by Gemma Jace
Grandma Tilly turned her attention to Luna, raising an eyebrow, “What can I help you with, dear?”
Luna swallowed hard. She wasn’t used to being the one talking in the room. She usually preferred to be the one listening to others talk, even in an intimate setting such as this. But she needed answers, so there was no better time to get out of her comfort zone.
“I wanted to ask you about the stories you told River... The ones about wiccans hiding things inside of trees.”
“Ah yes. Those were always River’s favorite stories as a child,” She warmly glanced at her grandson.
River grinned at his grandmother and nodded, but as soon as she turned her gaze from him, he stopped grinning and shook his head as he mouthed the word “no”.
Luna snickered. Grandma Tilly cut her eyes at River, knowing him well enough to realize he had done something silly.
“My grandmother told me the stories of the wiccans when I was just a little girl. She said they had to go into hiding or risk being burned alive. They had to rid themselves of all belongings that would connect them to their practices. And the main thing that did that was their grimoire books.”
“Why did people try to kill them?” Luna asked, leaning in close for the answer.
“The town folks began to accuse them of cursing people with all manner of illnesses, from a baby getting the hog pox to the crops not yielding favorably. Everything bad was said to be their fault. Soon, the women who had been known as wiccans started to be found hung from trees with their eyes gouged out.”
“That’s terrible,” Luna said. It was upsetting to hear what the town folks had done, but not at all surprising. Being different was the reason she and the rest of the cursed lived in the small town of Green Brook, far away from any of the other cities. Far away from judging eyes that would one day turn to fear and violence.
“Yeah, no kidding,” River said, “You never told me that version of the story.”
“You were too young to hear such things,” she said patting River’s hand. “The wiccans took their books of potions and spells and enchanted great oak trees to absorb them into itself to keep them safe until they could retrieve them when it was once again safe for their kind and...”
“Knock, knock. Tilly? Are you here?” It was Grandma Tilly’s best friend from the next cottage over.
“I’m here,” Grandma Tilly called out, “I’ll be right there.” She got up from the table, “I almost forgot. I promised Ann I would help her can tomatoes today. I’ll be back soon, dear.” She gave River a kiss on the forehead and left the kitchen, meeting Mrs. Ann at the front door.
Inside River’s room, there was a dark brown bag sitting on his bed. He looked inside to discover his grandmother had already neatly packed his belongings. If only she had someone to care for her that way. Her mother did nothing for her. She had to do everything for herself while her mother sat, watched, and criticized every little thing she did. Then there were days like that day when she became so angry she would become violent, which seemed to increase with each passing year.
“Well, I guess grandma got you out of work,” River said.
“No, grandma got you out of work. I just came for the lemonade.” She sat down on the ruffled blue bedspread and crossed her legs while she flicked her long ponytail. She waited for one of River’s witty comebacks, but one never came. He just stared at her. He had been doing that a lot lately, and she didn’t understand why. Was he starting to see the cursed skin on her face as ugly? That’s what it was... ugly. But River never paid any mind to it until recently. She uncrossed her legs and turned away from his lingering gaze.
“Are we going to get your things now?” He sat down next to her. His dark eyes were wide and shiny, like a little boy asking his mom for a treat.
How could she tell him at this moment that she would say goodbye to him on this very day? She couldn’t, not when he had such a sweet hopeful look on his face.
“My mom is in a really bad mood. Maybe we should wait until later.”
“We can take her some of Grandma’s cobbler. That way, she’ll be more receptive to us telling her you’re leaving.”
Luna snorted a laugh. Her mother would go against anything she tried to do. Even though the woman hated the sight of her and wished for her to go away many times, she would try to stop her from leaving just because it was something Luna wanted to do.
Luna reached into her bag and took out the book. She opened the book to the page of the curse cure and read the ingredients out loud, “Hand full of pine needles. Batch of spotted owl feathers. Slip of yew, sting of platypus, three drips of dragon’s blood, pinch of ground cockle shells, lock of noble hair, and water of the sea.” She wrinkled up her nose, “I don’t understand most of these ingredients. They have to mean something different. Maybe the wiccans wrote them in code so no one could use their magic.”
River took the book from her and looked at it, “It’s not written in code. I’ve heard of these things.” He gave the book back to her.
“Really?”
“Yeah. You can find most of those things in the towns along the train route. My grandma and I used to go shopping and exploring during the train layovers when we would visit my uncle in Coastal City.”
He and Grandma Tilly would leave Green Brook once a year to visit his uncle. They would always be gone for almost two months. Those days were the worst for Luna. She spent most of her time in the orchard reading adventure books she would borrow from their school teacher. How lonely those days were. She couldn’t imagine spending every day for the rest of her life like that. There was no way she could survive that kind of solitude.
“I know how I can go with you to the Eastern Islands!” she shouted.
River furrowed his brow and tilted his head, “Me too... get on a train and then a boat. It’s called modes of transportation.”
“I mean, I know how I can go with you and live.” She smoothed her hand over the page in the book, “I can give myself the cure.” She closed the book and stood, grabbing her bookbag and putting the book inside. “We can collect the ingredients in the towns that the train stops in. By the time we get to Coastal City, I can make the potion and take it, then I will look like everyone else and everything will be ok.”
