front of a large, cross shaped pool of water. The water was crystal clear and the pool itself was made of the finest marble.

To the sides were makeshift bleachers. They managed to make them look fancy and sleek. They were off to the sides and were reserved for spectators. Front and center was a stage where the diplomats themselves sat, all ten of them in a perfect line in red velvet and gold seats with high backs that looked like little thrones.

Of the ten of them only two were women. All the men wore tuxes and the women wore sleek business style pant suits. They all ranged in age from mid-forties to sixties. I had never seen them in person before. None of us ever did before we came of age. Unless of course, we had done something really, really wrong.

My mother squeezed my arm. I had nearly forgotten she and Rachelle were by my side. I glanced over at her. She offered me a small smile.

“I should get a seat. You’ll do just fine.” With a quick nod of her head she hurried off towards the bleachers. I took a deep breath to calm my anxiety. I still had Rachelle by my side.

We walked up to the center where all the white chairs were. We were all placed in order by which of us came of age first. Standing behind the chairs Rachelle was to the far left, and I was to the far right. We would go counterclockwise up to the stage, across it to shake each of the diplomats hands, and then circle back to our respective seats.

“I can’t believe our lives begin today.” One of our classmates, Maxwell, strolled up to us and casually shook our hands. He had the typical brown hair and eyes, and a smattering of freckles. Typically he let his hair hang loose in a messy but cute style. Today however it was slicked back with so much gel his hair would probably make a crunching sound if you touched it.

“It’s amazing how fast 21 years goes by isn’t it?” Rachelle gave Maxwell a polite smile which he almost seemed to swoon over. Maxwell had been head over heels for her as long as I could remember. Unfortunately I think I was the only one who noticed. He glanced at me and nodded politely. I smiled back.

Maxwell was the only other classmate we really associated with. The others were either stuck up or simply didn’t care to bother with making friends in school. Oh, also not to mention we were outcasts. Especially me. I was practically a freak of nature with my hair and eyes. All of society gave me and my mother dirty or concerned looks, followed by hushed whispers and scurrying away from us as if we would attack them like some wild animals. Because of this my family and I never made many friends. My mother was refused by men simply because of her hair and eye color. All of the history books and no one ever explained what that was about or why there was such a stigma about people who didn’t have the typical brown hair and eye combo.

Rachelle and Maxwell were my closest friends. They never did double takes or even seemed to notice that my features weren’t the norm. Even now I felt heavy eyes on me. It made me want to run home and jump under my covers. Or maybe I could hide my hair, or shave it all off and get colored contacts.

Rachelle and Maxwell were making small talk but I had tuned it out. My nerves were running wild and I couldn’t pinpoint why. All I had to do was sit through a few boring speeches, walk across stage and shake a few hands. What was the big deal?

I snapped back to reality when the little noise there was fell completely silent. I glanced up at the stage. All of the diplomats stood from their seats and raised their arms.

“Graduates, please take your seats.” The lead diplomat to the far left said. With a nervous look, Rachelle, Maxwell and I rushed to our seats. I scooped up the pamphlet and hastily sat down. I was ready to get this over with. My stomach was cramping with anxiety.

Once we were all seated the ten diplomats raised their arms once more. “Let the ceremony begin.” This time all ten of them spoke in unison instead of a singular person.

An orchestra began playing a ceremonial tune. I could only assume they were positioned behind the stage so the crowd wouldn’t pay more attention to them than they did the diplomats. There was a thick red velvet back drop and curtains behind where they sat so we couldn’t see beyond the stage. After listening to the orchestra play for a moment, the instruments fell silent.

The lead diplomat stepped forward. He was one of the older men, probably in his sixties. His receding silvery hair was slicked back and he had a peppery mustache that was on its way to being pure silver as well.

The diplomats switched out the leader every month so as to make it fair. They rotated so that no one person got too much power and felt they could overthrow the others. If the lead diplomat tried to make important decisions or laws they still had to consult the others of course, but they had to wait until it was their turn to propose any new ideas to the other diplomats, and then society as a whole if they were approved. Now if something like a state of emergency were to happen, everyone would have their fair share in deciding how to proceed in situations like that. That’s the only time the leadership rotation didn’t really matter.

“Welcome to the ceremony. And thank you to all who took time out of their day to attend, as we welcome our newest graduates into the whole of society.” He spoke into a mic that was clipped somewhere on his tux. His voice was deep and gravelly. He spoke with confidence and power as one would expect from a diplomat.

