Collection of Witchy Stories

Akelarre

Eulalia ran from the fire as fast as she could. The young woman didn't run because she was afraid of fire, fire and candles were elements that gave her warmth and security. Until that night. She did not remember the number of cavalrymen who attacked them, but she found it excessive for two women and a girl. Now, running she did not remember much of what had happened. They appeared, his mother shouted at her to run and she did it. When she realised that she was not being followed she turned around to see what was happening. Joana and Maria held hands while the men attacked them. Eulalia helplessly wept, wept listening to screams of terror and watching from a distance as her mother and her love were unjustly burned to death under the moonlight.

Among men, horses and weapons. Eulàlia saw how they made the women kneel, first one and then the other. Joana put up no resistance, but Maria kicked more than once, but it was not enough. Joana felt pressure on her wrists. A rope wrapped around her and choked her chest slightly. As best she could, she looked at Maria and with her lips uttered a "T'estimo" (I love you) before she felt everything burn.

Eulàlia waited for the shouting to stop, the flames to die down and the cavalry to disappear before she approached what had been one of the best nights of her short life. She observed what those men had done. And in front of the torch, she knelt down and wept, wept until she fell asleep. The first warm rays of sunshine lit up her face and awakened her. She stood up and walked around the area. She looked at the horizon, at the beauty of the mountains. She closed her eyes while she listened to the first birds singing and let herself be caressed by the wind. She felt the beautiful aura of her mother and María and held them as long as she could until they disappeared. Eulàlia stumbled over the diaries of the two women, they were full of ashes, but the young woman picked them up and cleaned the covers a little. She walked over to the torch hugging them.

" I will protect them, I will try to protect all of them so they do not end as you. I love you, I love you so much and I will miss you" she said in a broken voice. She wanted revenge, she was furious about what had happened. But, she knew her mother had not wanted that. That is why she formed the Akelarre.

The years went by and Eulàlia still mourned the death of her mother come nights. Not because she was victimizing herself, but because she felt her presence, she knew that she was accompanying her every step of the way. She spent years travelling from village to village, asking for help, offering her services as a house helper and, sometimes, as a healer. In her free time, she used to read Joana's and Maria's diaries. She felt lucky that they had taught her to read and write when women were not allowed to. That is why she should read and write in the dark where nobody could see her. She also used her free time to meet young men and women. They had fun and sometimes she made to one or another to fell in love.

"Do you think you can heal this wound faster than a doctor?" asked the young man challenging the witch as he showed her the wound he had sustained on his arm from falling while riding a horse.

"Of course and it will look like you don't even have a scar," said Eulàlia confidently.

"But scars tell stories. How can I tell in the future that I was cured by a witch if I don't have a scar?"

"People can believe it or not. But, would you really like to say that you were cured by a demon-possessed woman?" she asked mischievously.

"I don't believe you are possessed by the devil, but you can show me. Actually, I admire you".

Both smiled. She did not trust men, but a night was a night, she thought.

In her social meetings, she knew women that were like her and they started to meet in a cave that was in a forest near the town. Some of the girls were not aware of their sensitivity towards nature and the body. But, Eulàlia felt before even their knowledge that they had some kind of magic inside of them. Or, maybe, the fact about the witch-burning, the sentences and the disapproval of the society caused them to deny the power inside them. They were not many, but she wanted to protect them. One afternoon they went to the cave to do a gathering. They sat down on the floor and inside the cave the oldest one lit a small fire. Six years had passed since Joana and Maria's death. So, Eulàlia decided to dedicate that gathering to them.

Eulàlia broke the silence of the cave telling her and her mother's story. Some of those present cried, others panicked for fear that it would happen to them, and others simply listened to her. The older one approached the girl and hugged her " I am sorry darling, may their souls remain in peace forever and the bastards that did that suffer for what they have done". Many of them nodded with their heads and came forward to offer comfort. Suddenly, some of them stifled a scream.

" Men cannot be here!" one of the young witches picked up a coarse stone that she had found in the cave and approached the boy.

"Let her enter," said Eulàlia, she felt her, what the boy was feeling.

"Thank you and I am sorry, I know that men cannot enter" he caught his breath, he was nervous " I know this sounds strange and that is not normal. They have told me that I am being possessed by the devil, and you are related to him, maybe you can help me. I feel like a woman, I dream of being a woman".

Murmurings were heard throughout the cave. "Come, sit with me," Eulàlia said "You are not possessed by the devil. Sometimes we are born in bodies that are not our own, but that's ok. We are here to help you, we are people who have been set apart from society for the simple fact of being different, but we are here, we exist, we have names and surnames and we are not going anywhere. Welcome to the akelarre".