Enchanted, A Paranormal Romance / Fantasy (Forever Charmed) Page 6

  “Mom, what are you doing?” Mandy asked appalled that she had been called awake at this ungodly hour.

  “Mandy,” the voice said again, softly.

  “Mom?” Mandy asked quietly, her voice icy in her throat with the sudden panic that was enclosing around her.

  “Mandy,” said the feather soft whisper.

  Mandy looked around quickly, willing her eyes to adjust to the darkness. She could see no one in her room. There was no light coming in from out in the hallway or further in from the house, no light shining in from the windows. She was surrounded by the pitch black, alone in her bed except for the voice. She felt a scream rising in her chest but it would not come out. Mandy felt paralyzed with fear.

  “Mandy,” the voice was very faint now.

  Mandy had the sudden urge to pull the blankets up over her head and hide, but she knew that was pointless. She summoned all of her courage, which wasn’t very much and said to the disembodied voice, “What do you want?” She was almost more terrified to hear the answer than to hear the whispered voice again.

  “Come,” it breathed.

  Mandy was certain of one thing: she was definitely not getting out of her bed willingly. She grabbed hold of her blankets and pulled them up a little higher and tighter to her body.

  “Now,” it instructed.

  Suddenly a gust of air blew in though Mandy’s open windows. It was cold, the summer nights always cooled off drastically. Coolness blew in right off the waters. The wind seemed to wrap its icy, invisible arms around Mandy, embracing her in its powerful nothingness and pulling at her unrelentingly.

  Before she could scream she was somehow not in her bed anymore but out in the dark night. Her house was gone. Her bare feet felt the crisp grass beneath them. The land was flat. There seemed to be a house in the shadows but Mandy couldn’t make it out clearly. The lonely moon peeked out a little from behind some silver clouds, silhouetting a few tall yet crooked looking trees. They reminded Mandy of skeletons, all bony and knobby, the branches pointing like long, skinny fingers. Mandy followed the outline of the branches to the end, realizing suddenly that something was looped on one of the bigger branches. She took a few steps closer, squinting in the darkness, trying to make out what the object was.

  It was dangling. The wind whipped around Mandy and gave the object a push as well. It began to sway a bit from the gusty breeze. A break in the clouds soon allowed the moon to show itself completely, illuminating the horror before Mandy’s eyes. A corpse it was, dangling from a rope tied about the tree branch. The head was at an awful angle, unnaturally bent to the side. It was dressed in outdated clothing in muted tones of brown. A blouse and long skirt. The breeze pushed it again, making it swing gleefully.

  This time the scream did find its way out of Mandy. She screamed and screamed, staring in unparalleled fear at the traumatizing sight in front of her eye. She wanted more than anything to back away, to run away, or to at least look away or close her eyes, but she couldn’t. It was as if her body was not under her control anymore. She continued to shriek until finally she located her legs and they began to respond to her commands and move her away.

  Mandy ran blindly, not caring which direction she went so long as she got away from this horrid place. She had only gotten a few paces away when she tripped over something, perhaps a tree root poking out of the ground. She fell on her stomach and found herself staring at something directly in front of her. It was a large gray stone. A slab. A headstone. Her eyes began to read the carving even though she knew what it said before she did so.

  “Here liest quite free from Lifes

  Distreƒsing Care,

  A loving Wife…”

  The scream gurgled up again in Mandy’s throat. She squeezed her eyes shut and let the scream surround her in the dark night until her throat felt like it would collapse in on itself.

  “Mandy!” Another voice, louder this time, more urgent and forceful. “Mandy, Mandy! Wake up!”

  Before she could sort out what was happening she felt her mother’s hand on her arm, shaking her gently. The scream cut off in Mandy’s throat. She hesitantly opened her eyes and took a cautious look. She was in her bedroom. Her mom was bent over her, a worried look on her face. Mandy gasped and gave a sigh of relief. It had just been a dream, but it had seemed so real.

