Second Place Winner (January 2025) "Spark"

"You need to be patient, Annabelle. The greatest rewards come to those who nurture their desires the longest."

"We have been patient for almost thirteen years, Ella. I am getting too old to have children. Adoption is the only way."

"Nonsense. American culture is suffocating your spirit. Let me come for a visit. I will cleanse your aura."

"How? Tell me you aren't still into that pagan voodoo stuff."

Eloise laughed. It was a light-hearted, pleasant laugh, devoid of any hurt feelings.

"I will forgive your misconceptions about the Craft of the Wise, sister. You and I have been separated for far too long. Not even an ocean can keep twins apart forever. I will book a flight right away...as long as you and Emile are receptive to the idea."

"Of course. We would love to have you visit. How are things in Hasselt?"

"It is the same as you remember: lovely, peaceful. I will waith until after you have spoken with your husband about it before making any travel plans. I won't come without his blessing."

Eloise arrived from the Netherlands in early February. Anna and Emile insisted that she cancel her hotel reservations and stay with them.

Reunited, the twin sisters quickly re-established their close bond.

It was a wonderful week, but it passed as quickly as a summer romance. Before she departed, Eloise performed a Wiccan fertility ritual as Anna lay in a sacred circle surrounded by coloured candles.

Both Anna and Emile agreed that there was no harm in trying.

Much to her surprise and delight, Anna became pregnant that July, and nine months later, on the vernal equinox, a healthy child was born.

The Vanderhoevens named their miracle daughter Elyse.

"Will she be here soon, Mama?" the girl asked excitedly.

Anna smiled and swept her daughter's long black hair behind her ear while caressing her pale cheek. The girl's eyes were so dark that under dim light her pupils were indistinguishable from the irises.

"Auntie's plane only landed ten minutes ago. Your father will have her here soon enough. Have patience."

The girl practically vibrated with impatience.

"I can't wait to see her."

Anna hugged her daughter. She was growing up so quickly.

"I'm certain she is just as excited to see you. Two years is a long time."

Elyse nodded. "After this visit, I won't see her again for four years."

Anna frowned. "How do you know this?"

Elyse offered her mother a crooked smile, the one she used when she knew something her mother did not.

Anna had begun to see this smile more and more often of late.

The reunion was an emotional one, as it always was.

When Emile and Eloise arrived from the airport, Elyse ran to the door, her skirts kicking up behind her. She threw herself into her aunt's arms and both cried happy tears.

"You have gotten so big," declared Eloise, separating herself enough from her niece to marvel at how mature she looked.

"Thirteen years old. You're becoming a proper young lady. What happened to the little girl I came to see last time?"

Elyse beamed with pride.

"Happy Ostara, Tee-Tee."

Eloise exchanged a look and a tentative smile with her twin sister before responding.

"Happy birthday and happy Ostara, Bunny."

Anna no longer poked fun at her sister's adherence to the Craft or its observances, nor did she discourage Elyse from taking an interest in it. Whether it had been the pagan fertility ritual or coincidence that had resulted in her daughter's miraculous conception and birth, Anna was nonetheless eternally grateful for her sister's unwavering positivity and support.

Eloise had of course brought gifts for her niece, including hand-crafted jewellery and a lovely handmade dress embroidered with a spring motif.

Elyse was beside herself with delight.

Before she left to return home, Eloise shared a private moment with her niece.

"I have one final gift for you, Bunny."

"Another?" gasped Elyse, breathless.

Eloise handed the girl a small rough-spun pouch cinched tight with a string of twine. A piece of parchment was rolled up and secured within the twine tie.

"Can I open it now?" asked Elyse, dark eyes raised imploringly.

Her aunt shook her head slowly but smiled a mischievous smile all the same.

"Not yet. Open it tomorrow, when the sun reaches its zenith."

The girl's eyes widened. She could barely contain her excitement.

"And one last thing," said Eloise, rubbing her niece's shoulders affectionately. "Always choose the right-hand path."

The girl nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, I will. I most surely will."

