{Editing Status: Unedited}

I was a witch.

A. Witch.

The idea was so ludicrous, it was actually humorous. The idea frightened me, but also intrigued me. The stories of Salem that were meant to be "lies" weren't lies after all; they were true.

Looking around at my family, I realized why my mother had always been so reserved. She didn't want people to find out our secret. Liana was still silent, her eyes fixed on the kitchen table, and her face as white as a sheet. Her hands were gripping the table, her knuckles white.

"We'll start as soon as you think you're ready," Aurelia said.

"You need to start soon, though," my mother added. "There is a lot to learn, and it's important to know which powers you possess, and to learn how to control them. It's dangerous if we don't learn how to control them."

I raised from the table. "Well, then let's start now." I glanced at Liana, who didn't look like she's ready at all. I could almost see the thoughts whirling around in her head. "Liana?" I whispered, touching her shoulder gently.

Startled by my touch, she jumped slightly, and whipped her head to look at me. "I'm...I don't know what to say," she choked.

Aurelia walked around the table to where Liana was sitting and knelt beside her. "Liana, I know it's a lot to take in, but it's crucial that you learn how to control your powers. Even if you possess only one of them, you still have to learn. A witch's powers can do extreme damage."

Liana took a deep breath, exhaled, and then nodded slowly.

Aurelia stood up, a smile on her face, and she looked at me. "Mother, shall we go in the back garden to practice?"

Flames flickered in my mother's eyes, and she nodded, a grin on her face.

Walking out into the back garden was the most nerve-racking thing I'd ever done, and seeing the tree where my ancestors were hanged sent chills up my spine. I knew now why they were hanged: they were witches. The fierce wind bit my cheeks as I walked outside; it seeped into my clothes and chilled me to the bone.

I balled my hands up into fists and squeezed. My heart hammered in my chest. Liana walked up beside me, and I slid my hand into hers. She looked at me, and I could see the fear in her eyes. I gave her a reassuring smile, and she returned it.

Aurelia walked around the garden. I wasn't sure what she was looking for, but when she picked up a small rock, I knew.

"We'll start easy," she said, holding the small rock flat in her palm. "Telekinesis."

"Telekinesis," Liana repeated from beside me, her voice a whisper. I squeezed her hand.

"The ability to move objects with the mind. The bigger the object, the harder it is, but it's not a hard power to master. Most witches have it," Aurelia told us.

"Apart from me," my mother said.

I glanced at her. "Why don't you have it?"

"We don't know why some witches get more powers than others, but telekinesis is not one of the powers I possess. We will find out if you both possess it."

I looked back at Aurelia. "How do we...you know, do it?"

Aurelia chuckled. "It's easy." Her eyes dropped to the rock in her hand, and her nostrils flared slightly. Her eyes focused on the rock and her pupils dilated. The rock lifted up from her hand, slowly, and when it was at the same height as her eyes, it started circling around her head, gaining speed.

It stopped circling around her head and flew toward me. I opened up my hand and caught it.

"How did you do that?" Liana asked Aurelia. Her voice was shaking.

"Ivana, you try first," Aurelia said.

Swallowing, I let go of Liana's sweaty hand, and walked over to my older sister, my hand squeezing the rock nervously in my palm. When I reached her, she gave me a reassuring smile.

"I want you to concentrate on the rock, Ivana. Relax your mind, and forget about everything around you. Clear your head of any irrelevant thoughts, and just focus on the rock."

My heartbeat sped up as I stretched out my hand. My eyes fell to the rock.

"Good. Now, picture it leaving your hand, in your mind. Picture it lifting into the air. Visualize it floating in the air. Remember to relax your thoughts and your mind. Only focus on what you want to use your power on."

And how the hell was I meant to do that?

I tried to focus my thoughts on the rock lying in my outstretched palm, but it was hard with the wind blowing around me, and the eyes of my two sisters and mother, watching me.

I inhaled deeply and relaxed my mind, only focusing on the rock, and nothing else. And, although it was hard to focus on one thing, I felt a strange sensation burning in my stomach. The sensation crawled up from my stomach and into my throat, flickering in my esophagus.

The wind seemed to pick up force as a cold liquid seeped into my veins. The world around me was a blurry haze, and all I could see was the rock in my hand.

The rock.

The rock.

Lift, I willed it. Lift into the air.

My skin prickled and itched, and there was a strange ringing in my ears, blocking any sense of hearing.

Lift.

And it did.