“Graduates,” he continued, his eyes scanning us and locking on me. I wanted to shrink back in my seat. “Today is the day many of you have been waiting for for a very long time.” I glanced over and Maxwell was practically about to fall out of his seat, he was gripping the edge of his chair with anticipation.

The diplomat nodded. “Yes and we are excited to welcome you. Our society cannot thrive without us coming together as a whole and working towards an even better and brighter future. With you by our sides I’m sure your new minds and ideologies will help direct us further into greatness.” He paused for a moment to give everyone a chance to give a light golf clap. His eyes were still fixed on me which made me start sweating.

He held up his hands in a gesture that caused the clapping to die out. “Yes graduates this is your day to shine. This is your day. We celebrate you and all you’ve accomplished as you step into adulthood. However, there is one more lesson that must be addressed before we can commence the rest of the ceremony.” An eerie silence fell over everyone. Panicked I scanned the bleachers for my mom. I spotted her in the first row. Front and center. Her fists were clenched and her eyes were dark. I blinked in surprise as my anxiety spiked even higher. I turned my attention back to the front as a makeshift screen lowered and a projector was rolled to center stage. I cast one more anxious peek at my classmates this time and they seemed as confused as I was, but their faces shown excitement, not anxiety.

The projector began showing hundreds of sickly people in hospital beds crammed in what appeared to be warehouses.

“One hundred years ago,” the narrator began, “the world was torn apart by plague. The government hadn’t a clue how to solve it, though they tried valiantly to slow the spread and save humankind.” I rolled my eyes involuntarily.

“Despite hundreds of thousands of tests, medications, vaccinations, procedures, quarantines, diet changes, limited contact with others, the plague raged on.” More images of sick people but this time on streets, in front of their homes, getting in cars, and at work, they were all collapsing and coughing violently. Dead people lay in the streets as people in hazmat suits tried to get rid of the dead and aid the sick.

“I ask you, if the brightest and most brilliant minds in the medical profession, and with the aid of government funding couldn’t find a cure or put a stop to the plague, then what hope was there for humankind? Was this simply our extinction event?” The sound faded out and the screen went dark. My eyes flicked back to the lead diplomat. His fingertips were pressed together and he seemed lost in thought. As though his mind were a thousand miles from here.

“The answer is no.” The narrator suddenly said. I jumped and my eyes flew back to the screen as it began to show fire, wildlife running through burning brush, horrified people screaming and crying and clutching their children.

“There are others apart from us. Not like us at all that possess powers that are capable of destroying us all.” My classmates gasped. “Ravaged by plague we conducted war on these witches. They were intent on destroying us. Why we know not. To seek absolute power and control, or revenge for when their ancestors were snuffed out centuries ago for being a danger to society. They can control the earth, the waters, the sky, our fires, the very air we breathe. We know not what satanic ritual these witches underwent to attain such power, but in the end they could not be reasoned with. They had to be obliterated for us to survive.”

I could feel the air around me grow thick as everyone’s mood shifted. I wanted to look around for my friends and my mother but something kept my eyes glued to the screen.

“These witches forced our retreat behind the walls of what used to be known as Fort Benning. A military base was our best shot at survival as they had weapons and defense in place. Through the perseverance of our newly emerged government the plague was contained and the witches brought down or captured. But it came with a heavy price. Millions of our fellow Americans were slaughtered by the witches, or killed by the plague they caused. It is our duty to rebuild a society we can be proud of, and ensure these monsters never take hold of humankind again. As for the rest of the world we know nothing. We’ve only been met with radio silence in attempts to communicate with the outside. We can only assume we are all that’s left. But in the end, the damnable witches are the ones who lost. With your help graduates, we will continue to grow and thrive. And soon, may we be able to take back this country.”

Another moment of silence fell.

“Fortunately for us, these witches have a very distinct look about them to help us decipher between who is us, and who is them. They do not look like or fit in with us, they are inhumanly pale, with unnatural colored eyes and unnaturally pale hair. Some of them may look similar to us, but take heed of my warning. Something as small as eye color could give these temptresses of fate away. Fight the good fight graduates, survive and thrive with us, or be destroyed with the witches who betrayed their own kind.”

My heart leaped in my throat as they showed an image of a woman who looked almost exactly like…

Me.