Dahlia's Secret

Hey. I’m Dahlia. So I’m supposed to tell you my dirty little secret? I’m not too sure I feel comfortable telling strangers, but just as long as it stays between us, okay?

You should already know that I’m a witch, and head a Wiccan Circle with my best friend, Ravenna. We’ve known each other since we were kids; she’s more like a sister to me. You might think that my dirty little secret is something like sacrificing a goat or something when we were young Wiccans, before we knew better. That would be the obvious thought, anyway.

That would be a no, though if you think about it, guilt from such a heinous act could drive someone to then open an animal rescue, in order to assuage that guilt. It would be nice and neat, wouldn’t it?

Sadly, no. My secret isn’t that obvious. Nor is it neat, and it’s far from nice.

Ravenna’s family was open about their witchcraft, whereas my parents refused to acknowledge my grandmother’s Wiccan faith, and they definitely didn’t want me involved in any way. Ravenna and I had to be secret friends. On the rare occasion we’d visit Gamma, I’d sneak out and we’d meet in the forest. It seemed so creepy, yet that’s what made it such an exciting place to hang out.

Unfortunately, Ravenna’s little brother, Milo, thought so, as well.

He followed us one night to our usual hangout spot. He was only 9 years old at the time, Ravenna and I were 12. We didn’t even know he’d followed us until we heard him scream. We followed the shouts to a rocky outcropping. I couldn’t see anything, but the sounds were sickening. Something had Milo pinned down, and we could hear the crunch of bones breaking. I froze, while Ravenna ran for her brother. She grabbed a dead branch and started swinging at whatever had Milo. The branch connected with something solid and black, something that growled and swiped at Ravenna, knocking her to the ground. I watched my best friend sit up and howl with a rage that still sends chills down my spine all these years later. Tree roots punched out of the ground at the sound of her voice, in defiance of the hard rocky ground, wrapping around the dark form.

The creature shrieked, the noise jolting me. I clenched my fists and cold washed over me at the same time as water bubbled from between the cracks in the forest floor, gathering in the natural depression of the stone. The tree roots shifted, dumping the creature into the water and holding it under, not releasing it until there was no more movement.

Without even realising, Ravenna and I had unleashed witchcraft, working together to drown the threat to Milo. He escaped with only a broken arm, which he told their parents had happened after falling off a rock. We never told anyone, a secret between the three of us. Our powers were unlocked that day, and only you know why. Please keep our secret.