Hocus Pocus 2
Epilogue
1664.
Salem Massachusetts.
It was near winter again as the fall leaves began to tumble slowly down to the stiff frost bitten ground. The land deep in the wooded area were not as fruitful as the settlers near by. However, this had been where they had settled many years before. What had once been a warm home, however had turned into a bitter prison for the old woman making her way to the door.
Her back crooked from years of hard toiling and her lungs scarred by sickness, the old woman stepped out of her stone cottage and looked about the misty grounds. It was morning, yet she knew the quietness of this dawn was suspicious, especially in her household.
"Agnes!" her voice called inside to her daughter. The woman inside the house to whom she called did not reply. "Where are the children?"
Frustrated with her daughters lack of assistance the old woman stepped out into the cool morning air and called with more effort into the woods for her grand children.
"Winifred! Sarah! Mary! Tabitha!"
The eldest granddaughter, Winifred came up on the porch, her red hair like fire in the morning glow. She was followed by Mary, the next oldest, plump and round, her black hair tied tight over her head; then Sarah, blond and petite. The girls were each young, about 13 to 10 years of age.
"Where is your sister, girls?" the old woman croaked, coughing slightly from the strain of using her voice. The girls looked evilly to each other stifling giggles but didn't reply. The old woman looked cross and glared at Winifred. "Winnie." She said sternly. "Where is Tabitha?"
"I do not know, Grand." she replied sickeningly sweetly without a trace of sincerity.
"Devil child." The old woman muttered and hobbled off the porch leaving the three girls to giggle as they watched the sickly old woman walk away from the cottage and deeper into the surrounding forest. From behind the girls their mother appeared. She was tall, slender, with wild carefree blonde cotton hair that danced around her face. She looked bitterly at the old woman hobbling away and then smiled sweetly to her eldest three daughters. "Come little children…I'll take thee away" she said softly, and slowly. "into a land of enchantment."
"May we get to practice more spells today, mother?" Winifred asked happily.
"Yes Winifred," she replied. "Did you make sure to tie the little one up far from here?" the girls nodded eagerly.
"Just as well, the longer your grand is away, the longer we can play." she said smiling. She stepped back from steps, raising her arms gesturing for them to enter the house which they did without hesitation. She glanced back as the old woman walked away, then turned to join her daughters.
Grandmother Sanderson walked as quickly as her old bones would allow, her chest wrecking with sickness. Her daughter had tainted the villages view on her and her family with her wild ways for years until now she was an outcast. She missed the colony, which was thriving beyond the forest, but could not bring herself to breach it's borders for her own safety. Her daughter had been an evil sport, to court the prince of darkness and birth such cruel children. All but one, and it was because of this one she plotted her escape.
Tabitha, the youngest and most sweet spirited wasn't like her sisters nor her mother.
She had been a product of a scheme to disrupt the village by seducing the local minister. But little did Agnes realize she actually began to have feelings for the young man of God. These feelings were soon crushed when her own demons began to haunt her and coaxed her back to doing the evil magic the devil had taught her. But when the romance ended and Agnes and her children hide with her mother in the woods near by she learned that she had been with child. She was a child created in love, even though there were cruel intentions. With Tabitha there was a hope of a better future for them in Salem, but Agnes was lost. She gave into all temptation and scorned the little child. She reminded her too much of the love she was now without.
Grandmother Sanderson had hoped the child would have saved her daughter, but such a sweet child needed to be saved from her own mother. She tried to keep an eye on her, to keep the other children from harming her or worse. But she was old and such a chore was becoming too much. Suddenly she came across a sack tied upon a branch of a tree near the edge of the wood. The old woman sighed and listed as a tiny whimper came from it. She pulled at the rope that held the knot but was unable to keep a tight enough grip and the sack fell with a thud to the earth. Two tiny hands pulled the fabric loose and allowed the sack to slide away from it's captive. Slowly a tiny girl about 4 years of age with brown hair emerged from the sack and stepped out dirty, but unharmed. She turned to see who had released her and a smile spread across her impish face as she saw her grandmother.
"Tabitha." The old woman acknowledged.
"Grand!" she exclaimed with relief and hugged her grandmother. The gentle pressure of the little hug however, was enough to cause another rack of coughs to begin. She turned away from the small girl and cough hard into a cloth in her hand. When she pulled it away it confirmed her suspicions as she noticed it was tainted with blood. The fatigue in her chest and in her body was taking it's toll. She glanced back towards her house and then toward the village. It was time for her escape, not for herself but for Tabitha. She had to protect her tiny granddaughter. Her time was nearly over and she would not leave her in that house unprotected from the evils of her own mother and sisters.
"I have to protect you child. Protect you from them." She pulled Tabitha behind her as she walked closer to the village.
