Magic is everywhere in everyone. It is apart of us, inside our very hearts. The next time you think there is nothing special about you, remember:
"There's a little witch in all of us."
This is a story of two sisters and the magic in their lives. They were blessed with a wonderful gift, passed down to them by the women in their ancestry. They were in turn blessed with their gifts by the first Owens woman ever to set foot on the island where Owens women would reside for generations to come. "But with the sweet, comes the sour." They were cursed by Isabel Owens legacy and the promise she made to herself that no man would ever hurt her. This promise soon turned into a hex on all Owens women and it has been that way ever since…
Maria and Liz Owens walked hand in hand to the large house where their two aunts awaited them. On a normal day, the ten year olds would be ecstatic that they were coming to visit their Aunts, who always had something interesting to show them, and wonderful surprises waiting around every corner. But this was not a normal day and this wasn't just a visit. Their mother had died, and their lives were changed forever. The even more tragic fact was that their father was dead also, and this was why they now walked the cobblestone path to the mysterious house that held their future. Maria let the tears slip down her cheeks holding her head down as if in some eternal prayer for her mother's memory. Liz however, kept her head high, trying to give her sister some of her courage.
"It will be alright." She reassured her, never saying a word.
"What makes you so sure." Maria whispered back, though never using her lips to answer.
"Because we have Aunt Morrigan and Serena, and we have each other remember forever and always."
Maria looked up at Liz and smiled. They didn't need to say anything more. They reached the welcoming arms of their aunts and gripped the ancient women tightly, inhaling their scent of herbs and magic. The smell of magic was every good smell you could imagine, the earth, flowers, rain on a summer's day, and the very air when it carried all of nature in it. They looked up at their relatives and saw their sad eyes for they were also mourning the loss of Maria and Liz's mother.
"Hello girls", Said Morrigan warmly, "Come on inside."
"We have some things to tell you dears." Serena added, an ominous tone to her voice.
"Oh honestly Serena are you trying to scare the children to death!"
"I'm just telling them!"
"In the most morbid fashion you could?"
"Oh you."
As the two women continued to bicker, Maria and Liz giggled a little. This certainly made them feel better; watching the entertaining way their aunts loved to argue. The heavy fabric from their intricately embroidered robes swirled about in clouds of dark and light while they each made their points with flourished hand movements. Liz tugged on Aunt Morrigan's dark velvet robe, decorated with beautiful floral designs in every color, while Maria tugged on Aunt Serena's cream vintage sundress whose trailing sleeves reached the floor. Both women looked at the girls immediately, dropping whatever subject they were arguing about.
"Yes dears?" they asked simultaneously.
"Umm…can we go inside, and have some chocolate cake?" Liz asked.
Both women smiled and picked up the girls' tiny suitcases.
"Of course you can!" Morrigan said loudly.
"You can have whatever you want dears and then we'll go in the back and talk."
The four walked into the house.
The aunt's home was built on a beautiful island in New England that was cut off from the rest of the town they lived in. This was one of the reasons why there were so many rumors surrounding them. The interior of the house was just as lovely as the outside. There was a twisting staircase, a warm living room, a quaint dining room, and charming décor that made the house seem a living personality itself. The girls loved this house and always felt comfortable there. The garden was full of herbs and other helpful ingredients, the kitchen was always full of delicious or interesting smells, the beds were always warm and the aunts were always there, with their wise words and quirky idiosyncrasies. Maria, Liz, Morrigan, and Serena all gathered in the old-fashioned country kitchen and Serena retrieved the cake from the window.
"Fresh baked girls I hope you like it." Maria and Liz's mouths were already salivating at the thought of the rich creamy chocolate icing. Morrigan cut them each a big slice and passed it to them.
"Come on girls we'll eat this outside."
The backyard of the Owens house was just as beautiful and mysterious as the rest of it. The view of the ocean as it beat against the rocks and sang it's sad song of the island's history took the girls breath away every time. The girls thought of their mother and let the tears fall again. Maria looked up at Serena her green eyes swimming with tears.
"Aunt Serena, why did my mommy die?"
Liz gasped. Her chocolate brown eyes went wide with disbelief. A lump caught in her throat and she felt like she was choking. Her Aunt Morrigan sat her down on a white garden chair and Serena did the same with Maria. The Aunts went to the chairs opposite them and placed their untouched pieces of cake on the glass table. They looked at the girls for a minute; their ageless eyes dim with sorrow. Serena stroked her hip length blonde hair and closed her ice green eyes. Morrigan kept her dark purple eyes on the girls while her feathery black hair curled around her face.
"My dear your mother died of a broken heart." Liz and Maria felt confused at this, but somehow, deep within they understood.
"Because of Daddy?"
"Yes because of your father…girls there's something we must tell you, about who you are and where you come from."
"Don't be frightened dears, it is nothing bad, it is just a little hard to accept."
"Serena let me finish will you?"
"Oh alright alright, I'm just trying to comfort them." Morrigan shot an annoyed looked at her sister and cleared her throat. She began the story with a swish of her robes.
"Alright girls this is the story of your family history. By now you must have figured out that your mother was, well, different. There was something special about her just as there is something special about you. My dears you have a gift the gift of magic!" Liz and Maria looked at her a little shocked but not very surprised. They had known their mommy to do wonderful things. They focused on their aunt absorbing every word.
"You come from a proud line of magical women, dating all the way back to the 1600's and the first Owens woman on this island."
