Wicked

Eilene believes it's good to be a wicked witch.

Eilene loved meeting people in such relaxed, homey settings.  The smell of coffee and pastries was strong and tantalizing, the occasional jingle of the shop’s bell a pleasure to hear.  Through the recycled paper cup her Chai tea warmed her chilled hands.

            But today was more interesting than most.  The girl sitting across from her was different from most sent in her direction.  She called herself Carla—a false identity, if she had any brains—and had a wholesome, young appearance.  She couldn’t have been more than fourteen, with rich honey-blonde hair spilling over her shoulders in soft waves, glittering green eyes, a healthy tan, and fashionable clothes.  Perhaps she was a cheerleader, or would be soon; she looked the part.  Either way, Carla was a stark contrast to the thin, nervous people Eilene usually met.  Most were in their older teens, and almost all were twitchy and had dark bruises under their eyes.

            But then again, Carla was fresh blood.

            Eilene leaned her elbows on the table between them, flashing the pretty girl what she knew was her warmest smile.  Comfort and trust.  Those were the two most important elements to establish.

            “You don’t seem the type of girl who needs what I have,” she said.  There was no fear of keeping her voice down; she wanted to sound conversational to anyone passing by.

            Carla shrugged and tapped her pink-painted fingernails against her cup.  “I do attract boys,” she admitted.  “But an extra boost doesn’t hurt.”

            Eilene tilted her head.  “Is there a special boy?”

            The girl quieted for a long moment, staring at the lid of her coffee as though hoping it would give her the right answer.  At long last, she spoke, carefully choosing her words.  “Not so much special as . . . we like to be recreational together.”

            “Ah,” murmured Eilene.  “Seduction.”

            Carla lifted her head to frown at her, but she seemed more puzzled than angry.  “I guess.”

            Laughing, Eilene set her tea on the table and leaned down to retrieve her purse from the floor.  She rummaged for a moment before finding what she needed.  Delicately, she revealed a small plastic eight ounce bottle filled with a turquoise liquid.  She swirled the substance, allowing Carla to fixate on the thickness.  Trails running like robust red wine trickled down the side.

            And Carla was entranced.  Her lips parted slightly, eyes as green as a cat’s greedily drinking in the sight.  The first sign of lust in the game of seduction.

            Eilene set the bottle on the table, but did not release it.  “The best smell in the world,” she said.  “Never has a guy been able to resist the girl who wears this.  My own special recipe, too.”

            Not taking her eyes off the enchantment, Carla said, “They say you’re a witch.”

            Chuckling, Eilene returned, “And they say witches are good, these days.”  Carla nodded an agreement, but still refused to take her eyes off the tantalizing bottled treasure.

            Eilene leaned forward until her forehead almost touched Carla’s.    “This one’s free,” she said softly.  “The next one won’t be.”

            Carla whispered, “Only if this works.”

            “It will,” promised Eilene.  Carla said nothing, but Eilene’s fingers had barely left the bottle before the girl snatched it up.  Without a word, Carla fled the shop, leaving her coffee behind.

            Faking puzzlement, Eilene watched her go.  But inside she was glowing.  Carla would return within the week; they always did, even the ones who claimed recreational uses.

            Witches were good these days, she had claimed.  The very idea made her want to laugh in outrageous amusement.  What was the point?  Why be a good witch when you could be evil?  She made more money than any drug dealer skulking on the street, doing the exact same job.  But she was superior.  She didn’t make stupid mistakes to enable her capture.  Code words, working through teenagers, teasing them with promises of euphoria and a better life . . . she had it all figured out. 

            And how could it be so bad, when they truly were happy so long as they used her potions?   Certainly, the nightmares and withdrawal symptoms were severe if anyone stopped injecting the alien fluids into their veins, but it was all in good fun.

            Eilene sipped her tea, finally allowing herself a triumphant smile.  It felt good to be wicked.

Author's Note

I'm most curious if 1) Eilene should have a physical description, and 2) I should go more into the witch side of things.

Reviews

[Dawn Jones]

I really enjoyed reading this story.
For one thing, I think it is directly to the point of a maleficent character who is simply out for ones self, which depicts a lot of the American population these days. You really seem to get into the personality of the character and, for some writers, that is a very difficult thing to do and maintain.
As far as the characters looks... do we think of our physical features unless we are looking in a mirror? Why should our characters? I think that, unless she runs her fingers through her long/short, blonde/red/dark hair, or looks into a mirror you shouldn't bother with describing what she looks like because, though in third person, it is still singluarly in HER perspective.
And, for the witchery of it... you did a perfect job. Sometimes being vague is the greatest gift we can give to our readers. There is just enough of a tease to it that makes it mysterious and yet... we KNOW what it is she dabbles in. And mixing magic and addiction, brava I say. It is a risk that I have only seen once before by a very gifted writer/producer and it is a very difficult thing to pull off in the right manner.

I highly suggest entering this short into the May 15th deadline of the annual writer's contest through Writer's Digest.

[Ice Queen of the Vampir..]

Ooh, a wicked write. lol Seriously this short story is intriguing and I'd like to see more of the witch side of things. A fantastic piece, great work!!!

Heather

I liked this! I liked that you left Eilene for the reader to decide what she looks like. I would only go into the witch side of things if you were to make the story longer. This works well for a short story. I loved the whole witch thing!

[Jimmy.]

"The smell of coffee and pastries was strong and tantalizing, the occasional jingle of the shop's bell a pleasure to hear." I think their is should be a adjustment here, It should be " The smell of coffe and pastries were o so strong and tantalizing, the occasional jingle of the shop's bell, a pleasure to hear." This also should be under a short story, or somethig along the lines of it. But pretty good i think.
Also, check out my writing espically " The Waging War"

[Nicole Hellene]

oohoohoooh lol a drug dealing witch, that's great. No, no description. Mass market paperbacks don't do descriptions anymore, unless you're trying to win the Nebula Award let the picture in the corner of your story do the talking.