Chapter 39- Whispers In The Wind

Crystal should have felt fear when she heard her mother say, “Whoever as stole him from me will burn at the stake, alive!” Yet she didn’t. She felt more determined to make sure her father wasn’t cremated.
Crystal grabbed his hand and pulled him further into the alley. She scaled a garden wall with ease. Levi followed behind her as she dashed through backyards and then bolted past the community pond.
She was out of breath and panting when she reached the oak tree. Leaning against it while she caught her breath, Ruby stood with a spade in her hand. Levi was unaffected by their mad sprint and stood patiently waiting for some kind of explanation.
“I would ask, but I am guessing I wouldn’t like the answer,” Ruby said picking up a spade from the floor and tossing it at Crystal who caught it effortlessly.
“Is that a body?” Levi asked with shock in his voice.
“Yeah, our fathers. We need to bury him quick. Mother wants to cremate him,” Crystal quickly explained.
“Is she crazy? Every witch needs to be buried and blessed to move on,”
“Yep, that’s Jeanette all right. Mad as they bring them. Here make yourself useful,” Crystal tossed the spade to Levi who instantly began to dig.
Raising her hand with her palms facing the sky she began to make a circular motion. Clouds rolled in and the sky became pitch black. Crystal welcomed the rush of power that made her body buzz and feel alive. It was a feeling like no other. She was one with the sky as she caused a storm to gather above them.
Her bracelet began to vibrate again, and a voice echoed in her mind, “Not too much, hold back.” She looked around and shrugged. The voiced sounded like her own, yet it didn’t feel like it belonged to her.
“Crystal?” Ruby said her name in a grave voice as the first drops of rain fell. Within a second the raindrops were big and chaotic drenching them within no time. Crystal’s clothes stuck to her skin. Her black dress and tights had become skin-tight. She wasn’t dressed for the weather. As soon as the thought filtered across her mind she began to laugh. She was the one who had caused the storm.
Levi stopped digging and Ruby shook her head.
“She has finally lost it,” Ruby muttered.
“What’s so funny?” Levi asked which only made her laugh harder. Perhaps everything had become too much. Whatever the reason, Crystal didn’t know herself what was so funny as Levi had put it. A few minutes passed, before she composed herself and her mad laughter ceased. The reality of what they were doing sunk in and her heart filled with a deep sadness.
Lighting flashed in the sky followed by a loud bang. The earth shook beneath their feet as the flashes of light became more frequent. Ruby looked up at the storm and Crystal saw her mouth open ready to demand her to stop it.
“Mum knows dad’s body is missing. It should slow her down a little. Besides she does think she will melt in the rain,” Levi snickered at Crystal’s comment while Ruby shook her head with a sly smile.
“Done,” Levi announced.
Slowly they lowered Henry’s body into the grave. It was tradition to stand in silence and speak with the dead within your mind. As Crystal looked down to her father’s final resting place, a tear slipped from her eyes. She wished he had a coffin. But that was something they would never have been able to pull off.
Raiding the coven’s funeral parlour would have brought too much unwanted attention and her mother’s full wrath.
Although she did make a pit stop at the church and got her hands on the holy water, they needed to bless his body and soul.
The vicar did give her a strange look and tell her yet again that the devil lived inside her. It wasn’t anything new as Father David had always called her the devil’s spawn. Crystal had growled at him like she was possessed, and the father had fled the church as if the fires of hell were hot on his tail.
Without a doubt her mother would know about the incident, and she would have something to say.
She pulled out the flask and poured the liquid over his body.
“I bless you, Henry Hudson. In life and death. From one witch to another, you are free to leave this world. To join our ancestors and watch and guide us through our darkest hours,”
As she said the words, she had heard the priest say a thousand times before. Her father’s death finally hit home. Tears swelled in her eyes and leaked free. A lump formed in her throat while pain ripped through her heart. He was gone.
She thought back to all the times he had saved her from her mother’s grilling and disappointed glare. The hugs and soft words he had whispered to her as she drowned in the hateful words her mother had yelled.
He was the one that had made living with Jeanette bearable. With him gone she didn’t know how she could go on. What future would she have? She knew her own future looked bleak. Was death the answer? The only way out? No, it wasn’t. She didn’t want to die. She wanted to live. Life was hard and living was harder, but she would carry on. And one day she would find the happiness that was missing from her life. All she had to do was live.