I wiped the stinging tears from my cheeks, The Wind teasing at my hair, bringing with him the sounds of the rest of Halloween Town's revelry; it was, after all, Halloween night. My favorite holiday, and yet, I couldn't bring myself to join the others in traditional song. It had been Mathalda, one of the elder witches. It was always Mathalda, making light once again of my short nose and clear skin. Everyone had been getting ready for our midnight ride, powdering their warts to perfection and bending their wiry hair in all manner of terrifying directions. I had no warts to speak of, and my hair was long and curly, not even graying yet, still, I tried to make myself a part of the fun. I confidently dunked my dust bunny into the powder, before Mathalda caught my hand,
"Dear sister, why do you steal our precious bone dust when you need none?" She always spoke like that; she had been alive since the invention of Shakespeare after all,
"I meant no offense, your Wickedness," I addressed her with the appropriate title, hoping my use of olden speak wouldn't go unnoticed, "I simply wished to join my sisters in painted face." She cackled, sending foul, roast rat breath my way,
"As useless as your mother. One day you'll join her, if I have any say in the matter." I looked at the floor, silent,
"Leave us. NOW!" She screeched, all eyes on me as I swept out of the dank room, out the window via broom, and stumbled to my hiding spot behind the Whispering Wall. How dare she speak of my mother! Seventeen Halloweens ago, my mother, Coriander, flew away from the sisters on the midnight ride, and fell in love with a mortal, a car salesman named Dan Bukowski. She didn't come back to Halloween Town until dawn, barely making it back into our world. Her so-called sisters took care of her until I was born, and then cast her out into the mortal world, casting a spell to make sure she could never enter Halloween Town again. The only reason I was kept was the Rule of The Innocent (Chapter 17, Section 445 of The Grimmerie): "No young sister may be harmed for the deeds of another, nor cast out without just cause until they reach the age of Initiation." Which happens to be the age of eighteen, a mere year away, and I know Mathalda is just waiting for the second she can cast me out from the castle. At the thought of this, another wave of tears began anew, before I heard the rustling of leaves.
"Who's there?" I stood, my hands positioned so that I could cast the protection spell, not even Halloween Town is safe these days. From the bushes tumbled Sally, the rag doll,
"Wiccary? What are you doing here?" She brushed herself off, tightening a few threads,
"This is my hiding place. What are you doing here?" I asked, backing off now that I realized it was only Sally, she chuckled,
"A double hiding place. It's a wonder we haven't met here before…" She saw my face was tear stained,
"Wiccary! What's the matter?"
"Its nothing." I crossed my arms, only bringing into focus the bruises Mathalda had left on my arms; Sally took them in hers,
"Nothing? I think you're lying to me. I thought the witches were sisters, why would they do this?" My eyes watered, a spider sized lump growing in my throat, I pulled my arms away,
"Its because I'm a half-breed. I am just like them on the inside, I can fly, I can do magic, but I don't look like them…that's why they hate me." There was silence, my sobs the only sounds, then I felt Sally's arms around me in a hug, she was soft, the only thing a rag doll could be. The only hug I'd ever had. I found the truths pouring out; everything I'd kept inside since I was old enough to figure out I was the target of the sisters' malice. Sister Alyssha's pranks that went too far, Sister Verona's high pitched cackles when I fell off my broom in lessons, and above all, Sister Mathalda,
"The second I'm eighteen I'm finished. I'll be banished from The Castle—From Halloween Town, I'll never see anyone again, and I'll never—" Sally put a finger to my lips,
"That's not true. I've read up on The Grimmerie, it's on the shelf in Dr. Finklestein's detention room—"Her eyes met mine in a momen of truth between us,"I—I mean, his library." I wiped my tears and stared into her large eyes,
"And…?"
"Well, I've read it quite a lot. I mean, when your other choices are "Fifty Cures for Vampire Bites" and "An Essay on the Construction of Frankenstein"…"
She shook her head,
"No matter. I've read The Grimmerie quite a lot. The passage concerning you, Chapter 17, correct?" I shook my head yes,
"Chapter 17, the footnote at the bottom of section 445, it says if another member of Halloween Town promises to shelter you, then the sisters have no right to expel you." My heart leapt to my throat,
"Really?" Before it sank again, "But who would want me? I'm a half-breed, no one likes half-breeds, especially when they're bastards as well…" Sally took my hand,
"Wiccary, more people would relate than you think. I'd advise you to speak with Jack Skellington, he has a…thing for outcasts." She smiled in a way that made me feel I was almost intruding on it.
"Sally!" The harsh, old voice broke the night silence. It belonged to the decrepit Dr. Finklestein, obviously caught up with Sally once again. She turned to me,
"I need to go, but promise me now you'll speak to him." I stumbled,
"I—but—he—" She squeezed my hand harder,
"Promise."
"I promise." She smiled, squeezed my hand one more time,
"Good." Before she ran off into the dark of the Old Bones Cemetery. I watched her go. Jack Skellington…I thought…it's worth a shot… Sally hadn't realized it, but the gift she had just given me was more precious than all the glittering onyx and tears of a corpse in the world. I grabbed my broom and took a breath, here goes nothing. And I flew into the night.