Night Flight

by Meriam Wilhelm

  “I feel the same way,” I said. “I saw you with Blitz and you seemed like the perfect couple. She smiled, so did you. She laughed, so did you. I just presumed that this was like the other time and even though I love you, it wasn’t enough for you. I just couldn’t let you hurt me again.”

  “Since we got back together, I never once did a thing to hurt you. In fact, I tried to do everything to help you. But, wait. Stop. Go Back. Did you say you love me?” he asked.

  “I did. But that doesn’t matter anymore. You are destined to be with Blitz and there is nothing I can do about it,” I said.

  “Destined to be with Blitz? Olivia, no one is in charge of my destiny, but me and maybe you,” he said. “What is this all about?”

  But there was no way that I could tell him. How would he ever react to being told that I am a witch?

  “Does this have something to do with you being a witch?”

  I froze. “What? What did you say?”

  “I asked if this had anything to do with the fact that you are one crazy witch. I think that there is also something wrong with your cat and who knows what’s going on with this house.”

  I saw Miss Cassandra stop in her tracks and watched as she focused on Jonathan. I heard her internal voice say to me, “Uh Oh.”

  “That’s not a very nice thing to say. What makes you so sure that I’m a witch?” I asked, looking directly at Jonathan for the first time.

  “Well, Harmony told Matt the other night that she is a witch and he told me and I just figured that because you are sisters, you might be too! Plus a lot of weird stuff happens around you and your sisters all of the time,” he said smiling. “Oh, and there’s the fact that that strange woman in the long white dress keeps harassing me about you in my dreams. Rather than trying to make sense out of everything, I thought it was best to just accept the fact that you are a witch; although I have no idea what that really means. I guess you’ll have a lot of explaining to do- - right?”

  OMG, where do we go from here? And why hadn’t Harmony given me a heads up before she spilled her mystical beans?

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  All three girls headed up the stairs towards the dark three story structure.

  “It looks more like a castle to me,” I said, staring up at the tall spike like towers.

  “I think that it looks like an old Victorian manor,” offered Constance.

  “I’m beginning to think that you are both nuts. This house is surely an old Craftsman style house, if anything,” said Harmony.

  “I think that it’s kind of weird that this house apparently takes on a different appearance for each of us. The house must be bewitched don’t you think Harmony?” I asked. There was no way that that house looked like a castle or a craftsman to me. There must be magic involved somewhere.

  “You may be right Olivia because all I see is an old Craftsman style house.”

  “I remember this house and it just looks old and falling apart to me,” suggested Miss Cassandra, whom I had brought along in her paisley cat carrier. What? She had insisted that I take her and I figured that I could use all of the help I could get.

  “How old did you say these witches are?” Miss Cassandra asked. “Never mind; I’m pretty sure that I already know the answer to that question.”

  “I think that it’s better if we don’t go there,” I suggested. “I have no idea how they’ll react to questions like that and I don’t want to tick them off. Dad said they are very powerful witches so who knows what they’ll do to you if you make them mad. I’d prefer to not have you turned into a toad today.”

  “Just let them try,” whispered Miss Cassandra.

  As we reached the top step I noticed that the pentagon door knocker must have had some sort of light source near it because it seemed to be glowing tonight.

  “When was the last time you came here?” I asked.

  “It’s been a month or so, I think,” responded Harmony with a little bit of guilt showing. “Listen, it was my job as the oldest sister to try to get you some help and I knew that I would eventually have to talk to her. I had just hoped to keep you out of it for a while.”

  “Me too,” said Constance.

  “Oh,” was all I could think to say.

  “You’ll be surprised by how attractive our Great-Aunts are. I’ll be curious as to which one you think is the prettiest, not that it really matters,” said Harmony.

  “Don’t forget that I have already met Lavandar. She is tiny, like Gail. Just no lavender hair,” I laughed.

