We hear my mother’s bedroom door slam, echoing through the house.
“Your mother was always one to be dramatic.” Aradia smirks playfully, starting to stand again. “Shall I make us some tea?”
I gesture for her to sit down. “Let me,” I say.
I walk over to the kitchen which is joined to the garden room by a large archway. I boil the kettle and make two cups of mint tea. I set them down on the coffee table along with two pecan plaits Phoebe had made earlier in the day.
“Mint is one of my favourites. Thank you, sweetheart.” She smiles at me. The fine lines around her eyes and mouth smile with her. She’s the image of warmth and it radiates from within her. I can imagine she’s one of those people everyone gravitates to. She is the complete opposite of my own mother who is coldand hard. How did they come from the same person? I’ll never know.
She takes a sip and continues. “Well then, Harriet—”
“Most people call me Harri,” I interrupt.
“Harri, I love that.” She grins. “This must be a lot to take in, so I’ll start softly. Well, I’m your aunt, Aradia, I’m fifty-one and live with your grandmother Cerci in a cottage in a village called Brindlewood, deep within the forest up north from here. I have no children, just a dopey cat called Nettle and a few other animals. I know we haven’t been around, so this must be difficult. Your mother made it exceedingly difficult to do so, but please don’t be hateful towards her. She was doing what she thought was best. Cassie isn’t a bad person, you know. She’s just got a little lost in life, but I know for sure that you, Harri, were always at the front of her mind.” Her voice is soft like silk.
I snuff at that remark. “No offence, Aradia… Sorry, do I say Aunt Aradia now? I don’t know, but I doubt that my mother did anything out of care for me.”
“Aunt Aradia. Oh, I love hearing that. But trust me, Harri, she loves you more than you know. But she also knew this day would come and we would meet.”
We both sip our tea, and Aradia takes a bite of a pecan plait.
“So why are you here?” I question.
She finishes her bite and puts the rest back on the plate.
“I would love for you to come and stay with me and your grandmother. Learn about your family more.”
“But why? Why now unexpectedly?” I question.
“You’ve been through a rough bit recently, no? Having feelings that feel different. Dreams that don’t make sense. Shedding people you once thought were wonderful but turned out to be… well, not so wonderful.”
“How did you…?”
She smiles that soft smile again. “The Chattoxes are specialpeople, Harri. We know and sense things that others may not pick up on. You’ve been sensing a lot recently, but you’re unsure about what to do with it all.”
“The Chattoxes?”
“Your mother wasn’t always a Montgomery, sweetie.” She sips her tea.
“So, you’re like psychic then or something?”
“I guess you could say that, but more. What is your understanding on witches?”
I laugh. “You mean like the ones in fairytales and books?”
She raises her eyebrow the same way my mother does when I say something she doesn’t agree with. “I can see we have a lot of work here. But it’s your choice if you want to know more or if you want to go back and live the life you were living.”
“This is crazy. I feel like I have actually finally lost the plot.” I am so confused. Is this woman saying she’s a witch? Maybe she’s mental and my mother is right. I should stay away.
“Harriet, when you are around animals, do you find they tend to gravitate towards you? Do you find that birds have no fear of your presence? When you’re in nature you feel whole? That your feelings can be intense and you have so much empathy for others you can feel their emotions too? A burning sensation you can’t explain? All of these things are linked to who you really are, someone for you to discover, and I would like to help you find that.”
“This is a lot.” I stand up not knowing what to do with myself. “I need to take some time before I just decide to leave with you. No offence, but I’ve just met you and you’re asking me to come and stay with you. You’re talking like fairytale stories are real and it’s just a lot to take in right now.”
“Completely agree. It’s a lot to process. But you’re a bright girl, you know an opportunity when you see one and you also know danger when you see it. Listen to your heart.” She’s right.I don’t feel any danger from her, just comfort and the want to know more about my family.
“I will stay tonight but I must leave tomorrow to get back. I teach yoga tomorrow evening at the village hall. Yogis get very cross if I’m not there.” She chuckles to herself. “So just let me know in the morning. I take no ill feeling if you choose to stay and forget all of this. I just want you to be happy.”
“And I appreciate that, I do, it’s just that… well, I don’t know you. And there’s talk of witches and cottages in the forest. You’ve gotta see how weird that is.”
