The Witches #5

    Lilac loved the quiet, stolen moments in the middle of the day where the world seemed to hold still. Pause. Give her time to catch up.

They never lasted long, time couldn’t hold itself in one place forever, but she relished every second.

You noticed things, in the quiet. When people stopped speaking the world rushed to fill the empty space. The wind, gliding beside you, plucking leaves and buds to take away and use in some potion; plants, the way you could practically feel them growing right beside you as if - if you only waited - they would stand up and walk beside you.

Animals relaxed, grew curious in a way they usually only were with Tulip. Families of mice would dart across clearings, birds would forget their fear and resume their games of soaring through the air, swooping by so close Lilac felt her hair flutter. Sometimes they would watch her, sometimes she would watch them.

You noticed the way light became a haven, bugs filling the points of air it clung to, bunnies snuggling into its warmth on the ground. The sound of water could be heard too, somehow, present and timeless even though you hadn’t noticed it before. You could hear it now, though, and it was as if you’d been let into a secret.

It had taken Tulip and Daphne time to understand. They weren’t like Lilac, the world didn’t hold magic in the same ways for them. Quiet woods were, to them, ripe for exploration, a river the perfect place to dive into, not sit on the bank and be still. But they learnt, gave her time and smiled when she came back to them.

And then, more often than not, they would go exploring, picnic bags in their arms and laughter in their stride. Lilac might sometimes fall back, pause beside a tree or a trickle of water, and they let her, just as she only smiled when they went in search of their own magic.

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The Witches is a serial story, published every week on Thursday/Friday. See you then!