Which Weather - part two

The whole room was quiet, not just Hes. I was going to ask Hes what was going on but she stopped me with a finger to her lips - I got the message. At the altar, Deidre was busy lighting candles and invoking different spirits with each one. There were four candles for the cardinal points of the compass (east, west, north and south), two candles for above and below, sixteen candles for something I can’t remember, seven candles for archangels, seven candles for chakras . . . I lost count at a hundred. The altar began to look like Methuselah’s birthday cake.
Because of the amount of people in the room and the amount of candles burning, I thought we might run out of air in the room but then I noticed that the wall behind the altar had several windows, all of which were open. It was then that I noticed the sky. It had been a nice sunny spring day when I went into the shop but now the sky was beginning to cloud up. Maybe, a storm was coming.
I could sense that Hes was getting excited. Her grip on my hand was becoming vise like and she started squeezing it to a rhythm only she could hear. Deidre stopped lighting candles and began to chant and wave her arms making symbols in the air. She picked up a wand from the altar and I thought that it was a miracle that she did not get burned or that her sleeve did not catch on fire. She announced that the room was now sealed magically and no evil could get in. I don’t know if it was a coincidence but the sky was now very dark, stormy dark. A bolt of lightning accented the sky. A moment later, the thunder echoed through the room. As if by cue, someone turned off the lights in the room - now we had only candlelight and stormlight.
Hes used her free hand to point to something near the door. Actually, it was not something but someone. A dark cloak wearing person stood there waving his hands and chanting. He too, had a wand, well not quite a wand - more like a staff. He must have shopped in the same store as Deidre because he too was clad entirely in black. I might not have been able to see at all if not for his hair - his long white hair.
He strode to the altar but right before he got there Deidre jumped in front of him.
“As the Gods and Goddesses are my witnesses,” she shouted holding her wand up high, “I, Deidre, high priestess of the coven Seven Nineteen point Two, do challenge you, Mark Darklight for the right to lead this coven.” Mark looked both surprised and disappointed if that is possible. He sighed and looked the crowd.
“So this is why there are so many people here.” he commented. “I had heard rumors that you might do this,” he looked at Deidre condescendingly (which is to say he seemed to be looking down on her, even though the two of them were roughly the same height.) “I had hoped these rumors were just gossip.” He did not seem in the least bit worried that he might not win. “Very well. Let us begin.” He pointed to the crowd. “Which of you will be my witnesses ?” Several couples stood up instantly. He scanned them and gestured to a couple sitting three seats to the left of where I was sitting. “ I choose Ben and Bathsheba.” He declared. They bowed.
“Who will be impartial witnesesses ?” both Mark and Deidre shouted. The two people sitting to the left of me stood up. I began to notice a pattern to the volunteers. My mind had come to a conclusion as to what was next, but another part of me was not buying it. Oh no, no, no, not possible. I looked at Hesp, saw the sparkle in her eyes and the excited look on her face - it was not unlike that of the student who knows the answer to the question petitioning the teacher to call on her. I knew I had to get out of there.
It was at this point, that Deidre pointed her wand at my forehead. There was a flash in my brain and the next thing I knew I was standing up with Hesp holding my hand, listening to the applause from the crowd. Mark and Deidre touched their wands together and shouted: “Now we begin.” A loud thunderclap boomed as lightning flashed through the room.
Mark stood to the left of the altar and Deidre to the right of the altar. We witnesses were between them but not directly. There was a space of three to four feet between the two black clad wand wavers, we were to the side of that space.
Mark struck first, thrusting his staff toward the windows while shouting: “I call upon the elementals of the sky, Wind beings cast aside these malcontents.” A gust of wind came from the windows and blew toward the crowd. Strangely enough, none of the candles even flickered. As I looked at Deidre, I realized why. She was chanting while holding her wand to the floor.
“I call upon the earth spirits to block this gust and to send this evil back to its sender.”
She then turned and gestured to the candles. “I call upon the fire spirits to burn all barriers to the truth.” It might have been me but I swear the candles began to burn brighter.
Mark laughed. “I am the Truth.” he roared and added “I call upon the night to take those who oppose me.” An eerie shadow seemed to appear by the windows. I think most shadows are a bit eerie but this shadow was even eerier if that is possible. Deidre seemed unaware of this shadow perhaps because she was busy calling up a counter spell or perhaps she was already caught by Mark’s spell. For some reason, I felt I had to do something. Normally, I am not the interfering type, as I prefer to let things run their course. This time, however I felt compelled to do something, although I did not know why. I started to move toward the shadow but I found myself held in place by Hesp. She stood transfixed, holding my right hand with both of hers, chanting under her breath. I could not get her to let go of me. I looked at the shadow. It had not moved but it had grown. It was twice as big as before and thus that much closer to touching Deidre. Somehow I knew if it touched her bad things would happen, not just to Deidre but also too Hesp and me.
