Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
“Like Persephone,” Delia offered.
“Yes, exactly. And kudos to your teachers for making you do all this myth reading. It will help in so many ways,” I said, holding open the door for them.
Once inside, we headed back to the wreath-making lesson.
“How do you know all this stuff?” Cass inquired.
“Oh, well, I’ve done a lot of reading too.”
“No, not about Persephone, but about the horse—what’s his name again?” Delia asked.
“Skokse.”
“Yeah. How do you know?”
“My grandfather taught me.”
“Okay, but how did he—”
“Holy shit!” Cass gasped. “I know how you know. You’re the witch everyone talks about.”
“No one talks about me,” I said flatly because I knew better. My family had been here since before Osprey became a town, when it was just forest and sea and the only people walking the land were Native Americans and perhaps the occasional Viking.
“They do,” Cass insisted. “I’ve heard teachers at school talk about you making wreaths and garlands and candles. Do you do that?”
“Yeah, but a lot of people in town do.”
Cass seemed to be mulling that over.
“So it’s not a big deal that you’re a witch?” Delia asked.
I shrugged. “Not so much.”
“That’s amazing, isn’t it?” Delia said, glancing at Cass.
“I think so,” Cass said. “The town gets an A plus for tolerance.”
“It does,” I agreed.
“So your grandfather taught you stuff?”
“He did. After my parents died, I came to live here with my grandparents, and the two of them taught me a lot of things. After my grandmother passed, it was just him and me for a long time, and then he passed about ten years ago now.”
“I’m sorry,” Cass said, reaching for my hand.
“It’s okay.” I squeezed her hand gently before releasing it. “He had a long, happy life, and now he’s back with my grandmother and he’s at peace.”
Delia’s eyes filled fast. “I hope my parents are at peace.”
“I’m sure they are,” I soothed her.
“Did you hear Skokse after your grandmother died?” Cass asked.
“Yes I did. He checked on me too, and my grandfather had me feed him to let him know I was okay and I wanted to stay.”
“And he knew because someone told him.”
“Yep. Long time in these parts. But what helped me was that I was raised to ask if I didn’t understand something. Most people, as you know, don’t go looking for answers but instead default to thinking that whatever happened couldn’t have been what they thought.”
“That’s what happened to me before I came to live here,” Delia said. “I was sure I saw my parents watching me, and they were always smiling.”
“I’m sure they were there,” I told her.
Cass sighed deeply. “I’m so glad you were here today. Would it be okay if we stopped by for a visit sometime?” She bit her bottom lip.
Delia looked worried and hopeful at the same time. As though I would say no.
“Actually,” I said with a grin, “maybe you guys would like to help me assemble my witch’s ladders for the fall festival this coming weekend. I’m so behind. I can feed you, and we can talk, but I can’t pay you. All the money goes to the animal shelter, and the dogs and cats need every—”
“Oh, I’ll help,” Delia rushed out.
“Me too,” Cass said excitedly.
“Check with your folks first and let me know. You’ll have to come by to tell me since I don’t have a phone, but Rita’s great about popping in on her way anywhere.”
“We could come after this,” Cass suggested.
I squinted at them. “Aren’t you supposed to go back to school after this for pickup?”
Cass shook her head. “No, we’re being dismissed from here. Mrs. Cho told us.”
“Fine, but you both need to call the appropriate people, because I don’t have a phone at my place, and your uncle will arrest me for kidnapping,” I assured Cass.
“No doubt,” she agreed. “I’ll call my dad.”
“We both have cell phones, you know,” Delia told me.
“You still have to call them before,” I made clear.
“When you say you don’t have a phone, you mean a land line, right? You have a cell.”
“I don’t, no.”
They both looked at me like I’d crawled out from under a rock.
“I don’t have electricity, so no internet either.”
They continued to stare.
“Just call the appropriate people,” I groused at them. “Way to make me feel old.”
“Not old,” Cass said as we all started walking again. “Just…how do you live without internet? That’s crazy. Seriously, how?”
I rolled my eyes and told them to sit down and get their wreaths made. They were both laughing at me.
THREE
The two of them were very helpful. I had a system, and they perfected it. Delia was quick to point out that if I had the same setup on both sides of the table, it would get done that much quicker.
“And you don’t actually have to be the one to put them together, do you?” she asked. “As long as we hang them up after and you speak the words over them, won’t it be all right?”