I Put a Spell on You

SELEN got off her bicycle and knocked at the door, carrying a jar with concoction in the other hand. A few minutes went by… still, no one opened the door for her. She heaved a sigh and sat on the doorstep. Maybe the client was still fast asleep. She laid the jar beside her and propped her hands on her chin as she looked up at the sky, watching the break of dawn.

It was too early in the morning; too cold—the kind of day that would make you wish to stay in bed. But Selen woke up every day even before the rooster made that cock-a-doodle-sound. She was her grandma’s only errand girl. No matter how cold it was, she had to put on her cardigan, get on her bike, and deliver the concoction to every client wherever they were.

Selen wondered how many more minutes she had to wait until someone opened the door for her. If only she could sneak inside. But that’s a little risky and tricky.

She yawned. “Jeez! I want to go back to sleep.”

She closed her eyes slowly. The wind swooshed, and she heard the dry leaves on the ground rustle. Selen could not help but smile. She always found it entertaining to listen to the sounds of nature. It seemed to heal her soul. Then, she heard the door creak. She grabbed the jar and stood up immediately. A woman in her late forties greeted Selen.

They bowed their heads at each other. And then, she handed the woman the jar of concoction.

With trembling hands, the woman accepted the jar and looked at her. She could see the cloud of worry in the woman’s eyes as she stared back at her.

“A-ah… I almost forgot.” She fished a note in her cardigan’s pocket. “This is the prescription on how to take the concoction.”

“Thank you, Miss,” the woman said somberly.

“You’re welcome…” She heaved a deep sigh.

“Wait for a while. I’ll go get the payment.”

Selen waited again, but unlike before, it only took the woman approximately two minutes to come back.

“Here…” She handed Selen a small brown envelope.

She took it quickly and securely placed it in her pocket.

“If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail us.”

The woman grabbed her by the arm when she was about to turn around and leave. “Y-yes?”

“Will it really cure my husband?” the woman asked in a hoarse voice.

Selen caught the woman’s hands and pressed them gently.

“Our family has been in this business even before I was born. Every client was satisfied with our service,” she assured the woman.

“My husband has been in pain for two years now. No one could cure him in the hospital. The doctors didn’t know what’s wrong with him.” The woman started crying.

“The concoction will help him regain his strength. Soon, my grandma will be able to break the spell.” She patted the woman’s arm.

Selen came from a lineage of white witches. Her grandmothers fight the spells of the evil witches that harm people. They make concoctions to heal those who cannot be treated in a hospital. And sometimes, they make love potions for the desperate ones.

“I… have to leave.”

She got on her bicycle and looked back. The woman remained standing by the door, watching her. 

Selen started pedaling away.

VIOLY looked at the grandfather clock in the living room before strolling to the kitchen. It was past six o’clock in the morning, and yet Selen hasn’t returned from running the errands. Whenever that kid was late, even for a minute, she always felt nervous. Violy could not help but think that Selen ran into trouble.

“Ate Cora, Selen isn’t back yet,” she informed her elder sister.

Cora halted from grinding the garlic and turned to her. “Did you call her?”

Violy scratched the side of her neck. “I’ve been calling her, but it just keeps on ringing. I’m afraid that—”

The backdoor swung open, and a muddy Selen entered the kitchen.

“You! If you won’t answer your phone, better throw it in the river and let the fishes have it!” Cora nagged at her. “Look at you. You’re covered with mud. Where the hell did you dive?”

A small black head appeared from Selen’s pocket.

“Mew…” the kitten said.

“I saved a kitten,” Selen smiled proudly. “She was trapped in the mud.”

“You just wasted your time. You should use your time practicing witchcraft!” Cora scolded Selen.

Selen’s eyes started to water, and with her lips pressed into a thin line, Violy knew the kid would cry anytime soon.

“Ate Cora…” Violy reprimanded her sister.

“What? Am I wrong? Selen is turning twenty-one soon, yet she couldn’t make a simple concoction or perfect a simple spell. What kind of witch is she?” Cora slammed the pestle to the mortar.

“How many times am I going to tell you that I don’t want to be like you? I don’t want to be a witch!” Selen countered.

“You were born into this family. That only means that being a witch is your destiny.” Cora said through gritted teeth.

“I want to live a normal life!”

“Does our life look abnormal to you?” Cora scoffed.

“How can you call our life normal when the neighbors would throw rocks at our house or even set it on fire whenever they learned about who you really are?”

“It’s been ages since that happened. People invest their time in the fruits of technology nowadays, Selen. There were only a few of them who still believe that we exist. There is nothing to be afraid of. Besides, we are doing it right. Fret if you harmed those people, like what those evil witches do.”

“Hey, hey, hey, you two…” Violy butted in. “Enough of this for now, okay?” She sauntered towards Selen and tugged her to the bathroom. “You and your newly found friend should take a bath now.”

“Violy, stop spoiling that kid, will you? That is why she always argues with me. She knows that you are always there to back her up,” said Cora.

She did not mind what her sister said.

“Your Nana Cora is getting older and older. Look at her nagging at both of us every time she has the chance,” Violy whispered.

“You’re not mad at me, Nana, right?” Selen pouted her lips.

“Why would I be mad at you?”

“Because I don’t want to be a witch…”

Violy smiled at her granddaughter. “You are free to choose who you wanna be.”

“Thank you, Nana!”

Selen was about to hug her, but she quickly stepped out of the bathroom.