"Where are we going?" the little girl asked. Concerned of the pain and loneliness her granddaughter may feel, Grandmother Sanderson knew she had to try and explain things to her. She stopped and knelt down to Tabitha's height and looked her in her brilliant blue eyes.
"Tabitha," she explained. "You know I've been sick for a long time, and that your mother..." she stopped not wanting to speak ill of her own child.
"She is bad." the little girl said.
"She does things that are impure." she old woman softened. " and while I have tried to protect you from these things, I'm afraid I cannot continue. Soon I will have to be with the lord, where I will be able to protect you from heaven. But I need to make sure someone can take care of you from Earth."
"take me with you!" the little girl cried. Her tiny tears broke her grandmother's heart, but she had to continue to try.
"My life is finished. I have grown, seen the sea, seen thousands of sunrises. If I were to take you with me, your life will be unfinished. You still so much to see." she replied.
"But I will miss you." she cried.
"And I will miss you, but we will be together when your life is finished, when you too have seen as many sunrises and sunsets."
"Do you promise?" she asked holding back her sobs.
"I promise."
Her words calmed the child. They both continued to walk towards the village, not looking back to the thick mist from the wood behind.
It was already starting to get sunny as they crossed the boundaries. Some of the women were milking the cows and gathering eggs for their morning meals when they noticed the old woman and small child walking up to the church. They thought nothing of the two strangers and returned to their work, not noticing as the old woman finally collapsed.
Tabitha knelt quickly to her grandmother's side and tried to be brave as she saw her struggling for breath. The sound and commotion coming from the steps alerted the minister inside. He opened the door, still not fully dressed but concerned. He noticed the small child and elderly woman laying there and scanned the grounds to see if any one else were present. When he saw no one, he knelt down to the old woman trying best to assist her in communicating.
"Please sir," Grandmother Sanderson was able to say weakly. "take my granddaughter and protect her from the witches in the woods."
The minister was familiar with the Witch that she spoke of. And from her face he too knew who she was. "Goody Sanderson, what has happened to you?" he asked. "It has been years since you came into the village."
"Please do not turn me away, father." she begged. "Not in my hour of need. I beg for sanctuary for my granddaughter. Please give us mercy."
The pleas from the old woman who was truly dying touched the minister. It had not been her who caused the troubles in the village, and from the look of the small child next to her, she needed his help.
"Please let me help you to a doctor." he said, wanting to help how he could.
"there is no time." she replied. "I need to know this child will be protected. Please promise you will protect her."
He looked closer at the child and then noticed her brilliant blue eyes. They were the same eyes he saw in the mirror and had been the same eyes he had seen in his own mother.
"Agnes!?" he said suddenly realizing he was looking into the eyes of his own child.
"She is my grandchild, and your daughter." The woman sighed. "I need to know she will be safe."
The emotions suddenly began to overwhelm him. All the love he had once felt for Agnes Sanderson had died a long time ago, but in was now embodied in a child who shared his eyes. Looking at her melted all his defenses. He felt not that he had to take care of her, but he wanted to.
"I promise." he replied and with his words Grandmother Sanderson felt at peace. She smiled to her small granddaughter, and closed her eyes softly to finally sleep. The request and death were so sudden to the minister he hardly knew how to continue. He looked at the small girl still holding her grandmother's hand and felt pity. Being a man of God, he would keep his promise, but he wasn't sure the village would be as forgiving of the child's origin.
He pulled the child from her grandmother and looked into her blue eyes. "Child," he said. "Where is it you came from?"
The child shook in fear and pointed toward the smoke rising from the far woods. He nodded. "I will need to go there, give the news to your family."
"No!" Tabitha cried. "Grand wanted me safe, away from them. I'm supposed to see the sunrises. Then I can see her again, when I see as many as she did." He could tell she was afraid. He had been the victim of Agnes powers of seduction years before, but he couldn't imagine she could harm a child. He had to see for himself.
"Arthur?" a voice said behind him. He had nearly forgotten his wife who had been inside behind him.
"Marguerite," he acknowledged as he attempted to think up a reason for the child and old woman on the steps. "My dearest, I had hoped not to wake you."
"Who is this?" she said looking at the child then noticed the old woman. "Oh dear! What has happened?"
"The old woman said she had traveled here. She said she was told to bring this child to me." he lied. "She is my niece."
"Your niece?" Marguerite questioned. "I didn't know you had anymore family."
"Neither did I." he replied. "but if you look at her eyes, it is unquestionable."
The woman knelt down to the little girl and saw her eyes. From over her shoulder the little girl noticed the ministers look of desperation, to not tell his secret.