  “Mandy, are you all right? What did you dream?” Mandy’s mom asked anxiously. “I’ve never heard you scream like that. Actually, I’ve never heard anyone scream like that. It was blood-curdling, bone chilling. I was ready to fight off alien abductors!” Her mother giggled nervously.

  Mandy forced a half smile to try to calm her mom down a bit. “Um, I don’t know, Mom. I can’t really remember what I was dreaming. I just remember being scared.” Mandy shrugged at her mom. She did remember the dream of course. In fact she was pretty sure she would never forget that one no matter how hard she tried to. “Sorry I woke you. I’m fine though, really.”

  “You sure, sweetie?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired. You can go back to bed.” Mandy laid down and pulled the blankets up over her shoulder like she was going to go back to sleep. Her mom gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.

  “Night, hon. If you need me call me! I’m right down the hall,” Mandy’s mom said as she stepped out and closed Mandy’s door.

  Mandy rolled over and looked at the alarm clock on her nightstand. The red numbers glared coldly at her. It was only 2:30a.m. She had lots of time to sleep still, she just wasn’t sure if she would be able to. The images from the dream kept replaying through Mandy’s mind over and over again. It had felt so real Mandy had trouble convincing herself even now that it had only been a scary dream. She was thinking about all of the weird things too much that she had witnessed since moving here.

  Okay, so what, Mandy? She tried to reason with herself. You found some old letters and they may or may not be written by someone who was a reputed witch. You may or may not be related to said witch. It doesn’t matter because you know there’s no such thing as witches! People liked to blame their problems on anyone they can. People accused people of witchcraft as scapegoats. It’s nothing to be scared of. You don’t even know how much of any of this is true anyway. Go back to sleep!

  Mandy sighed. She was right. And she was crazy. Crazy to be considering believing in witchcraft, crazy for talking to herself. She was going to have to make sure to cover this up. She tried to fill her head up with anything besides witches and weird letters and headstones. She thought about work tomorrow. She thought maybe she would see if Ally wanted to do something. She should try harder to make friends before school started. School. Another feeling of dread filled her up. She’d be the new girl. Yes, she decided, she had better try harder to make friends now. She thought about the group of kids she had hung out with. That seemed like a million years ago when really it was only a few hours ago. They weren’t so bad, really. Mandy started to feel sleep closing her lids finally. Then one face drifted into her mind on a cloud. Lucas. He had stared at her so oddly, so openly. She was going to have to ask Ally what was up with him. She tried to focus on what his problem with her could be but she couldn’t concentrate. A deep sleep over came Mandy and she sank into the pillow, blissfully unaware for the time being of anything real or not.

  * * *

  Chapter 7

  The harsh, high-pitched beeping of the alarm clock screamed in Mandy’s ear, jolting her awake. She fumbled around groggily for the snooze button wondering how it could possibly be 7 a.m. already. Suddenly the terrifying images from her dream swept through Mandy’s mind, causing her to shudder. She shook her head, trying to clear it, and reluctantly got out of bed. She grabbed her pink polo shirt, the standard Dew Drop’s attire, and a pair of jeans and headed to the shower.

  Mandy got ready quickly, pulling her wet hair back into a messy bun at the nape of her neck. She couldn’t be bothered to blow it dry like some girls. It was too time consuming and it didn’t ever come out looking the way she in
tended anyway. She found her mother downstairs scrambling eggs.

  “Hey sweetie. Did you manage to fall back asleep o.k. last night?”

  “Yeah, Mom,” Mandy nodded at her mother.

  “So, did you ever remember what you were dreaming?” her mother pressed.

  “Um, not really. It was dark. I don’t know. I was in a weird place. I can’t really put it altogether,” Mandy tried to sound nonchalant, hoping her mother would drop the subject.

  “Oh, well, here Hon, have some breakfast.”

  “Actually I’m not really hungry. I think I’ll just grab a granola bar and bring it with me for later.”

  “You sure? You should eat something,” Mandy’s mom declared, pasting her worried look on and surveying Mandy suspiciously.

