Chapter Two
Hannah suddenly came to her senses. Wait a sec, she had just decided to move in with this strange lady whom she had just met. She looked in horror at the smiling face in front of her. The face seemed friendly, but so did the English teacher in the story she had read recently before he took the characters and attempted to murder them. This lady could be filled with powers of evil. Behind that face could be magical powers beyond Hannah's imagination. Hannah shuddered and backed away.
"Come dear one, shall we get your things together?" the lady stood up and walked around the table. And Hannah noticed that the woman was not dressed in everyday clothing. Why, she was wearing robes! They were very pretty violet ones too. That's it, Hannah thought, she's a witch and she's here to kidnap me and take me to her secret lair to boil me in her cauldron with her two witch friends, like in Macbeth.
The woman reached out a hand and stroked the little girl's brow. Hannah sighed as the soft silky fingers brushed her hair away. And Hannah was suddenly torn in two. She could go with this lady, she could. It would be the adventure of a lifetime, even if she was kidnapped, that would make it even more exciting! Suddenly, Hannah changed her mind and decided, yes, she would go with this lady who said she was her mother.
"Come, I'll show you my room." Hannah took her mother's hand and brought her down the hall to the side bedroom, running in and pulling out a suitcase from under the bed.
"This is my one suitcase and it will definitely fit all of my stuff, I don't have a lot, you see." Hannah pulled clothes out of her drawers and her especial books and papers. Her mother watched in interest. Soon, Hannah seemed ready and looked around her room, sighing. Melanie strolled in and stopped short at the sight of the suitcase.
"Where are you going?" she asked, as if afraid of the answer.
"I'm moving away…to live with my mother." Hannah said simply, looking seriously at her friend.
"B-but you can't!" Melanie sobbed. "You have to stay here with me!"
"I am here in spirit. Remember, if we never see each other again, we will meet in Tomorrow, Mel. And I can always write you letters."
"But it won't be the same. Mother's crying in the kitchen. You'd better go say g-g-goodbye!" she flung herself on her bed. Hannah ran over and hugged Melanie, then grabbed her suitcase and walked slowly out of the room for the last time.
She peeked into Katelyn and Sharon's room and they were playing with blocks.
"No, no, no Kate! This one goes there, that's the only way you'll make a tunnel!"
"Sorry, Miss know-it-all."
"I am not miss know-it-all."
"You are too."
"I am not."
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Hey!" Hannah stepped in. They both stopped in the middle of tugging at a red block and looked back at Hannah.
"I just wanted to say goodbye."
"Goodbye? Where you going?"
"You better be home for supper. Mrs. Foster was mad the last time."
"No, Sharon, I'm moving."
"WHAT?!" they ran over and put their hands on their hips.
"Why?" in chorus.
"Because this is my mother." Hannah pointed to the lady behind her. The twins looked over the lady and concluded that it had to be true. Hannah did look like the woman behind her. They both had long black straight hair and big soft brown eyes.
"But why?" they started, "Don't you love us anymore?"
Hannah almost broke down then at their sad faces.
"Why, yes, of course I love you! You can write me as soon as I send you my address. I don't think we'll be moving very far."
"Come visit often."
"Goodbye, girls." Hannah kissed each of their foreheads and left the room.
Mrs. Foster bad her farewell, she seemed to have stopped crying, and gave her a big hug, kissing on the top of the head.
"Goodbye, little Hannah. Be good to your mother and don't drive her crazy like you did me."
"Bye, Mrs. Foster. I'll write, I promise."
With that said her mother and her left the apartment and proceeded down to the taxi that was waiting on the curb. Hannah looked sadly back at the building and saw a face peering out of the window. Melanie waved from behind the curtain and disappeared. Hannah stepped into the cab and sat by the window. Her mother sat next to her and gazed at her.
"Are you all right, dear?" Hannah looked at the lady sitting in the cab.
"All right? All right?" Hannah raised her little voice. "Of course, I'm not all right! I come home from school and there's this strange woman in robes to take me away, never to go to that school again or live in that apartment again with Melanie and Katelyn and Sharon and Mrs. Foster. No, I'm not all right!"
Her mother looked taken aback. Hannah sighed.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I'll be all right in a few days, after I explore my new home."
She looked back out the window for a few moments then turned back.
"What is my last name?"
"Rosenfeld. Hannah Rosenfeld."
"Oh. That's a very sophisticated name, isn't it?"
"Oh, indeed yes."
"And where will I go to school now?"
"Well, um, actually, you won't be going to school for the rest of the year and I will put you in a different school next year."
"Really? Well, my luck certainly is going good. No school for nearly a whole year. That's incredible!"
Mrs. Rosenfeld laughed. Hannah liked the laugh from first hearing. It was clear and sweet, like ripples in water when you drop a pebble in.
