In the Forest of Light and Dark

by Kasniak, Mark

  “Wow! That’s some good laughing. Is that some form of Tourette’s, or are you just laughing at how fucking retarded all these assholes around here are?” A voice suddenly said to me from across my table.

  I looked up and saw that it was her. The Goth girl—Katelyn. She was sitting at the opposite end of my table looking straight at me. I couldn’t believe that in my fit I hadn’t seen her come into the cafeteria or even had noticed her sit down in front of me for that matter.

  “Excuse me.” I said finally getting a hold of myself. “Hello.”

  “Hi, there,” she said, giving me the tiniest of a little coy smile. “You’re the new girl in the village, aren’t you?”

  “Y-Yeah,” I said a bit more tentative than I would’ve liked. “I just moved here from Alabama last month. My name is, Cera… Cera Singer.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Cera.” She then said, sounding sincere, and it was the first time since I’d arrived in Mt. Harrison that anybody had said that to me and had actually meant it. “I’ve noticed that it has taken you only about a day or two to piss off half of the entire school and get yourself alienated from the rest of the robots. Very well-done,”

  “Yeah, well, I’m not really sure how I did that myself. But it seems like I’ve done a pretty good job of it.” I told her baring a little sense of pride from her wayward compliment, but at the same time feeling a little embarrassed.

  “Well, you shouldn’t feel bad about it.” Katelyn then said jokingly as she looked around the cafeteria. “You should be proud of it. ALL THESE PEOPLE ARE FUCKING PATHETIC AND IGNORANT!” She then shouted out raising her voice to a crescendo and I caught the bitches’ table start to look our way. Accompanied by the gawking glares of all the other students at the surrounding tables.

  “I’m Katelyn Partin, but my friends call me Kat.” She then said.

  “It’s nice to meet you Katelyn. I—”

  “Call me Kat.” she said. Suddenly cutting me off mid-sentence.

  “Oh, okay,” I replied. “Kat, I happened to have seen what you did to that boy Erik Myers yesterday. And let me just say that I was thoroughly impressed with your work.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Katelyn said, giving me that smile of hers again before turning to look Erik’s way. “It got me three days worth of detention, but it was worth it. I can’t stand those jerks over there.” She then nodded towards the bitches and their meatheads. “I would take detention every day for the rest of my life if I could just spit in their faces daily.”

  “Why are they like that?” I asked her beseechingly. “I mean, do they automatically hate you because you dress somewhat differently or something? Kinda like how they hate me for being from the South?”

  “No.” Katelyn then said flippantly while letting out a little giggle. “They hate me because I’m a witch, and that’s a big no-no in Mount Harrison.”

  “What?” I asked flabbergasted. “What do you mean, you’re a witch?”

  “Just what I said. I’m a witch.”

  “There are no such things as witches.” I responded back to her dismissively.

  “Sure there are.” She said, and then she pulled out a pentagram medallion that she wore under her shirt as a necklace. It appeared as if made from silver and at its center and on each point it had weird symbols that I couldn’t quite make out. It had instantly made me think of the pentagram I’d seen done up in white paint and salt on the basement floor of my grandmother’s house. My house.

  “Cool.” I said acting like I wasn’t the least bit freaked out. “So, what do you like worship the Devil and sacrifice animals and stuff?”

  “No,” she laughed. “We don’t do anything of the sort. In fact, I’m a vegetarian.”

  “Are you like one of those people who practice Wi... Wic...”

  “Wicca,” she answered, finishing my thought. “Yes. I’m a Dianic Wiccan to be precise.”

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “It’s just like any other religion you could say. But in ours, we get to cast spells, make potions, and we pray to our gods like, Lady Hecate, the mother of all of us witches. And, as a Dianic Wiccan. I’m also allowed to place curses on people, unlike some other Wiccans.”

  “Is that what you did to Erik Myers yesterday?” I asked her while feeling a thrill of excitement begin to billow up from within me.

  “Yeah, just a little one.” She said.

  “What was it?” I asked, but then I thought that it mightn’t be something I had the right to inquire about.

  Katelyn peered back over her shoulder at Erik and I caught him looking our way briefly before quickly averting his eyes. Which suggested to me that we were making him feel uncomfortable. Katelyn then turned back to me, leaned forward, stretching herself across the table so she could come close and said, “I put a curse on him that his dick would shrivel up and fall off.”

  “WHAT?” I said almost shouting with laughter before covering my mouth. “No, you didn’t.”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “Will it work?” I then asked her sounding like I was five-years-old again and believing that such things were real. I mean... C’mon, Cera, what’s next? Are you going to ask her if she’s got a spell that will make Santa bring me that pony I’d wished for when I was eight?

  “We’ll see.” Katelyn slowly whispered and then looked back at Erik again. “It might be hard to tell if the hex has worked given how small his pecker was in the first place.”

  With that I found myself laughing uncontrollably again for the second time that period. And for the first time since having moved to Mt. Harrison, I actually felt like I had a friend other than whatever stray had decided to walk with me to school that day or show up in my yard looking for a free meal. But before I realized just how late in the period it had gotten the bell rang out with its series of dull bongs.

