A long time ago, or just a moments ago, there was a little girl who lived with her mother, The Witch. The Witch was a good witch and a bad witch, but she never knew which witch she was on any particular day.
A good witch and a bad witch in the one witch I call ‘mom’, is not the only witch, but she’s my witch.
The Witch had three children; New Witch, Beauty, and Baby Girl.

          New Witch was the eldest and being just 16 years younger than The Witch, the mother- daughter, sibling rivalry was out of hand. Only one witch could rule this land, so New Witch set off on her own. Telling Baby Girl, “I’ll catch you on the flip side when you’re grown.”
          Beauty wanted to be a man, but The Witch simply had no use for one. Feeling unwanted, Beauty created ‘Bad Beauty’ out of himself and had to leave to try and just be One Good Beauty. Since Beauty struggled with vanity, some drinking, and diagnosed insanity, he never told Baby Girl anything… Just left.
There is a father in all this, whom The Witch claimed to miss when he left to save himself from her madness but never too far because Baby Girl remained.
          Baby Girl is me. The one the others left behind, the one who needed to find what power she possessed. But one thing remains…remained true, Baby Girl loves her mama.

Good Witch
Bad Witch
This Witch
That Witch
It’s all the same Witch
My Witch
Mom.

          The Witch holds the power of charm. You may not think it much, but the power of charm is made to disarm. To Baby Girl the charm was the magic to know, the magic to own, it is the family’s magic. Men and women would lay gifts at The Witch’s feet; carriages, glamourous clothing, fine dining, and in one instance, a private education for Baby Girl. The formal education did not last long because Baby Girl would not sing the charm song, “Will you be my Daddy?”

Baby Girl lacked charm.

          The Witch would lose patience with Baby Girl because she had not discovered her power at a young age. The Witch thought Baby Girl not a witch at all, but more like her father…
                                                                                                                                                  honest…disgusting.
          So, The Witch cast a custody spell, which would only allow the father to venture into their woods every other weekend. This was done in favor of Baby Girl, who clearly needed to focus on her spells.
The Witch’s spell book was called “The Grind.”

          More often than not, The Witch did not have any spare change for Baby Girl when it was time for her to head out for school. Baby Girl did not mind this because The Witch often did not have change to give, especially for lunch. But Baby Girl knew the Hustle charm, or at least parts of it. At seven years-old she felt as though that was the charm she had down. The Hustle Charm always came in handy for her.
          Timing is everything for the Hustle Charm to be successful. Any time Baby Girl walks into the class, she grabs pencils and pens from her classmates’ desk and then waits by her locker. One by one, and so much fun, they bring change to buy pencils and pens needed for the day’s lessons. Lunch money secured with the successful application of the Hustle Charm.
          The hustle for lunch money was the easiest charm for Baby Girl, because she could perform it by herself.
          She did not like it when she needed to help The Witch perform the Hustle Charm, but she did not tell her that so the bad witch did not come out, she never wanted to be the reason for the good witch to disappear.

The Hustle Charm:
(Depends on serving size)
1lb of Observation
 3 cups of Confidence
4 oz. Desperation
1 Big Smile

          Sometimes The Witch ran out of potions, and every charm performed failed to refill what she needed. This would make The Witch do a constant switch from a good witch to a bad witch, which Baby Girl had a hard time keeping up.
The Witch came up with a plan for a refill but Baby Girl would need to help her with the task. There was a doctor in town that would gladly give The Witch what she needed but the only payment he would accept was spending time with Baby Girl.
          The doctor will be referred to as Void Man, because he destroyed any light, he absorbed her happiness on sight, and worst yet, she didn’t know to fight. He entered her life without any warning and he vanished out of her life as quick as flick of a light switch.
          Baby Girl thought this odd that someone would want to spend time with her, especially a stranger, she told The Witch she thought of spending time with a doctor made her feel sick although she could not explain why, but The Witch told her if she loved her mama she would do it for her.

The Mama Charm always worked on Baby Girl.

          The Witch dropped Baby Girl off and told her it will be quick.

It was quick…

She felt like ick,

but mama, The Witch, was no longer sick…

for now.

          After the visit with Void Man, Baby Girl wished for The Witch to use the Fleeing charm. The Fleeing charm was used when The Witch felt the call of a quest. It could be a call from the night, the feeling of first light, or the sensation of fright that would lead to adventures from the Kingdom of Bluebonnets, or The Witch’s favorite, the Windy City.