  “Mom, I’m fine. I’m a big girl now, remember? I’ll eat when I’m hungry. But I gotta go or I’ll be late,” Mandy threw a half smile at her mother, trying to look reassuring.

  “Okay, Hon. Well tell Nana I’ll be in in a little bit.”

  “’Kay.” Mandy grabbed the key to the boat off the hook by the door and slipped out, breathing a sigh of relief. She felt like she had escaped, but only for the moment. Soon she would be at Dew Drops, facing another day of the curious and the weird. Mandy sighed again, this time in defeat.

  She parked around the back of the store and took a deep breath. I will get through this day. She told herself. Her favorite saying came to mind. This too shall pass. This too shall pass. Mandy seemed to always be telling herself that. Anytime she had to do something she didn’t particularly like or feel like doing, or that made her uncomfortable, she took comfort in those words. They rang true every time. Besides, she told herself, you have to get through today so you can get home and finish reading those weird letters!

  Mandy could see the old-fashioned script staring up at her from the crackled yellow papers, almost beckoning to her. Okay, so she would suck this up. Go do her job, pretend she was Teen Barbie or something and be outgoing and spunky and friendly… okay, maybe just friendly… and then she was going to go home and figure out those notes. It would all make sense, and then she could forget about all this weirdness that was probably all in her head anyway. She would finish senior year, and then this town would become just another memory. She would look back on it and laugh at her foolishness.

  Pep talk completed, Mandy took in another deep breath and let herself into Dew Drops using the key her grandmother had given her, the little bells announcing her arrival.

  “Nana?” Mandy called.

  “Back here, Love.”

  Mandy followed the voice to the back room where she found her grandmother arranging bouquets. “Grab an apron, child. You can come help me until it’s time to unlock.” It was just barely past 8 a.m., the store didn’t open until 9. Mandy was off at 2 p.m. today. Six more hours. Mandy realized it probably wasn’t smart to begin counting down the seconds so early in the day. She tried unsuccessfully to stifle the sigh that snuck out. Mandy’s grandma eyed her seriously.

  “Sorry, Nana. I’m just tired. I didn’t sleep well last night.”

  “Oh?”

  Suddenly Mandy remembered hanging out with Ally’s friends and the conversation that had taken place. “Nana, actually I wanted to talk to you…” Mandy trailed off, unsure what to say and feeling almost foolish for bringing up such obviously made up tales.

  “What is it? Cat got your tongue?” Mandy’s grandmother chuckled.

  “Well, you know I went out with Ally last night and she introduced me to some of her friends,” Mandy began.

  “Yes, nice bunch of kids,” Nana nodded approvingly.

  “Yeah, they seemed all right. There was one guy, though, Henry…”

  “Hank Hinkles’ grandson,” Nana interrupted.

  “Um, yeah that’s what Ally said,” Mandy paused.

  “So?” Nana urged.

  “Well, I don’t know, Nana. It sounds stupid now, but he was saying some stuff. Maybe trying to scare me or get a rouse out of me or something…”

  “Saying what, Dear?” Nana’s green eyes looked coolly at Mandy.

  “Well, he was talking about some supposed witch that used to live here forever ago…Mary Nasson? He was saying crazy stuff, like we were her descendents and that his grampa, Hank, thinks you’re a witch!” Mandy snickered. Hearing it out loud made it sound even more absurd.

  Mandy looked up at Nana, realizing she was not joining in the laughter. She was still looking in Mandy’s direction, but it was as if she was seeing something else. “Nana?” Mandy asked, slightly alarmed.

  “C’mon, Mandy. We’ve got to get these arrangements out front,” Nana responded.

  “Yeah, but Nana, did you hear what I said? Hank thinks you are a witch!” Mandy laughed again, weaker this time.

  “Well that’s not a nice thing to call someone, now is it Mandy?” Nana shook her head, muttering under her breath.

