Siblings of the
Forest BY:
Cardin Moberly
Pg. 5-9
I noticed
one of the witches. It was the blonde haired girl who’d shown me the tent. Her
name was Amanda, yes, Amanda Bezula. I looked
up in horror. Then, Hammarabi arrived.
“Get your
lump down here on the
ground child, didn’t your mother teach you any better?” she said, waving a pan
in the air.
Amanda just
shot a flame at the old woman.
“No, No, No,”
she said waving a finger at Amanda. As a mother did to a naughty toddler.
That’s when
Hammarabi began to chant.
“Spirits
send these witches away, all the way through time and space, teach them to mess
with old Hammarabi.”
Amanda and
the other witches screamed in agony. Then, they caught on white fire. They
screamed some more. I couldn’t look. I buried my head into Ash’s shoulder. He
put a warm arm around me. That’ll teach me not to make her mad, I think. I grab
the children and shield their eyes. When I look up again, the witches were
gone. I look at Hammarabi. One thing is for sure, Hammarabi was indeed a witch.
“What are
you staring at?” she said, hands on hips.
We then head
back to the village or what’s left of it. The tents are demolished. The crops
are pulled up. Men and women look around at the damage. Some tents went up in
flames. Luckily, our tent is still standing. I usher every one inside. Who knew
that witches could cause that much damage?
“Did you
know Hammarabi was a witch?” I ask Ash.
“Well you
know there are rumors going around that she’s a crazy old bat, and a witch.”
“That’s not
what I asked, did you know?”
I look into
his hazelnut eyes.
“Yes.”
“What else
are you hiding from me?”
There had to
be no more secrets. He hesitates at first.
“I’m the….” He
trails off.
“The…” I say
urging him on.
“Chief’s...”
he doesn’t finish.
All I hear
is Chief. It echoes in my head.
“What!” I say
outraged.
“Relax, I’m
the Chief’s son.”
How could
this be? I think. How could someone as
young as Ash be the Chief’s son? How could Ash, with his hazelnut eyes and hair
as black as night be destined to be a chief? I didn’t know. But he was still
Ash. He put a warm hand on mine. He was still the same old Ash with the
butterscotch skin. He was my Ash and nothing could change that. My heart rate
slowed, I was relaxed. I melted into his strong arms.
“ Lizabeth,
we go night night?” Miranda asked, tugging my nightgown.
“Yes.”
I was warm,
happy, and safe. Miranda nestled her head into my stomach. I pulled my fingers
through her hair. She smiles. I kiss her cheek. Ash pulls a blanket around me.
And I drift off into the night.
Chapter……?
When I wake
up the next morning, Miranda and I are the only ones there. I nudged the small toddler.
She opens one sea-blue eye. Two. I change her out of her nightgown and into her
clothes. Then, we head outside. Ash hands me a piece of fruit.
“Morning,”
he says, grinning.
“Morning,
what do we have planned for today?”
Ash just
shrugs. Well I’m going to see Hammarabi, I think. I head back into the tent.
Waiting for me, is a thin strapped turquoise shirt and jeans. Then, I went to
go see Hammarabi. When I came in, Hammarabi was shouting orders to everyone.
“What did
you want dear?” she asks, still turned around.
How, I
think.
“You’re a witch.”
“ Yes, and you’re
a sibling of the forest, your point is?”
She has a
point. Then, she skips off. For a 53 year old woman, she sure moves fast, I
think. I follow her. Oom, Oom. She meditates. And then get up and starts moving
again. She grabs a book off the shelf, and turns to a page.
“Yes,
Mandrake root, Dragon’s tongue, cinnamon.” She says to herself.
Mandrake
root? Dragon’s tongue? Cinnamon? I think. Then I lean over to see the age. It’s
a recipe to cure the measles.