The Fleeing Charm
(measurements depend on distance)
15 cups of Panic
48 oz. of Suspicion
1 Last Nerve
22 gal. of Gasoline

          The Witch left in the middle of the night leaving Baby Girl alone in their home. Baby Girl was accustomed to the loneliness and knew the two rules:

1. Be Careful with the Hustle Charm
2. Don’t tell your father.

          When The Witch returned, she was never happy about it. Baby Girl knew to be careful when she was entranced and caught between good and bad.
          The Witch went on terrors throughout their village. Terrorizing always happened when too much desperation was added into the Hustle Charm, and when she could not have gifts left at her feet she turned her powers within her own home.
          She increased the power of the magic which kept her father away and blamed Baby Girl for everything. Baby Girl knew this witch’s storm was just a storm, just needed to stand her ground, and be stone…be stone…
          The Witch felt wounded when Baby Girl braved her storms, as though her power were lessened. She would then take away everything from Baby Girl and lock her away in a very dark place until she would admit she was the reason for the Hustle Charm not working for The Witch.
          The Witch reminded Baby Girl that she was not worthy of her father’s love, New Witch and Beauty could careless of her existence, and she was why The Witch had to suffer. All because Baby Girl existed.
Baby Girl did not want this for anyone, and thought of a way to solve it for everyone. She opened the cleaning cardboard filled a vial with all the contents of the cupboard and drank every drop.
          Pitter patter of laughter, as the water splatters on the pavements of the streets. There is someone lurking in the shadows that Baby Girl came to meet.
          Waiting, waiting, wanting, and waiting but they never come to greet. Please, please, Light do not force the Darkness to retreat.

Good Witch

Bad Witch

This Bitch

That Witch

Still the same Witch

My Witch

Still Mom

          The Witch never stayed in one village for long. She would be loved as the good witch and feared as the bad witch, which after too long the villagers figured out she was the same witch.
          When Baby Girl and The Witch moved to their very last town, Baby Girl could stand eye to eye with The Witch, which she began making a quick switch between the good witch and the bad witch, and accusing Baby Girl of being the worst snitch.
          Baby Girl was no snitch, but she was starting to get the itch to break rule number two. Her father had been waiting patiently for years for her to ask THE question that would open the door to her freedom.
Father was working on breaking the Custody Charm The Witch had set years earlier, and The Witch pulled out The Grind to find her most powerful charm to ward him off. She found the perfect charm, but the trickiest charm to pull off. The Concealment Charm.
          Once cast, the Concealment Charm, would shroud The Witch and Baby Girl in a protection shield, projecting a functional and successful family. However, one tiny breach in the cast would break the charm and reveal The Witch.

Concealment Charm
(exercise with caution)
1 Scroll
3 tsp. Ebony Ink
2 cups of the Audacity
6 People of Good Standing
1 Gullible Institution
*Carefully write the letters ‘P’, ‘H’, and ‘D’*

          During this Concealment Charm, The Witch convinced the right people that she was a doctor of the mind, therefore she was trustworthy. This seemed wrong to Baby Girl, but she said nothing, she lacked charm after all.
The deeper The Witch dived into the complexities of the Concealment Charm, the more untrusting she became of Baby Girl. As the days turned to months and the months turned to seasons, Baby Girl grew uneasy with being alone with The Witch. The bad witch showed her power more often than the good witch showed her love.
          A tactic shown towards Baby Girl were the assault of words, a spell used to bind the victim to sharp words that will pierce their heart at first, but after a while will pierce their mind for all of time.
          Baby Girl remained strong, determined to show The Witch her loyalty and love. Paranoia was a side effect of the Concealment Charm, and it was wearing on The Witch. Her father would see the sorrow in his daughter’s eyes and knowingly listen to her lies telling him everything is/was ok.

          The Witch fell deep into the bad witch while maintaining the Concealment Charm. With the façade as someone trained to be an ear for those who need to heal, she met the Tall Woman, who was unhappy with her marriage. The Witch saw all the things the Tall Woman had to offer, the compassion, the heart, the beauty, the cars, the boat, and oh, what a lovely house.
          The Witch thought that if she had what the Tall Woman had perhaps the charm could be permanent. The Tall Woman fell in love with The Witch, but The Witch was blinded by the illusion of success. The Tall Woman gave up her husband and her kids, because The Witch said it would lead to happiness. The Tall Woman only wanted her.
          The Tall Woman gave The Witch her cars, her boat, and oh that lovely house, just so The Witch would stay near her. Baby Girl did not like this. The Tall Woman was kind and followed to closely and too blind to see through the charm. But it was far too late to undo the harm, she had already given The Witch her heart.
Baby Girl knew this was not right.
          The school, Baby Girl, attended thought something to be amiss with The Witch. At first, they thought it to be a bad attitude on Baby Girl, but after observation they concluded it must be The Witch. 12 year olds know how to smile, and Baby Girl never smiled.
          Baby Girl knew that she lacked charm, but her power of observation was growing. Watching other children with their mothers was unusual. These mothers had no powers, charm, they even kept food in the house and asked about school. How odd.
          There were no spells, charms, and incantations, there were not even physical altercations, just children with their mothers… A feeling of dread came over Baby Girl as a question oozed into her mind.

Where are all the other witches?

          The Witch sensed a breach she could not identify…and that is unsettling for The Witch.

