Witch Test, page 18
I quietly sip my own tea while avoiding eye contact.
I hear the clink as Candy sets her cup in the saucer. Then she clears her throat. “Are you going to tell me what happened last night in the corn maze?”
“Do I have to?” I don’t mean for the reply to come out so sullen.
Candy surprises me by saying, “No.”
“No?” I look at her to find her eyebrows pinched together. “Really?”
“Really.” She reaches out to pat my hand where it’s holding the handle of my teacup. She cups her hands around my free one and leaves them there. They’re so warm compared to how cold my mom’s felt last night. “But I hope you tell me about it when you’re ready.”
“Okay.” I will tell her…one day.
She smiles, but her forehead scrunches up with wrinkles. “I’ve been worried about you. Lately there are times you seem…faraway.” She pauses and then says quietly, “I saw the cards you pulled: the tower, reversed strength, and the eight of cups.”
“Oh, you saw those.” Of course she did. I’m not sure she’ll answer me, but I ask anyway, “What did they say about me?”
She sighs long and low. “They confirmed what I already knew. That you’ve been having a hard time…with your friends I’m guessing. But with something else, too?”
Candy is offering an invitation to talk—to really talk—not just gloss over everything like I’ve been doing. It’s my fault for messing with her tarot deck.
I pick at my scone. I don't want to talk about how I’ve been feeling; I'm not sure I know how to. Then I remember what my mom said, how she used to feel this way and how I should talk to someone about it.
“Abby and I aren’t friends anymore.” I figure it’s a good place to start. “I don’t think we’ll ever be friends again.”
I tell her about what happened between us, not all the details of what happened with Nate, but enough of them. No one comes into the shop to interrupt us, so I have her full attention. Then I get to the hard stuff about the bubble I find myself in sometimes.
“That’s a good way to describe it,” she says once I’m done. “Thank you for telling me.” She hasn’t let go of my hand this whole time. “Would you be willing to talk to someone else about it?”
“Like a school counselor?” I ask reluctantly, thinking of the one I used to see in elementary school.
“If you want to, but there are other options.”
“Like a therapist?” I think that’s what she means, but I didn’t realize that was an option for me.
“Yes. I can talk to mine for a referral for someone who works with teens.” She’s watching me carefully, like I’m a potion that might bubble over at any moment, though she’s trying not to show it.
But I’m not angry or upset at her suggestion, more intrigued. “You go to a therapist?”
“I do.” She finally moves her hand off mine to drink her tea, which I’m sure is cold by now. “She’s helped me through a lot, especially after your mom died.”
“You’ve been seeing a therapist for that long.” It’s hard to wrap my head around that, given that it’s a good part of my entire life.
“When I need to. It was after your mom died that I first started. I probably should have gone before that, but it wasn’t until something really bad happened that I even thought to try therapy.”
“Do you think it will help me?” I squish a piece of scone between my fingers and watch the crumbs fall on the plate.
“I think it can. It takes work, emotional work, but it’s worth it…at least it is for me.”
“Okay.”
Candy doesn’t need more than that to jump at the opportunity, though she does make an effort to restrain her enthusiasm.
“Okay. I’ll ask about it this week.” She checks her phone. “I see her on Wednesday.”
She gets up to clear our dishes, but then she looks at me, puts everything back on the table, and bends to hug me. “I’m so proud of you.”
Luckily the shop bell jingles before Candy gets me all emotional. I’m ready to be done with all of this heavy stuff for now.
“It’s just me!” Felicity’s high voice rings out before Candy makes it through the beaded curtain.
My aunts try to hide the silent conversation they’re having in an exchange of looks, but I catch them at it anyway. It’s probably about me, but that’s okay. It shows they care.
Once we’re done cleaning up and there still aren’t any customers, Candy decides to close early and suggests we go out to eat. We decide on a place we can walk to across the green.