"Where is your family?" Marguerite asked. "
He then hurried into the woods, hoping to get to the Sanderson Cottage before the village awoke to find the elderly woman dead on the church steps. When he arrived he knocked on the door and waited. The house seemed rather silent in the morning air, but looks could be deceiving. Soon the door was opened by the three older children. They peered up at the minister and cowered away when they noticed the cross around his neck. Their mother soon pushed her way past them and glared outside to see what they were gawking at. Her fluff of messy hair fell in her face as she then looked up and saw him too.
"What do you want?" She hissed.
"Agnes?" He breathed to himself shocked by her unkempt appearance. Hearing her name, the woman's eyes narrowed.
"Do I know you, sir?" She demanded.
The minister caught his blunder and thought quickly. "Lord forgive me." he again whispered to himself."
"All this praying has me bored!" the woman sighed, "Speak truth or begone."
"Your mother is dead." he said. "As is the small child she was with."
"Really?" the woman asked without remorse.
"They fell in the river and drowned" He lied bowing his head and making the sign of the cross, but his sign was met with the woman's laughter.
He opened his eyes crossly and caught a glimpse of an unholy sight over the woman's shoulder. There he saw three little girls balancing on brooms hovering above the caldron in the middle of the room. He gasped, and backed away as Agnes's laughter was soon joined by the girls. He didn't need to see anymore, and wished he had not seen what he had. In a near panic he turned and ran back to the village.
When he was out of sight Agnes closed the door of the cottage. "We are free to play as much as we want! Your Grand and sister are now...with the lord!" she cackled.
Back in the church the minister had hoped to have avoided a scene, but he was greeted at the steps by a growing crowd of villagers. "Father!" They called. "What is the meaning of this?"
He walked up to the steps and held his hands up. "My apologies, my friends." He said calmly. he found the little girl the woman had left sitting at the alter.
"Child." He asked almost out of breathe. "Child, tis thy family in the woods?"
the little girl nodded.
"They be witches." The little girl nodded again.
"Ye must stay here, in the village so that we can protect thee, for thee are not like them."
The little girl nodded.
"What is thy name?"
"Tabitha Sanderson." She replied.
"Tabitha." the minister acknowledged. "I shall call services in the morning, if a family will keep thee, will thy promise not to enter the woods again."
"Please sir, do not send me back there." He hugged the small child. He would not tell the town where she came from, but only an old woman had left her for their care.
1690
Salem Massachusetts
"Thackeray!" a young girl called. A boy turned. He smiled at her as she caught up to him. She was no more then 12 to his 14 years, yet he liked her still. She wasn't like the other girls in the village. "A gift for thee." She said smiling and handing him a small basket. The boy smiled and uncovered the basket revealing a handsome leather belt and gloves.
"Elizabeth." The boy exclaimed. "These are much like thy fathers."
"Yes." She replied. "He assisted me in making them for thee."
"Tho made these for me?" the girl nodded.
"I was not sure of thy size, so I used my fathers hands to help." The boy put the gloves on, but they were larger then his hands.
"I shall grow in to them." He said sweetly.
"The fall festival is tomorrow evening at church." The girl began.
"Wilst tho go with me?" The boy asked suddenly. The girls cheeks flush red and a smile on her face.
"I shall go with thee." She replied happily.
"Elizabeth." A woman called then. Elizabeth turned towards the voice and blushed some more.
"Thackeray." The woman said acknowledging the boy yet minding the small infant in her arms. "I see my daughter has given you your gift." The boy nodded. "How is thy sister?"
"Tabitha" a man called from behind her. "Leave the children be." The woman smiled and nodded to the man.
"I look forward to seeing thee tomorrow evening." The woman said and returned to her stroll patting the infant softly as she walked.
"I should be going as well." Elizabeth said softly and followed her mother.
The boy watched as the women left and looked back to the basket he had been given.
Later that evening, he put on the gifts and his mother mended his best shirt.
"Thackeray, it is nice of thee to take Elizabeth to the gathering this evening."
"I like her." He said smiling.
"I know." His mother replied handing him his shirt. "she is a nice girl."
"I am sorry you cannot come this evening mother."
"All is well, Thackeray." She said walking over to a near by bed. "Emily needs me this night."
"I shall bring her back something nice." He said smiling at his little sister. The woman smiled and sent the boy on his way.
He met young Elizabeth at the edge of town. She was looking across the field to the smoke curling in the forest.
Elizabeth was looking at the smoke with curiosity. She had been told often by her mother never to go near the forest and to avoid the cottage there at all cost.
She didn't know why she felt oddly drawn to it. She turned as Thackeray Binx made his way over a tree root. His father waited by the road near by watching the two of them
"We should be on to the church Elizabeth." She smiled and took his arm.
He took her hand warmly, a spring in his step as he walked up the steps to the church and escorted the girl inside.
