"Witches release the chapters of the past, which invites the novels of the future."

― Dacha Avelin, Embracing Your Inner Witch: The Maidens Guide to Old World Witchcraft

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For a moment, nothing existed. There was no sound, no feeling, and no color at all. But the moment eventually passed and everything rushed by in what seemed like an explosion of energy. Brynn felt her own presence again, and she squinted for a moment in the sudden burst of light and color. Little spots filled her vision. At least I don't feel all stretched out like the last time I was transported like this. That must be the result of multiple people working together to do the spell. It's not a single person stretching out their own energy — it's a dozen pooling it together. Still, the strangely warped nature of her vision made her beyond uncomfortable. She rubbed at her face until she could see clearly.

Everything finally filtered into focus and Brynn looked around to study her surroundings. She was in the little witchcraft shop in Salem that her family had stopped in. It took her a couple of minutes to remember it all, to believe that all of it had happened. It had felt like she had been back in the past for years, if not a full lifetime. But, no, she belonged in the present. And that was where she was again.

A smile tugged at her lips as she walked down the aisle, observing the little objects that she had originally made fun of. Tarot cards and crystals and incense... It had all seemed like nonsense before she had ended up in the past and seen real witchcraft happen before her very eyes. Perhaps that was why her vision had been spotty when she had been transported back; her body was searching for that magic and was unused to living in an ordinary world.

Brynn strolled down the next aisle. She wasn't read to face her family, not quite yet. She wanted it all to sink in first; more than anything, she didn't want those memories to disappear from her head. They already felt like nothing more than a strange dream.

I was transported to the past, still in Salem, by a little book. I teamed up with a bunch of witches and we went on multiple missions to save others. And, in the end, I was the one who took down that awful witch hunter. She felt a sudden swell of pride, and then a trickle of disappointment. No, there's more to it than that. I didn't do that all on my own. I had someone. I had... Her eyes went wide as her thoughts and memories finally returned to her. Joan. I had Joan.

Brynn whipped her head up and raced down the shop aisle with a renewed eagerness. Joan said she'd be here. And... She was in the shop in the first place, in the present, before I was sent on this whole adventure. Something else slipped into place and she nearly laughed. Oh yeah, she was the one that hexed me in the first place. It's kind of hard to forget that.

She scanned the front of the shop, panic beginning to fill her from head to toe when she didn't see Joan anywhere. There's no way she can't be real. Don't tell me this whole thing was a dream, from the moment I walked into this shop... Then she laid eyes on the shop counter, where her family was checking out. It seemed as if Brynn's mother had caved in and actually bought something, a small bag of crystals. The woman smiled and turned to wave her over, but Brynn's gaze moved past her without a second glance. Sure enough, there was a familiar girl with a short brown bob, wearing the same all-black outfit that Brynn remembered her wearing before. The young woman's dark eyes leapt up to hers, an amused smirk on her lips.

Joan. She's really here. Brynn stumbled forward to the cash register to join her family, offering them a smile even though her interest lay fully in the young woman behind the counter.

"Hey, kiddo! Where've you been? Did you get lost in there?" Her stepfather asked with a playful chuckle, nudging her shoulder. "You have to admit that it's a pretty cool place after all, huh?"

Brynn nodded with a small smile. That wasn't at all far from the truth. "Definitely."

The man seemed ecstatic that she agreed with him, because his grin widened. He handed over his credit card to pay, their purchase was bagged, and he started for the door. Brynn's mother followed, her stepbrother already waiting rather impatiently to leave. He must not have been as entertained by the little shop as the parents were. As the family finally made room at the cash register, Brynn stepped forward so eagerly that she tripped and nearly fell on the counter; fortunately, Joan caught her with a strong arm before she actually touched the wood.

"I told you I'd be there," Joan murmured, tilting her head with a knowing smile. Her dark eyes sparked with mischief. And, perhaps, a little magic.

"I— Oh my— I can't—" Brynn sputtered. A blush crawled up her cheeks. She couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't sound absolutely crazy. "Can I get your number?"

The young woman chuckled softly. "Whatever, Vixen." A rush went through Brynn; a smile popped onto her face. Joan fished for something off to the side, setting a postcard on the counter and grabbing a pen. In scrawling handwriting, she wrote out the number and slid it across the counter to Brynn.

"Thank you," Brynn whispered, picking it up and flipping it over to look at the design. The postcard displayed a candle burning with a spread of tarot cards laid out beneath it. In one of the bottom corners, the shop's name, "Witch's Wares: Voodoo and Sorcery," was printed in what Brynn assumed was meant to be a rustic and creepy font.

Joan reached out her hand to flip the postcard back over. At first Brynn saw only the phone number she had just written, but as Joan directed her gaze further down, she saw that a little owl had been sketched in black ink at the bottom of the card. She opened her mouth to ask if Joan had drawn it herself, but the young woman simply smiled and nodded. Brynn stared across at Joan for a long moment. She wondered if her family was watching and if they would mind if she pulled the young woman over and kissed her right then and there.

"C'mon, loser! I don't want to wait in this weird old shop all day!" A voice interrupted before she could decide. Brynn sighed. It was DJ; she knew that without even having to turn.

Her hazel eyes leapt up to Joan's, worried for a second that this would be the last time she'd actually see the young woman in person. But Joan was still smiling, a fond look in her mysteriously dark eyes, and she linked her hand with Brynn's.

"Keep in touch, okay?" Joan asked, her voice as rough and deep as ever. Her eyebrows twitched up in confirmation.

Brynn nodded, giving her hand a squeeze before finally releasing it. She clutched the postcard close as she joined her family at the door and, with one last look back at Joan, left the witchy little shop that had started it all.

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