Emily took a deep breath. “Here we go,” she whispered. She stepped out of her car, and locked her door.
She pushed the green door open and struggled for a second. It was heavier than it looked. Bells jingled from a hook on the inside of the door, and the smell of incense hit her immediately. She knew that smell. It wasn’t the exact scent from her dreams, but it was still familiar somehow.
“Hey there! Welcome to the cottage,” a bearded man said from behind a small counter, flashing a large and friendly smile at her. “Let me know if I can help you with anything.”
“Okay, thank you,” Emily said, avoiding eye contact. She looked around and tried to get oriented with the space. Bookshelves lined every wall, along with counters and display cases full of curiosities. She walked through the first main room to find a miniature labyrinth of rooms, all filled with books and various items. She began to feel overwhelmed and unsure of where exactly she should look.
This was a stupid idea. She thought to herself. I should go. She turned around and started towards the door, when the man from behind the counter stepped around the corner in front of her. Emily almost walked right into him.
“Oh my God I’m sorry!” she said. She pulled her hair back behind her ear and looked up at the clerk. She felt small and suddenly very shy standing in front of him. It wasn’t that he was extremely tall, he was probably only a few inches taller than her. But his shoulders were wide and he held himself with an air of confidence. It was oddly alluring to Emily, which was strange since she wasn’t attracted to men. Especially men that were this masculine.
“No, I’m sorry. I should know better by now than to go walking around these dang corners so fast. We really need to get some round mirrors up in here,” he said. He had dark blonde hair that was long and overgrown. It covered his ears and blended into his dark blonde-reddish beard. His eyes were a bright and shocking blue, and they lit up when he smiled at her. “My name is Jeremy. You look a little overwhelmed. Is there something specific you’re looking for?”
“Um, I’m not exactly, uh sure,” Emily stuttered. “I was uh, looking for some books on dreams maybe? And maybe some books on other things. I don’t know.”
“Dreams, huh? I got you.” He shot her finger guns and spun around. "Follow me.”
Jeremy led her down the narrow hallway, taking a right into one of the rooms. Emily followed slowly, looking around at the walls and shelves. She walked past a tapestry hanging on the wall. It was forest green with black print. Celtic knot work surrounded a large pentacle. She admired the cloth and the shape from her dreams flashed in her mind.
“Okay. Here are some books we have on dreams and dream interpretations. And if you’re feeling really wild we also have a lot of books on astral projection and shamanic path working.” He gestured to the shelves, pointing out each small category as he spoke.
“I’m not really familiar with any of those things,” she said. “I’m really just looking for information on dreams right now. Is there a specific book you could recommend?”
Jeremy bit his lip and ran his hands up and down his blue flannel shirt, before putting his hands in his back pockets.
“This is really bad of me to say, since I work here and I’m supposed to sell you stuff. But honestly, if you’re into learning more about your dreams you don't need any of these books. They’re all useless.”
Wonderful . Emily thought to herself. “Okay,” she said. “Then what exactly would you recommend?”
“Well you see, dreams are very personal and unique to each subconscious. There is no one book that can tell you what your dreams mean, because the same dream can mean very different things for different people. I would recommend keeping a very detailed dream journal.” Jeremy said.
Emily felt her lips turn down while the feeling of this being a giant mistake hardened in her gut.
“Once you have a few months of dreams logged,” he continued, “you can go back and start picking out specific images and themes that you find repeat themselves in your dreams. From that you can create your own index.” He stopped himself. He looked down at her and noticed she suddenly looked very defeated. “Did I say something to upset you?” he asked.
“No,” she said. “It’s just that I have been doing exactly that for months and it doesn't seem like it has gotten me anywhere.”
His eyes perked up and he snapped his fingers. “You know what? There is a book that explains the process really well. Better than I could honestly. Dreams aren’t so much my thing. Follow me this way.” He walked past her and head into another room.
“You know it's really okay,” Emily called after him. She sighed and started following him into the next room. “I appreciate the effort, but I don’t think you’re going to be able to help me.”
He pulled a large blue book of a shelf and turned around to present it to her. “Now don’t let the title scare you. This book is kind of a classic. It’s full of a lot of garbage and misleading information, but in between a lot of that is some really good stuff. There is a whole section on dreams and how to make your own dream index.” Jeremy handed the large book to Emily. She looked down at the blue cover and immediately noticed the large pentacle in the middle of the cover. The title read Stagburg's Complete Guide to Witchcraft . She wasn't sure what to say. She had come in hoping to learn about dreams. But feeling much too nervous to mention that her dreams seem to be about magic, and this guy hands her a book with an image right from her dreams on the cover.
Witchcraft? She thought to herself. “You seem to carry a lot of garbage,” she said, still staring at the book.
Jeremy laughs. “Well I am a bit biased,” he said. “We do carry a lot of really amazing stuff. And like I said, this is a classic. I just like to remind folks that there are pros and cons to anything. You can’t believe everything you read, but you also shouldn’t completely ignore a book just because some of it is a bit outdated. Or misleading. Or just completely and totally wrong.”