It rose from my palm, gradually gaining height. My eyes didn't leave the rock as I willed it to lift higher into the air. I felt flames licking my throat, my stomach, my lungs. Complete control took over my body. Heart hammering in my chest, I pushed it with every inch of my strength to glide over to Aurelia, whose arm was outstretched. The rock soared over to her, and landed perfectly in her open palm.

Dizzy, I staggered slightly, and dropped onto the floor. My vision was blurry and my ears were ringing. Blinking, I noticed Aurelia walking up to me. She knelt down in front of me, and I saw the sides of her lips pull up into a smile.

As my sight gradually came back to me, she held out her hand and I took it. She pulled me up, still smiling. "Well done, Ivana. I am very impressed. You picked that up very quickly. Surprisingly quickly, actually." I managed a smile, but my hands were shaking uncontrollably. I could feel the power as it coursed through my veins; I wasn't sure whether to be afraid of it, or welcome it.

Aurelia's fingers closed over the rock, and she looked at Liana, who looked like she had just seen a ghost. Her face was white, and she was trembling. "Your turn, Liana," Aurelia said, walking over to her and handing her the rock. Liana looked down at it nervously, and swallowed.

"You can do it, Ana," I whispered, surprised I could talk. She looked up at me, and gave me a nervous nod. I walked over to my mother, whose eyebrows were raised in surprise.

"Well done, Ivana. You will master telekinesis in no time," my mother muttered to me. Surprised at her sudden compliment, I gave her a small smile, and then focused my attention on my little sister. Please let her be able to do it, I silently prayed. I wanted her to impress my mother, just this once.

"You saw what Ivana did," Aurelia said to Liana. "Forget about everything around you, and focus on the rock."

Liana's eyes dropped to the rock and, after swallowing, she scrunched up her nose in concentration. Her cheeks started to go pink as she tried to force the rock to lift up into the air. I saw her lips move in a silent mutter.

"Come on, Liana," I whispered.

But the rock didn't rise. It didn't even move. It stayed in her palm, motionless. She threw it on the ground in frustration. Aurelia sighed and shook her head. "Liana, I don't expect you to get it first time. I didn't even get it the first time."

Then why did I get it the first time?

"Let's try again," Aurelia said, kneeling to pick up the rock.

"No," Liana said. "I don't want to be a witch, so why should I even learn how to be one?" Her voice was shaky.

"You may not want to be one, but you are one," my mother snapped. "And you will learn, whether you like it or not."

Liana turned her head and glared at her.

"No," she hissed.

"Liana, stop," I hissed back.

My mother marched over to Liana and grabbed her by her hair. Liana cried out in pain. I ran over to them. "Stop it!" I screamed. "Please!"

Aurelia ran over to them too, trying to pry our mother off Liana. Liana screamed and kicked out at her. My mother yanked at her hair.

"You will learn!" She screamed at her. The sharpness of it made me flinch. "I don't care whether you like it or not, you little bitch!"

I grabbed my mother by her shoulders and pulled her away from Liana. Liana stumbled out of Aurelia's grip, and sprinted into the house, sobbing. Aurelia shook her head at me.

"Why did you do that?!" I screamed at my mother.

She glared at me. "She is a disgrace to the family name."

"She is your daughter," I cried, tears starting to slide down my cheeks.

"She is no daughter of mine," my mother answered.

As I ran into the house after Liana, I heard Aurelia calling my name from behind me. I ignored her.

"Liana?!" I yelled. My voice bounced off the walls. There was no answer. I sprinted up the wooden stairs, taking two at a time and pushed the door open into Liana's bedroom. She wasn't there. "Liana!" I called again.

Feeling hopeless, I walked out of Liana's room and into mine, slamming the door shut behind me. I collapsed onto my bed.

"Ivana," I heard Liana whisper. I sat up and saw her walking out of my bathroom. Blood was splattered on her school shirt, and her hands were covered in blood.

I stumbled off the bed. "Are you okay?" I asked, grabbing her bloody hands.

"She...she scratched my scalp," she whispered. Horrified, I combed through her hair, and saw her scalp was covered in blood. The metallic smell made my stomach lurch.

"Let's get you cleaned up," I said, grabbing her hand and pulling her back into my bathroom. I filled up the sink with water, grabbed her hands and started cleaning them in the sink. The water turned red after a while, and I tried not to look at it. The vividness of the red was making me sweat.

After her hands were clean, I grabbed a cloth and dabbed at her bloody scalp with it. Her hair was matted with blood and sweat. "I think you should take a bath and try to clean your hair. Don't use any shampoo, just use water."

She nodded. Her eyes were brimming with tears. I pulled her into my arms and she buried her face into my shoulder. "Liana, it's okay," I hushed her. She was shaking in my arms.

