Selene

The whole village knows Eve is missing, and yet they're doing nothing to help her. I'm the only one willing to help. And why? Mama's always told me witches are bad, that they only bring trouble. But Eve hasn't fit into that box that was shaped for her. At least, not that I know of. No one around town has ever said Eve did something bad to them. No one's uttered a word about a curse,  or a wicked prank that she's casted. No one's gone missing by her hands. Not even my Pa.

I don't know if the better question is; why is no one willing to help her? Or; why am I helping her? 

I would have nightmares for weeks after Mama told me one witch story. I used to duck and run past Eve's cottage whenever I passed it. My friends always laughed before speed-walking past it themselves. But anytime I did run past her cottage, and she was outside, there was always something sad on her face. Eventually I figured out she wasn't going to hurt anyone who walked past her cottage.

But that never stopped the feeling in my gut. I'm still unsure if it's fear of her, or something else. 

Taking a deep breath, I glance around, but the street is empty. Why should it be busy though? I'm the only one who seems brave enough to be near the witch's home even now that's she's gone. The gate creaks as I open it.

I'm still scared of the witch, but I'm not scared of the girl who is missing, and is hidden under that title. 

The day is quiet around me, only interrupted a few times by birds singing. The gravel crunches under my feet as I make my way up to the front door. I reach my hand out for the knob. It's cold under my fingers, but when I turn it, it opens easily.

"Selene?" A voice crows.

"Yes, it's me," I call into the house. I take my shoes off as the door swings behind me.

Blackness flies out from the living room until it's only a few meters in front of me. "Matias thinks he knows how to find Eve." Calchas bobs up and down as he flaps his wings. 

I grin as my heart flutters. "That's great."

He turns and flies back to the living room, me only a few paces behind him. 

The sun shines through the one window, illuminating the room. Matias lies sprawled out on the floor in a sunbeam. He blinks up at me as I take a seat in the armchair. "Good morning. You a little sleepy?" I ask, a smile on my face.

He huffs. "The sunbeam is warm."

I shake my head, my smile only growing more. "So, Calchas said you know how we can find Eve."

"Yes." He rests his head back on his paws.

"Well? Are you going to share it with the rest of us?"

"I'm debating how much you'll like the idea." His gaze seems to pierce right through me. 

I squirm under it. "What do you mean?"

"How comfortable are you with witchcraft?" His green eyes watch me. Calchas shifts on his perch.

"Witchcraft?" 

"Yes." Matias rolls his eyes. "Like spells."

"I... well, They're bad and..." I shift in my seat and tear my gaze away from his. "It's something only witches do. I can't do it, and even if I wanted to, I wouldn't."

"Why not?"

Why can't he just drop it. "It's evil." I grip my skirt.

"Was it evil when Eve used a spell to try and find your father?"

My gaze snaps back to him. "What?"

He tilts his head to the side. "You didn't know, did you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Eve used spell to find missing man," Calchas says. 

"Yes," Matias says, his gaze shifting to Calchas before sliding back to me. "And that missing man happened to be your father."

"But Mama said that some of the husbands had found Pa..."

"Well she was lying." Matias's tail flicks behind him.

I shake my head. "Mama wouldn't lie about something like that." Not when it comes to Pa and his disappearance.

Matias just continues to stare at me. "If you say so."

I take a deep breath. Why would Mama not tell me that Eve had found Pa? Why would she let me believe that some husbands of her friends had found him? Maybe they had... maybe she hadn't believed Eve. Why would she? Eve is a witch. They can't be trusted. 

"But, the spell that Eve had used to find him is the one we're going to use," Matias says, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"I told you. I won't do magic."

"Why?" His tail flicks behind him. 

"Because it's evil! And even if it wasn't, I'm not capable of doing magic."

He tilts his head. "Humor me, if magic isn't evil what makes you think you're unable to perform any?"

"I've never done it before." I shift in my seat.  "And it's probably something that you have to be born with, like the ability to talk."

He flashes his teeth at me in a grin. "Exactly. It's a skill you have to build. Eve just had a easier time practicing her skill, it was more forthcoming. But, everyone has magic, it's easier for some than others."

"So you mean..."

"Deciding to do magic is as simple as deciding whether to be a nice person or a mean person."

"But, but it can't be that simple." My grip on my skirt tightens, more wrinkles appearing. 

"It is."

"I still won't do it." I've been told my whole life that magic is evil, that it's the work of forbidden arts, that if you practice magic can steal your soul. 

But... look at Eve. I've never held a conversation with her, but she seems like a good person. She doesn't seem evil, nor has she ever done anything evil with her magic. That I know of. 

"This may be our only hope of finding her." For once, something close to pain makes itself evident in Matias's voice. When I turn my gaze back to him, he's giving me pouty kitten eyes. 

I take a deep breath, slowly exhaling. "I'll think about it." The thought of using magic still seems so wrong. But if it's to help someone, then it can't be that wrong, can it? But what will the village, or even Mama think if they find out?

"That's fine. I just..." He turns his head away. "I really miss Eve."

I stand up before crouching down beside him. I hover my hand above his head for a second before placing it on him. I smooth his fur back on his head as a tiny purr fills the room. "We'll find her," I say. "Even if I don't use magic to do so."

"But what if magic is our only hope?"

"I'm sure it isn't." He just looks up at me. Maybe somewhere deep down inside of ourselves, we know it won't be that easy.

"Did you find anything inside of those books?" he asks. 

I shake my head. "I haven't had much time to go through them yet. I plan to when I get home though." I look out the window at the sun. "On that note, I should probably go. Mama and I are doing baking this afternoon for tomorrows market, and I don't need her freaking out again about me being late." Or being disappointed in me. 

Matias's ears perk up. "Are you making mango pie again?"

"Most likely." I shot him a knowing grin. "Would you like me to sneak you some?"

He pretends like the idea doesn't excite him. "I don't really care."

"Sure." I laugh. "Bye Matias, Bye Calchas."

"Good-bye! Tell the moon I say hi!"

My brows lower. "Oh? What do you mean?" But Calchas doesn't answer, instead he focuses on picking something out of his wing. I turn to Matias. "Do you know what he means?"

The cat shakes his head. "I never know what he means."

***

After being covered in flour and mangos all day, I escape to my room. The door clicks closed behind me. 

I head over to my bed and get down on my knees so I can reach under it for the books. I hid them here in case Mama came into my room and saw them. She would freak out about something even remotely witchy being in the house.

Once I have one of them in my hands, I get up and sit at my desk. The book I've pulled out is Tales of The Witch. I flip it open to the contents page. Before I can even start looking at the chapter titles the moonlight spills over the pages to highlight one chapter name. 

When the Witch is Most Powerful.

My brow furrows, but I look at the page number and flip there. 

When a witch needs extra power they can rely on their familiar, which grants them a little extra power then they normally have. But if a witch needs to cast a particular strong spell  they can utilize different sources.  

It goes on to talk about flowers, and different animals before it turns to the moon.

My eyes widen. Didn't Calchas say something about the moon? Tearing my gaze from the book for a second, I look up at it. The light seems to ebb and flow from strong to weak. I turn back to the book.

The moon has an unlimited source of magic. If a witch needs all the power they can get, they'll want to perform the spell at night when the moon is at it's fullest.

Chapter word count: 1,575

Total word count: 12,072