"Isabel Owens?"
"Why yes Lizzie dear Isabel Owens. How did you know that?"
"Mommy told us a little bit about her." Maria interrupted.
"Well Isabel Owens was a beautiful woman. With long blonde hair and almost mystical eyes, she broke quite a few hearts in her day, being known as the Ice Princess for her lack of seriousness in any relationship she started, and usually ended. She was very independent. The townspeople were always very frightened of her and she lived on the outskirts of the village, alone. They wanted her far away though, further than she already was to their quiet little town. So one day they gathered up the courage, they stalked their way to her cottage and told her to either get out of town or to be hung as a witch. Isabel's heart was breaking and she scanned the crowd for her current lover whom she had fallen deeply in love with. She thought they had made a silent promise with a quick gaze at each other to reunite, so sadly, yet willingly she left and came to this island awaiting her lover. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months and he did not come to her. Meanwhile his handiwork had her left pregnant and alone to fend for herself. As the baby grew so did her sadness and her anger. One day in a fit of rage and despair, she promised herself that no man would ever be allowed to hurt her again. As her despair grew so did that promise until it became a hex on all Owens women. And now my dears, any man that falls for an Owens woman is doomed to die."
Liz's mouth dropped open; she could hear Maria crying again at her side. She couldn't believe that. Her daddy died because of a curse? It made her angry, angry with Isabel Owens.
"I hate her." She exclaimed to be met with looks of surprise by the aunts.
"She killed my daddy." Maria cried out and ran into the house. Liz followed her trying to catch up. Serena started to rise when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Let them get used to it."
"Oh pish tosh! Get used to it! Something that might not even be true."
"Of course it's true! Look at the history of this family Rena, every man ever involved with this family has ended up six feet under." Serena slumped down beside Morrigan.
"I suppose your right. Still you could just pretend you don't believe it for their sake. Give them a chance to be in love Morgy."
"Yes I know. But we had to tell them now, they won't believe us when they get older."
Liz followed Maria up to the bedrooms on the second floor. She caught up to her after she had flung herself on the bed and hid under the sheets. Liz's heart constricted to see her sister in so much pain. She was aching too, but she tried to stay strong. She walked over to the bed and crawled into the sheets with her. She gripped her close and kept quiet, knowing Maria would talk to her soon enough. Liz closed her eyes and let the tears slip out missing her mother and father terribly. It wasn't fair, losing both her parents so soon. She wished that they would burst through the bedroom door right now and scoop she and her sister up in a big hug. She held onto that dream for a minute until she was interrupted by Maria.
"Liz…do you miss them?"
"Of course I do! Just as much as you."
"Do you really think the curse killed daddy?"
"I don't know. I don't want to think that daddy died just because he was with mommy but it's hard to believe anything else." The girls sat up and Maria rested her head on Liz's shoulder. They were still in their black dresses from the funeral and their hair was back in tight braids. Liz looked around, her eyes trying to memorize her new home. Maria followed Liz's eyes and she rested her hand on her sister's.
"You're trembling Maria! Are you ok?"
"Yes. I'm just a little scared."
"Well don't be. Remember it's not as if we're living with strangers. It's the aunts! We're going to have fun."
"No it's not that. It's about what's going to happen when we grow up. What if we fall in love? Will the curse kill the guys we fall in love with?" Liz didn't say anything. She just thought about that awful possibility, of losing more people she cared about. She didn't know if she could take that.
"I hope I never fall in love." She said quietly. Maria looked at her in surprise.
"You mean not ever?"
"Yes. Not ever. I don't want the boy I like to die because of me."
"What if there is a guy who is meant to be with you and can break the curse?"
"I'll never find a guy like that."
"Yes you will." Maria admonished. "We both will. We'll find our soul mates and live happily ever after." Maria smiled; this topic made her feel better.
"What will your soul mate look like Liz." Liz rolled her eyes at her sister's boycraziness. She always had a weakness for guys and talking about them never failed to make her feel better. She decided to humor her because if she didn't Maria would hound her the whole night. She conjured up the image of her true love. It cheered her up as well, thinking about love, so she divulged the details with a smile on her face.
"Well…he'll have dark hair. Dark eyes. A lot of dark. He'll be tall, and have a pretty smile. He'll be sensitive, and passionate."
"What's passionate mean?"
"…I don't know but it's a good thing."
"Ok then. My guy will be passionate too. I want him to have spiky hair. And pretty green eyes, like me. He'll be fun too." Liz smiled mischievously.
"Let's hope he's not too much like you Maria or you guys would fight all the time."
Maria pouted her full lips.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, its hard enough just living with one of you." Liz giggled wildly as Maria jumped on her and pummeled her playfully.
"That's so mean Liz!!!!!" She laughed loudly as Liz tickled her sides. The two girls were soon fighting and romping around on the big bed, until their hair was sticking up wildly, their dresses were crumpled and they were both exhausted. They lay down on the bed and tucked the sheets up to their chin. Maria was the first to fall asleep and Liz watched her for a minute. She smiled sleepily and tucked a lock of her sister's hair behind her ear.
"I love you Ria." Though she was fast asleep, Maria smiled and whispered.
"Love you too Lizzie."
Liz stared up at the ceiling drifting slowly off to sleep. She thought about her "true love". She thought about the curse. Well it would never get her. She would escape it, so she would never hurt as her mommy had hurt. Her last words before falling asleep was a determined.
"I hope I never fall in love."