Alejo

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When I woke up in the morning, it seemed like Morana had been awake for a long time already. Looking at her, I couldn't help to be worried. Something definitely seemed to be off about her.

I had assumed, or maybe rather hoped, she had just been low on energy the evening before, and I continued to hope that. She did have dark circles under her eyes, so she certainly looked exhausted. But there was something that made me sure there was more going on as well.

"Are you sure you should go to work today?" I asked her as she got off the couch to change clothes.

"Why wouldn't I?" she just answered and shrugged. The movement was as if she tried to be unperturbed, but there was an edge to her voice.

"You look exhausted. Like you didn't sleep at all," I answered and got up to follow her to continue the conversation. "It's important to take care of yourself."

"I'll be fine. It's just a lack of sleep. Nothing more."

"Are you sure there's nothing else..."

"I said I'm fine!" she yelled. She was in her room and slammed the door shut in my face.

I stood on the other side of it, not sure what to do. Her actions made me certain there was something bothering her, but for one reason or another she refused to tell me what. I wished she would though, that she would feel comfortable enough with me to tell me anything, and that she would say, so I could better know how to make her feel better.

I wouldn't press her anymore though, that was the only decision I made as I waited for her to come out of the room again.

"At least let me drive you again," I said.

She looked at me with such annoyance, but it seemed to soften a little.

"Whatever," she answered and went to put on her shoes.

As we arrived at her work, she seemed ready to go in without even saying goodbye, but I wouldn't have that. I grabbed hold of her arm and, before she could protest, pulled her into a hug.

"I'll listen if you want to talk about what's up, okay?" I told her while holding her. "But it's also fine if you don't want to talk about it. Either way, I'll be here for you."

I let go of her and she looked off to the side and down, not meeting my eyes.

"I'll pick you up when work is done, alright?" I added and watched her shrug her shoulders again.

"If you wanna," she mumbled before turning to walk off.

I watched her until she had disappeared with a small smile on my face.

"Adorable," I said to myself as I got back on the bike again.

She really was adorable. A bit frustrating and annoying, but also not. It was the same way a moody kid might be frustrating and annoying, while in reality, they really only were adorable.

As I drove home, I started thinking about things I could do in the evening to cheer her up. My first thought became to fix her favorite food, then I realized I didn't know what that was yet. Instead, I decided to look up what food would have been popular sixty years ago and hope to find something that maybe she ate a lot and liked as a kid.

So when I got back home, I opened up my computer and started searching for it. After some time, I had decided I would make her beef stroganoff and an upside-down cake. I was just about to make a list of the ingredients I needed to buy when an earth-shattering scream sounded in the apartment.

"Where are you?!" a voice yelled and it made me freeze in place and go cold. My stomach fell and one single fact echoed in my head, something I had completely forgotten about.

It was Mabon.

I unfroze, and the dread that filled me spurred me into action. First, I quickly sent a message to Morana, letting her know something had come up and that I wouldn't be able to pick her up after work. Then, without another thought, I teleported myself to the coven.

As soon as I walked through the front door of the coven's main house, a slap fell on my face which made me stumbled and my cheek burn.

"How dare you be late!" the same person who had sent the screaming message into my apartment hissed at me, the Priestess. My mother.

"I'm sorry. I... I forgot," I mumbled, and she scoffed.

"Forgot? Are you really so pathetically useless that you can't even keep track of the dates anymore?"

"I'm sorry," I apologized again, but I knew I could just as well have been apologizing to a rock. Hell, the rock would probably have been more understanding.

"Stop dillydallying and get changed! Or do you want to keep everyone waiting even longer?" she sneered and then left without another word.

I hurried off to a small room to the side. Really it wasn't a room but more like a built-in closet. There the black, full-covering cloak hung waiting for me. Quickly, I got out of my other clothes and put only that one on.

It felt harder than usual to wear the cloak. Maybe it was because I had forgotten, so I hadn't mentally prepared myself. Though I knew it was more than that.

I just really didn't want to be there. Morana was the reason I had forgotten, and it was with Morana I wanted to be, especially because she seemed to be upset. I wanted to be there to cheer her up in the evening and to feel the happiness her smiles caused me. Instead, I wouldn't be able to see her until tomorrow. The coven would need me until late at night, and I knew I would need to find a hotel to rest in after that. I wouldn't be able to go home after because I couldn't have Morana knowing how pathetic my life actually was.

I got out, changed, and walked through the hallway and to the left. Into the empty dining room. The table in there had a bunch of old papers of spells spread all over it. I went further, into the kitchen. And from the kitchen, another door led down to the basement, and that was where all of the witches in the coven were gathered. They sat in neat rows, facing away from the stairs. All waiting for me so their celebration of Mabon could start.

"Hurry up!" Mom snarled when she saw me.

She stood at the far end of the basement by an altar. Like me, she wore a black cloak, but hers looked very different from mine. The one I had was just plain fabric sown together, while hers was in silk and had both beautiful embroidery and stones attached to it. Hers also didn't close at the front like mine, but was instead open to reveal a deep purple dress underneath.

Before she had seen me, she had been talking to Senalda, my oldest sister, with a proud smile on her lips. But when she turned to me, the smile instantly disappeared and her brown eyes contracted, showing off her annoyance.

No one else in the coven so much as turned to look at me as I entered, they all just kept up whatever conversations they had been having. Not even my oldest sister, whose conversation with Mom had been cut short, turned to look at me.

I walked up, through the space the chairs made in the middle of the room, and then to the side, to where a chair stood in a corner which the candles that illuminated the basement didn't reach. The chair was made of wood, hard and uncomfortable, with armrests which had copper plates hanging from them. It had been my chair ever since I had been ten years old.

Without saying a word, I sat down. I pushed up the arms of the cloak a little before placing my arms on the rests with my palms up. So that my wrists were clearly visible.

Then I closed my eyes.