“So how do you know so much about this stuff? What’s good and what isn’t?” She looked up at him.
Jeremy’s confidence shifted to nervousness and he opened his mouth, pausing before answering her. “Uh, you know… working here for so long. You learn a lot of things.”
Almost as if his confidence transferred to Emily, she started to feel a little bolder. Her shyness began to fade.
“I just find it strange that I came in here looking for something that I was too nervous to ask about and you just handed me a book about it,” she said.
He pulled his head back and looked at her at an angle. “Really?” he asked, “You said you were looking for books about dreams.”
“I am. Or, I was,” she said, “But my dreams seem to have something to do with magic. They had this symbol in them.” She traced her finger along the pentacle embossed on the cover.
“Interesting,” Jeremy said. Very interesting, he thought. “But you don’t know anything about this stuff? Magic? Witchcraft?” he asked.
Emily laughed. “No. Not at all. I mean a feel a little silly standing in here at all. Two days ago I would have told you that magic is when an actor pulls a rabbit out of a hat. Make believe. Like witches.”
“Well, like I said, you can’t believe everything you read. Some people would argue that witches are very real,” he said. “Witchcraft is as old as humanity, really. Every culture has practiced witchcraft in some form or another. It just goes by different names.”
“And you know all this just from working here?” Emily asked. She was still feeling oddly confident. And she began to notice that she felt extremely comfortable talking to Jeremy. It felt like they were old friends.
Jeremy noticed it too. He was always friendly with customers, usually borderline flirty. Even with male customers. But he was feeling an urge to be strangely honest with Emily about things he usually kept very private. He had felt this way in the past and it usually meant that he needed to go with his gut.
“You know, I’m a h
orrible salesman for even suggesting this, but you could skip buying this book altogether and we could talk about all of this stuff over coffee or something,” he said, immediately feeling like he went too far.
“Are you asking me out on a date?” she said, disappointingly.
He waved his hands in front of his chest and stepped back a few inches. “No. No not at all,” Jeremy said. “I mean- not that I wouldn’t want to ask you on a date, you’re very pretty and all. But I’m really just trying to be nice. I feel like maybe I can help you figure out what’s going on.” Jeremy scratched his beard nervously.
“Ah, I see. Well that’s good. Because I’m into women,” she said.
“Perfect!” Jeremy said. “Sorry, I just mean-”
Emily chuckled and interrupted him, “It’s okay.” She looked down at the book again and then back at Jeremy. She was surprised she was even considering his offer. Maybe she could just buy this book and try the dream stuff it said. She might even learn more about what she is seeing in her dreams. Would it be weirder to buy a book on witchcraft, or to meet up with a total stranger to discuss witchcraft? All of the courage that had been building inside of Emily began to dissolve, and she began to feel as crazy as she felt when she entered the store.
“You know, I appreciate the invitation. Thank you.” She handed the book back to Jeremy. “But I’m going to have to pass.”
“Oh, okay. No problem,” Jeremy said. He put the book back on the shelf and started walking to the front counter. He grabbed a business card for the shop and wrote his phone number on the back. “Let me give you my number. No pressure at all, but if you do happen to change your mind, or if you think of a specific question, just call or text me. Anytime.” He handed the card to Emily, smiling warmly at her. She took the card and thanked him.
As she was making her way through the door, the bells jingled again above her head and she heard Jeremy yell behind her.
“Do come back soon, dream girl!”
Emily felt her cheeks turn red and she smiled to herself, not looking back to see his face.
CHAPTER SEVEN
CLAIRE’S HAIR WAS wet and braided into tight pigtails. In a pink terry cloth robe, she vacuumed the large rug in the living room. Paint it Black by The Rolling Stones blared loudly through the television speakers, and a misty layer of incense was floating slightly below the ceiling of the entire first floor. She finished vacuuming and shoved the vacuum into the hall closet. The door wouldn’t close, so she leaned her whole body into it, pushing it harder until it clicked. She ran up the staircase, taking two steps at a time. In her room she removed her robe, and hung it on a hook on the back of her bedroom door. Walking over to an old floral armchair in the corner of her room, she shuffled through a pile of clean clothes draped over the back of it. She chose a pair of soft black sweatpants, pulling them on as she shifted back and forth to pull them up over her hips. She grabbed an old blue shirt and pulled it over her head. As she walked back down the stairs, Jeremy entered through the front door carrying a small brown bag.
“You’re home! Did you remember the candles?” Claire asked him.
“Yes Ma’am!” Jeremy said. He tossed her the bag and she jumped forward fast, bending down and barely catching them before they hit the floor.
“Dude!” she yelled at him. “You could have broken them!”
“But you caught them!” he chuckled. “Cat like reflexes, I tell ya.”
Claire rolled her eyes and brought the candles into the dining room. “They’re going to be here any minute,” she said. “Can you help me get the room set up?”
Jeremy was already halfway up the stairs. “I’m just going to shower real quick and I’ll be back down to help.”
