Braxtonburg

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Thursday September 10th 1938

The three of us walked to Hannah's house. Hannah had a steely gaze, her face was hardened. She was determined to get some answers. We walked up the familiar roads and eventually came to Hannah's house. We walked up the grey steps and onto the porch. Hannah opened the door and Blaire and I walked in after her.

"Grandma, we need to talk!" Hannah cried as we walked through the door.

Hannah's grandmother, Willow, walked out of the kitchen.

"Oh, you brought your friends. Hello there." Willow greeted.

Blaire and I waved in return.

"Is there something wrong? Have a seat." Willow said caringly.

Hannah walked to the living room and sat down on the couch. Willow, Blaire and I joined her.

"Grandma, I want you to tell me the truth." Hannah instructed.

"The truth? About what?" Willow asked, cocking her head to the side.

Hannah took a deep breath to compose herself.

"Grandma, when we were at the City Hall, it wasn't for a school project." Hannah admitted.

"Okay but... Why would you lie to me?" Willow asked, more confused than ever.

"Because if I told you what we were really there to do, you wouldn't let me go." Hannah admitted.

"What were you doing?" Willow asked, now intrigued.

"Grandma, we found some newspaper articles about you dating back to the early 1900s. Willow's eyes ever so slightly widened. I didn't think anyone else noticed.

"Oh? And what did you find?" Willow asked, slightly annoyed that Hannah went behind her back.

"We found out that you were the first female to ever graduate the Fordsville Police Academy. We found out that you were the best police officer that Fordsville had." Hannah began.

"Indeed, I was. I was certainly the best, my skill was the envy of all the other officers." Willow admitted.

"Yes. Now, does the date September 20th 1908 ring any bells for you?" Hannah asked.

Willow tensed up. Hannah had her. She knew it.

"No, why?" Willow asked.

"Well it should! Enough with your lies!" Hannah exploded.

We all flinched back at her outburst. Hannah was breathing heavily, her gaze as fiery as her hair.

"On September 20th 1908 you were discharged from the Fordsville Police Department. Why?" Hannah asked.

Willow looked left and right, as if she could physically see the answer.

"It was an honorable discharge, young lady. I served eight years on the police force." Willow said sternly.

"I said enough with your lies!" Hannah screamed.

We all flinched again, Hannah was really fired up. It wouldn't be easy to calm her down.

"Last night Blaire, Max and I got in touch with a man named Robert Christy, do you know him?" Hannah asked.

Willow hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"Yes, he was the journalist who wrote the articles on me in the early 1900s." Willow admitted.

"Yes, well he told us the reason you made so many arrests in your days as a police officer." Hannah said fiercly, not breaking eye contact.

"What did he tell you?" Willow asked intently.

Hannah was angry before, but hearing her grandmother begin to tell the truth soothed her a little.

"He said... He said that you're a witch." Hannah shot back.

Hannah's anger was running on fumes. She still was breathing heavily, looking her grandmother in the eye. Finally, Willow sighed in defeat.

"Okay, Hannah. You deserve the truth. Nothing less." Willow told her granddaughter.

"Whatever you have to say, Max and Blaire deserve to hear it too. They helped me unravel your secret every step of the way." Hannah said assertively.

"Very well." Willow said, steeling herself.

We all waited for her answer anxiously. At long last she spoke.

"The truth is, I am a witch." She said gravely.

I broke out laughing. I couldn't help it. I held my sides, after a few seconds I calmed down.

"Is something funny, young man?" Willow asked sternly.

I laughed even harder, hitting the arm of the couch to calm down.

"Indeed! And what are you going to do? Turn me into a frog?" I chuckled.

"I see you don't believe me." Willow observed.

"Believe you? How can I? You just told us that you're a witch!" I exasperated.

Willow nodded in understanding.

"I see you require proof." Willow said while looking at me over her glasses.

"Indeed." I said with a smug smile.

"I'll be right back." Willow said as she walked upstairs.

I could hear her walking around, lifting and moving something. She then came back down holding a large book.

The book was faded brown leather and the pages looked to be very old paper. Parchment perhaps? The book certainly wasn't in pristine condition. It looked like it was a few decades, perhaps a century old. It also had a strange crest on the cover made out of silver.

"I don't suppose that's your spell book?" I asked with a chuckle.

"Indeed it is. Now I haven't done this in a while..." Willow trailed off while flipping through the pages of the book.

"What's that crest?" I asked, pointing to the crest on the cover of the book.

"Every family of witches has their own crest. This is the crest of the Lee witches." Willow explained patiently.

I scoffed skeptically and sat back in the couch. Willow then stopped flipping through the book and then put her finger on something.

"Ah ha, I found it. A simple levitation spell." Willow said, satisfied.

"This should be good." I said to myself.

Willow looked around the room. She held the 'spell book' in her right hand. She aimed her left hand at a cup on the counter in the kitchen. She then began to say unintelligible things. She didn't dramatically shout them, she was saying them at normal volume. After a few seconds, nothing happened. I chuckled to myself, though Willow was still saying the unintelligible things. Just then, the cup fell off the counter. She stopped talking.

"The window behind the cup is open. Pure chance, there must have been a draft." I remarked with my arms folded over my chest.

Blaire and Hannah, on the other hand, didn't need convincing. They both had awed looks on their faces. Willow looked at me with a raised eyebrow. She then looked at the book and began saying unintelligible things again, pointing her hand at the cup that is now on the floor. After a few seconds the most unbelievable thing happened; the cup began to levitate. No less than four feet off the ground!

"Tell me. Could a draft do that, Max?" Willow asked.