*Slight spoilers for The Owl House
My brother is crying again.
I fed him my bowl of cabbage stew;
his stomach still growls in bed.
My own stomach growls too,
but Philip always comes first.
We only have each other now.
*
We move to Gravesfield.
I eye a new opportunity.
Philip admires the golden bird on the golden sigil,
its wings lifted in flight.
The gallows hang over the town.
*
The locals are strict, distrusting,
fearful of God and the Devil,
but my neighbor's wife baked us
a pie when we arrived.
She was accused of killing a farmer's
cow with witchcraft.
*
I still see her legs swinging in the wind, no matter how many times I scrub my eyes with water or kneel in church, my knees piercing the wooden floor, flipping through the Bible, trying to convince myself that she was a witch and wasn't hanged for the sin of ignorance. It makes me sick.
*
But we have nowhere else to go.
My cheekbones are sharp,
my chest is bony,
my eyes have sunken into my skull.
Keep your mouth shut, Caleb,
or they will target you too.
*
We have to fit in.
My baby brother needs me to.
*
We become witch hunters.
The reverend and his underlings drill our heads:
witches are evil.
*
I think they're just scared people.
*
In our home, Philip watches me
carve him a horned mask.
It will trick the witches, he says,
so he can catch them.
I shouldn't encourage him; but
we're safer if we conform.
*
So, I smile,
pushing the nausea away.
He'll be the best witch hunter
of them all, I say.
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140,099 Literary Works • 672,998 Reviews
This is great! As someone who does watch TOH I love how this sort of tells a story purely from Calebs perspective that still can line up with an interpretation of how he and Philip's past happened.
The way you are able to describe his care for his brother yet his fear of the environment they live in well done, with the hints at the rejection of the witch hunter ways he only uses to help them survive.
The way you describe Philip noticing his brother's love for the golden sigil that would later become his reason to create the golden guard is so good for foreshadowing I love it!
Overally this is so amazing and I hope you continue to make more content, as I'd love to read more of what you make! This is amazing!
I've only watched a little bit of TOH (it's not really my jam), but this is fantastically written. There's almost a lyrical beat to it, like a limerick, or a song, but it expertly tells the story of two brothers struggling to survive in a place that's more sinister than first meets the eye.
I would have to say that this is my favorite line:
"So, I smile,
pushing the nausea away.
He'll be the best witch hunter
of them all, I say."
Simple, but powerful, and definitely shows that Phillip is destined to be something bigger than Caleb can imagine. I can't really tell if that's good or bad, though.
Thank you for your review! Spoiler alert, the last stanza foreshadows something really bad
Sunflower here for a quick review!
lol) and have a fantastic day or night!
So I do have to admit before I begin this review might be a little biased because I LOVE the Owl House, but nonetheless I will trek on!
So for starters I love how you tell the brothers story without trying to mold them into this completely perfect version, because they truly just weren't. I also enjoy the story you've made just out of tiny snippits of information, it's just so fun and creative! I think my favorite line had to be:
So, I smile,
pushing the nausea away.
He'll be the best witch hunter
of them all, I say.
When I say I got CHILLS, it was absolutely glorious! Honestly I don't have anything negetive to say about this piece other than the punctuation can be a bit wonky, but other than that fantastic job! I encourage you to keep writing (and watching the Owl House
Thank you for your review! I agree that the punctuation is kind of bad, but I%u2019m glad the last stanza gave you chills lol. I wanted to include some foreshadowing to the show. I hope you enjoyed the new episode!