CHAPTER ONE
Once upon a time; in a land, at a time, where and when giants, dwarves, elves and all things alike seceretly incorporated with human living; once lived a witch. She, her name, was Ezmah, a soul supplier.
Living life for Ezmah was pretty similar to how her twenty eight sisters had done it; she lived it very joyfully; childhood, especially. Her family was wealthy, so no question that she didn’t live childhood with delight.
But though she lived life with similarities to her sisters, she wasn’t that similar to her sisters: she had a lot of difference. First, she stands out among all of them; she was the smartest, prettiest, and most powerful one. Thus because of those, she had been the apple of the eye for her parents. But in spite of those excellent remarks, she was the meanest of the sisterhood. Even after so much many years, she still sustained that unwanted trait. In for situation: this chapter.
In a dark forest full of critters howling, hissing, growling, etcetera was a dainty but dirty woman running in the pavement with fear. She was sweaty, her dress was muddy, and she had fear in her face but still, beautiful.
It isn’t that far acceptable that it might be a fact that no man might top staring at her. Why would men don’t? She’s a woman whom have every man’s box checked. She was physically fit, checked; she had gorgeous, sparkling, brown eyes, checked; she wasn’t that poor, checked; and she was a true blonde; checked again. Perhaps, it is enough to see her to be dubbed as lucky. Yes! She was that beautiful. But in this world, beauty doesn’t save her from death; death chooses anyone regardless of what you are.
Before her at probably quarter a kilometre was Ezmah chasing her. Ezmah seemed to be a middle-aged woman. She had a mild wrinkled face and wore fashion rightly for those middle-aged. But then, looks are deceiving, they always are. Because to be true, she was older than five millennia! And it was due to her craft that she was able to live so long.
Ezmah was on a broomstick, the broomstick was pretty fast. But the woman Ezmah was chasing seems to be faster. But Ezmah knew something, and it’s that no matter how fast the woman was, she would tire at some time. And unfortunately for the other woman, she did.
As soon as Ezmah saw signs of tiresome from the woman, she held her wand and flicked it into the woman’s direction as it made a swirling, red ray from it. And after the ray made contact to the woman, she fell down and Ezmah speed up her broomstick at the woman’s location.
The woman seemed to feel so much weakness because of the ray that Ezmah casted; she was too weak to stand or even speak. Though unexpectedly, she stood, and she stood with the tip of her toes! But it wasn’t her doing it, it was Ezmah levitating her, “Hmm, what a beautiful specimen from nature,” Ezmah said as she unmounted herself from the broomstick, “Young, fine face, and blonde.”
“Wha-what do you want from me?” asked the woman weakly.
“Nothing of your business my dear, I just want your... your-”
“My what?!” asked the woman furiously as she struggled to move free from Ezmah’s spell.
“As I said, it’s nothing of your business,” and she paused. “Now let me examine you before I do my job. Hmm, you seem to be a woman of men’s dream. Well let’s be frank, why won’t men be... Ugh, I’m so jealous.” she paused again. Ezmah felt something; she felt that steps raging from the east were coming. And steps only meant that some people were coming. She looked back and she showed slight signs of terror.
“What are you? You’re... you’re a witch? A witch! Oh, I get it; I’m just hallucinating, ain’t I? Ah, pinched me now, pinched me now from this dream! I hate this dream, this dream isn’t realy real! Wake me-” and Ezmah snapped and the woman’s voice vanished. But her mouth was still moving, she was still talking but no words came out. She wasn’t aware that she wasn’t speaking at all.
“Shut... up, can’t you?” Ezmah said as she kept her eyes on the back of the forest. She faced the woman back, “Okay, let’s just go with this,” Ezmah took her wand, she moved back, and was supposed to cast a spell when she saw the woman’s mouth still moving, and she then chuckled, “You don’t give up, don’t you? But here, you can’t talk alright! I cast a spell on you,” she then prepared for her spell again, and this time she wasn’t distracted.
Her eyes glowed brightly white, on her wand’s tip was a light lightning settling still, and in her front was the woman whose mouth was no closed but her eyes tearing. “Ersectus... Hunidy,” Ezmah casted the spell and soon, the lightning at her wand’s tip unleashed. The lightning directed at the woman. And as soon as it touched her, mist twirled around the woman and great thunderous noise clamored from it. When the mist vanished, the woman was gone, and in her replacement was a glowing orb.
Ezmah approached the orb; she held it and took it in her satchel and smiles. She then quickly looked back, and from the far side of the pavement, she saw silhouettes of men and women running at her direction. “Oh my, looks like I have to go,” Ezmah then mounted her broomstick, and soon she flew to the mob’s direction.
The mob saw Ezmah flying, and as soon as they saw her, they were all stunned. It was clearly the first they saw someone flying in a broomstick. What they supposed a fiction was now reality. And they couldn’t believed it.
“A witch, It’s a witch!” a woman screamed as most of the people ran away from her. And who was left picked their guns out and shooted Ezmah quickly.
Ezmah prepared for defence, she stopped her broomstick and with a greater speed of those bullets, she laid her palm on the open air and magically, the bullets paused in mid air.
The remaining people paused in awe and disbelief; they were impressed but at the same time scared. Then, Ezmah set the bullets in fire and quickly redirected them to the people. After the bullets touched the ground, it suddenly caused a large fire which burned the ground and the people. The people tried to run, but the fire was a lot quicker.
Ezmah stared at the burning people down here, and after seeing the disaster he caused, she flew off. Soon, people were coming to the fire trying to stop it. Ezmah can smell the fire and so as the screams and cries, and after some seconds, she alone disturbingly laughed as the frightened and panicking people stared at the flying witch in the night sky.