Tabitha watched the scene from her front step and smiled, but her smile faded as she noticed the three hooded figures coming from the forest towards the church. She knew who they were, before they removed their hoods, but she said nothing.
"Tho our mother has passed on, sisters, we do not have to, the spells we cast tonight will assure our immortality." Snarled Winifred.
"I think not, sisters." She said suddenly. The three witches turned to the woman who stood behind them. Tabitha was struck by their appearance. They had aged rapidly, looking much older then herself.
"Who art tho to speak to us, wench."
"Go back to thy woods witches if thy wish to live, or shall I call the judge."
Winifred glared at the woman, not knowing she was her sister who disappeared years before.
"Come sisters." She growled. "We shall find sport elsewhere." And they turned to leave. Tabitha watched them until they disappeared in to the woods. She then heard a soft cry coming from her house and returned to the baby she had left in side.
Winifred wasn't so easily gotten rid of however. She watched the woman go back in her home, and then looked again to the church. She watched as Thackeray Binx came out of the back with the little girl she knew was the woman's daughter.
"Come sisters" she whispered. "Time for some really sport." And they retreated back to the cottage in the woods.
Thackeray leaned over and kissed Elizabeth's cheek. She blushed and looked away across the field towards the smoke curing over the trees. It is then she heard it. A soft melody coming from that direction. It called to her, pulled her away from Thackeray, and to the field.
"Elizabeth?" he asked noticing her stare. She shook her head and looked back at him.
"Tis late." She replied.
"I will take thee home." He replied and she turned away from the smoke and trees and walked with him to her house.
Thackeray kissed her cheek again and waited as she entered the house, before returning to the church.
As the moon over head became full, and the night crept on, Elizabeth couldn't sleep. A soft melody kept calling to her. She got out of her bed, and walked to the door. Silently she walked out the door, across the field and in to the woods.
She was not seen from again.
1693
Salem Massachusetts
Tabitha walked up to the old shack in the woods. They village had just hung the Sanderson sisters, and left with their ropes, leaving the house deserted. Tabitha didn't know why she had chosen to return to the house. Perhaps it was to put her ghosts to rest. Emily Binx was dead, as was rumored to be Thackeray, her older brother. She had known them their whole lives, and knew what their parents must have felt, considering her daughter had been spirited away three years before.
She looked up at the shack, barley remembering the life she had spent there.
It was then she saw the cat. The small back cat which sat on the steps. It looked at her and walked up to her sadly mewing.
"What is wrong with thee, kitty?" she asked it.
The cat came towards her and rubbed kindly on her ankle. She smiled at it and walked up the steps and in to the house. The pot of bubbling liquid had cooled and sat stale in the empty room. She looked over to the book which sat quietly on the pedestal Winifred had left it. The cat at her feet mewed and hissed as she opened it. It was then she realized the cat was more then he appeared.
She opened the book and skimmed the pages.
Then when she found what she wanted she pointed at the cat and recited.
"If not an animal before me be
From thy former self I reach
I grant to thee the words to speak.
And give to thee the gift of speech."
The cat mewed at her after the spell was cast.
"Forgive me cat." She said with a sigh. "I thought perhaps you may have been my daughter."
"No" the cat spoke. "Not Elizabeth, but Thackeray Binx." Tabitha gasped and looked closer at the cat.
"Thackeray!" she said with surprise. "What happened to thee?"
It was then the cat told her of his morning. How he had awoken to Emily being spirited away as Elizabeth had been years before. The run through the woods, witnessing his sister's death, and be helpless to stop them.
"Thackeray, I am sorry for thee." She said sadly. "That must have been how they took my Elizabeth."
"How did thee know of the spell?" Thackeray asked. "How was thy able to cast a spell on me?"
"Half a witch I be, sweet Thackeray." She confessed. "My mother be the same as the Sanderson Sisters, only I did not turn as evil as they. My mother made a deal with the devil, as did Winifred, and her sisters. Their master be he, and the book his gift to them for their service. I was never a magical one, but this book…though powerful it may be even to be used by good can come from it."
"You were able to get me to speak" he replied.
"Yes, but I cannot return you to your form, I cannot bring your sister back from where she has gone, I cannot bring back my Elizabeth, and now a curse laid upon this place. They can come back."
"I will not let them." He said softly snuggling next to her.
"I hope not. We must lock this house. Prevent those from entering."
"And what of me?" he asked.
"Come home with me." She replied. "Though your life, you cannot return to. You can at least have a happy one with me." And so she picked up the cat and left the house and her memory of it behind her. To warn those in the village she told her other children of what happened to Thackeray and that story became legend, and that legend is what was heard in 1993 when the sisters returned. And when Thackeray was freed to return to heaven with is sister's spirit, and be at peace.
But not all stories have endings.