4. Flower of God

“it is not only a fight for my life. It is also a fight for my soul”

I should not have been surprised that the old men condemned me as a witch. They were old and they were bitter. They considered themselves as Christians and yet they put me through this ordeal! Who was more evil, the judges or the witch?

Father Sullivan was smiling. He praised the judges for making the right decision. He reminded them that I would not be burnt at the stake or be drowned like they always have done. He reminded them that I was a teenager and my soul could still be saved.

“This witch will be transported to a convent far away from any civilization.” he explained, “The convent is on holy ground, so she cannot use her devilish powers. In the convent, she will be confined to a small cell. However, outside the cell, the nuns will be constantly praying for this girl's soul. During the day she will work hard to sweat any evil spirits from her. There will be a priest that will exorcise her. This will not be a happy life for the witch, but we can be assured that we will be Safe here in Salem!”

I closed my eyes for a brief moment thinking of what it would be like to be in a cell with some nuns. The priest did not want to save me. He wanted to torture me. He wanted my life to be miserable. He was a priest and he wanted this. I could feel the anger building up in me.

Father Sullivan was not finished. He praised Tina for the courage to tell him that I was a witch. He praised her courage to testify. He told Tina that he knew we were friends and this made it harder for her.

“I was her friend,” Tina explained, “But when I found out that she was a witch, I was afraid. I did not want Julia to hurt me. I will miss her as a friend and think it's very sad that she will be locked in a cell for the rest of her life.”

I looked at Tina, I was now as mad as I ever been. If she felt sorry for me, then why did she lie? Not one bit of what she said was true. She could have told them that I saved her life when she was foolish enough to cross a street without looking.

Father Sullivan looked at me and told me that he could make my life much easier. I just had to tell him that my mother was a witch.

“I am finished with this game,” I shouted. “I never hurt anyone and was a good person. The same goes for my mom. She has helped the old people at the retirement home. She taught me how to be a good person. Treat others as you would like to be treated. Mom said that I may have powers, but love and kindness is the greatest power there is. A witch can be like a guardian angel and help people when they need it!”

The priest laughed and said that I do not decide when this is finished. I will be punished for the rest of my life. He reminded me that I had no powers on holy land.

I closed my eyes and concentrated, I could feel the handcuffs they put on me become warmer and warmer. Soon they were glowing red and snapped off me. I was free and somehow I had powers. I stood up and told them that this game was over!

Vines started pushing themselves up through the concrete floor. I could see that Tina ran out of the room. The judges and Father Sullivan also looked worried and began moving out of the room. I rose my arms and the vines grew faster and stronger. They grew thicker as they spiraled up in the air and formed a cage around the judges and Father Sheehan. They started to plead for me not to harm them. They made some excuses as to why they made me go through this trial and would want to lock me up in some convent.

I walked out telling them that I did not hurt people.

I did not see that one of the judges had a gun. Shaking his hands, he shot me. Luckily enough the bullet hit my arm. It hurt like hell. With tears and pain, I turned around, raised my healthy arm and seen these thorns grow out of the vines.

I was mad. I was mad that these men wanted to harm me. I was mad at Tina. I did not want to hurt the men with the thorns. I am sure if they did not move much, they would be OK.

If I was honest with myself, I do not know if I wanted to hurt them. I looked at my arm, and the arm of my hoodie was red with blood. I was losing blood and feeling weak. I am sure that a part of me wanted to hurt the men. I wanted to show them pain as they have shown me.

I arrived at the forest and collapsed under the big tree. I could not walk anymore as I lost so much blood. As my eyes were closing, I saw my ancestor. Was she here to take me to heaven?

Everything went black

When I woke up, my ancestor was next to me. She did some magic when I was asleep and I was healed. There was not even a bullet hole in my skin. I told her what happened and asked where my mother was. She told me that Mom was trying to free me, but could not. She was on her way now.

The ancestor said that it was amazing that I could use any powers in a holy place. I told her maybe it was because I was so mad. The ancestor warned me that using powers when I was mad was very dangerous. She told me that people do not think straight when they were mad. I saw her smile as she told me it must have been because I had a good heart.

My ancestor went and this made me think of what she said. The truth is that I was mad. I was mad that some people who really did not know me wanted to hurt me. This was bad enough that they wanted to lock me in some cell for the rest of my life, but they also wanted me to give evidence against my mother, so they would harm her. I had every right to be mad. However, I knew that my ancestor was right. My temper made me do things I did not like. Making the thorns grow in the vine cage was one of them. They could have hurt one of the men, and I did not like the idea of that. So I rested under the tree and hoped my anger would subside.

I heard some rustling of branches and Tina appeared. She was in tears as she saw me. My former friend fell to her knees and cried, “I heard a gunshot and you yell in pain. I had to find you to make sure you were fine. What I did was very bad. It was my fault that they kept you as a prisoner and was going to lock you up. Please forgive me!”

I was once again as angry as could be. I did not trust Tina. Was this just a show so she would drag me back to town so I could be captured again? I Iooked at her and the only thing I could see was a friend that betrayed me and allowed others to hurt me.

I rose my hand and made her float in the air once again. I floated in the air with her. We went higher and higher, so we were over the treetops. Tina was now crying asking me to have mercy and forgive her. When the woods were below us, we stopped.

“You were a friend!” I shouted at her, “You were my best friend. You know me for years and know that I was not a bad person. Still, you told everyone my secret when I was trying to accept the fact that I am a witch. You allowed them to make me a prisoner and you even lied about me. Nothing you said was true. I saved your life!”

Tina shouted that she was afraid. She was afraid that I would change. She was afraid of Father Sheehan. She was confused. Once again she asked me for forgiveness.

I still not believe her. I told her that I can float back down to the ground and would not be hurt. What would happen if she no longer floated by my powers and fell to the ground? She would most definitely die. Tina was sobbing now so much that she could not talk.

I began to lower my hand, as I was about to make Tina fall when I heard my mother's voice. She shouted at me not to harm Tina. Once again I was told to control my anger and powers. “I know you have every right to be mad,” she shouted, “ but this is not who you are. You are an angel! You do not want to harm others. You are better than the men who wanted to judge you! You are God's flower!”

I started crying and slowly Tina and were lowered to the ground. Tina collapsed while I gave mom a hug. Mom was proud of me. She was not proud because I could use magic in the Church and escape, She was proud because I did not fall into the trap of revenge.

I sat beside Tina and told her that we were no longer friends. I no longer trusted her enough to be a friend. Tina was sobbing and could not respond. I told Tina that I would forgive her. This was best for her and me. I did not want to spend my life being mad at someone.

Mom helped Tina up and told her. “Julia may be a witch. She may have some powers. However, Jesus gave us the best powers that a human or a witch could have. Jesus taught us about love and tolerance. He taught us how to show compassion. He taught us how to forgive.”

Mom took my hand. We were leaving Salem and were starting in a new town, where I could keep my secret and have a normal life.

I smiled as we left Salem and did not even look back. I looked forward to the future and knew that everything would be great. After all, I was one of God's flowers.

The End