“Wash first so we can have our breakfast.”

“Hm…”

SHE HEARD voices just outside her bedroom. Selen was already awake, but she kept her eyes closed. Nana Cora, Nana Violy, and her childhood friend Reinald discussed how to surprise her once the door opened. So, Selen made a plan too. She covered her body with the blanket.

After a few moments, she heard the door creaked. There was a popping sound, and they started singing the happy birthday song. But Selen did not move an inch and kept her eyes shut. Soon, they stopped singing. She felt someone climbed on the bed and shook her body.

“Selen? Selen, wake up!” said Nana Violy.

“You brat!” She heard Nana Cora cussed at her.

“Nana Violy, Nana Cora, we all know that Selen is awake,” Reinald said and giggled.

Then, she felt a tickling sensation on her soles. She pressed her lips together to suppress her laugh, but her friend continued tickling her, and soon, she could not take it any longer. She sat up quickly and burst into laughter.

Selen saw Nana Cora at the end of her bed, patiently holding the cake in her hands. She turned her gaze to Nana Violy, who was smiling at her. And lastly, to her friend, who was wagging his eyebrows while waving a hand like a fool.

“Happy birthday,” they said in unison, loud and lively.

She just crinkled her nose in response.

“Selen…” Reinald said somberly. “Here you go again.”

“You already know that I don’t like celebrating my birthday, yet you still bother yourselves.” She jumped out of bed.

Selen didn’t like her birthdays. That was the same day her parents died. Her dad died in an accident, while her mom took her last breath the moment she came out of the womb. She was an orphan since day one. She grew up under the care of her two beloved grandma witches. Despite the love and care they have given, there always came a time she yearned for her parents.

“It’s your twenty-first birthday, we just thought—”

She went inside the bathroom and slammed the door.

Selen leaned her back against the bathroom door. They were still inside her room, talking about her.

“Such an ungrateful witch,” Reinald yelled.

“Ssshhh! Let’s not blame her…” said Nana Violy. “If I were in her shoes, I’d feel the same, though.”

“So, what are we gonna do with this burning candle in this poor cake?” asked Nana Cora.

She felt something bumped on her leg. When she looked down, she saw her pet, Lulu. The kitten kept bumping on her. So, she picked her up and bumped her head on it.

“Mew…” it meowed softly.

“Are you greeting me a happy birthday too, Lulu?”

She placed the kitten above her head. It started purring.

“Sorry, Lulu, but I don’t celebrate my birthday. No treats for you today.”

THE BREAKFAST was served when Selen went to the kitchen.

“Reinald will be joining us for breakfast since he is here.” Nana Violy put a fried egg on her plate.

The cake was on the table, but someone scrapped the greetings out of it to make it look like an ordinary cake. Okay, that was kinda brilliant.

Nana Cora folded the newspaper and set it aside, and then turned to her. “You are twenty-one now. You should start finding yourself a husband.”

Selen almost choked on her food.

“E-eh? I’m still too young to get married, Nana!” she whined. “I don’t want to get married yet. What I want is to go to college.”

“You won’t be needing a college degree. Your sole responsibility is to produce kids and continue our family’s legacy.”

Reinald raised his hand. “I volunteer to be her husband.”

Nana Cora picked the newspaper and slammed it to his head. “Shut up, boy! You can’t marry Selen.”

“But why?” Reinald pouted his lips.

“A-ah… because you are friends since childhood. You’re almost like a brother to Selen. She doesn’t like the idea of turning friendship into a romantic relationship.” Nana Violy turned to her. “Right, Selen.”

She heaved a sigh. “Yeah. Sorry, Reinald, but I’d like to keep our relationship this way.”

He palmed his chest and acted like he was in pain. “I never thought getting friend-zoned could be this bad.”

He had always been very vocal about what he felt.

Somehow, Selen felt bad for her friend. Reinald and his family had always been good to her and the grandmas. In fact, they were well aware of what they were and what they did. But they respected them and treated them nicely through the years. That was the reason why she and Reinald became best of friends. And even though his entire family moved to the city when Reinald started to study in college, he still makes time to visit her family on the outskirts of town. He was the good man every woman dreamed of.

“Anyway, I know the easiest way to find you a husband.” Nana Violy fished her phone out of her cardigan’s pocket. “I stumbled upon this awesome dating site—”

Reinald grabbed the phone from her grandmother.

“Nana Violy, this dating site is a trap,” Reinald remarked.

“What?” Nana Violy’s eyes widened. “How come?”

Reinald clasped his hands under his chin. “Well… most likely the users create an account under a false name. And not only that, some predators are using these sites to look for prey. It’s pretty dangerous.”

“I think we should better move to the city,” said Nana Cora. “There’s a big chance to find a suitable husband for Selen if we live in the city.”

Selen’s forehead creased.

“Nana, you dare to sell concoctions and do witchcraft in the city?”

“Well… some people nowadays even make vlogs about their abracadabra and post it online,” said Reinald. “I think there’s nothing wrong with—”

“Who says we will do that? We’ll run a business, morons.” Nana Cora smiled. “A flower shop and a restaurant business will do great, right?”

“Oh! That sounds great,” Reinald agreed.

Selen puffed her breath. It looked like she could not stop her Nana Cora from getting her a husband.

“Reinald, you should help us find a good place,” said Nana Violy.

He raised his thumbs with a wide grin plastered on his face.