          One day, Baby Girl was tired. She didn’t understand why, but she was just tired. The running voice in her head had been quiet. Baby Girl had chewed her food too loudly and was being punished with manual labor, which was normal. Still, so tired. The Witch stormed out of their house and demanded that Baby Girl move faster. Baby Girl did not. The Witch yelled again. Baby Girl did not move faster. The Witch then whispered, “I don’t love you.”

Pay close attention because one of these spells breaks.

          Baby Girl felt nothing. Baby Girl thought nothing. She turned on her heel and began to walk down the street. No place in mind, just walk away. The Witch appeared by her side, the good witch, the witch that should be like all the other moms Baby Girl had seen, but she can’t be that, she doesn’t know how to be that!
          Baby Girl needed to leave.

I love you, and mama needs you.

You are weak.

You are all I have.

You, disloyal piece of shit.

Please, please don’t tell your father.

You think you can just walk away from me?

I’ll kill myself if you leave.

You’ll kill me if you leave.

Why would you kill your mama?

E

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The next bit happened so slow and so fast. Baby Girl told her father, told her school, and then disappeared for three days. When she reappeared for class, she had a scar across her face and blue, oval shaped marks on her neck, and that is just what you could see. Baby Girl never saw The Witch, her mother, alone in the same room again.

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Good Mom
Bad Mom
This Mom
That Mom
Not like all, Mom
The Witch
Forever, my Mom.

          Baby Girl was heaved into a world of order, which was abnormal. Her father took her to school, asked about her day, said she could help herself to food in the house. Strange. He did not question her loyalty, or her love.
          Baby Girl struggled with learning how to not feel guilty for leaving The Witch. She wanted her to know that just because she left did not mean she loved her any less. The Witch would hear none of this. Baby Girl still corresponded as often as she could muster. But the first few years of living with her father, The Witch made it difficult.
          The Witch could not understand why the Mama Charm was no longer working. The strength of it had dulled. She would send messages to Baby Girl to remind her that if she should take her own life it would be the fault of Baby Girl.
          Baby Girl always felt hurt by these words so recklessly unfurled upon her. But one person could not take the gouging blade of The Witch’s words. The Witch blamed the Tall Woman for the reason Baby Girl ran away, and that was the worst thing to say. The Tall Woman did not know how to fix it.
          So, the nicest, most loving, Tall Woman whispered, “Sorry” and laid herself to eternal rest.
          The Witch snapped out of being a bad witch and into the good witch, but now she was sad witch. The Witch reached out to Baby Girl for comfort but when Baby Girl tried to be a shoulder for her to cry on, the bad witch came out and told Baby Girl the Tall Woman left because of her.
          Baby Girl absorbed it.
          As Baby Girl grew she felt stronger and stronger enough to visit with The Witch. She began to see The Witch as just a woman who didn’t know she was a good witch and a bad witch in the same witch she called ‘mom.’

         Baby Girl still didn’t know her power, but she knew she wasn’t a witch.
         Baby Girl kept in contact with The Witch, but she didn’t always give full information.
         The Witch knew that Baby Girl was going to school to be a Bard, but didn’t know where.
         Baby Girl took the charms and removed the harms to better guide her own life.
         Baby Girl made the Hustle Charm better by using it to get a higher education, the right way, not the way the spell book said to do it. She went far far away, to a place where The Witch could not find her, the Fleeing Charm. Not because Baby Girl was hiding from fear, but because she did not want to be thrown off her own grind.
         One day, New Witch sent a message to Baby Girl telling her The Witch was sick. Real sick. Baby Girl made it back to their old village as fast as she could only to find The Witch under a sleeping spell. No one knew if she was waiting for true love’s kiss or if this was just it.
         Baby Girl, New Witch, and Beauty were in the same room again for the first time in years. New Witch wanted to show The Witch that she became her own witch over time, but The Witch would not open her eyes. Beauty would switch within himself to ‘Bad Beauty’ and back again, he was not ready to face this end.
         New Witch and Beauty had grievances to air with The Witch. While she slept, one by one they screamed and spent all their anger that had been tucked away, and there was nothing The Witch could say.
         Baby Girl could imagine what they were feeling, but The Witch was ill and if she could hear them what could she possibly feel at that moment.
         Baby Girl had so much to say to her, but Baby Girl did not want The Witch to suffer. She understood this was a spell that had backfired on The Witch, and there was no cure. Baby Girl waited until New Witch and Beauty left the room where The Witch lay dying upon the bed.
          Baby Girl whispered her own spell in her mother’s ear:

In your mind
Find the Time
When you were truly safe.
It is okay to go
If you do not want to stay.
Please go find your happy place,
And one day again I will see your face.

          Baby Girl touched The Witch’s hand and performed the Fleeing Charm to go back to the far far away land. When New Witch and Beauty went back into the room there was no witch to be found, just their mother laying still.
          After everything The Witch and Baby Girl had been through, Baby Girl hoped that The Witch knew that she loves her mama, and that is True.

And Baby Girl Lived….