The Firefly Witch Read Online Free Page A

. It was a woman, and she was young, and she was spurned for...for being .” Tears filled her eyes. Huddled in her underwear, she seemed small and vulnerable, a new look for her in my experience.
    “I still don’t understand what happened. Where were you?”
    “I found this old abandoned church, down on Alabaster Street. You know, the one by the convenience store? It’s all overgrown and everything?”
    “You went in there alone ?” I knew from my job at the paper that the place was routinely vandalized and used for some pretty unsavory activities.
    She waved her hand dismissively. “That’s not important. I was drawn to it, it was where I needed to be, understand?”
    No, but I didn’t say anything.
    “I could feel it was holy ground, a place of the spirits. It was probably why they originally picked that spot for a church. Anyway, I went in, put up my circle, and waited to see who would come.”
    ***
    Journal entry (continued):
     
    The place drew spirits from everywhere, and I felt them around me. Many were lost, confused and afraid; I understood. I spoke to them in my secret voice, told them my secret name, asked if I could help. They all fled from me, except one that lurked just outside my senses, like a starving, mistreated pet offered a savory treat. I opened myself completely, and told the spirit to come. I offered all I had: perfect love and perfect trust.
    At first it spoke to my mind, with a woman’s voice. It said , I was created from the elements, given the breath of life, intended as the consort of a man created in the same way. We were to dwell in Paradise.
    Then, with a rush so strong I felt myself pushed from myself, the spirit came to me fully. I felt the pureness of her, the unconditional love for her companion. How could she not love him, she’d been created for him. And then pain like I’ve never known, an agony as strong as the love it mirrored, tore through my soul . The man was repulsed by me, by my need to exist as he did, with the same bodily functions and desires. He saw me full of secretions and blood.
    And then came the worst moment, the instant when the pain threatened to tear my own soul free from myself . And then my creator, The Creator, looked down on me and saw that I was not good.
    “ Who are you?” I asked over the roar of her betrayal.
    She replied , I was never given a name.
    ***
    Tanna slept on the couch. I lay on the floor beside it, in case she had nightmares, but I don’t think she moved the rest of the night.
    It took a while for me to go back to sleep. I knew Tanna was, well, a little different; but this was the first time I’d seen her freak herself out. Had she just hallucinated the whole thing? I mean, sure, I’d seen some weird things with her, but there could’ve always been prosaic explanations. I just wondered if this was the first symptom of some mental crack-up.
    I hoped not. I wanted desperately to believe Tanna was exactly what she claimed: a witch, a scientist, a woman, a whole, multifaceted person. If she turned out to be just some New Age hippie-chick weirdo...well, better to find out now. I hadn’t fallen all the way for her, but the ground was rushing up fast. I even had a ring in mind.
    In the morning I made coffee and called the Weakleyville Press to say I’d be late for work. When I brought Tanna a cup she was just waking, clad in my battered old Roxette t-shirt, hair tousled in an absolutely adorable way. I wrapped her hands carefully around the insulated mug; with the fireflies gone at dawn, she was once again blind.
    “Sorry about last night, Ry,” she said. “And thanks for not freaking out. It means a lot.”
    I was glad she couldn’t see me blush at the compliment. “So, do you remember what you said?”
    She nodded. “Ohhhh, yeah. I won’t be forgetting that anytime soon.” She shivered at the memory.
    I kissed her forehead. Now that she was awake and rational, my 2 a.m. doubts dissolved. “You know anytime you need me, Tanna,