Withchless

Witchless

As soon as Ashlee’s mind became conscious; before her eyes even opened that warm Saturday morning, she could tell it was going to be one of those weird days. She felt it. 

Without skipping a beat, she turned on her zoning music and laid in bed for a few more minutes assessing her dreams, allowing her brain and body to catch up. 

“Ahhh,” she sighed, gently ripping the blanket off her to get up and start her day, “So what’s it gonna be this time?” 

She stretched her entire body right before it’s breaking point and closed her eyes. 

Slow and deep inhale. 

Pause; 1… 2… 3… 

Slow exhale. 

Of course she was nervous, she had every right to be. You would be too. She knew something life changing was going to happen at some point during the day. She just didn’t know what; Big? Small? Good? Bad? In what aspects? Either way, she was prepared and ready to take on whatever the Universe was going to throw at her. 

Being prepared didn’t stop her mind from racing. In fact, it made her mind race more than Chorisbar and his rider in their most active year. It was a blessing and a curse.

She headed upstairs to chat with the family before setting out on her adventure. 

“Good morning sweetheart,” her mom said as she was pouring herself a cup of Folgers. “Would you like some?”

“Yes please.”

“So what are you up to today?” 

“I don’t even know, Ma. It’s gonna be one of those days but uhh… I’ll let you know when I get there.” Letting out a deep breath before she takes her first sip. Coffee didn’t affect her like it did most people; in fact, it made her calm. 

She sat in silence listening to her surroundings, waiting for any kind of clue. Inhale … Exhale … Downtown… 

“Downtown?”, she asked herself out loud. 

“Ma! I’ll be back later, love you!” 

She runs out the back door. 

 “Uggggh. Son of a biscuit eating bulldog! I forgot my headphones”, she exclaims out loud as she runs back inside to grab them. 

“Ok great. We got further than we did last time. But where ARE we going? Ehh doesn’t really matter anyway, when i know, i will know.”

In moments, ha, days like today she knew she had to lose all human control and let her soul do the navigating. All you have to do is listen and don’t think. 

With the music flowing thru her as she walks which seems to be aimlessly, her seeing becomes heightened as well as her feeling, and her subconscious can roam free. 

The sync up is powerful. 

She gets closer to town and starts to come back to earth, taking in her surroundings, and the energies around her. 

“Alright, so what am I looking for? It’s either I’m meant to find a store; or I’m meant to run into someone. But why? Yea, yea, I know. I’ll know when I know. But seriously? What’s the point? I need to know SOMETHING!”

She starts to get this feeling in her body. 

“What is it?… Deep breath.”

She focuses on the shop windows and store signs. 

“When I know, I’ll know. Toys? Flowers? Wow those are pretty… Growth? Why did that just pop into my head? Bar? Nope, definitely not!” 

With every step she took, the feeling became more intense. 

“Books?”

The way she stopped dead in her tracks was like some higher force stopped her from moving forward and the feeling that overcame her was unexplainable. 

She stands there for a moment taking in the entire store front.

She proceeds to open the door and walks in. 

Inhale…

Feel…

Exhale… 

“Hello! How are you?” 

Ashlee turns her head towards the soft voice, “I’m good! How about you?”

“Bored. Business been slow. Just catching up on paperwork to pass time. So what brings you in? Are you looking for something specific?” 

“Uhm, I actually don’t even know. Just felt like I should come downtown today and this is where it led me.”

“Ahhh!” The little lady’s eyes widened up. “My turn, follow me.” 

Ashlee follows a few steps behind. 

“What is going on? Where is she taking me? Why did she look at me like that? Why do I keep feeling like the insides of my body are tingling?”

She was becoming more and more curious. She couldn’t help it. The feelings felt more positive than negative; but then again, she didn’t know what they were, let alone how to tell the difference. 

The mysterious woman finally stops in a hidden section towards the back that looked completely different from the rest of the store. It was brighter in a sense, more vivid. Like there were more lights in this specific section and dust of glitter in the air. 

“If my feeling is correct, you’ll really enjoy this section. Let me know if you need anything Angel.” The woman smiled and walked away leaving her to figure out the next step on her own. 

The feeling in her body started to pulsate as she looked around. 

Breath…

“Alright, so something led me to the bookstore. I didn’t even say much and the lady led me here to this section. There’s a reason why I’m here? So what is it.”

Her eyes scan the shelves every which way. Back and forth, up and down. Nothing seemed to be in any kind of order.

The feeling paused. 

*THE UNSEEN AND UNKNOWN 

*PSYCHIC ABILITIES FOR DUMMIES*

*CLAIRVOYANCE*

*MAGIC TRICKS*

*WITCHFUL POTIONS* 

*FOR THE HIGHLY EMOTIONAL PSYCHIC MEDIUM and THE SOUL* 

“Woah! Witchful Potions?” 

