Flash Fiction Spooktacular

A Halloween Promise - Cecily Anne Winters

The weather outside was crisp and clear. It was going to be one awfully cold night, but she didn’t care at all. It was finally Halloween; everybody was busy Tricking or Treating and nobody paid attention to her. Perfect! Silently rubbing her hands in glee, she excitedly grabbed the old, worn-down book again, trying to locate a certain page. In her excitement, she dropped the book and although she was carefully picking it up, she heard a page tear.

“O no!” Fear gripped her tightly. She had been so meticulously in preparing everything, all was set for her chance to change her fate. She didn’t want to ruin it now by accidentally destroying her guidebook! “I should have copied the instructions somewhere safer,” she murmured to herself. Exhaling slowly, she inspected the leathery cover. “Seems still okay,” another low murmur. The whole interlude had jolted her out of her excitement, back into preparation mode. She went to her desk, put the book down and slowly, very slowly, opened it to the correct page. A very small tear was visible at the top of her page, blending into the hardly discernible handwriting, making it near impossible to read the word. “Damn!” her shoulders slumped. How could she be so stupid?! She had been patiently waiting for this chance for the last ten years and now that everything was in place, she tore the page!

But then, she had read the little spell already a thousand times. “I know it by heart. This is no big deal. It will work just fine. I know it, all will be well.” Her jitters subsided, thankfully, and she exhaled again. Louder this time. The clock chimed ten; it was time to leave.

One last look around her room, then she gingerly wrapped the little book in her prettiest cloth and opened the window. As she’d expected, nobody was around this side of the house, so she quietly climbed down and hid behind the little shed. She had done this often enough to know what to expect and there – “good boys… you are such fine boys…” she softly crooned at the huge Rottweilers that guarded the perimeters. “Of course, I brought something tasty for you.” Reaching into one of her pockets, she gave each of them a little treat, all the while petting and stroking their impressive forms.

“Shh, don’t fret, I’ll be back in a little while and will reward you then. Good boys.” Extracting herself proved to be more difficult than usual, or maybe she was getting nervous. It was still a little way to walk, a slippery layer of snow graced the ground, and her tension didn’t help. It wasn’t every day that one got to break free of one’s shackles, turning the tides, and this was exactly what she intended to do tonight. “Finally…. tomorrow, everything will be alright, better than alright even!”

It had been pure luck that one day, while carrying out her stepfather’s orders to clean, she had found the little book, lying in a rarely used room. It had seemingly winked at her, temptingly. Pretending to put it back onto the bookshelf and dusting it, she had hidden it in her pocket and read through it late at night. What started out as her Granny’s diary turned out to be a spell book! Of course, she didn’t believe in magic, but she had nothing to lose and tried out a few of the easier looking enchantments. How surprised she was when they worked!

She shivered. It truly was an exceptionally cold night. Thankfully, she could already see the small forest in front of her. Just a few more steps and the trees would form a natural barrier against the wind. She shivered again, but this time, it was from fear. The trees looked different and frightening in the dark, especially as the blue moon climbed higher into the sky.

This had been the main reason for her long wait. The ritual she was about to perform had to be done on Halloween during a blue moon, otherwise it wouldn’t work. Unfortunately, full moons on Halloween were few and far between, and blue moons even rarer. “So, I will make the most of this one!” Talking to herself loudly renewed her conviction. She marched on until she arrived at a small clearing. It only took her a few moments to take her magic objects from their hiding place. Carefully, she drew a ring of salt around herself and her little altar, leaving enough space for her to walk around freely. Then, she pressed candles into the earth, green to the East, red to the South, white to the West, black to the North and a golden one in the middle of her altar. In front of the candle, she put her glass goblet and her silver dagger down.

“Illuminus.” A gentle wave of her left hand and all candles were set ablaze. Momentarily blinded, she blinked up towards the moon. It was time. Steadying herself she knelt, took her dagger, and purposefully sliced a thin line into the palm of her left hand. She hissed in pain but used the tip of her dagger to quickly transfer a drop of her blood to the cup. It seemed to soak it up and turned a sparkly, light red, shimmering like a ruby.

She repeated the process twice more, and each time the goblet turned a darker shade until it was glowing blood red.

“When light and darkness convey,” the words of the spell rang loud and clear through the forest, “when here and there meet.” The candles started to burn brighter. “Heed my call, heed my will, show the strands, change my fill!” A flock of crows suddenly flew away, croaking loudly, spooking her terribly.

After composing herself, she reached for the goblet, wincing when her wounds touched the now burning hot chalice but determined to keep going. “Let me see what shall be, align anew as I plea.” She took a hesitant sip from the hot cup, swallowing hard. Dizziness swept her and she toppled over.

“Honey, what are you doing?” A loving voice wove its way into her head. “Wake up, we don’t have much time!” She knew that voice - but he was dead?! Startled, she sat up. “Careful, not so fast!” He steadied her as she swayed. There, just like he had always been, sat her father and looked at her with so much love in his eyes that she nearly started crying.

“Daddy!!! How are you here? Did it work? Where are the strands? I - I’m…” a tear escaped her eyes. “Why didn’t it work??” She threw herself into his embrace, sobbing loudly for her heart was overflowing with both joy and anger. “I miss you so much! But… This…!”

He patiently held her and waited until the biggest burst of emotion was over. “I know, honey. It would work if you continued, but the goddess sent me to intervene.”

“Why? I planned this for so long… I want a chance, a real one! You left me, mom doesn’t care for me at all and he… he…” she couldn’t say it, it was too awful for her.

“Shh, I know, honey. I know. Mommy loves you, she just can’t show it” He stroked her hair, gently.

“That’s not an answer, dad!” She shouted at him.

He sighed. “The goddess knows this is hard… for you, for us, but she has plans for you. Your fate is already drawing close, but to meet it you need to bear with this situation a little longer. I’m not allowed to tell you more, but please, please, believe me.”

“Daddy… I don’t think I can,” she sniffed, looking at him with big, puffy red eyes. It nearly broke his long-dead heart.

“I know you can do it, honey bun.” She smiled through her tears at the endearment. “I am with you, even if you cannot see me, and my love for you will guide you through the darkness.” Hesitating, he continued: “Promise me, not to throw away your life on the off chance that another one could be better. Focus on honing your magic instead, you will need it.”

Out of the blue, it thundered, and lightning flashed. They both ducked, startled.

“Was that…?”

“Yes. I said too much.”

“But… why me?” She whispered. “I’m nothing special.”

“You are special. So special, that you and your fate are important to this world,” he seemed translucent now. “Promise me.”

She sniffed, watching him fade. “I… I promise,” she murmured.

#

Startled, she woke, still clad in her coat and shoes, and looked around her room. Icy wind billowed the curtains, the open window another indication that something had happened. But… How was she in her room, her bed even? Why was she fully dressed then? Had she only dreamed?

The END

by Cecily Anne Winters

F.B.K: Cecily Anne Winters - Author

In.k.itt; CAWinters

In.k.itt:

The Mer King