A Horrific Fantasy

Chapter 18

Now as you've probably already deduced, Charlie's after school tutoring sessions didn't really last until eight o'clock at night. That was a lie she told to cover up the fact that right after tutoring, she would go with Vaggie over the bridge to visit Mystique Hollow. Lucky thing Stolas never went to public school other wise he'd know that know after school tutoring program is that late. And lucky thing that Vaggie's mother always worked a late shift that ended around ten to midnight. So neither Stolas or Inez suspected a thing.

Each visit to Mystique Hollow was more exciting and enticing than the last. The two girls would be treated to a wonderful feast, then Charlie would play around in her garden while Vaggie would paint countless murals, and afterward they would participate in festive dances or incredible shows like a concert or a play. Levana seemed to always know exactly what the two of them wanted and always provided it without question or hesitation.

"I only want to make you happy." She would say. "She appear so sad. Like you have no one to talk to or listen to. No one who understands you or ever thinks about what you want. I know how painful that feels and I never want anyone to feel the same."

And the girls believed her, and the longer they spent time in Mystique Hollow, the more they didn't want to leave. They began to dread having to go back to reality where nothing was fair, adults don't listen to you, and your peers bully you. They wanted nothing more than to just run away from all their problems at home and stay here where it appeared there were no troubles at all. But truth be told, if you run away from your old problems you'll be just heading straight for a whole new mess of problems. Though Charlie and Vaggie had yet to discover that.

Meanwhile Octavia spent her evenings that week being babysat by Gina. Now at first Octavia behaved very shyly around the old woman because she had only known her through names and passing glances, but after Gina got Octavia talking about her day, she grew to like her. She liked to sip tea with Gina, draw and color, and to listen to music with her, but what she found that liked best was that Gina happened to be a wonderful story-teller and the little girl found herself enthralled by everything she had told her.

"They say that Baba Yaga tales flies around in a mortar, wields a pestle, and dwells deep in the forest in a house that stands on chicken legs." Gina told her one afternoon as the child was drawing a picture with crayons.

"Chicken legs?" Octavia said in disbelief. "I don't believe it! What kind of house has legs like a chicken?"

"Baba Yaga's apparently." Gina chuckled. "Some legends say that she's just a mean and nasty old crone who likes to cause trouble, but others say that if you do her a favor, she'll use magic to reward you."

"How do you know all this stuff Gina?"

"Well my grandparents were from Italy but they traveled all over Europe and Asia in their youth and they listened to many story-tellers of many cultures and countries." She said to Octavia. "They told these stories to me when I was a little girl, then I told them to my children when they were little, and to my grandchildren and my nephew when they were little, and now I am telling them to you."

"Are they all true stories Gina?" Octavia asked.

"Some are, some aren't, and some I'm not entirely sure. But I do know for certain that they're are intelligent creatures in this world who are not human. Now some are just merely mischievous and relatively harmless, and in some cases beneficial if you know how to handle them."

"What does that mean?"

"Well in England and Scotland there are creatures who will help you keep house if you give them a bowl of cream or a loaf of bread. But never criticize them, because they can very easily undo all that cleaning and house work with just the snap of their fingers."