Claire set the candles on a large mantle that was mounted on a wall in the dining room. The room was virtually empty except for a small table against a blank wall, and four large pillars sitting in each corner of the room. She bent down to her hands and knees in the dining room and began rolling up the rug in the dining room. As she rolled the rug a large white circle painted on the hardwood floor was revealed. She strained to pull the rug up on its end, and she took quick short steps as she carried it into the small side hallway and leaned it in the corner. She walked back into the room and one by one, grabbed each pillar. They are so tall they reach her shoulders, and dried white wax dropped down every side. She placed them on the circle. One for East, South, West, and North. She pushed a new candle into each pillar as the doorbell rang.
Claire turned the music down and yelled, “You may enter!” She looked to the door to see Tanner and Olivia walking in together, each with a bag in one hand and a small locked box in the other. Tanner was tall and slim. He wore a long gray coat and black dress shoes. Underneath his thick eyebrows, square black glasses framed his blue eyes. His brown hair was trimmed short, and it blended into his short manicured beard. He smiled and hugged Claire. She could smell cologne on his neck and could make out the fresh detergent scent that lingered on his shirt. Olivia stood just behind Tanner. She was wearing a green velvet coat, and her black dreadlocks were pulled back by a thick leather band into a low ponytail. Her eyes lit up when she saw Claire and she smiled wide, showing all of her perfect teeth. Claire always loved her smile, and thought that it made her appear innocent and unassuming. Her positivity radiated off her so much that she improved people’s moods wherever she went. Others could feel it, but Claire could actually see it. A soft yellow and green glow hovered around her, and it ignited a rare kind of happiness in Claire. They hugged and kissed each other’s cheeks.
“Hello loves,” Claire said. “You can bring the food into the kitchen. I was just getting the circle room ready and Jeremy should be down in a minute.”
Tanner and Olivia took off their shoes and set their heavy briefcases on the floor. They carried their paper bags into the kitchen, and emptied an array of food onto the table that sat in the middle of the kitchen. They met Claire back in the living room and took a seat.
Jeremy came back downstairs, his hair wet and hanging in his face. “Hey guys,” he said as he walked into the living room. He hugged Olivia and Tanner. “Where’s Allison?”
“She texted me that she was going to be five or ten minutes late,” Claire said.
“What’s new?” Tanner said. “She’s always late.”
Olivia looked at Tanner and smiled. “And we love her anyway,” she said.
Just then the front door opened and Allison stepped inside. “Sorry I’m late guys. You wouldn’t believe what happened to me on my way over here.”
As she spoke she kicked her shoes off and carried a bag of chips into the kitchen. As she walked farther away, she yelled so everyone could hear her, and continued talking. She was short and wore a thick brown and black flannel shirt. She had dark reddish brown hair that wound in tight curls and bounced at ear level, sometimes covering her freckled face and round cheeks. Her dark brown eyes became wider as she spoke.
“I was pulling out of the parking lot at the gas station, and this dude just walks right out in front of me. He’s wearing all black so I can barely see him and I slam on my breaks, right?” She plops down on a large cushion on the floor. “And right when I slam on my breaks- just barely missing this guy, this jerk in a pickup truck slams into the back of my car.” She slaps her hands together and the four of them jump with surprise. “He gets out of his truck and starts yelling at me, calling my a lazy dyke and all that. I actually have to call the police on this dude.”
Tanner looked at her, with no emotion on his face and said, “You do know that you need to call the police whenever you have an accident, right?”
Allison stared back at him for a moment, ignoring that he said anything at all before she continued. “So the cops come and I forget that my insurance lapsed. I am freaking out, right?”
“So how are you not in jail?” Claire asked.
“Turns out Danielle paid for my insurance last month and it’s all up to date,” Allison laughed. �
�I was so freaked though you guys, it was crazy.”
“Well I’m glad you got here safely,” Jeremy said. “That all sounds pretty uh, pretty crazy.”
“Yeah so sorry I’m late. What did I miss?” Allison said.
“Nothing actually,” Claire said. “We all just sat down and then you got here.”
Tanner shifted in his seat. “Since we pushed the time back a little bit, we should probably get started soon. The sun is down and I can’t stay too late tonight. I’m swamped at work right now.”
“Sure, no problem,” Jeremy said. “Before we start though, I do want to mention that I met a woman at the shop today that was really interesting.”
“Blonde or brunette?” Claire asked, grinning.
“Brunette,” he said. “But no! Not like that.” He scratched his beard and brushed his hair out of his eyes. “No like, I got the vibe from her. Like I know her. Like she’s one of us.”
“Ahh.” Claire shook her head and rolled her eyes dramatically. “Just what we need, another woman in the coven.”
“I’m fine with another woman in the coven.” Allison held her finger up as if she was voting. A huge smile on her face.
“Is Danielle fine with another woman in the coven?” Olivia joked at her. Allison quickly brushed her hand toward Olivia, pretending to dust the comment away.
“Does she practice?” Tanner asked.
“No actually. I don’t think she knows anything about any of this really. She seemed confused and really uncomfortable in the store.”
When Witches Wake Page 3