That was clever, giving me the wrong ritual. I’ll be the first to say I underestimated you. You were never a particularly bright or gifted witch, but you did possess an extraordinary talent for lying. I nearly believed those gushing crocodile tears and that poetic performance of your sappy apology. You just loved to torture me at the Academy, but I thought joining a coven might have changed you. I guess I thought you’d grow up. My mistake.

Now thanks to you, my house smells of charred flesh, and Satan’s beady-eyed teenage brat is raiding my freezer and eating my mint chocolate chip. After every spoonful, she reminds me in her pitchy soprano of all the ways her dad is going to kill me. She has quite the imagination, or maybe she’s learning the family business. I’ve heard she’s butchered at at least six thousand souls and sent them straight to dear old daddy. Quite the prodigy he has. Sending her to me was foolish and reckless. Satan barely needs an excuse to wreak havoc on earth, and now he’ll target all witches, not just me.

I hope you realize the consequences of your little prank, because I know that if you survive Satan’s rampage, you better hope the Sisterhood reaches you first. I won’t be so merciful. Watch your back, Sister.

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise. Angry red shadows seeped onto the walls of the tiny hallway leading to my bedroom door. A red orb hovered several feet above the floor, tiny tendrils crawling from its core. My pulse quickened as it emitted a strange, pulsing crackle. I stood on the last step of the stairs, gripping the banister in fear. My mind scrambled to form an explanation. This had to be a mistake. My eighteenth birthday was six weeks away, and The Crimson Flare had never been known to choose its victims early.

I gathered my thoughts and turned to sprint down the stairs. My foot had barely touched the second step when I heard the growing crescendo of a familiar tune. I recognized the haunting melody, but my lips could not form the words. I hesitantly turned toward the deadly glow. The music began to drown out my frantic thoughts and beckoned me to take another step closer to my undoing. I watched as my feet shuffled forward and as my hand lifted higher. A stabbing pain shot through my fingertips as they collided with the light. My vision exploded into red, and I felt everything drift away.

Come with me

Forget your pain

Look me in the eyes

Stay with me

Forget my sins

Believe my beautiful lies

Leave with me

Forget your friends

Say, let's make a deal

Fall for me

Stop your pleas

Your heart is mine to steal

Flee from me

And you'll find

More excuses to pretend

Stuck with me

Forever you'll be

You are mine ’til the end

I appreciate the little things

Like the extra time it took for you to walk with me

Your “hello” in the morning and your calls in the night

I appreciate the snow that falls, the flowers that bloom

The sun that sets and the grass that grows

I like how everything has a story

How we’re a small part of a greater whole

I like this part of me that understands what it means

See past the hurt, the fear, and the hate

I like how my appreciation for everything under the sun makes it easier to breathe

She gave me the gift of life

and a name that feels foreign on my tongue.

She gave me a chance

when she loved me enough to let me go.

She passed me to the arms of another,

the one I now call Mother.

I might never be able to meet her,

let alone thank her.

And yet,

I see her in the darkest shade of my hair.

I catch her in the almond shape of my eyes.

I find her in the honey tones of my skin.

She is a part of me.

And yet,

I know nothing about her.

I don’t know her face

Or the sound of her voice.

She is something and nothing to me.

And I wonder who I am to her.

head down, head of brown

buried in a book

buried in her nook

her head is swimming with thoughts, her head is brimming with plots

heart remains empty, and it sounds tempting

to never say a word

a boy of sixteen

a boy full of dreams

a lover of stories

bothered by worries

he walks through the door, he walks through the store

his arms are full, but his heart is dull

only one half of a whole

her eyes meet his

her eyes and his

a moment too long

for the tune of a song

they hold each other’s gaze

his lips quirk up

her mind clams up

a new beginning

for the broken and the wilting