AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You talk to the dead?” Mina asked.
“Their bodies are dead, but their spirits are very much alive. So, yes, in a way, we talk to the dead. We seek answers to important questions that plague us, we seek guidance. Tonight, that is exactly what we shall do.”
This sentence signaled to Mina that the conversation was over. The girls, holding hands, closed their eyes, and started chanting. A raven croaked somewhere in the distance and a wolf howled immediately afterwards. Mina felt a sudden rush of goosebumps, and there was a spasmodic need to turn around her, to make sure that they were safe. But, she knew that they were. No animal would touch them, even they knew better than to interrupt a Witches’ Sabbath on All Hallow’s Eve.
Rose extracted a gold encrusted lighter, with an embroidered letter L, out of her dress pocket and lit the pile. The flames rose up into the dark heavens abruptly, sparkling like diamonds. The fire crackled sonorously, eager to tell an ancient story to any ears that were willing to listen. The shadows danced around the bonfire, as the somber figures of the girls twirled around in unison.
Their chanting was melodiously contagious. Mina didn’t know the words, in fact, she was sure she’d never heard the song before, but it somehow, sounded familiar. She was on the verge of opening her mouth and joining in, led by a gut feeling. She felt like she’d heard that language in a dream, long forgotten, but now, aching to come out to the surface.
Rose had her arms high up in the air, in a silent prayer to the Dark One. Her lips were moving, but she wasn’t chanting the same song. Mina could see that she was saying something different, even though no voice was heard. Her eyes were closed, and she’d come so close to the fire that Mina was about to jump at her in an effort to save her from throwing herself into the flames. Somehow, Rose could sense the heat and despite her lack of vision, she’d stop just before the fire, then take a step back, then repeat it again, following the rhythm of the song that was spreading all around her.
When she’d made that cycle several times, the girls stopped dancing. Still holding hands, they were standing in one place, their heads raised up to the skies, necks in an abnormal position, their eyes closed, mouths open. Rose was doing the same. Her hair flew violently in the wind, her face hidden from plain sight. The flames exploded all around her, licking the hem of her dress. Mina was scared that Rose would burst into flames any minute, but she was instructed not to interfere, as that might ruin the Sabbath. She had to stay put, even though that seemed the hardest thing to do right now.
The flames flickered in the wind, changing colors. First, they were red, and Mina thought for a second she could see a thousand impertinent eyes peering at her from the blaze. Red changed into yellow, a light that seemed to encompass the brilliance of a thousand suns. Yellow then became blue and the fire seemed to die down a little, as if it was quivering in the wind, burning with its last morsels of energy.
Rose’s head lowered and she turned to Mina. Her eyes opened unnaturally wide, her arms flung down lifelessly. Slowly, her body started hovering, lifting itself a few inches from the ground. Her mouth was still open, her eyes turned all white, as if she had gone blind in an instant. She looked frightening, but Mina couldn’t look away. She was mesmerizing.
A sound started coming out of Rose’s mouth, as the chanting subsided, but it never completely stopped. That same sound was inaudible at first, then Mina had the strangest feeling that she recognized that voice, she knew it, she’d heard it somewhere before.
“Uuuuh… Yooooouu…. Naaaaaa…. Suuuuuun….”
The sounds reverberated all around Mina, as she tried to understand what Rose was trying to say. She wracked her brain trying to remember why she remembered that voice, who it belonged to.
“Miiiiiiiiiiii….. Naaaaaaaa….” Rose spoke her real name, and it was then that Mina remembered.
That voice belonged to her mother. She gasped silently, her heart beating like a race horse’s. She felt like the ground beneath her feet was moving and she was getting dizzier by the minute. There was a sweet smell of mint all around her. There was so much of it that it started stinging her eyes. She rubbed them a little. The heavy scent was now in her nose, it was getting increasingly difficult to breathe. She started coughing, overwhelmed by the smell.
“Let it overpower you…”
Words kept coming out of Rose’s open mouth, flowing out like an endless river and all Mina needed to do was listen. She tried to take a deep breath, but the minty smell was now stuck in her throat, like clenching fingers unwilling to let go.
“Accept it….”
Mina closed her eyes and fell down to her knees. She was coughing violently now, her eyes burning, tears rolling down her cheeks. She felt the urge to vomit. She tried, but nothing came out, only some more of that sickly sweet air.
“Recognize it…”
“Momma!!!!” Mina screamed loudly with the pain.
The moment she said that, the scent dispersed, there was nothing but air inside her mouth and her nose. She was coughing less violently now, able to take a deep breath. A few seconds later, she was breathing properly again.
She got back up to her feet, feeling how the air got much colder. As she exhaled, silvery clouds formed in front of her mouth. Bells jingled somewhere in the distance. The same wolf howled again, closer this time.
“Momma?” Mina whispered, looking at Rose.
Rose’s face was blank, just like the faces of all the other girls who were still facing upwards, humming the same tune over and over again. Her mouth was in the shape of an O, but the words that came out of it were clearly audible. Mina realized that Rose was just a vessel for a witch who wanted to talk to them, to someone special who was present. This time, it was her.
Mina was still unsure whether this was really happening. It was all still a big blur inside her mind, and she had no idea whether she could believe her own eyes. Was her cover blown? Was this whole thing just a set up? But, Reeba didn’t know anything about her. She couldn’t have known. Could she?
Mina wasn’t sure anymore. She took special care never to mention anything regarding her real identity to anyone here. Could it be that everything she’d heard so far about her mother, was complete and unadulterated truth?
“Mina?”
Mina heard her real name being spoken again, and now, she was sure that the voice really belonged to her mother. There was no doubt about it. A mother’s voice could never be mistaken for someo
ne else’s.
“Momma?” she whispered again, her voice on the verge of cracking.