They drove on in silence for a while until they stopped in front of a huge house.
"Who lives here?" Hannah asked, bewildered.
"You do now."
Hannah had no words, but just raised her eyebrows, gazing at the tall walls of the manor that stood before her. The cab stopped in a front of a long driveway, helping the girls with their bags. Mrs. Rosenfeld took Hannah by the hand and led her to the front door and stepping in.
Hannah gasped. Inside was a long, curving staircase with long, shiny railings. It seemed a palace to the ten-year-old. She dropped her suitcase and jumped up the stairs. There was a pause. Mrs. Rosenfeld was just about to go up when there came a yell and Hannah came whizzing down the banister and landing in a heap at her mother's feet.
"Whew! I've always wanted to do that! In Tomorrow, there will be staircases galore for sliding."
"Come, let me take you to your room." a voice said behind her. A maid in black picked up the suitcase and started up the stairs.
"Follow me," she said. Hannah followed meekly up the stairs and down a long hallway until she was dropped off in front of a door.
"Here's your room, Miss Hannah, please put away your clothes neatly and don't make a mess on the floor."
"Why would I do that?" she asked in reply. But in an hour's time, there were clothes all over the carpet. Mrs. Rosenfeld came in.
"Hannah! What is all this!" Hannah looked up from kneeling in front of the dresser with a frustrated look on her face.
"Every time I try to put clothes in the drawer, it somehow spits them back out!"
"Oh, I'm sorry. It tends to do that to new-comers."
"Huh?"
Mrs. Rosenfeld walked over and took out a stick of wood from her sleeve. She waved it and muttered something, and the drawer closed slowly. Hannah gaped in shock.
"What did you just do?" Mrs. Rosenfeld knelt beside Hannah and looked seriously in her face.
"I'm going to tell you something that you may not believe."
"Tell me, I'll pretend I do."
"Well, first of all, I'm a witch."
"Oh, I knew that."
"You did?"
"Yeah, you wore robes today. I thought you were going to kidnap me and boil me in your cauldron with other witches." Mrs. Rosenfeld laughed again.
"Not at all, why I brought you here for one main reason." She took a breath. "The reason you are not going to school this year is because you will be going a special school away north of London."
"A private school?" Hannah moaned.
"Well, sort of. You stay over night there. You see, Hannah, you are a witch as well."
Hannah suddenly came to her senses. Wait a sec, she had just decided to move in with this strange lady whom she had just met. She looked in horror at the smiling face in front of her. The face seemed friendly, but so did the English teacher in the story she had read recently before he took the characters and attempted to murder them. This lady could be filled with powers of evil. Behind that face could be magical powers beyond Hannah's imagination. Hannah shuddered and backed away.
"Come dear one, shall we get your things together?" the lady stood up and walked around the table. And Hannah noticed that the woman was not dressed in everyday clothing. Why, she was wearing robes! They were very pretty violet ones too. That's it, Hannah thought, she's a witch and she's here to kidnap me and take me to her secret lair to boil me in her cauldron with her two witch friends, like in Macbeth.
The woman reached out a hand and stroked the little girl's brow. Hannah sighed as the soft silky fingers brushed her hair away. And Hannah was suddenly torn in two. She could go with this lady, she could. It would be the adventure of a lifetime, even if she was kidnapped, that would make it even more exciting! Suddenly, Hannah changed her mind and decided, yes, she would go with this lady who said she was her mother.
"Come, I'll show you my room." Hannah took her mother's hand and brought her down the hall to the side bedroom, running in and pulling out a suitcase from under the bed.
"This is my one suitcase and it will definitely fit all of my stuff, I don't have a lot, you see." Hannah pulled clothes out of her drawers and her especial books and papers. Her mother watched in interest. Soon, Hannah seemed ready and looked around her room, sighing. Melanie strolled in and stopped short at the sight of the suitcase.
"Where are you going?" she asked, as if afraid of the answer.
"I'm moving away…to live with my mother." Hannah said simply, looking seriously at her friend.
"B-but you can't!" Melanie sobbed. "You have to stay here with me!"
"I am here in spirit. Remember, if we never see each other again, we will meet in Tomorrow, Mel. And I can always write you letters."
"But it won't be the same. Mother's crying in the kitchen. You'd better go say g-g-goodbye!" she flung herself on her bed. Hannah ran over and hugged Melanie, then grabbed her suitcase and walked slowly out of the room for the last time.
She peeked into Katelyn and Sharon's room and they were playing with blocks.
"No, no, no Kate! This one goes there, that's the only way you'll make a tunnel!"
"Sorry, Miss know-it-all."
"I am not miss know-it-all."
"You are too."
"I am not."