  Taking a deep breath Harmony raised her hand to knock just as the door opened. “How do they do that?” she asked quietly.

  “Hello girls,” said Rue as she silently stepped back to welcome us into her mother’s home. “We’re so glad that you finally found your way back to our door.”

  ______

  Last night had been a long night and Jonathan was exhausted. It had taken forever to convince me that he and Blitz were nothing. He even told me about Blitz’s Australian boyfriend who was arriving next month to compete in the New Moon Beach surf contest.

  I had been caught totally off guard not knowing that Blitz even had a boyfriend; especially one from Australia. And by the time he left my house Jonathan felt pretty confident that they were going to be able to find a way back to each other. He just wished that her darn cat would leave him alone. Everywhere he went, so did that cat. It was as if the cat was keeping tabs on him. And he had never completely resolved the fact that he and that cat had the same color eyes. It really spooked him out.

  Rather than head out to the cottages today, Jonathan decided to take it easy. Grabbing the latest copy of The Sea Breeze, he headed into The Hang Ten determined to indulge himself with a large pot of coffee and their Mega Breakfast. Not five minutes had passed before Larry wandered in and joined him.

  “I didn’t know you’d be here,” Larry said.

  “Yeah, I decided to take it easy today. I was late, really late last night talking to Olivia.”

  “Are you guys okay?” Larry asked tentatively, unsure of what kind of reaction he’d get.

  “I think we will be,” Jonathan responded, glancing over the ads for real estate in the area. “We have to work through a few things. But we had a really good talk and it explained a few things. Did you know that Olivia was convinced that I had a thing for Blitz?”

  “Well, you were spending a lot of time with Blitz and she is quite a looker. I have to admit that there were times that I wondered myself if you and Blitz were becoming something,” Larry said as he checked out today’s specials up on the board.

  “I guess that I didn’t even think about Blitz that way. I considered her family. I just found her a lot of fun to be around and I knew all about her boyfriend.”

  “She has a boyfriend?” asked Larry somewhat surprised.

  “Yeah, his name is Jax and you’ll get a chance to meet him next month. He’s flying in from Australia for the New Moon Beach surf contest,” Jonathan said, adding a touch of cream to his morning coffee.

  “Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that,” said Larry.

  “You are going to enter, aren’t you?” asked Jonathan. Everyone in New Moon Beach knew Larry as a talented surfer so it wasn’t strange to think that he might enter the contest. As far as Jonathan knew, Larry was even a good enough surfer to actually win the contest.

  “I don’t know. We’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t even been near the water,” Larry answered. “Maybe now that we are up and running I can get back to my morning surfing routine. I really do miss the ocean.”

  “Yeah. I have to admit that I’m glad to have things so far along with the cottages. I guess that you and Matt and I need to sit down to discuss getting the stables, a restaurant and groves up and growing next,” said Jonathan. “But I think I also need to put some time into making things right with Olivia. Things have not been the best between us and I guess I didn’t realize how much of my fault that was.”

  Stopping to
reflect for a moment he added, “I feel like there is something else bothering her and she’s not letting me in to share it.”

  “You were acting kind of touchy feely around Blitz for quite a while. I was even pretty sure that there was something going on between you two,” Larry said confessing his true feelings.

  “Oh come on - give it a rest,” Jonathan replied.

  “Well, you do have quite a reputation as a Casanova,” Larry said laughing.

  “Sounds to me like you need to prove yourself to Olivia. That can take some time,” said Larry as he poured himself another cup of coffee from the silver urn.

  “Yeah,” said Jonathan. “And I guess that I’m going to have to get used to the idea of her being a witch.”

  “That’s not very nice,” said Larry. “I like Olivia.”

  “Me too. But that doesn’t change the fact that she’s a witch. So are all of her sisters, but you already knew that I guess.”

  “Jonathan,” said Larry, “What in the heck are you talking about?”