Out in the garden, while Candy locks up, movement on top of the fence catches my attention. I shield my eyes against the bright sun and spot a bird standing on a fencepost.
It’s standing still, the distinct color of the jet black feathers familiar to me.
My heart skips a beat as I realize it’s a crow. It’s a little bit smaller than my mom’s—I had begun to think of it as mine, but it was always my mom’s. When the bird on the fencepost raises its wings, I see they’re sleek, not a mark on them.
It looks right at me with intelligent eyes. I swear it would understand me if I talked to it. Then it lets out a caw and flies up into the blue sky. I watch it head north in the direction of my house until I can no longer see it.
My aunts have walked past me to the gate when Candy calls, “You coming, Liza?”
I pull my gaze from the empty sky and join them, thinking of all I’ve lost and gained in the last couple of months. I think of my unfinished work: the portrait of my mom that’s almost ready for me to give to Candy and the crow painting in the studio. I think of my friends and what we’ll wear the next time we have an opportunity to dress up.
Felicity’s raucous laughter over something Candy says reminds me to stay out of my bubble. I put my thoughts away for now and enjoy all of what my aunts have to give and all that I have to offer them in this moment.
Acknowledgments
Historical events are a great way to reflect and talk about issues that we face today. There’s a reason the saying “history repeats itself” is so well-known. The witch trials in the American colonies, including those in Connecticut and Salem, Massachusetts, mark a dark time. While not pleasant to think about, I believe it’s important to learn about history and more importantly learn from history. Bullying and depression are also not pleasant topics to think about but important ones to talk about. My hope for any young readers who can relate to Liza’s struggles is that you seek out help if needed. Please keep showing up each day in whatever way you can.
Though Liza’s ancestor Elizabeth Treat is not based on any real person, I drew on history to shape her story. Information and inspiration came from History of Milford, Connecticut 1639-1939 by the Federal Writer’s Project for the State of Connecticut and the Milford, Connecticut Tercentenary Committee; Connecticut Witch Trials: The First Panic in the New World by Cynthia Wolfe Boynton; Witches: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer; Entertaining Satan: Witchcraft and the Culture of Early New England by John Demos; and Tarot: Your Everyday Guide: Practical Problem Solving and Everyday Advice by Janina Renee. Pam Grossman’s book Waking the Witch: Reflections on Women, Magic, and Power and podcast The Witch Wave offered me insightful reflections on modern witches and what it means to be a witch in today’s complicated world, all of which helped shape Liza’s story.
Early readers are such an important part of being an indie author. Special thanks to Debby Carroll, Katlyn Duncan, and Kai Strand for their feedback. An extra special thanks to Dylan for his expert advice on this story, particularly on buzzes, bobs, and bursting into flames.
As always, thank you to my personal cheering section of Batman, The Boy, The Prince, and The Gentleman. You brighten and broaden my horizons in ways I could never have imagined!
About the Author
Award-winning author Katie L. Carroll always says she began writing at a very sad time in her life after her sister Kylene unexpectedly passed away. The truth is Katie has been writing her whole life, and it was only after Kylene’s death that she realized she wanted to pursue writing for kids and teens as a career. Since then writing has taken her to many wonderful places—both real and imagined. She has had many jobs in her lifetime, including newspaper deliverer, hardware store cashier, physical therapy assistant, and puzzle magazine editor. She works in Connecticut from her home that is filled with the love and laughter of her sons and husband.
If you enjoyed Witch Test, be sure to write a review on your favorite book retail sites. Katie also wrote the middle grade adventure Pirate Island, selected by the Milford Public Library as the 2018 One City, One Story read. Her other books include Mommy’s Knight Before Christmas, illustrated by Phoebe Cho; The Bedtime Knight, illustrated by Erika Baird; and the award-winning YA fantasy Elixir Bound and its sequel Elixir Saved. For more about Katie and her books, visit her website at katielcarroll.com.
Find Katie L. Carroll online
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Katie L. Carroll, Witch Test
