I've got nothing else to say, so the original Hilda books were written by Luke Pearson and the animated series was produced by Silvergate Media and Mercury Filmworks and is released exclusively on Netflix. Enjoy.
Chapter 5
Astrid Ahlberg Memorial Park, named in honor of town founder Edmund Ahlberg's youngest daughter, was among the most beautiful spots in all of Trolberg; at least in Kaisa's opinion. And she felt this was especially true around sunset; which is why she thought it would be a good idea to take Hilda there after closing up the Library for the day. You know, to try and cleanse her pallet of the day's events.
After finding a bench in a nice secluded area of the park, the Librarian left her young charge alone for about half a minute to go get them some juice from a nearby vending machine. Naturally, Hilda was a little nervous about being left on her own, after everything that had happened down in the Tower, but Kaisa assured her that she would only be a few feet away and would keep an eye on her the whole time. This seemed to do the trick and it allowed the older woman to go off and return with a can of juice for each of them; apple for Hilda and grape for herself.
"Here you go, sweetheart." She said as she handed the little girl her juice. "See, I told you I wouldn't be long."
"Thank you." Hilda said gratefully as she popped the top and started to drink.
Kaisa sat down beside her and followed suit. And for a few minutes they just sat there together, silently sipping their juice. Fortunately, before the silence could get too awkward, the little girl plucked up enough courage to finally break it.
"So… does this mean I have to live with you now?" she asked in a soft, but surprisingly blunt manner.
"What? Oh… no, no, that was just a bluff to get those other witches to leave you alone. I'll take you back to your mother whenever you want." The Librarian replied, a little embarrassed by the question.
"That's what I thought, but I just wanted to make sure." Hilda said, sounding more than a little relieved, before adding. "You're not going to get in trouble, are you? You know, because of me."
"Don't worry about it. As the official Keeper of the Books, there are a lot of things I can do to get fired, but closing the Library twenty minutes early on a Friday isn't one of them. Besides, I figured you wouldn't be comfortable staying there another full hour. You know, after everything that happened."
"I know, and I'm really grateful for that. But actually, I meant will you get in trouble because I snuck down into the Tower when I wasn't supposed to and started a riot?"
"Oh… right. Well, don't worry about it. The Committee might chew me out a little, but overall it could've been a lot worse."
"Yeah… I suppose you're right."
What followed was another awkward silence as the two of them continued to sip their juices. It was clear that there was a lot that still needed to be said, but it took a few more minutes before either of them was willing to address the elephant in the room.
"Hilda, I… I'm so sorry for getting you into that mess." Kaisa said, sounding deeply ashamed. "I never should have put you in the Secret Room, but I was just so angry, I wasn't thinking."
"But you had every right to be angry." Hilda jumped in, sounding just as remorseful. "I was horrible to you all day, I even tried to have you arrested, and you still came to rescue me from those crazy witches. You're a hero, Kaisa. A real hero."
The Librarian blushed a little at the complement.
"Thank you, Hilda. But you really shouldn't be too hard on Hazel and the others. They're a little… overly emotional, but they're not crazy."
"While I was hiding, I overheard one of them say they wanted to put me in a tutu."
"Okay… so maybe they're a little crazy, but it's not their fault. It's just… how witches are."
"What do you mean?"
"Sigh… it's… It's hard to explain." She began, trying to find just the right way to word her response. "You see, Hilda, all witches love children. It's kind of like a… side effect of having magic. We're not really sure why, but something about having magic in our bodies makes us want to love and be loved by little darlings like you. It's almost like we have too much love in our hearts."
Hilda nodded; seemingly following her explanation so far.
"And normally that's a good thing, but the problem is that some witches, like Hazel and the others, have trouble controlling all that love inside them and it makes them do… crazy things. You know all those fairytales about witches stealing children? Well… now you know why."
"Hold on." Hilda interrupted, her tone one of disturbed disbelief. "Are you telling me that witches steal children just so they can be mums?"
"Well, it's not something that's really encouraged anymore, but it is still technically allowed, under certain circumstances."
"What kind of circumstances?"
"Well… all the child stealing used to cause a lot of trouble for the entire magical community, so about a hundred years ago, the Committee of Three at that time passed a new law stating that witches can only claim children that wander into the Witches' Tower unescorted. Which is why so many witches started living there fulltime. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it stopped them from breaking into people's houses at least."
"But I've been down in the Tower lots of times and nothing like that's ever happened before."
"The first time you got lucky and no one saw you. Every other time you were with me, so you weren't considered unescorted." The Librarian explained. "As far as the others are concerned, I've adopted you, so this shouldn't happen again. But just to be safe, next time we're down there, stay close to me and hold my hand."
"Okay, but I still don't understand. If witches love children so much, why don't they just… you know… make their own. I mean, no offense, but from what I understand it isn't really that hard."
Kaisa suddenly felt a familiar wave of sickness wash over her. She'd known this question would come up eventually, but that didn't make it any easier to think about.