CHAPTER TWO
But after years of joy, things momentarily ended. It was one of those days when blessings just witter and problems blossom. It was as if it was springtime for adversities.
Ezmah got home so tired and sullen. Usually, at every other night, she would come home with tons of souls sealed in those glowing orbs. And usually, her twenty-eight sisters would come out for her to beg for those precious souls. But not at this night; tonight, she only brought a single soul (meaning that it was a bad day of hunting souls) and tonight, not a single sister of her was begging. And there’s also one thing that wasn’t right this day: the boy on the front yard.
It is a must that whoever sees the family doing magic shall be casted with the memory erasing spell by Ezmah. It was a secret to be kept that the family knew real magic. So they erase memories. These situations happen occasionally, and that day was one.
Ezmah landed on the door of her house, before entering she looked around to see if anyone saw her in the broomstick, and she saw the boy in the bicycle. The boy seemed surprised and so as Ezmah. But she knew what to do, “Xercus!” she casted as the boy suddenly fell asleep on the pavement. She grinned and then, she went in.
She looked around the house before proceeding. The house was creepy, but she was a witch, and she was used to it. Everything in the house made the house to look like some house from a horror film- and to be frank; it was actually, a haunted house. And why would it not be called as one? Cobwebs infested every corner, bats soared the high ceiling, and most especially, no haunted house would be complete without these: ghosts! Yes, there were real ghosts at this house, ghosts which rose from the dead ancestors of Ezmah. But then, after all of these horrid factors, some sisterhood decided to live here, how impractical. But then again, let’s reconsider. People who lived here are witches, and witches were well known for houses like this.
After giving the house a moment of staring, she instantly head to the dining room. On her way, she passed through a gowned woman with no eyes. Ezmah didn’t bother to chat with the ghost, so instead she just kept on walking. On the dining room, there she saw eleven of her sisters playing poker with them in their pajamas as if they had a schedule that after the game, it would be bedtime.
Without proper introduction, Ezmah interrupted them, “Ahem, my sisters. I have returned.” When her sisters look at her, they were all shocked that one of them unintentionally dropped her cards.
“I knew it! You were just going to have a pair,” another sister who saw the fallen cards exclaimed in excitement.
“You mind reader,” the owner of the cards replied.
“Am not.”
“Yes you are. Ezmah taught you that!”
Ezmah did not reply at the argument and just simply rolled her eyes in disappointment.
They all waited for the game to end, when it did, they cleared the table, sat properly, and Ezmah brought the orb of light from her bag. Before Ezmah started talking, she stared at her sisters. Her sisters look odd in their pajamas, they were bunch of old ladies yet they still wear pajamas- how weird. Ezmah scratched her head and she breathed, “Oh-kay my sisters, now your ten Pices (their world’s main currency).”
“What!” one of her sisters shouted as she stood up. “I am going to die soon,” she paused and breathed, “but-but you still demand money. Do you not have mercy to your sisters?”
Ezmah directly stared at her at her eyes. Ezmah raised her eyebrow and reluctantly said, “No... No I don’t.”
“You, you selfish hag!” she was cursing when she rapidly disintegrated to ashes.
“Ugh, good riddance Lori,” and Ezmah waved to the seat Lori used to sit on.
“Ezmah, you do know Lori is just our seventh sister dead this week?!” another sister asked furiously.
“Yes, I’m an updated witch Tioline. Now back to-”
Someone cried loud and Ezmah stopped talking. “Why Lori!” another sister wailed. “Why did you leave us?”
“Give me a break. I need it. Now as I was saying-”
“Why!” the cry continued.
“Silence Naega, Lori is dead,” another sister said.
Ezmah stared at her crying sister. For an old woman who barely walks, she was crying out loud. Ezmah got annoyed with Naega, but she didn’t do anything against her. She stared at her other sisters whom she thought was interested with buying the souls but then...
“Ezmah,” another sister said softly and cutely in a stale woman way (which was by the way not cute at all), “Please do consider our excuses, by the recent week, our money has ran out and our only supplies emptied. Please.”
The cry still continued. And after one of Ezmah’s sister started convincing, every other started to convince also. And soon, the room outraged with voices. Naega was crying for Lori, some were trying to keep Naega silent, while most where persuading Ezmah. It was sure a nois roomy, and it just wouldn’t stop.
But before Ezmah trash herself to tantrums, the ghosts joined in. From the creaky, wooden wall, there sprung up two gas body of a man and woman. They were both old and they seemed unhappy.
“Silence people! We your ancestors need time for a peaceful sleep.” the old man said. No one was scared of them. And incidentally, those ghosts just brought the noise greater.
So after the noise gone worse, Ezmah started complaining, “Can you just all shut up?!” Ezmah shouted so loud that it surpassed the noise. Everybody heard her, and miraculously, the noise died.
“What attitude?!,” the old ghost lady whispered angrily to the male ghost.
“I am sick and tired of you guys,” Ezmah continued, “For the pass weeks; all of you did nothing but begged. Ugh!” She got so mad that she wanted to slay her sisters, but before angriness reigned as her decision, she stood, “Find another who knows soul absorption and pay him or her.”
She picked the orb back to her bag. “Now if you guys wouldn’t mind, I’m off to find a job,” and she walked out of the room.
“Ezmah, Ezmah! Wait for us, please,” pleaded one of her sisters as they all ran towards her. All of her sisters tried to chase her, but then, they were too over-aged, so obviously, they haven’t accomplished at chasing Ezmah. But they did manage to get out, however, when they were out in the door, Ezmah was no more near the house. She probably had used her broomstick to flee to the skies.
