Where the Wind Goes

Chapter 2 - The Sign

The three Bell siblings crested the hill and stood in a small clearing surrounded by stout, leafy trees. There were remnants of a driveway that had long since crumbled into gravel, and at the end of it sat a small cottage with cedar shingles. It was a set piece, originally built by the ren faire to be a witch's cabin, but had been abandoned some fifty odd years ago. Now, weeds bloomed at the top of the spindly chimney and the colorful glass windows were clouded over with grime. Someone had painted the door a bright shade of red, and Oliver couldn't quite place why that felt different.

"You couldn't have picked a worse day," Madison bemoaned, swiping her dark, sweaty curls out of her eyes. His sister had spent all fifteen years of her life squirreled away in her room with nubs of charcoal and a sketch pad. Her skin hadn't seen the sun in all that time, and now it was a canvas of angry blotches.

Jack adjusted the belt on his makeshift tunic- a generous term for the faded blue pillowcase tied around his waist with some fraying gold cord. "Come on!" he shouted, sprinting up to the building and clambering onto the window sill. At seven years old, he'd be the first one of his friends to see the Sign in person.

Madison lagged behind "I can't believe you dragged me out here to see this dump."

Oliver glanced at the peeling siding and sagging roof. "We're not here for the architecture."

She rolled her eyes. "Can't wait to mark, 'Saw a dingy piece of paper' off my bucket list."

"You've never seen it before?" he asked

She looked at him levelly. "It's dangerous."

Spooky stories about the Sign were whispered around Midway like forbidden pieces of treasure- "I saw a man in a top hat lingering around the door." "I heard if you go at sunset you can hear singing." "At Midnight, you can summon a witch and if you pass her test she'll grant you a wish. But if you fail, she steals your soul." That one was the most popular. Everyone still talked about some girl who'd supposedly disappeared twenty years ago, stolen by the witch.

Oliver eyed the peculiar building. "All the more reason to investigate."

Madison's eyes narrowed. "What happened last time you went to investigate the Sign?"

A flash of lightning, water-logged socks, awakening in a cold, unfamiliar bedroom.

"Point taken," he said.

They joined Jack by the window and stared at the piece of paper scotch-taped to the inside:

Help Wanted

A world away from the one you know

Follow the wind and see where it goes

Inquire Within

"This is it?" Jack breathed, his hands pressed against the glass, leaving little prints in the green coating of pollen.

"Yeah." Oliver knelt down beside him. "What do you think?"

Jack jumped off the ledge and threw out his arms. "I wish the Lady could see this!"

Madison grew eerily still. "The Lady isn't real."

Oliver sighed. "Guys, not now." The Lady was Jack's imaginary friend, and for some reason Oliver couldn't fathom, Madison was determined to erase her from existence.

Jack stood rooted in place and stared her down. "Yes, she is."

"Sorry to disappoint ya, kid." She took off her glasses and idly began cleaning them on the hem of her shirt. "Tell him, Oliver."