Zara

She was much stronger than the last time, the heat was fire poured on my body, it scorched my skin and numbed my brain, the way it worked was malevolently marvelous. She was successful at making me surrender, I let out a guttural scream for the pain. I heard the shout Harry, I stared at him with great pain in my neck, straining it to angle on him.

He was trying to stop the wicked witch from chiming a spell, but he was only human, she overthrew him like a ragged doll.

"Aw, it hurts, doesn't it?" The witch beamed nonchalantly.

"I killed many, enjoyed it as well but now I wonder," she smiled at me, marveling at my agony, "this, seeing you in pain was satisfying."

She neared me, placed her hands on top of my head, and chanted, "anguish," and I screamed, the bitch was enjoying my shouts, she uttered sarcastically, "this is my place, what did you guys think, huh?"

She was right, what did we think? I wondered why my powers aren't working.

"The witches don't like a ghost hurting a sister witch," Leila informed, she looked busy, often she huffed and when she opened her eyes and chanted something, the wicked witch screamed, then Leila added, "but now they won't interfere."

My pain subsided as soon as I heard the scream of the wicked witch, her hold loosening slowly. I stood up quickly and let my powers take over her one more time.

She suffered, that's what I wanted as well. I warned Harry and Leila about the witch, I asked them to not trust her but they did. She spoke something but her eyes, her eyes were secretive, from the very start of the meeting, there was some secret she hid from the rest of us.

"Harry! Arrange a circle," Leila screamed, her output of powers consumed her energy.

I saw Harry take Leila's backpack and make a large circle with the candles, wow Leila came prepared and forgot about the spell when she met her daughter.

Sentiments, ties, and bonds were totally underrated these days!

We dragged the wicked witch into the circle. I focused my powers on the candle and the flames came on. Leila took a small knife from her pocket and slit the witch's hand, the blood spilled on the clay pot inside the circle, she ordered, “carry Aini to the circle."

When Harry placed A inside, she cut a line from Aini's hands and let the blood spill on the pot, "don't let your magic wander Zara," she instructed and started to speak in a tedious tone.

"Let the spilled blood reverse life, let the soul wander back," she took a candle in her hand and put the fire on the pot, the blood caught on flame, "Harry, hold Aini's hand on top of the pot, let the blood pour," she urged, forced the wicked witch's hand in a similar position and repeated.

"Don't please," we heard the wicked witch muffled sobs, "don't do this."

"It's a crime to steal a soul!" Harry barked.

"They stole mine, to guard the other witch's from the curse, this is my only chance to live," she convinced.

What did she mean?

"You're dead Avyanna, you don't have the right to steal someone's life," Harry inserted, I could see the pity in his voice but he would never let the witch go, he wants Aini back as much as we do, in fact, more than us.

"It'll be done in a few seconds," Leila finalized.

The wicked witch muffled inaudible something about the witches, she was mumbling a name, tears streamed down from her face and I felt the familiar feeling coating my heart.

I couldn't see the light vanish from her eyes, I loosened my grip on her. Her eyes displayed innocence, I saw myself in her, the feeling ripped my heart apart.

She lost her energy, she succumbed to the situation, laid flat on the ground, her hands fell limply to the floor, we noticed the color returning to Aini's face, her ice-cold body turning warm.

We heard the witch mumble for the last time, "I just wanted to live for once," and her eyes sealed shut.

"It's over," Leila said with tears in her eyes, "we just have to wait for Aini to wake up."

None of us spoke for a while, neither did we rejoice in succession, instead we were all sad for the witch, yes she was selfish but wasn't life selfish at her?

The villain was defeated but none of us felt happy.

Her fate was much like mine, from the looks we could tell she was young, much younger than me, maybe a teenager when she died, when the fates decided to snatch her life. I could relate to her feelings, desires. Her words, 'I just want to live for once' kept thundering in my ears. Wasn't that what I wanted as well, to live?

But the wicked witc- no, Avyanna was right, to meet a cursed girl was to love them, one way or another. We loved Aini so much that we snatched the life of another girl.

Aini wouldn't be proud, I'm sure about it.

All three of us were grieving for the loss of Avyanna although she meant bad news. Her revelation shocked us if what I'm guessing is right, it should be the witches, she couldn't have meant anyone else, the witches stole her soul to lessen the power of the curse, to guard the other witches.

She was innocent, there were no other explanations why the witches would do that or Avyanna would let the witches do something like that to her.

I sent a small prayer to Avyanna, I wish her to rest in peace.

We heard a gasp, I broke out of my prayer, with a heavy heart I turned my attention from Avyanna to my best friend. She struggled to breathe, Harry was the first to run towards her, Leila sat in the same place, her gaze frozen on Avyanna, she was still mourning but I couldn't tell why.

I shifted towards Aini, she was throwing her hands in the air in random directions, most likely trying to grasp hold of something, I wondered if Avyanna's manipulations still worked in Aini but I couldn't manifest the hatred had in store for her.

Leila didn't mind her daughter's feeble punches in the air, I'm sure she was determined that Aini will be fine, I found solace in the idea.

Aini will be back, that's what we craved. Just a few more moments.

Finally, after a reckless battle with air, she blinked into reality.

1010 words.