Hocus Pocus: Rising of a Little Witch

Prologue

Lake Anna, Virginia
August 2002.

"And then! They. were. HANGED!"  a teenaged girl narrated to her younger cousin, holding a flashlight under her face for dramatic effect.
She stayed quiet a moment and stared at the younger girl before suddenly reaching out and grabbing her sides.
"Ahh" she yelled.
The younger girl screamed and her cousin fell back laughing on the bed they were on.

"Mallory stop! I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight!" the younger girl whined, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Why Kayti?" Mallory asked, scooting closer and putting her arm around her little cousin.
"Are you afraid the Sanderson Sisters are gonna come here and getcha?!" she asked, using her other hand to tickle Kayti's stomach. The seven year old squirmed and giggled.

"You said that story wasn't real." Kayti said after her cousin had stopped tickling her.

"Well part of it is." Mallory replied.
"The Sanderson Sisters were real people and their house is real."

Kayti looked up at her cousin worriedly.
"Did they really kill kids?"

Mallory made her eyes wide "I don't know" She responded, trying to make her voice sound spooky.
Kayti lightly shoved her cousin. Mallory just laughed.

" It's just up for debate whether or not they were actually practicing witchcraft or if they were hanged for no good reason like the other victims of the witch trials. But, according to the boy who lives next me, Winnifred Sanderson's spellbook sits in that house today" Mallory explained.

"How does he know!?" Kayti argued.

"He lost a bet with his brothers and they dared him to go into the house. I went with them when he did it."  Mallory replied.

Kayti sighed and leaned further into her cousin.
"I wish we learned about the Salem Witch Trials at my school. I'm sick of learning about stupid Jamestown and Williamsburg."

Mallory chuckled.
"Yeah you Virginia kids are missing out. The history is crazy up in Massachusetts."

Kayti sighed again.
"I don't want to go back to Richmond tomorrow. Do you think your parents would take me back to Salem with you guys?"

Mallory sighed too and wrapped her arms tighter around her young cousin
"I wish."

Kayti sulked and rested her head on Mallory's chest. Mallory kissed the top of her head and ran her fingers through her hair. She knew Kayti had been dreading the end of the summer.

"When's your mom getting out of rehab?" she asked.

"Next Tuesday." Kayti grumbled, her face still pressed against her cousin's chest. Mallory looked down on her sympathetically, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Well maybe she'll be able to stay off the drugs this time and things will be better." Mallory said, hoping to comfort her young cousin. Kayti was only seven but had seen way more shit than she ever had in her 14 years.

"She won't." Kayti responded bluntly "Dad is going to start using them again too. And he'll stop caring about me".

Mallory held Kayti tighter.
"Just remember if things get bad again you can always call us, and my parents will do anything they can to try and help you."

"Like adopt me?" Kayti said, looking up at her cousin hopefully.

Mallory sighed. "Maybe."

Kayti shrugged sadly and laid her head back down on her cousin and stared sleepily at The Parent Trap playing on the TV.

Soon they were both asleep.