  As if someone had poured cold water in his face, Jonathan froze. Uh Oh. What had he said? Had he said too much? Maybe Larry would not react well to the news. It had certainly taken him a while for it to sink in. Jonathan had just assumed that because they had grown up together in the same town, Larry knew about their special talents.

  “I knew there was something different about them,” Larry said to himself. Dropping a five dollar bill on the table, he stood and told Jonathan he’s seen him later before racing out of The Hang Ten.

  “Oh boy, what have I done now?” Jonathan thought as he dug into his breakfast.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Great-Aunts Olivia, Rue and Lavandar stood quietly in their hall entryway momentarily staring at Harmony, Constance and me before inviting us all into their home. After being escorted into the living room my sisters and I all found a place on the deep red velvet couch as first Rue, then Olivia and finally Lavandar came in behind us carrying tea, cookies and plates with lace napkins.

  “It certainly took you a while to return to us,” started Great-Aunt Rue as she set down the rose porcelain tea pot. “Perhaps my sisters did not make you feel welcome the last time?”

  “Oh no, it wasn’t that,” said Harmony. “We’ve just been very busy with the cottages and our other jobs.”

  “The cottages?” asked Great-Aunt Rue seeming to not know anything about our real estate venture.

  “Don’t act stupid Rue,” said Great-Aunt Olivia. “Just because you don’t get out doesn’t mean that the rest of us don’t. I myself have flown past, there a few times. Nice work girls,” she said with a smile on her face.

  “Your mother would be so proud of you,” said Great-Aunt Lavandar. “She always loved to walk in those hills. I think that what you have done looks marvelous.”

  “You really should come out and see it Great-Aunt Rue,” I said. “I think you’d like it. There are cute little cottages and apple and orange orchards, horses and more. I’d be happy to show you around.”

  “She never goes anywhere,” said Great-Aunt Olivia in a harsh voice.

  “No need to be so witchy sister,” said Great-Aunt Lavandar to her sister Olivia.

  “I might like to come and see what you’ve done,” said Great-Aunt Rue tentatively.”I too remember how much your mother loved that land. It’s been years since I’ve been there.”

  “Whenever you’re ready, just let one of us know,” said Constance with a warm smile. “We’d love to welcome you all to Jasmine’s Cottages By The Sea.”

  “Jasmine’s Cottages……. sounds so sweet,” started Great-Aunt Rue. “It makes me miss your mother all the more.”

  “Enough!” said Great-Aunt Olivia. “Now tell us why you have come and let’s see if I can be of help.”

  “We can be of help,” corrected her sister Rue.

  “Yes, we can be of help,” repeated her sister Lavandar.

  Taking the lead I began, “Um, you mentioned that you flew by the cottages,” I said facing the witch who I was apparently named after. “Did you mean literally?”

  “Why do you ask?” said Great-Aunt Olivia with a curious look on her face.

  “Okay, so here’s the deal. For the past few weeks I’ve been flying in my sleep. I mean, I guess that’s what you call it. I go to sleep in my bed and wake up somewhere else without any knowledge of how or why I traveled,” I said. “And it’s starting to bug me that I never know where I’ll end up once I go to sleep.”

  Having stated my problem, I silently reached down and unlatched Miss Cassandra’s carrier so that she could wander freely. I was surprised that she had not complained about being left in her carrier for so long. I was soon to understand why.

  “Well, well, well Miss Cassandra, how are you?” asked Great-Aunt Olivia. “Are you enjoying your time with my niece?”

  “Far more than I enjoyed my previous servitude to you,” responded Miss Cassandra with a snap in her voice. “Where is your new familiar? I think Sebastian was his name? Or did you run him off too?”

  With the swish of my Great-Aunts’ hand, Miss Cassandra was reunited with her carrier. “Hush cat, you no longer concern yourself with my needs and I do not wish for you to be here,” said Great-Aunt Olivia with a determined voice as the latch to my cat carrier snapped shut; cat snugly inside.