  “What do you mean it’s not nice? I think it’s just bizarre! I mean, come on! This is not the Dark Ages! Everyone knows there’s no such thing as witches!” Mandy spit out.

  Nana eyed Mandy seriously again. “Sometimes, Mandy, you will find that things in this world are not as they seem. Everything is not black and white. There is a grey area.”

  “Yeah, we’re in it,” Mandy snorted.

  “Child, there is color in everything if you look for it. There is excitement in with the dull. There is light in the dark. There is new in the old. There are things yet unknown. And there is mystery in knowledge.” Nana nodded her head pertly at Mandy.

  “What? Nana, really, in English!” Mandy was getting exasperated now. Here she was just trying to clear up some stupid nonsense, and it was like her grandma was just making it more confusing for her on purpose.

  “Deary, Mary Nasson was no witch. But she did have a certain kind of ability. She was talented in healing and in helping, and that made people leery of her. Rumors spread that she was a witch. But we prefer the word healer, or if you must, white witch. The term witch just infers a different kind of image, a darker one. Say from a nasty fairy tale…” Nana’s voice trailed off, weighing the different meanings of the term.

  Mandy’s mind was beginning to spin again, but she had latched on to one word her grandmother said that seemed to be a door to more information. “We?” Mandy asked.

  “We, as in the other healers and I,” Nana said quietly.

  “Other… healers,” Mandy choked out.

  “Yes dear, I’m not the only one, you know. It’s inherited, usually. But there are other ways.”

  “Wait. Nana, what are you saying? You are a healer, or a white witch, and there are others?” Mandy was shaking her head, not quite believing this conversation was actually happening.

  “Yes, Dear. Actually I’m quite surprised you made it this long without noticing or hearing!” Nana’s eyes crinkled up in that familiar way again as she laughed quietly. Mandy just stared at her grandmother. She was pretty sure her mouth was open but for some reason didn’t feel the need to close it. “Mandy, didn’t you wonder what made your parents move so suddenly up here when you’ve lived in Boston your whole life?”

  “Dad got a job offer…my parents like it up here…you live here…they said it was time we lived closer because we’re family…” Mandy stuttered.

  “Well, those things are all true. But there’s one more reason, Mandy. You’re not a little girl anymore. You’re practically grown. It’s time you learned the gift.”

  “The gift?”

  “Healing, dear. It’s what we do.”

  “You keep saying we.”

  “I told you, it’s an inherited trait. It’s in you, waiting for you to awaken it. It’s in your mother, as well.”

  “My mom?! She’ll never believe you!”

  Nana chuckled again, only this time the sound of Nana’s laughter was beginning to grate on Mandy’s nerves. What kind of demented game was Nana playing here? “My darling, she not only believes, but knows and
utilizes her skills!”

  “What? Nana, you’re talking like a crazy person!” Mandy was beginning to feel more and more agitated. Maybe Nana has finally lost it, she told herself.

  “No, Nana hasn’t lost it just yet, Love,” Nana’s laughter was growing. Mandy stared at her grandmother, shocked and not knowing what to believe or what to say. She couldn’t even be sure she was following this conversation correctly. It seemed like something from one of her dreams. “That’s all right, Sweetie. Take some time to mull it over, to let it sink in. You’ll come around. When you do, come talk to me. I’m sure you’ll have a lot of questions that will need answering. Now, c’mon, go unlock the doors for me. It’s time to open up for business!” Nana smiled at Mandy as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

  Mandy had to force her legs to move. She felt as if she could have stood there in a daze, staring at the wall all day long. The next hour passed in a blur. Mandy felt like she couldn’t focus on anything but she didn’t care. She went about her duties robotically, answering the phone, doling out change, greeting customers without thinking about what she was doing. The words white witch and healer kept clunking around in Mandy’s brain. She was getting a headache and wished it would go away.

  During a lull in the shop while Mandy was staring into space for about the tenth time that day, Ally finally couldn’t take it anymore. “What’s your deal today, Mandy? You’ve got like a vacant sign posted where your eyes should be.”