River watched her fumble with her bag as she slung it over her shoulder. She stopped and stared at him, waiting for him to say something, hoping that he wouldn’t call her crazy and refuse to take part in her plan.
He shrugged, “If it means you’ll come with me, I’m in.”
Luna jumped straight in the air and clapped, pulling a joyous laugh from River. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you excited before. I like it.”
Before they left to go to Luna’s, River cut a huge slice of blackberry cobbler, put it on a small plate with pink flowers on it, and wrapped it with a tea towel embroidered with pink and yellow ducks. All the excitement she felt a moment ago dissipated and slowly turned into dread. Luna could only hope that the pretty-wrapped cobbler would cool her mother’s fierce temper.
CHAPTER 3
LUNA’S HEART THUMPED against her chest as she and River approached the cottage. She had half a mind to turn around and run in the other direction. The yellow painted stone shone brightly in the sun. Reaching white flowers creeped on dark green vines on the front of the house. She loved the cottage because her father painted it and planted the flowers, making it look beautiful. She hated it because of all the ugliness that lived inside. She gripped tightly to the white shoulder straps of her bag. Her breath became shallow, and the cottage began to blur. She stopped and turned away, closing her eyes, trying hard to steady her wobbly legs before they failed.
“What’s the matter?” River asked as he put his hand on her shoulder. He had never seen her this way. It was a familiar feeling for her, but she made sure no one would ever see it. “You’re shaking.”
“I’m ok...,” she whispered. “The molasses lemonade disagreed with me,” she lied. She couldn’t let h
im know her weakness. Her father had raised her to be strong, and she was ashamed of these uncontrollable episodes she would get whenever she became overwhelmed, which usually happened when dealing with her mother.
River dug in his pocket and took out a red and white-striped peppermint candy, “Here, suck on this. Grandma says peppermint helps with nausea.” He unwrapped the candy and put it to her lips.
She took the candy into her mouth, wanting to keep up the facade of a simple belly ache. The sweet spicy peppermint filled her mouth and nose, which, to her surprise, actually helped. She opened her eyes, focusing on River’s face. Her blurred vision cleared. She took a deep breath before smiling at River. “Thank you. That helped a lot.”
They walked through the front door to find Luna’s mother sleeping in a white wooden rocking chair. She looked so peaceful when she slept, even pretty and youthful. She woke with a jolt when River purposely slammed the door to wake her. Her eyes were red and puffy as if she had been crying. Luna stood next to the fireplace, which was the point furthest from where her mother sat.
“Hi Mrs. Dale,” River greeted her as he walked over and handed her the decorative package, “My grandma sent some blackberry cobbler over for you.”
She took the cobbler and stood. Her washed out gray dress was wrinkled, and she was barefoot. She only looked that way when she was having an especially bad day, which was more often in the past few weeks.
“Tell Mrs. Tilly I said thank you.” Her voice was hoarse from yelling all morning. She looked at the grandfather clock that sat to the side of the fireplace, “It’s only twelve noon. Why aren’t you two in school?”
“I’m leaving today to go live with my uncle.”
“Good for you. At least you can get out of this wretched place.” She sat the cobbler down on the fireplace mantle, glaring at Luna, “That explains why he is not in school. Why are you not in school?” Her tone was icy as she spoke to her daughter.
Luna wanted to be honest and tell her, right then and there, that she was leaving and never coming back, but the words wouldn’t come out. She looked down at the floor. Her stomach churned, threatening to expel its contents.
“She has to pack her things. That’s why we’re here. She’s leaving with me today,” River said in a voice so pleasant you would think he was talking to her about daffodils and rainbows.
“What?!” Her mother shot an evil look at River.
“We’re leaving,” River shrugged.
“You’re not going anywhere! I had to stay in this shit hole, wasting my life, trying to keep you safe, and now you want to go and be around people who will treat you like a pariah!” her mother shouted. “No one wants to be around a cursed girl. Yours is worse than most with that ugly white face.”
What her mother was saying was true. No one wanted to be around an ugly, cursed girl. If it wasn’t for the book she found, she would have never considered leaving Green Brook for fear of being targeted. Her mother always warned her about how people would treat her outside of town.
“I know my face is ugly, but I’ve found something that will make it better,” she whispered, still looking down at the floor.
“How stupid can you be? Don’t you think if there was something that made it better someone would have found it by now? You’re just being dumb, as usual.”
“Well then, you should be happy to get rid of me!” The words flew out of her mouth before she realized it. She never talked back to her mother for fear of being beaten. But today was different. Maybe it was because River was there with her, or maybe it was because she knew this was her last day there.
A hard fist slammed down on the top of her head, causing her ears to ring. Her mother grabbed Luna’s hair by one hand as she whaled on her with the other. Luna threw her arms up to deflect some of the blows. Her mother was small, but strong, and each hit felt like hammers pounding away at her flesh. Suddenly, her mother was ripped away from her, taking a hand full of curly locks with her. River had come to her rescue, slinging her mother across the room, landing her on her backside in front of the rocking chair. He grabbed Luna, who was standing there, red faced and stunned, and pulled her out the door by the arm. They ran through the orchard. Luna’s mother ran after them, yelling obscenities, only stopping to pick up rocks and throw them at the two.