  “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then?” Katelyn said to me as we both got up from our seats. But then, remembering that I had made plans to play hooky tomorrow I told her, “Well, actually... I may be absent tomorrow.”

  Katelyn then gave me a queer look as if I was pulling her chain and asked, “So, what… You got a doctor’s appointment or something?”

  At that point we were both beginning to make our way out of the cafeteria so I just went ahead and told her my plans. “No, actually. I was planning on ditchin’ school tomorrow.”

  “Whoa... Cera, your kind of a bad ass, aren’t you?” she then said to me, and I actually kind of felt a little like a bad ass at that moment. “Is this something you just do alone, or do you mind if I tag along?” she then asked.

  HOLLY SHIT! I thought. She wants to hang out with me?

  “N-N-No,” I said, stammering a little. “Sure... If, you want to hang out that’d be great. I was just plannin’ on spendin’ the day doin’ a little hiking in the forest.”

  Katelyn then told me, “Cool, I’m in.” and before we parted ways she gave me her cell number, and I then entered it into my phone. She then said, “Call me tonight.” to which I responded with just, “Okay.” before we went our separate ways.

  For a minute or so I continued to just stand there outside of the cafeteria completely frozen in time and thinking about how wild and strange my day had been so far. And, as I watched Katelyn make her way down the hall. I saw as the other kids whom were still in the corridor began turning their heads, one after another to gawk at her as she passed them by. It had made me think that there might be a little truth to this witch thing around here after all. Not that witches were real of course, but in the mere fact that there were still people out there who seemed to believe in them and even believed that she was one of them. This belief seemed to have given her a power over them that for the lack of a better word might be considered advantageous.

  That night I had called Katelyn informing her of my plan on getting away with ditching school the next day scot-free. She had told me that it would work out just fine with her if I wanted to stop back at home for a bit in the morni
ng. Saying it would give her a little extra time to sleep in. Then, as long as I had her on the phone I had thought about asking her what it was she was planning on telling her parents when they would surely ask her why she wasn’t at school. But I didn’t bother asking though. Electing to just leave that up to being her business. Besides, Katelyn seemed like the type of girl who did what she wanted, when she wanted, and people be damned if they didn’t like it, even her parents. And who knows? Maybe, she’ll put a memory erasing spell on them and they’ll forget all about her transgressions.

  My Strange Day Off

  The next day before I had left for school, by a stroke of sheer dumb-luck. I had learned that my mama had plans to drive all the way over to Elmira, to the law offices of Schlizmayer & Brown so she could sign some paperwork about her inheritance. I had already known by that point that my Step Daddy Cade was also not going to be home for most of the day too. He had to take his new truck back to the Ford dealership to have a clicking noise in one of its wheel wells investigated. If, everything played out right. I figured I might be the only one home later on when I came home from school. And, if that were the case. Then hopefully there would be a message from the school attendance office on the answering machine that I could just erase before any chance of my parents having listened to it.

  I had grabbed a quick bowl of cereal and then left my house a little after the usual time that I did every day. Reckoning, that if I just walked around the neighborhood a couple of laps. That would expunge enough time for me to show myself back up at home telling my mama that I had forgotten one of my books.

  I had walked to the end of my street and then started to make my way down Hedgeline Lane. Which ran parallel to Redmond Avenue, where the school was located. I had decided to walk down Hedgeline Lane because at its end it just circled in a big loop back in on itself. Ultimately, taking me not far from where it, and the end of my street came together.

  On my way around the loop which was sporadically lined with homes and empty lots filled with trees. I was once again joined by a few of the neighborhood strays. I counted eight in total as they wove themselves in and out of the boskets that stood in between some of the houses and had seemed to work well as a playground for them.

  Halfway around the loop. I had stopped to sit down on the curb for a while as I played with the cats. Figuring that would help to pass the time. As I sat there I watched as a car approached and then slowly rolled passed me. The car’s driver must have noticed me with all my feline friends revealed by the strange look on his face. It was a look that suggested he thought I must’ve looked like an old harridan who had lost her marbles and spent her days walking the streets with her horde of cats in tow like that cat lady from the Simpsons.

  After a while of playing with the felines. I got back up and walked back home. My tabby friends playing follow-the-leader. When I’d arrived. I slipped back into the kitchen through the sliding glass door off the deck. “What are you doing back home?” my mama, asked as she stood at the kitchen counter buttering a piece of toast. “Just forgot one of my books.” I told her before running upstairs pretending to retrieve it. When I came back down. She then said to me, “Remember, I might not be back until later tonight. So, you might be home by yourself for a while if your step daddy isn’t back yet either.” I replied to her, “I know.” somewhat sarcastically as if she had told me that a hundred times already. Then, I quickly shot back out the door claiming that I had to go or else I’d be late for school.

  I had then started walking back down the street again. When I’d reached its end. I took a look at my phone and saw that it was just before 8 a.m. Shit, I thought. Still have another hour to kill before I meet up with Katelyn over in the village square. What-the-hell can I do for the next hour, where nobody will see that I’m not in school?