She stood at her bedroom window looking out at the full moon. With great care, she unlatched the window and slowly raised it so that the wooden frame wouldn't make that terrible squawking noise that might awaken her parents and betray her intentions. She propped the window open with the wooden rod that her father had cut to just the right length.

Elyse wriggled through the open window and quietly lowered herself outside before dropping the last few feet to the ground below.

The night-time temperature was mild for early April, so she was unconcerned about leaving the window open.

Elyse adjusted her small leather shoulder bag before padding quickly across her backyard and into the stand of mature trees that separated their property from that of their back neighbors.

Safely out of sight, she relaxed, slowing her pace and humming happily to herself until she reached the location she had picked out ahead of time.

Everything was just as she had left it.

She quickly retraced the circle then took the coloured candles out of her bag and arranged them in the appropriate configuration around the perimeter. It didn't take long; she had practiced this in her mind many times in the week since her aunt had departed.

Elyse lit the candles then took her aunt's special gift out of the bag and moved to the center of the circle. She knelt down, arranging the bottom of her vernal dress into a circular shape around her. Bowing her head, she closed her eyes for a time. Her lips moved as she quietly recited something in her head.

Finally she opened her dark eyes and lifted her face skyward.

The full moon shone brightly above; its soft light cast down upon the solitary figure kneeling in the woods.

Elyse began to chant, her voice clear and confident:

"For thirteen years and thirteen days,

Nature's child in moonlight plays,

Until the Sabbat wheel aligns,

To sixty-nine times sixty-nine."

She cupped her hands in front of her, the object safely nestled within.

Before long, a strange sensation, like a tingling, ran up her back and along her arms. She felt as though she was being watched. Unconsciously, she had closed her hands around the object to protect it.

Disgregarding the sensation, she opened her hands, once more exposing the object to the moonlight.

She continued:

"With full moon hanging in the sky,

I now know the time is nigh,

To choose my path and make my way,

From this time forward, day by day."

She lowered her gaze from the moon to the object cupped in her hands. It was a ball of interwoven twigs, lovingly shaped into a sphere by her aunt. Elyse could see fine strips of bark within the orb, but she couldn't see through to the center.

The uneasy feeling persisted, but she pushed it aside and pressed on:

"Observe the Rede, observe the Eight,

Time to choose, it's getting late.

I hold my future in my hand,

Until I reach the Summerland."

Elyse blinked at the wooden ball. It felt warm in her hands, but perhaps that was just her imagination.

The feeling of being watched intensified, but Elyse ignored the sensation as she concentrated on the orb.

She nibbled the corner of her bottom lip before completing the chant:

"With open heart I make my choice,

In harmony I lift my voice,

I pledge my spirit to the night,

And with my will make spark ignite."

Without warning, flames erupted from the sides and top of the wooden ball.

Startled, Elyse reflexively pulled her left hand away, even though there was no pain.

Eyes wide, she watched as the ball was quickly consumed by fire in the palm of her right hand. Somehow the fire did not burn her.

"I chose the right-hand path," she whispered proudly.

The flames flickered out, leaving a small pile of ash in her palm. When she pushed the ash around with her left index finger she discovered a small object within.

With a look of wonder, she stood up and blew the ashes off it.

It was a small pentacle charm with a bloodstone set in the center.

"My birthstone," she breathed, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

She held the charm out so that she could see it better under the moonlight.

Without warning, an owl landed on her outstretched hand.

Elyse didn't even have time to flinch.

The grey and white bird swivelled its head around and considered her with its golden eyes.

As Elyse stood perfectly still, a soothing calmness washed over her.

Their bond had been instantaneous, for there was something completely disarming about the creature...something so very...familiar.

From the Author

In my writing, regardless of genre, I explore the emotive.  Engaging readers with an interesting, well-written story is important, but my purpose goes beyond that.  When I write, I seek to captivate readers so they become immersed in the story and invest themselves emotionally in the characters and their circumstances.  Evoking human emotion through storytelling is what separates great writers from good writers, in my opinion.  That is where the magic resides.

-- John Grim

Discover more of John Grim's work on Booksie.