They finally stopped running when they were past the orchard, well into the green field beyond. Luna looked back to see if her mother was still chasing, but she wasn’t. Mother was a fast runner, but she couldn’t keep up with them running barefoot.
Luna sank to the ground, her lungs burning and her head throbbing. She laid back into the grass and gazed up at the powdery blue sky. River laid on the ground beside her, struggling to catch his breath. Running in the blazing midday heat was excruciating, and it took them a while to recover.
Once their panting ceased, River turned his head to look at Luna. “Your mom is nuts.” He sat up on one elbow and inspected Luna’s head and face. “Are you hurt?”
“I’ve had worse,” Luna said, trying her best to sound collected.
River smoothed down the top of her hair where the damaged strands were sticking out. He stood, grabbed her by the hands, and pulled her up, “Don’t worry, we’ll find you some stuff to take with you. You’ll never have to go back to that house again.”
Grandma Tilly took no time picking out clothes she found that had belonged to River’s late mother. Luna carefully folded them and packed them into her bookbag. Grandma Tilly wanted to give her a whole suitcase to travel with, but Luna refused, preferring to travel light. She figured the less she had to carry, the easier it would be to grab her things and go if trouble ever found her.
Grandma Tilly hugged and kissed them both, promising she would see them in a few months. River begged her to go with them, but she insisted that she had things to do and that she and Mrs. Ann would travel together to the Eastern Islands to stay for a few months. That news seemed to make him feel better. They left, headed for the train station.
Standing on the station platform, Luna looked out across the tracks at the open, green field. In a strange way, she would miss this place. Growing up in the country was magical for her. She recalled all the days she and River would go on hikes through the countryside, chasing brown baby bunnies, and picking wildflowers to take home to Grandma Tilly. Everything was perfect there, when she was away from home.
That brought her to the realization that she loved the town of Green Brook, and the only thing that made it unbearable was her mother. How could one person taint an entire town? With that thought, her heart raced. She would hate for her mother to show up there, making a scene and hitting her, although there was no one there to see but River and the train station master. She and River were the only two taking the train that day. Luna wasn’t surprised. People rarely left Green Brook.
The solitary forlorn train whistle cried out in the distance. The rising billowy smoke from the steam engine could be seen at a great distance, long before the train came into view, giving Luna jitters of excitement and dread all mingled together in a ball of anticipation. She glanced at River who was staring at her, smiling, as he often did when he looked at her. She conjured up a half smile to answer him before turning away. She grabbed her stomach, feeling the churning inside. The whistle blew again as the engine came into view.
The black steam engine she had seen so many times before was now the color of red, much like the school house barn, only it was shiny and smooth, reminding her of the jar of gumballs that sat on the counter of the general store. It was magnificent.
The train chugged to the platform, spitting and spewing steam as it passed, screeching to a stop. She could hear, through the open windows of the passenger car, the conductor shout, “Last stop, Green Brook.”
Three women dressed in fancy dresses and big hats scurried off the train with their bags, giggling and discussing the boys they came to visit. Luna had heard about the reason why some men and women came to visit the town. They had a
‘preference’ for the cursed skin. In most cases, the more spots someone had on their skin, the more they were liked, collecting all manner of gifts and trinkets from the visitors.
After a few minutes, the conductor hopped down from the steps and shouted, “All aboard.” He tipped his blue hat to them as they approached. “Tickets please.” He held out his jet-black hand. Luna handed him her ticket first. The conductor stamped it with a silver hole puncher that left a triangular shape on the ticket. Luna climbed the three stairs into the train.
The deep-red leather seats sat against gleaming polished wood. Luna took her backpack off and put it on top of the brass suitcase railing overhead. She sat down, looking out of the window at the green field once again. Was this really happening or was she dreaming? She never thought she would leave her hometown, and at that very moment, she promised herself she would never return.
River threw his bag up on top of the railing before plopping down beside her. He reclined the seat right away, putting his hands behind his head.
“This is it, Luna. We are officially starting our new lives.”
Luna didn’t answer him. She continued staring out of the window. Where was mother? She knew she was crazy, but part of her was disappointed that her mother didn’t care enough to come and try to stop her from leaving, no matter how dysfunctional her methods might have been. She really was better off leaving with River. There was nothing left for her in this town without him.
The whistle blew two long toots, then pulled forward with a jerk.
“Leaving Green Brook,” the conductor said, walking down the aisle. “Next stop... Castleberry.”
CHAPTER 4
THE TRAIN SNAKED ITS way around the mountain, bringing the city of Castleberry into view. In the distance, sitting on a great hill stood a white stone castle with peaks of light blue reaching high in the sky. Luna gasped at the sight of it. In the gully, at the base of the hill, sat many large white-roofed red brick houses nestled among pink flowering trees which perfumed the air like the sweet scent of vanilla cake batter.