Time seemed to slow down for me. Everyone had stopped moving as I searched my brain frantically for a solution to this dilemma. I tried to pull Hesp toward Deidre but I might as well have been trying to pull the Sears building, she would not budge. I thought about slapping her or piching her, but some part of me would not allow me to do that. I looked at the shadow again and it was now on the ceiling right above Deidre who was still lost in her chanting. In desperation, I threw my left hand up above my head and shouted: “Stop.”
Except no words came from my mouth. I heard a ‘Pop’ sound in my head and I felt as if something inside of me had been released. I felt unusually light. I noticed my right hand was no longer held by Hesp. I also noticed I was no longer standing on the ground. I looked at Hesp and I could not help but noticed that she was still holding the hand of some guy, a guy that looked vaguely familiar. Before I could totally freak, I heard a chorus of voices calling to me from behind me.
“Sir Jack,” they said. “Do you truly wish us to stop ?” I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to turn around but I did. There standing in front of my eyes, well actually they were floating in front of my eyes - were, well I don’t know any other way to describe them except to say they were spirits. Some looked vaguely human but most just seemed to be made out of energy and as such took whirling shapes that seemed immaterial. They looked so strangely wonderful that I almost forgot what I was doing.
“Sir Jack,” they repeated, “do you wish us to stop ?” At that point there was a thousand things I wanted to know and it all came under one heading.
“If I say yes,” I said, “will you tell me what is going on ?” My voice was pretty calm which amazed me because I felt overwhelmed.
“No,” the spirits chimed as one, “that is not our job. We do not explain things. We make things happen.”
“Did you do this to me ?” I asked.
“No.” was their answer.
“Who did ?” I needed answers so asking questions seemed the thing to do.
“You don’t need to know that, right now,” they answered. “What you do need to do is say these words : Seeg Zaag Down Yup Silencio Return.”
“Why ?” I said without thinking.
“Because those words will make us stop.”
“What’s so special about those words ?”
“They are sacred words of THE LANGUAGE.”
I laughed in spite of myself. “Silencio is a sacred word ? Down is a sacred word ? You have to be kidding me.” I was on a roll. “Return ? These are all English words. Are you telling me English is a sacred language ?”
“No, we are not. These words are beyond time - their sacred meanings are quite different than the English words you refer to.” Maybe, it was me but I thought that the spirits were getting a bit huffy. I don’t particularly like huffiness even in spirits. I usually wind up challenging people who I think are being huffy. This moment was no exception.
“Tell me what Seeg and Zaag mean ? “ I said.
“You would not be able to comprehend their entire meaning in your current form. Would you like to know as much as you can comprehend ?” asked the spirits.
“Yup .” I said.
“It is done .” cried the spirts happily, “ You have said the words. We will stop.”
I felt cheated and tricked. “Hey, I thought I had to say the words all at once.”
“No - you only had to say the words. “ the spirits said, “in no particular order either because these are words of THE LANGUAGE. They move themselves to where they need to be.” The spirits seemed pretty proud of themselves as if they had just taught a baby to speak a word. I was feeling as if I was a baby whose parents had gotten me to say something only they could understand.
“Now you have to choose.” declared a single voice behind me. I turned around and saw a young girl who looked about thirteen or fourteen dressed in a white robe. Strangely enough, I felt bored looking at her.
“Choose what ?” I asked as I yawned.
The voice answered: “Which witch ?”
“Which witch what ?” I asked. My tongue was beginning to be twisted.
“Which witch you choose will determine whether weather is used.” said the teenage spirit a-matter-of-factly. She tilted her head as if she could not believe I could not understand.
“Which witch I choose determines whether weather is used ?” I felt like a parrot echoing her words.
“Or not.” she said calmly. I waited for an explanation. There was none.
“Come on,” she whined impatiently, “Use your wits and choose.”
Her impatience only made things worse for me. I needed to figure what I was doing and to do that I need time, so I decided to ask a question in order to stall for time. I reasoned that this usually works in regular (earthly) situations involving impatient women so why not here.
“So whichever witch’s weather I choose will be done whether or not this witch’s weather will wreck havoc upon others, otherwise if my wits were wrong would whichever witches not chosen choose to accept whatever would be wraught, right?” Even I was not sure what that sentence meant. My teenage spirit stopped for minute to figure out what I had just said. That was all time I needed.
I figured I needed to choose a witch and the only two people I was certain of being a witch were Mark and Deidre. Although Hesp was chanting so maybe she was a witch too. But the only two people who seemed to be using weather were again Mark and Deidre. So really it was between those two. It seemed like an obvious choice - Mark was evil so I would choose Deidre. But what if Mark was evil and Deidre was evil too ? Would the world be better off one way or another ? Come to think of it, hadn’t Deidre put me under some sort of spell ? Wasn’t that why I was in this witness unprotection program ? I decided to choose the one person I could count on.
“Which witch” the teenage pain of a spirit began to ask again. I cut her off.
“Me.”
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Part three will come tonight.

