𝐅𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐘 𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃 [ 𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 ]

06. 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝘀𝗸

ESZTER FINALLY ESCAPED DOTTIE'S MEETING. She couldn't sit there anymore and watch Wanda embarrass herself while trying to fit in, so Eszter up and left.

Of course, Wanda silently begged her to stay for moral support, and Dottie made some kind of comment about leaving when she was talking, but Eszter didn't care. All Eszter knew was that she needed to get out of there before she died from boredom.

She didn't stray far; Eszter eventually wandered out of the community pool and somewhere in the middle of the town.

"Morning, kiddo!" Dennis, the mailman, shouted happily from across the street.

Eszter smiled at Dennis as the man saluted, grinning widely at her.

"Morning, Dennis," Eszter waved. "How're you doing?"

"Oh, you know, just hanging in there," Dennis cackled with the ever-beaming smile that never shifts. "Say, how's that sister and brother-in-law of yours?"

"They're doing fine," Eszter cranes her neck sideways with her brows knitted with worry, sensing a shift in Dennis's emotions. "How're you really doing, Dennis?"

Eszter could tell something was off about him, but should she be confronting him? But if she does, wouldn't Wanda be upset?

Dennis laughed like she cracked some ridiculous joke, completely dismissing Eszter's concern. He looked unaffected by her concerns, acting as if everything was alright when Eszter knew otherwise. Dennis looks like someone bubbly and obnoxiously extroverted, always bursting with energy, but hidden beneath all of that, Eszter sensed something worse.

"I feel fantastic!" Dennis said with glee. "You know me; I enjoy being outside with every chance that I can get. I'm rarely ever home nowadays." Well, that's not weird. "See ya in my next round, kiddo!"

Dennis didn't waste any more time and carried on with his job, though he waved one last time and continued down the sidewalk.

While Dennis's interactions were off-putting, Eszter shrugged it off and continued walking down the sidewalk, heading for the public library she'd seen earlier.

Eszter remembered she used to love reading when she was younger; she never had a specific genre that she liked, preferring to try something different just because she didn't want to burn herself out with the same story over and over again. Looking at the spines of different titles, sectioned by different genres, Eszter misses her spare time of reading. It sounds like a far-away idea--finding the time to read again.

The teen shifted from one aisle to another, until she found herself in the modern fantasy section. Eszter dragged her fingers across the spines, scanning the titles in search of something that spoke out to her.

Ever since it occurred to Eszter that she's possibly--no, is--a powerful witch, who's being hunted by another witch, she needed more answers. She didn't get a lot of details about the Scarlet Witch or the Dark Witch, but surely someone wrote about them?

Eszter sighs disappointedly. Another bust.

"Everyone likes witches," Eszter muttered frustratingly. "Who doesn't like witches? I know someone is crazy about this stuff and wrote something about it."

She reaches on the top shelf for a book, she snorts under her breath.

"Spellbook for New Witches," Eszter split the book open to a random page, eyebrows raised when she read the first thing. "So, this is where I'm at." Eszter lowered the book and lifted her eyes to the ceiling, shaking her head while muttering. "What is my life anymore?"