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9/11 Short Stories

Good Essays

The floors were swept. Curtains, a deep blue, hung straight and heavy over clean windows and the walls were neatly, uniformly painted with a warm brown. Cabinet doors were closed over their contents, the bed towards the back of the room was made, and the blanket pulled over the top was smooth and brightly colored, if a bit faded and worn. Even the herbs and candles scattered across the wooden table were done so in a systematic way, everything lining up according to some sort of order that wouldn’t be obvious to any outside observer. All in all, it did not look like a witch’s house. Similarly, the woman bustling around the small space with stoic purpose did not look like a witch. She was older, yes, but not wrinkled any more than the …show more content…

She thought for a moment that the witch almost looked proud. “You’ve worked very hard for very long. It’s time for a step up in the world.” The older woman turned away abruptly, scooped up the onions Lara had chopped, dumped them into the stew and stirred it. Lara didn’t know how to react to this information. She knew most people had some sort of coming-of-age celebration on one of their birthdays, but also did not usually equate herself and her own experiences with that of most others. She stayed quiet and began cleaning the used cooking utensils while the witch pulled the pot off of the fire. “What is a Naming, Ma’am?” She finally asked, too curious about this sudden development to remain docile. “Words are power, girl.” This, Lara knew very well. It was oft repeated to her. “Names are just different kinds of words, in the end. All spells and enchantments and charms use words. It’s how we capture the energy the universe leaves dormant and direct it to our needs. Energy needs direction. Words, words girl, the way we can make the world turn on its head and stand at attention before us. All spells need words, but the best use names. A target for the energy to hit. More specific, more direct. And names, well there’s magic in them already, isn’t there? Something about these sounds you’re given at birth just becomes you no matter how many times you pretend it’s

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