The Women
The first woman disappeared at dusk on Friday, August 13th. Two friends walked down Sylvan Lane, chatting. Laura heard a rustling in the nearby bushes and turned her head for a second. When she looked back, her friend was gone. The police discounted her story, put it down to hysteria. “Of course I’m hysterical,” sobbed Laura. “Pema was there one minute and the next …” She could barely speak. The doctor gave her a sedative.
Exactly a week later, Jennifer and Joe headed for their favorite restaurant, taking the shortcut through the woods, down Sylvan Lane. “I’m starved!” exclaimed Joe. He closed his eyes, savoring the thought of a nice sirloin steak and a small glass of wine. When he opened his eyes, Jennifer was nowhere to be seen. The police suggested that Joe had already had too much wine. “Absolutely not,” Joe insisted, as he shakily called Jennifer’s mother.
Week three, week four, week five – the drama repeated itself every Friday evening. The police were bombarded with questions from terrified townfolk. “No bodies have been found. No foul play is indicated. We’re totally mystified.” Everyone now avoided Sylvan Lane. Yet, missing person reports still came in every Friday. My sister… My wife… My daughter…
On the twelfth Friday, DCI Kate Delaney received a letter related to the disappearances. She entered the deserted lane, admired the bright autumn colors, took the prescribed number of steps, spoke the word that parted the red-gold leaves to reveal the secret door, and walked through.
Two nights later, twelve women clad in flowing pastel silk danced under the crescent moon. No more pointy black hats, unkempt hair and wild cackling. No more misrepresentation of magick. These modern witches had been selected for their intelligence, their compassion, their courage, their burgeoning wisdom. All had eagerly answered the call.
DCI Kate sent in her final report, accompanied by a photo of the coven. “We’re all safe and sound, happy and healthy, learning the old ways, exploring the new. The sacred task we’ve given ourselves is to become healers for our wounded world. Blessed be.”
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleJulie, a wonderful, uplifting take on witches. Love the recruitment drive technique and how witches have embraced a more ‘modern’ approach to their goals. Really enjoyed this.
Hello Paul. I’m so glad you enjoyed “The Women”. I really enjoyed writing it! Some of the women labeled as witches in olden times were women who had special gifts and understandings of herbs and plants and could heal without blood-letting, leeches and all those strange “medical” cures. What sometimes seems like magick is really a deep connection with the natural world and how it can heal us.
I really like the unexpected ending to this story, Julie. All the way through you drop subtle hints that something bad has befallen the women, but then we learn they were taken for a more positive reason. Nicely done.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleThanks so much for your feedback, Carrie. You are a masterful writer of witches, so I thought you might appreciate this view of a different kind of witch! Mab might love to wear flowing pastel silks sometimes, for a change of pace!
LOL, believe me, she already does Julie; she did play around with love spells in the summer of ‘69 after all ?
I was thinking about Mab’s summer of ’69 when I wrote the comment. I wasn’t sure if she used just magic spells or a bit of flowing silk and feminine magic. Mab has many sides to her witchy self!
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleWow! Your story flows so well, Julie. It was so smooth and subtle that it brought us the 12 modern witches. And the last paragraph about Kate’s last DCI report added even more color and satisfaction for me, especially when she said that “The sacred work we have given ourselves is to be healers for our wounded world. ” You made me smile sweetly, Julie. Nice work. I love it.
I am so glad you love my story, Lotchie. It’s all in good fun, and in the spirit of Halloween. I do love my beautiful modern witches, with their gorgeous clothes and intelligent minds!!
You’re most welcome, Julie.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleWomen in books mostly appear in traditional roles such as mythological figures or witches, but your ‘modern witches’ destabilise the old notion. Excellent, Julie!
Thanks Dipayan. I have a bit of a fondness for this story myself!
You’re welcome, Julie.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleI love your different take on witches, detective stories and heroes that will save the world, Julie. Here, we have 12 intelligent, modern witches, one of them being a detective and all of them dedicated to healing this world. 12 is a sacred number, according to Google signifying “perfection of government or rule” among other things. I guess you chose it for a good reason.
Hello Christer – Yes, it does seem that several of my recent stories have a save-the-world theme. I do believe, as the stranger in my gypsy fortune-teller story said, “The only way we can save the planet is with great minds of compassion and understanding.” All the women in this story have such minds, in addition to their commitment to healing. I love these women. And by the way, the traditional number… Read more »
I always love a story that starts with terror and ends up with a message of happiness and hope! Well done Julie! ?
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleA secret door behind red gold leaves…absolutely delightful! I enjoyed this story so much!