"I hate her. I hate her," she sobbed.

"You have a right too," I said. "She shouldn't have done that."

"She's mad. Absolutely insane," she said, pulling away from me. I filled up the bath for her while she stripped out of her school clothes. I bundled them up and threw them in my wash basket, although I knew there was no point in trying to wash them, because the blood would stain her white shirt. She climbed into the bath, wincing at the heat of it, and started combing through her tangled, bloody hair.

"I'll go and get you some fresh clothes, okay?" I said. I walked out of my bedroom, and into Liana's, where I opened her wardrobe, pulled out some jeans and a t-shirt, and walked back into my bedroom. I placed them on the toilet seat for her.

"Thanks," she said, looking at me. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," I said, sitting on the floor, my back against the toilet.

"How the hell did you lift the rock?" she asked.

I swallowed. "I honestly have no clue."

"You must have, otherwise how did you do it?"

"Liana, I don't know. If I knew, I'd tell you. I just felt a burning sensation, my sight went blurry, and there was a ringing in my ears. Then, the rock lifted." That was the truth. I honestly had no idea how I did what I just did. It was so surreal, that it made me nervous. That sort of thing shouldn't exist in the world we live in, and it felt abnormal to be lifting something into the air using your mind.

She sighed. "I believe you. I just don't get how you could do it and I couldn't."

"But you might not possess the power of telekinesis, Liana."

"It's the easiest power," she groaned.

"Mother doesn't even possess it," I reminded her.

She shrugged. "I honestly couldn't care less about her."

After she had climbed out of the bath, her hair no longer matted and bloody, and she had gotten changed into her fresh clothes, she started to walk out of my bedroom. 

"Where are you going?" I asked her.

"I'm not staying here tonight," she answered.

"Where are you going to go, then?"

"Blake's."

I laughed. "No, you're not."

"Yes, I am," she argued. "There's no way I'm staying in the house with that crazy bitch."

I sighed. There was no arguing with my stubborn, little sister, because she always won. "Fine. Fine. But message me when you get there, alright?"

She nodded, and left the room, shutting the door behind her. I prayed that my mother, or Aurelia, didn't catch her leaving.

I sat on my bed, crossed my legs, and grabbed one of my childhood teddy bears that was sitting next to my pillow. It was fairly big, and it's fur, that was once bright fuchsia, was matted and faded to a dull grey-pink color. I placed it in front of me and tried to clear my mind, only focusing on it, and nothing else. Once again, I felt the burning sensation in my stomach, and, as it moved into my throat, the teddy bear lifted off my bed. As I willed it to lift higher, the burning grew more intense, and I felt my hands quivering.

Higher.

My heart hammered against my rib cage. It rose, gradually gaining height, and a smile played on my lips. Although my power scared me, it fascinated me.

"Ivana!" yelled a voice.

I whipped my head around, diverting my attention from the teddy bear. Aurelia was standing in the doorway, her eyes wide.

What confused me, was that she was a lot lower than I was. I was looking down on her.

"What is this?!" she cried.

My heartbeat quickened, as I realized I was floating above the ground.

I lifted my bed.

I lifted my bed into the air.

I scrambled back with a fright, and my bed fell to the ground with a crash. Although it was only about one meter off the ground, it still scared the hell out of me.

Aurelia ran over to me and grabbed my sweaty hand. "How did you do that?" Her voice was a hushed whisper.

"I...I don't know," I stuttered.

"Do you know how powerful you have to be to lift a whole bed off the floor? I can't even do that," she hissed. "You need immense power. You have only had one lesson on telekinesis. It's not possible. It's not -"

She ripped her hand out of mine and started pacing the room, muttering to herself.

But I didn't mean to do that. All I meant to do was lift my teddy bear into the air. Not the whole bed, including myself.

Then it dawned on me.

I had more power than I realized.

---

Eeeek.

Hey guys :)

Fun fact: When I was younger, about twelve years old, I really wanted to learn how to do telekinesis. Telekinesis doesn't just involve lifting objects into the air, it's manipulating an object with your mind. A couple of friends and I, at a sleepover one night, decided to try and make the flame on a candle flicker. So as I was acting like I was so cool, and trying to focus on making the flame flicker, which it did (coincidentally, of course), and my friends thought I was a witch for the rest of my primary school years, haha. It was hilarious.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you did, don't forget to vote and leave a comment!

Olivia J. Clarke

(Gif: Liana Cain ~ Adelaide Kane)

(Song: Raise The Dead - RAIGN)

© Olivia Clarke 2016

Salem