Epilogue.
There once was a girl named Ava. The sisters talk a lot about her, with mixed emotions. Some called her crazy. Some called her fun. She was one of the few that actually believed herself to be a witch with magic powers, and apparently, she was never hesitant to talk about it to anyone who would at least pretend to listen. They told me that she would be mixing potions and keep her wand close, pretending to cast spells and all sorts of stuff. Maybe she was crazy.
But she was also just a young woman, who all of a sudden, was just gone and never heard from again. Some say that she just ran away, but there is also a rumor that she was murdered because she spoke her mind, because she never followed the rules and went her own way. She used to say that she wasn't created to fall in line, that she would never follow the stream like the dead fishes. And it might've gotten her killed. No one knows, and no one is searching for her. But I, on my journalist honor, promise to find the truth about her. I will find out what happened to her. I will not let her be forgotten. No one cares just because she didn't fit the mold and I've been told that she's not worth the trouble.
But that's what we journalists do, we dig deep into the trouble to find the truth and I just know that there's something not right here, I can sense it. I don't know if it's the journalist in me or just female intuition, but I have this feeling that there's something dark and dangerous out there that we need to watch out for. Something Ava didn't watch out for, because she wasn't afraid. Apparently, she was never afraid of anything, believing she could just wave her wand and all things would fix itself. But a killer with his or her mind set is not something you can just wave away. When they have decided something, they will take all means necessary to get the job done. If Ava ignored all the dangerous signs, which I bet she did, she would've been an easy target.
Maybe it was someone within the witch community who didn't like that she introduced herself as a real witch. Maybe she held her nose too high, looking down upon everyone here because they were not true witches with power. Maybe someone didn't like that she told others, outside the community, about what happened inside the walls and shared secrets. What is told within that group is meant to stay in there.
I know I write a lot about what is being said in there, but in respect of my sisters I never mention any names.
Except Ava. I don't think she would mind. And you should all remember that name, because I will return with a full article about what happened to her. I promise you that.
Alicia Jonas
Do you remember Ava that I told you about a few months ago? I have been digging like a crazy person trying to find out what happened to her. I met her family, I talked to her twin brother, I went through her things and I even read her diary. I checked old newspapers, talked to the police, and snooped around as much as I could. But she is gone without a trace. Not even a lock of hair remains. How can someone just disappear from the face of the Earth? Without leaving any clues behind.
What I did find is that she is not the first one to have disappeared. There are three more women from the witch community who has also disappeared without a trace. Sophie, Anna and Olivia. All three were sisters of the witches and all three just vanished. In thin air. No trace. The sisters keep telling me that people leave all the time, but I don't think so. Not like this. I'm good at my job and one of the things I do is track people down, for questioning, for a comment, for an interview. But I came up empty handed with all four women, not a single clue to where anyone of them might be. It's like they just went up in smoke. Maybe thrown in the river. What if they were killed witches-style? Maybe feet and hands tied and thrown in the water? Or burned at the stake? With either one of those, it would be near impossible to find a body, easy for the killer to sweep her or his tracks.
I do think I'm onto something. Or I know I am actually, because I've been getting threatening voice messages and handwritten notes, all of the messages telling me to stop searching, to get my nose out of other people's business, to leave the women alone. But I can't do that. Because I'm a journalist and a reporter, and this is what we do. We dig for clues and we search for the truth and I will not rest until I find out what happened, I will not throw my hands up, wave a white handkerchief and just surrender. No. I will fight. I will come forward with the story of Ava, Sophie, Anna and Olivia, and I will not have them forgotten. I will give their families closure and I will make sure that the killer is caught. When I have enough evidence I will go to the police and make sure something happens. At the moment I don't have anything else than my gut feeling but, but believe me, I will go to the bottom of this.
I hope the person who is threatening me is reading this. You will not scare me away. I am not frightened of you. This is what I do and there is nothing that's going to stop me from solving this mystery.
You will have to kill me if you want my silence.
Alicia Jonas
Life after death. Such a sensitive subject, isn't it? Everyone seems to have different opinions, some believe in reincarnation, some believe in a heaven above the clouds where we meet our loved ones, some believe that you'll just return to the dust.
I'd like to think there is more to it than just dust, earth and worms. I wouldn't mind getting to a heavenly place where I can meet everyone I ever held dear, but maybe even run in to some deceased personas that I would've loved to gotten the chance to meet. Party with Elvis? Sing with Judy? Have a drink with Marilyn?
It would be cool. But how would one ever find those cool celebrities when everyone goes to the same heaven? There must be billions of people there. Is there a special celebrity heaven? That's where I want to go. I bet they have awesome parties.
A Swedish colleague once told me of a place called Trapalanda, which is the horses' heaven. It's a kingdom, created only for the horses, no other creatures allowed. There are endless fields of soft, long green grass coated in dew, there are apple trees and carrot patches. There are rocky mountains, beautiful, safe rivers and thick, lush forests. There are millions of horses, horses in every shape and size, all of them getting along well without any pain or suffering. And if you love your horse more than anything else, you can come and visit sometimes, through your dreams.
It made me wonder if there are other kingdoms out there. For other animals, for humans? One day we will all find out, right? Some people go their whole lives worrying about death so much that they forget that they have to live as well. Take every day and make it better. There's something beautiful to find each day. Maybe it's the warm rays of the sun, maybe it's the smell of newly fallen rain on earthy soil. Maybe it's the love in your partner's eye or the way your child looks up to you for guidance. There's so much to live for that we should not sit around and wait for death. Death will come, it won't spare anyone. We will all die someday.
And even if I'm not ready to die, as I'm having too much I want to do still, I am also curious. Maybe it's just like closing your eyes and then there's nothing. Or you'll have the time of your life.
Chuck Palahniuk once said that "if death meant just leaving the stage long enough to change costume and come back as a new character… Would you slow down? Or speed up?"
Maybe we are all just playing a part. Maybe we have many more parts to play, in different lifetimes as different characters. I'm not afraid to die.
If I must die
I will encounter darkness as a bride,
and hug it in mine arms.
[William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, act III, scene I, line 83.]
Alicia Jonas
The end.