A million tabs opened up in her brain.

“What’s a highly emotional psychic medium? How would the potions even work? Do I need some kind of magical ability for the positions to work? Do I have some kind of magical powers and that’s what led me here? Am i a witch? Can I make what ever it is that’s going on stronger?” 

She grabs the book and holds it with both hands in front of her. Trying to see if she could feel anything. 

“Is this why I came here?” 

She stares at it for a moment thinking about focusing on the book. 

Nothing. 

She takes another look at the books on the shelf and gets a slight ping, immediately focusing her attention back on the book in her hands. 

“This one? I still don’t get it? I think I’m gonna go with this one” 

The feeling dissipated with every step she took to the counter. 

Ashlee grips the book tightly before placing it on the counter. 

“Ahhh. So this is the book that called you here, huh?”, the woman, we’ll just call her Missy, said with a smile. 

“Yeah. I mean, at least I think so.” 

Missy giggles, “I’m not sure exactly what it is your feeling and going through, it’s different for everyone, but what I can tell you is, it’s a learning process. You must know yourself first in order to fully understand. Always use your abilities for good. Create, not destroy. Be discerning and listen. Not everything is what it seems. Your total comes to twenty two dollars and eleven cents. Would you like a silk ? 

Ashlee looks at her in amazement and drifts off for a second, swept away by what she just had heard. 

“Who is she? How do I explain the fact that I understand what she’s saying without understanding what she’s saying” 

“Uh. Sorry. Yes, please”, Ashlee says as she grabs the cash from her wallet. 

“What color would you like?” 

She scans the different colors with her eyes and stops. 

“I’d like the blue and purple tie dye one please.” 

“Alrighty! Here ya go, she’s all yours.”, Missy exclaims  excitedly as she hands Ashlee her new purchase. 

Ashlee takes the bag and smiles, thanking her for all of her help and heads for the door. She turns back one last time towards the mysterious woman. 

“Thank you again! Have a great day!”

“Of course angel, if you need anything, you know where to find me! Have a great day!” 

Ashlee puts on her headphones and sets out on her adventure. The entire walk home she finds herself lost in the music, daydreaming about what’s to come. Thinking of all the possibilities and what ifs. All the how’s and why’s. 

“I can’t wait to get home. I wish my legs moved faster. No, I wish I had a magic carpet or ha, a broom. But why do I feel like I’m missing something or is something wrong? Why do I keep picturing those other books?” 

She finally arrives home from what seemed like forever in an instant and runs right to her room, rips out her headphones and shuts the door behind her. She kicks off her shoes, free falls onto the bed, unties the bag and starts reading. 

“Why haven’t I felt anything? Did I just not find what I’m looking for yet?” 

She closes her eyes. 

“Inhale”…

“Exhale”…

“Table of contents.”

She flips to the beginning of the book and scans the page with her eyes. She doesn’t feel anything, nor do any of the words pop out but she takes notice of a potion for changing your eye color. 

“Hmm, why not start small? That seems cool. Page thirty three.” 

She flips to the page and starts to feel a sensation different from the others. 

“Why am I getting the feeling I shouldn’t be doing this? Am I gonna go blind? What if it turns out to be poison? No, they wouldn’t sell a book like that. But what if someone planted it there waiting for an unsuspecting person to purchase it. Hahah, no. But what are the odds? Ok stop, you didn’t even read the ingredients yet.” 

Ashlee laughs it off and picks back up where she left off. After she writes down the ingredients and takes notes she sits up to start the potion process. But that’s when things took a turn. 

She goes to put on her slippers; first, her one sock slips off, then her slipper wouldn’t go on. She gets up and trips. Opens her bedroom door and as she’s walking out her pants get stuck on the door knob. 

“What is going on right now?”

She gets to the kitchen unharmed, turns on the light and heads toward the pantry. 

She opens the cabinet and shrieks, jumping  backwards almost slipping. 

“Ahhh!!! What the!!!” 

The salt shaker fell out of the cabinet. Of course it would. She pinches the salt and flings it over her shoulder, wiping the rest in her hand before tossing it in the garbage. 

“Should I not be doing this?” 

Ashlee goes back to the cabinet to grab the cinnamon and drops it. Luckily there was no mess to clean. She turns her focus on grabbing a pot and somehow they all manage to fall making the loudest clanking noises she’s ever heard. She starts to think about the woman at the bookstore and all of the feelings she got that day. 

She closes her eyes. 

“Breath … NO. No? Witch… Books.” 

She paused for a second and in that moment she realized what she must do. Her eyes pop open and get to work cleaning up the mess, packs up the newly purchased book and heads back out. She was so focused on getting back to the bookstore that she didn’t even notice she forgot her headphones. 

She opens the door and immediately spots the woman behind the counter. Before she got the chance to say anything the woman smiles and says softly “Hi angel, I knew you’d be back”