Whether or Weather - Which Witch with Wits

The room was unusually crowded. The anticipatory noise was off the charts. It seemed as if every member of the group had invited three friends and they all had come with another friend. Extra chairs were brought in but even those had run out. Some volunteered to sit on the floor but the size of the crowd discouraged that as there had to be room for the ceremonial altar. I was lucky (or unlucky) enough to be seated in the first row. There would be no leaving early from that seat.
Normally, the spring solstice ceremony, which this was, was attended by the faithful members of the group and one or two curious non-members who wondered what was happening and were brave enough to check it out. I fit into the later category I had stopped in the new age store because I wanted to buy some incense. The store was filled with people, some dressed in costumes. They seemed to be waiting for something. I asked a young lady dressed in a middle ages type dress what was going on.
She said her name was Hespabah or Hespbah or something that I still can’t pronounce. Hes, as I will call her from now on, was a rather comely fair maiden who loved to talk and I must admit I liked talking to her even though she did ninety-five percent of the talking. She explained that today was the spring equinox and there was going to be ceremony and it was a happy ceremony and I would like it and I could have a wish come true if I went to the ceremony. At that moment in time, I could only think of one wish I wanted to come true so I decided to attend the ceremony.
At that moment, the door to the meeting room opened and a woman dressed totally in black stepped out. She calmly proclaimed: “It is time. Come inside.”
Hes grabbed my hand and said, “Quick, we have to go or we will not get a seat.” I followed along caught up in the moment. As we came to the doorway, the woman in black greeted us.
“Welcome Hespaba, good to see you. “ The two women hugged. The woman in black then turned to me. “Who do we have here? “ Hes answered for me.
“This is my new friend, Jack. Jack, this is . . .” The woman in black finished the introduction. “Deidre.” I did not know what was the proper greeting - should I shake her hand, give her a hug, or just nod my head. Before I could make up my mind, Deidre grabbed me by the back of my head, made a waving motion with her hands, and kissed me on my forehead. She let go and said “Now you are ready.” She motioned with her hands toward the room. “Enter Hespaba and Jack. Sit in front.”
Hes was very excited. “Wow, this is great - I have never sat in front before.” She pulled me by my hand to a couple of seats in the first row, just to the right of center. I was a little bit in shock. I had not expected Dreidre to do what she did and she did do something because I was in a bit of a haze. In spite of my haze, I managed to ask Hes who Deidre was.
“She is the high priestess of the coven.’ replied Hes proudly. “She will be one of the Two running the ceremony tonight.”
“Who’s the other ?” I asked. I was wondering if I had to be kissed by another priestess.
“Mark Darklight.” whispered Hes. “I don’t like him. He has weird eyes.”
“Is he here somewhere ?” I asked. I was wondering if I had to be kissed by Mark.
“Oh, no.” Hes said still whispering, “He comes in after the start and takes over for Deidre.” She glanced around as if she was making sure no one was listening in. “Tonight is going to be different. Tonight, Deidre is going to stand up for herself. She is not going to let Mark push her around anymore.”
It was at that point that I began to wonder what I had gotten myself into. Hes kept talking. She told me of how Deidre and Mark met, how Mark had made her his apprentice, how Mark had seduced Deidre and how for two years Deidre had stood at Mark’s side as he grew in magic and fame (? I wondered if there was a witch subculture and just how famous Mark was.) I wondered if Deidre had somehow marked me and I wondered if Mark was going to be jealous and I was about to wonder what curse would be laid upon me when. . . . I noticed the quiet.

The rest of the story will be revealed in class tonight - Frank

A Sleeping Dream

It stays
with you
as you move around in the world of material concerns
It is spirit and it rests lite on your head
waiting
till you open your sleeping soul
then the real dream awakens once again

Writing for Whom

* Sometimes, okay everyday, when I start to write I encounter a demon who says
"WHat does it matter whether you write or not. You get nothing out of it and those who read it might get a chuckle but they could get that from the comics or the horoscope. Your writings are trivial, forgotten in minutes." The demon is good at what he does and what he does is try to stop me.
* Many days he wins. I stop and worse I make excuses: I need to go here and do that and I guess the Muse is not with me and I am not in the mood and I just can't. . .
In the end, it comes to a simple conclusion - whether or not I wrote. Today I write, yesterday I wrote, the days before that I did not. End of story. The reasons are just unnecessary brain workings to explain why. I am beginning to grasp that.
* I was surfing in the kitchen (because that is where my board (computer) is) yesterday when I came upon some comments someone left on a YouTube posting. The person was thanking the poster for making his day presumably due to the video being there. I began to think what if. What if my writings could make someones day or week or life. What if the things I say in my writings could help someone, then I guess it would be worth it. We are in this together - what helps one helps us all.
Frank