MEASLES
1
CUP OF CINNAMON
2
MANDRAKE ROOTS
1
DRAGON TONGUE
A
DASH OF MINT
3
1/3 CUP OF CHICKEN BROTH
10
CUPS OF WATER
1
NIGHTLOCK FLOWER PETAL
What kind of
spell was this? Then, I look at the last ingredient. 1 night lock flower petal.
Ash had told her that it was the most poisonous plant there was. So how could
it cure the measles? Hammarabi had already pulled out all of the ingredients.
“Will you
mash this together for me child?” she says.
I nod. I look back at the recipe. Here goes nothing.
A cup of cinnamon. I carefully measure the cinnamon. 2 mandrake roots. I pull
out two brownish looking roots. 1 dragon tongue. I gulped. I grabbed a spoon
and dipped it into a jar. I pulled out a green, wiggly thing. It wiggled some
more as I dropped it in the bowl. I mixed it up. This is so gross! A dash of mint. I pulled some thin leaves
form a container. 3 1/3 cup of chicken broth.
I measured it out and stuck it in there. 10 cups of water. One. Two.
Three. Seven cups later. 10. The last ingredient was sitting next to me. I slid
a glove on my hand. I pulled out a multi-colored petal. BAM! SPLASH!BOOM! The
potion exploded. I began to mix it some more. It looked like chicken noodle
soup.
“Good child,”
she says patting my back.
She mutters
a spell. She sniffs it.
“Perfect.”
She pours it
into a bowl. She plops a spoon into the bowl. She walks out of the room. I follow.
Someone grabs me from behind.
“Elizabeth,
where did you go?” Ash asks me.
“I’m sorry,
I went to see Hammarabi.”
“What? Never
mind.”
“What’s
wrong?”
“It’s my
father, he’s dying.”
Tears come
to his eyes. I feel a pang. Ash’s father, the Chief. Is dying. Ash’s is going
to be the new chief. But there was nothing I could do.
Chapter….?
We went to
the Chief’s side immeadiantly. He was lying on a small mattress croaking,
coughing, and shaking. I had to admit, he did look a lot like Ash. He had hair
like salt and pepper and eyes the color of cinnamon. He had skin the color of
chocolate. He croaked some more. Ash and I kneeled at his side.
“Ash.” He croaked.
Ash put a
hand on the old Chief.
“Ash, it is
your duty to be a good chief.” His chest barely moving.
Ash nods.
The old Chief smiles and closes his eyes. His chest has stopped moving. His
skin is now tan. Then, the tears come. Ash keeps on shaking. I put an arm
around him. The thought strikes me. Now Ash is the new chief. But I just keep
holding on.
Chapter…?
Ash doesn’t
speak the next morning. Not even to me. Not even a smile crosses his face.
Today, is the coronation and the funeral. Hammarabi and her servants arrive to
dress up Ash. They put him in a furry deer skin cloak and headdress full of
feathers. On his face are all sorts of symbols painted in reds, yellows, and
blues. He wears a gloomy frown. I’m depressed just looking at his expression.
Hammarabi then starts to work on Catherine, Miranda, and the boys. She places
Catherine in a midnight blue dress, with blue moccasins. She left her hair
down. When Hammarabi was done, Catherine looked like dawn light. The boys were put in deer skins. Miranda was in
a black dress. And last, she came to me.
She put me in a blood red dress with red moccasins. She left my hair in a bun.
Then, we were off.
Ash gives me
a half smile as enter. I smile back. I stand next to him.
“ Yo-wa
igohidv. Send my ugvwiyuhi to thee. Ogina li, ogi towada donda guhui. Galv
laditsosv. Go to ga laditsosv. May the gilagoge, go-gi, vlagohusdil, and go li
continue to flourish. Fly! Uwohili. Fly!” chanted the priest.
I could only
understand some of the message, but I knew it was beautiful. Tears slowly made
their way down Ash’s cheeks. I hug him. He puts his warm arms around me. He
presses his cheek to my hair.
“Yesterday,
we had our old ugvwiyuhi, but today, a new one is born!” the preist shouts.
A large man
pulled Ash away from me.
