Amnesiac's Insomnia

Part 2

                The days following the move were busy as the girls struggled to get comfortable. Harriet didn't seem to have a problem, and neither did Paula, but the rest of them unpacked and moved things around the rooms often. Batherine's limbs hurt from helping them move furniture, trying to fit themselves into this new home. Altars were placed and shuffled, articles shifted positions, and each member's Grimoire moved regularly as she searched for a convenient spot. The days were spent helping each other unpack and exploring the house and the area surrounding it, as well as venturing into town a few times to get groceries or to figure out where necessities were.

By night, most of them slept peacefully. The exhaustion from the day gave way to easy sleep, but not for Batherine. She stared at Harriet's sleeping form as she sat up, awake at three a.m. one night, holding her ragged Grimoire in her calloused hands. Her eyelids told her to sleep, but the rest of her body fought. Her fingers stroked the spine and she questioned how Harriet could possibly have settled in so easily, halfway across the country. The journal's pages fanned from use and things being taped or glued in, and from being propped open so often. Batherine looked down at it, the worn leather comforting her. If she closed her eyes, she could almost believe they were back in Bathurst, New Brunswick. They hadn't been there for long, but she had loved that they were on the ocean, or close enough... technically it was Chaleur Bay, but it was saltwater. Being a sea witch, that was important.

It was also something that she didn't have anymore.

Batherine squeezed her eyes shut, trying to forget Bathurst. It was nice while it lasted, but she still missed Halifax... she pushed that thought away too. Pine Current would be amazing. It would be fantastic. It would be... saltwater free.

Batherine sighed and reopened her eyes, the green drowned out by the orange light from the lantern next to her. She touched the string that was meant to hold the book closed before flipping it open, the gas lantern flickering its light over the pages and illuminating the text. Red and black calligraphy spelled out words, instructions, results... she smiled as she set a hand on the water stain from when a wave splashed up one day in the middle of her spell. Some of the words unfortunate enough to be in the way were runny and dripped down the page, but were still legible. It was a hope spell, one that she had written just before she had moved away from Halifax, just after she joined the coven and they had decided to leave.

She wondered if they would find another member and move away again. She scrunched her eyebrows together, suddenly confused. No, that's not why they had left. The reason escaped her... why had they moved away so suddenly? The past two times were abrupt yet they all went along with Paula, every time. Batherine's mouth felt suddenly dry. Why couldn't she remember?

Perhaps it was how tired she was... that had to be it. Her exhaustion was clouding her mind. She obviously knew the reason, but something was preventing her from remembering. She shook her head and closed her Grimoire, setting it down on her nightstand. She just had to take her sleeping pills and get some much needed rest. A small smile graced her lips and she swung her bare feet over the side of the bed. Harriet sighed in her sleep, but didn't really stir.

She made her way to the door slowly, the pads of her feet sticking to the wood. She turned the door knob as slowly as possible, not wanting to make any major noises that might wake someone up. The door squeaked slightly as she opened it, the pale light from her room shining her shadow into the hallway. The railing that looked over the staircase was right in front of her and she glanced over it out of habit, for what she wasn't quite sure. She saw only stairs, and she felt relieved momentarily before she continued on her way down the hallway. The floorboards groaned under her and she tightened her jaw as she tried excruciatingly hard not to make a noise. Paula and Janet's door stood open a slight bit at the very end of the hall, and light from the waxing moon shone out onto the floor. Batherine slowed even more as she passed, but froze when she heard a voice.