  I supposed I could’ve just ducked off into the woods and had gone to hang out down by the Genesee River for a while. That would have surely killed an hour. But then I thought about my mama having said something about the people at the cemetery having put my Grandma Lyanna’s headstone in place. So, I just figured I would go see her and see how it looked.

  I had walked the four blocks east it took to get to the cemetery in about five minutes still with three cats in tail. That morning I had brought a sandwich baggy with me that I’d tucked away in my backpack. I had filled it with some of the dry cat food that I’d picked up from a discount store in the village. So I had assumed by then that it was the food that was most likely the culprit as to why the cats stuck with me the whole way and hadn’t lost interest in me yet.

  When I’d arrived at the cemetery. I was almost immediately approached upon by several more cats and even a kitten who was wondering aimlessly. The kitten was a little boy (determined after further examination) and his fur was snow-white. He was the most adorable thing I’d ever seen. As I picked him up, he began meowing at me softly in between periods of purrs. I then held him close to my chest feeling the warmth of his coat. Looking around, his mama was nowhere in sight so I then decided to take him with me as I made my way further down the aisles of graves.

  Helen Overton

  May 1, 1826—February 4, 1834

  Beloved daughter

  Luke Langdon

  April 7, 1847—September 19, 1863

  Son

  These were a few of the names on the graves that I saw as I walked down one of the cemetery aisles. At the time, I couldn’t help but think about how truly weird it was that so many children in this village had died so young over the past three centuries. But then I thought about what I’d heard about Abellona Abbott and the curse she had allegedly placed on the village the day that she died. I mean... The day she’d been murdered. My mind then drifted and I thought of Katelyn. How she had said that she was a witch and could also place curses on people. The whole thing started to give me the creeps, and I found myself hugging the little white kitten even tighter to my chest. Suddenly, there was a series of tiny squeaks that came from him and I’d realized that I might’ve squeezed him a little too tightly. So, I eased up my grasp on him and then began stroking his ivory-colored fur atop his head. Holding him up to my face I gave him a little kiss and told him that I was sorry if I’d hurt him. The last thing I needed was to be not only known around these parts as being a witch. But also for being like that retard Lenny from Of Mice and Men.

  A little further down the aisles I had stopped walking when I had heard a noise behind me. So, I quickly glanced back to see that, at that moment, I might have had better than a dozen or so strays now following me. It was at that point that I had figured that it might be best if I just give them the baggy of food I was carrying so they’d quit stalking me. I had also not wanted the reputation as being known as the girl who had gotten jumped by a gang of cats in the graveyard. That surely would have put a spoiler on my day. I did, however, hold on to a few pieces of food for the kitten before pouring out the rest on the edge of the access road that was running a few aisles over. I then watched as the cats went upon it instantly forgetting all about me.

  I had quickly moved on. Leaving them behind as they fought each other for the food. Soon, I had made my way to the far end of the cemetery where I could see the peaks of the two weeping willows as they came up over the sloping escarpment in which they based their roots.

  As I got closer to my family’s area of the cemetery I had finished feeding the little kitten the last of the cat food I had for him. (Which I had broken up into little pieces that he could handle.) Then, I watched as his eyes began to close as he drifted off to sleep in my arms from a food coma.

  When I had reached the top of the hill where my family’s plots lay at its bottom. I started to make my way down the ‘S’ curved dirt trail that led to the gravesites. As the trail made its way around the first of the two enormous willows I thought I could hear someone speaking from somewhere down near the bottom. Apprehensively, I crept my way further along the trail hoping that it wasn’t my mama. Then, when I could
see the graves come into view. I found myself stopped dead in my tracks. Because it wasn’t my mama’s voice that I had heard, it was Katelyn’s. No wonder I thought I’d recognized it, I thought. She was standing at the foot of my grandmother’s grave and it appeared as if she were praying.

  Quickly, I ducked behind the second of the willows and began peering furtively from behind it while trying to see just what it was she was doing.

  Looking just beyond her. I saw that my mama was right, and that the cemetery people had indeed installed the headstone she had ordered for my Grandma Lyanna’s grave. I could also see lying perched upon it was the black cat I’ve come to know as Midnight.

  Keeping quiet, I watched as Katelyn held in her hand the pentagram she wore around her neck. She used it to draw an invisible pentagram over the ground that encompassed my grandmother’s grave. She then spoke in that strange tongue that I couldn’t understand, but her gestures were much like that of a priest. Like how a clergyman would’ve moved his arms in solemn when he blessed you with the sign of the cross.

  How did Katelyn know my grandmother? I thought. Were they both witches? Did the pentagram I’d seen in my house’s basement have the same meaning as the one Katelyn wore around her neck? Did she and my grandmother use the pentagram in their witchcraft as some sort of shrine? Were Katelyn and my grandmother part of the same cult?

  I then watched Katelyn as she pulled a long needle out of her hair and used it to stab herself in the finger. Which caused me to wince in the process. As she began to bleed. She let the drops of blood fall to the ground all around my grandmother’s grave. She then spoke something in that weird, strange language that I couldn’t understand before bowing her head down to the ground. Almost touching it to the still freshly compacted soil. That’s when I had stepped out from behind the weeping willow. I had just about enough of what I was witnessing.