A Witch’s Burden

Short Story

Neon moved at lightning speed, running through the crowd of transient spirit travelers moving in and out of the village of Georgevilla. She’d grown like a weed, spending her early mornings running with her shoes off, ignoring the blisters on her feet. Neon scuttled behind Aurora’s legs almost tipping her over. Aurora had to be quick to tug Neon’s sleeve.
“Careful, Nee. If you keep acting in this manner, you will fall out of favor with the Coven.”

Neon grimaced, now no longer a cooing child but instead a restless five year old; she could barely sit still, wanting to explore the whole of the world around her. Aurora had not told Neon of her true origins, afraid that she’d feel like she didn’t belong. Even so, Neon didn’t exactly feel at home like the other prenaturals in Georgevilla. She figured, maybe, whatever sort of spirit she was, had not been discovered yet. Maybe her kind could be found out there only if she braved the risks of the surrounding forest.


Tiring of all that was safe and familiar, Neon wanted to delve into the dark arts like the witches that Aurora worked for. From afar, Neon saw her mother trembling with sweat glistening on her brow. Aurora wiped her damp face on the sleeve of her dress. Suddenly, she took a few steps back, gritting her teeth and dropping her sewing needle on the heap of tattered garments on the ground.

“Mom…?” Neon asked watching her mom taking clumsy steps.

Aurora then collapsed backwards, shivering with her eyes closed.

Neon screamed. “MOM!”

Time seemed to slow as she raced to where her mom lay unconscious on the ground. Neon grabbed at the strap of her mother’s dress at the shoulder. Aurora’s skin had a sickly bluish glow.

Neon jogged into the main square. She’d been warned countless times about consorting with the sisters of the Blynn coven for any reason, but she had little choice if she wanted to save her mother’s life. Ursula, the head witch, moved ahead of the pack. The four sisters moved in a flock, wearing dark black robes long enough that it almost appeared as if they were floating on air.

Panting and out of breath, Neon plunged into their path, doing whatever it would take to get their attention. The witches looked at one another, and then cackled like vultures.

“Shouldn’t you know your proper place, my dear?”Om, the witch on the left, asked Neon.

“It’s my mother,” Neon cried her eyes welling with tears. “She won’t wake up.”

Neon could barely mumble a sentence. Ursula (evil twins) had yellow eyes and dark slicked back hair. She also had little patience for children. She floated forward and reached out her hand, coldly slapping Neon across the face.

“Speak clearly, you rug rat!”

“It’s my mom. She’s deathly ill. Please help me,”

Neon said her eyes pink and puffy.

Ursula squinted hard.

“Once the sickness sets in, there’s no hope. Move out of my way.”

Then the four witches proceeded down the path. Neon sprang to her feet, again rushing into their path.

“Please, I beg of you,” Neon clapped her hands together and bent down on her knees.

“If it’s really our help you seek, then you must accept us. You must accept us as your friend.”

Neon didn’t truly understand what the wretched witches were on about. There was barely enough time to stand here, allowing her mother to slip further and further into her unconsciousness. Her hands hot and clammy, Neon grabbed hold Ursula’s robes.

“Yes, I’m your friend. I’ll do anything you ask. ”

Ursula smiled.

“Well, well. Friends help friends, do they not? Take me to your mother.”

Ursula followed Neon from behind as she led her back to her mother. Ursula looked at Aurora only once and then she and her sisters chanted a high pitched spell, covering Aurora in an eerie blue light. Neon could not understand the words as they were spoken in a different tongue. She knew to stay out of their way or she could break the spell.

A glowing red energy escaped from Aurora’s lips. The sister’s moved to Aurora’s tent and set her down on her bed.

“Now, that we’re friends,” Ursula started. “I will soon call on you to return the favor. If you refuse to return the favor for any reason, I will be sure that your mother remains deathly ill and never wakes up again.”

Neon nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. A half-smile spread across the left side of Ursula’s face. Then the four witches disappeared, evaporating into the air.

The nights were filled with tears and fatigue. At night, Aurora tossed and turned in her sleep many times. Neon stood afar not knowing whether her mother would ever awaken or if she’d be overcome by her night terrors.

Neon wished it were all a bad dream, but there was no denying the reality of the situation, and she dreaded the days that were now to follow because she’d have to wait to see if her mother would rouse from slumber.

And then one day, out of the blue, Neon watched Aurora flutter her eyes. With cautious steps, she moved closer. Until she realized that her mother was truly awake. A very tired Aurora turned her head on her pillow and grinned at her daughter.

Neon hopped onto Aurora’s chest to get her to play with her, but she was too ill to move.

“I can’t play with you today, Neon,” she said harshly.

“Don’t you love me anymore, momma?” asked Neon.

“Of course, I love you. Just because I am upset doesn’t mean I stopped loving you,” said Aurora to Neon, who was very sad.

“I’m very ill, baby, and I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

“Oh,” Neon sighed, sadly.

“Don’t be so sad, honey baby. I will be better soon and then we will move from this place.”

Neon knew if she mentioned anything about Ursula and her coven, Aurora would be upset. In her hand, Neon held a glass of cold water up to her mother’s lips.

“Please momma, you need to take a sip,” she said in her soft voice.

Aurora didn’t fight it; she took a full sip from the glass. A part of Aurora knew that if it weren’t for Neon’s quick thinking, she never would have survived. It’d been weeks since the accident and Neon had been trying her best to keep it under wraps.

Aurora spoke up.

“How did you get me into the bed, Neon?” she asked, her voice cracking.

Neon did her best to deflect the question.

“Why does it matter? You’re okay,” Neon quietly replied.

Her mother was almost sure she should press her daughter for more, but she figured she shouldn’t press her luck. As Neon ran off to refill the bucket in the well, she heard a voice calling to her in the back of her head.

You know exactly who it is, darling. Don’t even think about running. We’re friends, remember? I’m calling you up for a favor. Follow my voice to the main Coven circle, and you will complete your bargain there.

Ursula’s voice infiltrated Neon’s thoughts. Neon didn’t protest for a second. She nodded grimly.

“Neon!” Aurora called from the bedroom. Her mother’s voice still sounded hoarse and fragile. Neon couldn’t say a word because Ursula would discover if she had betrayed their bargain. Neon didn’t return her mother’s call.Instead, she headed for Ursula’s circle.
* * *

Ursula beckoned Neon deeper into the damp green forest, much further than her mother had taken her before. The thin branches evolved into much thicker coiling limbs with thorns covering the sides. She found herself wondering what the witch wanted with her. After all, Neon was the least respected person in all of Georgevilla. Neon stopped right before a clearing of trees, just a few more feet ahead was a circle.

Neon didn’t have too many fears, but at this very moment, she knew understood what true terror was. A dark cloud of birds hovered over the center of the ring. The more steps Neon took towards the center of the circle, the wetter the ground became. The flock of birds broke free from the group, causing Neon to cover her eyes.

The birds flapped wildly until they transformed into a feathery body.

In seconds, black feathers erupted into the sky and all that stood in their place was Ursula. Neon inhaled a ragged breath, shielding her eyes from the sun casting light onto her face.

“We must act quickly,” Ursula commanded, rushing Neon to take a vial from her hand.

Neon inspected the vial.

“What’s in it?” she asked.

Ursula’s very gaunt face glared at Neon.

“You must be careful. Do not deny my favor. Or, you know what fate awaits…”

Neon knew she’d do anything to keep her mother alive. She took one last look at the bubbling substance in the vial, parted her lips and then drank every last drop.