When the Witch of the Waste sees her reflection, the woman smiling smugly back is not the only one staring. Alongside the seductive and powerful beauty that makes wizards weep and gnash their teeth, there is a shadow. It is a small ghost that flickers in the Witch's jewel eyes- a small ghost in pale colors and watery light that was once, her former self, before she became the Witch. She stares into the mirror, and it makes her angry.

That ghost was once a timid mouse, whose future lay fluttering like a bird in the hand.

Once, the Witch was but a young girl with no magic of her own, Madam Suliman had told her, "You shall be my special witch, my little alchemist." as she swept her hands over the vials of powder that seemed to bend and swirl in the morning light. The young girl couldn't object, being choked by apprehension.

Try as she might, the young girl could never impress Madame Suliman. The first time she tried to say the words of a spell over her chemical solution to reverse the process, her shoulder was clapped by Madam Suliman's thick hand.
"No, child. This kind of magic that you shall do can never be reversed."

The girl had stared into her distorted reflection, and her tears fizzled as they dripped onto phoenix feathers.

But one day, a few years later, a star was falling, trailing glitter and the soft glow of butterfly wings. She stopped picking herbs and watched it, transfixed. Madam Suliman had always told her to stay away from those things; they were nothing but trouble...

Even so, the young girl ran through the field. Stumbling over logs and sticks, and the flowers that bloomed even though it was winter, she held out her hand and watched the pulsing flame ever so slowly, alight on her hand.

"Girl, who do you think you are, interrupting me?!" the flame thundered, irritated.

It used to be that the girl would tremble in the face of this demon, but today...

"You- I caught you, didn't I? I saved you from dying when you hit the ground, and you owe me your life."

...she was going to take control of what she wanted.

The fire demon grumbled, aware of this contract. "Are you fully aware of the consequences? You know that your heart shall fuel my flame?". It's eyes flickered with a malicious gleam.

There was no hesitation. She nodded.

The fire demon cackled, and it's sparks flew in a shower around her cupped hands. "I can see you want my magic! Well then, I shall give you what you want, and you shall never want for any powders or herbs again, but a curse on you, my child. Like your former self, you shall never be able to undo a spell."

And with that, the fire demon dove into her heart. She felt the fire's heat coil around her heart, she heard the clanging bells of the demon's laughter. Her dress was suddenly too tight, and it was getting hard for her lungs to expand through the fogginess of the smoke. She sank to the ground, and then the pain was gone. After that, the young girl never came back to Madam Suliman. And why would she? The young girl felt the flame of confidence, of passion coursing through her veins. She vowed to never go back to what she once was. She could feel it this time, in the glint of the rubies and diamonds that caught the sun in her hat. She felt it in the makeup that she now wore- that this time it was she who was using the powders and potions for her own ends.

Therefore, it was no surprise that the Witch was so furious when she saw that tacky little girl in the hat shop. The obvious lack of self-worth in that tacky little girl from the way she dressed and the way she stood- the Witch felt a twinge of remembrance of what she once was when she looked into this girl's eyes. There was a bitterness, also, of a part of her heart that she thought that she had locked away long ago. The Witch couldn't even hold Howl's love even with all of her magic and beauty, but this little mouse didn't even need that.

"And the best part is, you can't even talk about it."

So when she found out that the tacky little girl had boarded Howl's castle, she vowed to fly this time, and meet this part of her heart, this falling star.