"It's because witches can't make their own children. Not under any circumstances."
"What?" Hilda replied, her disbelief quickly turning to outrage. "Well that's a dumb rule! Why would the Committee forbid something that would literally solve all their problems? It's ridicu…"
"It's not a rule, Hilda." The Librarian replied sadly; looking down at her own tummy and briefly imagining what could have been. "Sigh… It's just the way things are."
"What do you mean?"
"You see… in order to fully master magic, a witch has to start learning at a young age; usually around 10 or 11. But over time, being exposed to magic, day in and day out, it… does something to our insides. And by the time we're old enough to have children, we just… can't."
This time Hilda gave no response, at least not verbally, but her eyes shined with pity and new understanding.
"But… it's not so bad. Most witches find their own ways to cope." Kaisa continued in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Some, like the current Committee members, get lucky and find husbands, so they can adopt. Others, like Tildy, take on students to help fill the void. And others, like me, get jobs that allow us to be close to children on a regular basis. For everyone else, there's the Tower and that one special rule. It gives them hope and keeps them from causing any trouble up here on the surface. It's not perfect, but it works."
"But… why don't they just adopt children like the Committee members? That would solve everything."
"It would, but unfortunately most adoption agencies aren't too eager to give children to single women or those involved in… nontraditional relationships."
"But that's not fair."
"I know, but it's the way things are, and they're not likely to change. At least not any time soon." Kaisa said, pausing to let out a melancholy sigh, before putting on a happy face. "But that's not something a little girl like you needs to worry about. So just put it out of your mind. Okay?"
"Okay." Hilda replied, still clearly trying to process all this new information. "But… I mean, if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to ask you something."
"Of course, dear. Go right ahead."
"Well… I don't want you to think I'm being ungrateful. Honestly, I'd probably be a dress up doll right now if it wasn't for you. It's just… earlier I accused you of using me to get to my Mum, but now I… what I mean is… is it really the other way around? Were you using my Mum to get to me?"
Kaisa couldn't pretend that question didn't hurt. But at the same time, she couldn't really blame the girl for asking it, not after everything she'd just told her.
"No, Hilda." She answered honestly. "To tell you the truth, I didn't even know you existed until about a month after we started dating. Apparently your mother was afraid that the idea of her having a daughter might scare me off. Pretty ironic, isn't it?"
"Yeah… I guess." Hilda said guiltily. "I didn't really think you were. I was just checking."
"That's quite alright, Hilda." The Librarian replied warmly. "I'll be honest, when your mother finally told me about you, I got a little excited. Like any witch, I want a child of my own more than anything, but you have to believe me, I'd never force you or her to do anything you didn't want to."
"I believe you." Her young charge said with a reassuring smile. "So… what happens now?"
"Now, if you want, I can take you back home to your mother. I'm sure she's worried sick about you."
"Oh… I see." Hilda replied, sounding slightly disappointed; though Kaisa suspected she knew why.
"Listen, Hilda, about what happened earlier." The Librarian began, somewhat awkwardly. "It's just… well, you're just a child, and it's obvious you didn't mean to say such an ugly word. So, I really don't see a reason for either of us to mention that little incident to her. Sound good?"
"Thank you. But that's not… what I mean is… I…" the young girl stammered, her cheeks rosy from embarrassment. "I was hoping your offer from this morning was still good. You know, to stay with you tonight and have our own little sleepover."
Needless to say, this caught Kaisa completely off-guard; she'd nearly forgotten all about that.
"Don't get me wrong." Hilda continued. "It's not that I don't want to see Mum, but I just feel that, well… since you did rescue me from those other witches, maybe I should do something nice to pay you back."
"Oh, Hilda… you don't have to do that if you don't want to."
"But I do want to. And not just because I'm grateful, but because… well… to be honest, I'm still not sure how I feel about you being with my Mum, but just to be fair, I think I should try to get to know you better before I make up my mind. And staying the night with you seems like a good place to start."
"Oh… well, in that case, I guess it would be okay. As long as your mother doesn't mind." Kaisa replied, trying to sound casual despite the warm, fuzzy feeling welling up inside her.
"I'm sure she won't." Hilda said sweetly, starting to blush again. "And besides, you did technically catch me down in the Tower. So according to the rules, it's only fair that you get to keep me as your daughter. Even if it is just for the weekend."
Kaisa wasn't quite sure if her young charge had meant that as a joke or not, and to be honest, she didn't really care. For upon hearing those word, that warm, fuzzy feeling spread throughout her whole body; all the way to her brain. In an instant, her witch's instincts overwhelmed her senses and she began to weep, loud and openly, with joy.
If Hilda thought something was the matter, she didn't have time to ask. Before either of them knew what was happening, the Librarian pulled the little girl into a tight but gentle hug. Then, without even realizing it, she whispered into her ear.
"Thank you."
End Notes:
The next chapter should be the last one.
I hope you've all been enjoying my story so far.
Peace.