  “Well, I want her here,” I said boldly raising my hand and snapping my fingers to release Miss Cassandra from her carrier. With a loud cry Miss Cassandra exited her carrier and placed herself at my feet in her most protective mode stating, “As you wish my witch, so smote it be.”

  “Oh, my little witch you and your little kitty have spunk. I like that!” said my Great-Aunt. “But you will need more than that to deal with what is happening to you right now.”

  “Just what is happening to my sister?” asked Harmony with concern in her voice. “Why is she being shuttled all over town? And who is doing it?”

  Great-Aunt Lavandar stood and walked slowly towards me. “Olivia, we have all been watching over you as you have grown into your bewitching powers. This is something that my sisters and I promised your mother we would do.”

  “Okay, then why am I being dropped around town without anyone asking my permission? Do you know how embarrassing it is to wake up in someone else’s bed?” I asked.

  “What?” said Harmony.

  Followed quickly by Constance, who asked, “Whose bed did you wake up in?"

  Simultaneously, they chimed in, wanting to know why I hadn’t told them about that particular trip. When had it happened? Did I know the person whose bed I landed in? They had a million questions before I put a stop to their curiosity.

  “Hang on a minute,” I said. “I was really embarrassed and wanted to just forget about it.”

  Great-Aunt Olivia let out a short giggle that I recognized immediately. “You!” I said turning to face her on. “You were in my shop and made a mess of it. Now that was just plain mean. Why would you do something so cruel as that? You scared both Gail and I,” I said in a fury.

  “Settle down Olivia,” my Great-Aunt said in her most dismissive voice. “I was just fooling around. I was simply bored one afternoon and I wanted to see how you would react. I needed to see if your powers were intact or not.”

  “Olivia, that was not kind of you,” Great-Aunt Lavandar said, chastising her sister.

  “Well, she needs to learn better control of her magic and I was just giving her a taste of what might come into her life if she doesn’t,” said Great-Aunt Olivia.

  “Lavandar,” said Harmony. “You said that you three were watching out over my sister Olivia. Were you watching out over Constance and I too?” asked Harmony with a trace of hurt in her voice.

  There was silence in the room as the three sisters looked at each other. Great-aunt Rue started to answer, but Great-Aunt Olivia spoke over her. “As I told you before, your sister is named after me. And although I told you that it was because your mother liked me the best, and I�
��m sure she did, there was another reason.”

  “Let me try to explain,” said Great-Aunt Lavandar. “When your sister was born the Council of Witches was called immediately.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Because, even as an infant, it was apparent that you had inherited the full power of both your mother’s and your father’s witchcraft; that is far too much energy for a toddler, child or even a young woman to control.”

  “So, yes, Harmony we watched after you and Constance,” said Great-Aunt Lavandar. “But we did so because we loved your mother and we love you. We did not fear, for you as we did for your sister, Olivia. The Council worried that some negative force would attempt to steal your sisters’ powers and so we watched over her with greater care.”

  “Hang on a minute,” I said. “If you watched over me with such care, why was I not aware of it?”

  “Because we are very good at what we do,” said Great-Aunt Olivia haughtily.

  “And our father, was he aware of my strengths?” I asked looking at my three Great-Aunts.

  “It was decided by the Council, at the time of your birth, that your father was not to be made aware of your abilities. A decision that in retrospect appeared wise as your father all but abandoned you three girls when your mother left,” said Great-Aunt Olivia.

  “Our mother did not leave; she died,” Harmony said softly. “And he didn’t really abandon us.”

  “What would you call it then Harmony,” said Constance radiating sadness.

  “Let’s leave dad out of this for a minute,” I said. “What does all of this have to do with my night flying?”

  “You have been gifted with extreme powers, just like your namesake, Olivia,” Great-Aunt Rue said. “And it appears that your powers simply want out.”

  “What?” I said.