Author: candacefreilich

The room looked different than yesterday. There were tree branches in the vases, petals on her blanket, and the windows were made of gumdrops. To top it all, the black cat was green and croaked. Yes, she was certain of it now. She'd been casting spells in her sleep again.

She collected like a magpie. Tiny bells, coins, anything shiny. Over the years, her hobby spilled from shelves into all the nooks and crannies. She disappeared at 80, and her neighbors drew straws to clean it up. They only found feathers.

They slammed the gate shut, blocking the skeleton. In an attempt to scare them off, it had chased them to their goal. There it was, the key to eternal life. Troy snatched it from the hook. "Haha, I'm free!" the skeleton laughed and crumpled into dust.

Teri patted on concealer, hiding pockmarks from Lea's hex. A harmless prank, she'd said, the reversal spell looked so easy. Teri'd show her. Lea had a handbag, pricey and perfect, that could use a touch of scorch marks. Fire wasn't that hard to control, was it?