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Hey!" Hannah stepped in. They both stopped in the middle of tugging at a red block and looked back at Hannah.
"I just wanted to say goodbye."
"Goodbye? Where you going?"
"You better be home for supper. Mrs. Foster was mad the last time."
"No, Sharon, I'm moving."
"WHAT?!" they ran over and put their hands on their hips.
"Why?" in chorus.
"Because this is my mother." Hannah pointed to the lady behind her. The twins looked over the lady and concluded that it had to be true. Hannah did look like the woman behind her. They both had long black straight hair and big soft brown eyes.
"But why?" they started, "Don't you love us anymore?"
Hannah almost broke down then at their sad faces.
"Why, yes, of course I love you! You can write me as soon as I send you my address. I don't think we'll be moving very far."
"Come visit often."
"Goodbye, girls." Hannah kissed each of their foreheads and left the room.
Mrs. Foster bad her farewell, she seemed to have stopped crying, and gave her a big hug, kissing on the top of the head.
"Goodbye, little Hannah. Be good to your mother and don't drive her crazy like you did me."
"Bye, Mrs. Foster. I'll write, I promise."
With that said her mother and her left the apartment and proceeded down to the taxi that was waiting on the curb. Hannah looked sadly back at the building and saw a face peering out of the window. Melanie waved from behind the curtain and disappeared. Hannah stepped into the cab and sat by the window. Her mother sat next to her and gazed at her.
"Are you all right, dear?" Hannah looked at the lady sitting in the cab.
"All right? All right?" Hannah raised her little voice. "Of course, I'm not all right! I come home from school and there's this strange woman in robes to take me away, never to go to that school again or live in that apartment again with Melanie and Katelyn and Sharon and Mrs. Foster. No, I'm not all right!"
Her mother looked taken aback. Hannah sighed.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I'll be all right in a few days, after I explore my new home."
She looked back out the window for a few moments then turned back.
"What is my last name?"
"Rosenfeld. Hannah Rosenfeld."
"Oh. That's a very sophisticated name, isn't it?"
"Oh, indeed yes."
"And where will I go to school now?"
"Well, um, actually, you won't be going to school for the rest of the year and I will put you in a different school next year."
"Really? Well, my luck certainly is going good. No school for nearly a whole year. That's incredible!"
Mrs. Rosenfeld laughed. Hannah liked the laugh from first hearing. It was clear and sweet, like ripples in water when you drop a pebble in.
They drove on in silence for a while until they stopped in front of a huge house.
"Who lives here?" Hannah asked, bewildered.
"You do now."
Hannah had no words, but just raised her eyebrows, gazing at the tall walls of the manor that stood before her. The cab stopped in a front of a long driveway, helping the girls with their bags. Mrs. Rosenfeld took Hannah by the hand and led her to the front door and stepping in.
Hannah gasped. Inside was a long, curving staircase with long, shiny railings. It seemed a palace to the ten-year-old. She dropped her suitcase and jumped up the stairs. There was a pause. Mrs. Rosenfeld was just about to go up when there came a yell and Hannah came whizzing down the banister and landing in a heap at her mother's feet.
"Whew! I've always wanted to do that! In Tomorrow, there will be staircases galore for sliding."
"Come, let me take you to your room." a voice said behind her. A maid in black picked up the suitcase and started up the stairs.
"Follow me," she said. Hannah followed meekly up the stairs and down a long hallway until she was dropped off in front of a door.
"Here's your room, Miss Hannah, please put away your clothes neatly and don't make a mess on the floor."
"Why would I do that?" she asked in reply. But in an hour's time, there were clothes all over the carpet. Mrs. Rosenfeld came in.
"Hannah! What is all this!" Hannah looked up from kneeling in front of the dresser with a frustrated look on her face.
"Every time I try to put clothes in the drawer, it somehow spits them back out!"
"Oh, I'm sorry. It tends to do that to new-comers."
"Huh?"
Mrs. Rosenfeld walked over and took out a stick of wood from her sleeve. She waved it and muttered something, and the drawer closed slowly. Hannah gaped in shock.
"What did you just do?" Mrs. Rosenfeld knelt beside Hannah and looked seriously in her face.
"I'm going to tell you something that you may not believe."
"Tell me, I'll pretend I do."
"Well, first of all, I'm a witch."
"Oh, I knew that."
"You did?"
"Yeah, you wore robes today. I thought you were going to kidnap me and boil me in your cauldron with other witches." Mrs. Rosenfeld laughed again.
"Not at all, why I brought you here for one main reason." She took a breath. "The reason you are not going to school this year is because you will be going a special school away north of London."
"A private school?" Hannah moaned.
"Well, sort of. You stay over night there. You see, Hannah, you are a witch as well."
