THE ROAD

CHAPTER 7 - WITCH'S MAGIC

We kill time. We save time. We rob and get robbed of time, we lose time, and yet we have all the time in the world. But no one of us is powerful enough to stop the march of time or slow it down. We cannot change what we are about to encounter in the future and the future is not tomorrow or the day after tomorrow or a month after, the future is just the next minute. Three days have passed by and my family wasn't able to overcome the fact that I know everything. They have long kept me away from the truth but now I was well aware of everything. They were in despair, but the fact is no one can change fate. It was Sunday and family day I called Roisin as knew she would be the one to be with me in every situation,  I was locked in my room for a day, no, not thinking, just lying and doing nothing not even reading. I went downstairs when Roisin agreed to implement the plan. We decided to go fishing, both families, to lighten up the mood.

I went downstairs ......, "Heyaaa.....dad, today.... I'll ask your favorite question, 'How about food?' it's Sunday let's have some fun. What about a picnic? We can go Esperer church first and then to the fishing point."

'sounds good. I am in.' Jake replied. I wanted to make everyone smile and calm them down and alone it wasn't possible and Roisin knew it. She has always been by my side, loyal and caring.  She too made her family agree to the trip. Everybody knew what I was up to so they agreed and tried to make everything fine. At 11 am we packed our stuff kept in our cars and rode towards the church. We had a good time and I could see everyone enjoying it. At the fishing point, everybody was fishing and I and Roisin were sitting eating like we always did.

'you could have told me.' I confronted Roisin.

'I wanted to but I realized you were under a spell so...'

'yeah........ When did they tell you?'...

'well, I sneaked into Rose's room to steal her red dress for your 15th birthday party and then I realized why she never let me in. She had the entire room filled with things and books of witchcraft ...sorcery.... so, I confronted her about things and about your photo."

'what photo...?'

'I was searching through the things and I came across your photograph on her bookshelf... The picture was yours when you were four...'

'Yeah, she told me everything then. I told her it was wrong. She said that if you love your family you have to save them from everything. So, (sighs) I agreed to keep you in dark.'

'I understand.'

'hey, you have powers. Did you try them?'

'no. I mean I don't know.'

'come on. Let's try.'

Roisin insisted me to try my powers. At that point of time, I didn't even know if I had powers or I didn't know if my powers were 'revived'.

I lifted my hand clenched my fist and closed my eyes and took a deep breath, then I opened my hand and it was a beautiful blue butterfly, I created the same as  I thought about it in my mind.

'Beautiful.' Roisin added.

I realized I got my powers revived. Like kids are excited to try their new toys, we too were excited to use my powers. We had some fun. Moved a sandwich in the air from the hands of a stranger, talked to birds, Yeah, I did. I could understand their language. Then we caught a lot of fishes at the fishing point, with my magic. I made Roisin fly and added a few birds to the gene pool. I could run faster than a tiger, my vision improved many folds. I had within me the qualities of a human, a vampire, and a witch combined. I could control every phase of me without any difficulty naturally. Well, we had so much fun. After a long time, I stepped out of my own little world and enjoyed it as Roisin has always asked me to do. I was lost in my own world of fantasies in order to pretend I have filled that void in my heart and now as I have finally got my missing part back I was enjoying every moment in front of me. My family was happy seeing me like this but deep inside they knew the future.

'it's good to be different from all, isn't it?' Rose came to us and sat beside Roisin and continued, 'You have something that even I never had. I learned witchcraft from my grandma and what you're having is within you. You have to use it wisely.'

I knew what she was saying and why. The powers I had were fun, but I got them for a purpose and I ought to use them wisely. She was right and she has always been.  

'Hey...Eab..what about that old man?'Roisin interrupted.

'who..?' Rose asked.

'it's... I mean... ... the day Roisin went to her cousin's house, I went to meet a friend near the school and when I was returning, I mean I decided to come to your house from the other side from the road near the gate,  I was heading towards your house, I heard footsteps from behind I looked back and there was this old man he said something weird to me and within seconds he just disappeared. Well, I have always wanted to sneak in, and meeting that old man made my decision firm to open the gate. But, the next day that animal attack,... I mean the dead body found in the town hall was of the old man. Erh..so Sirena told me that she took that man's appearance.... moreover his death was a coincidence.' I replied.

'yeah.... witches can do that..Rose too can do that..' Roisin remarked.

'wait, you said you went to meet a friend. What friend? I mean, you have friends other than Roisin as well?' Rose said giggling.

'... Not a friend, her boyfriend, Magnar.' Roisin commented.

'shut up. He's not my boyfriend.'

'Magnar?' 

'Yeah, he's in our class. He came last semester from LA.' Roisin replied.

'where's his house?' Rose questioned.

'near school...but, what's the matter with his house?' I asked.

Rose giggled and then made a serious look as if she recalled something and said, "They knew." She stopped for a while and then shouted, 'there are no houses near the school, there's just a highway to the city, passing from the front side, a public playground outside it and that gate behind the building. It was an illusion.'

Our parents came running after hearing her shouting and all looked worried. My dad asked, 'what was an illusion?'

Rose was quiet and looked a bit scared and a lot confused. Roisin shook her arm and then she gasped and said, 'it was a trick to confirm who she was. They knew from the start, they were spying. They knew only a person with powers can look through that illusion.'

'What you're saying? There were houses near the school. I saw him going inside one and spying, what spying?' I asked.

Then my dad added, 'yeah there are no houses near your school.' To this everyone agreed. Roisin confirmed as well. She said she didn't realize at that time when I told her that day but now she understood everything was a lie and perhaps, I was tricked.

Well, I thought for a while and gained my intelligence back that I lost in liking him. Well, I told you I was behaving like a typical teenager. I never thought feeling for someone would make me forget my surroundings. I closed my eyes and tried to look through the illusion.