THE FRATERNITY

Maureen is a witch.

It was no news, everyone knew. Adults avoided her while children were terrified of her. Maureen lived just at the end of the street on Milk's corner. The reason for naming the street Milk's corner had been forgotten by all, but nobody would forget that Maureen was a witch.

Mothers recited stories to their children. Tales of Maureen's life. How Maureen wasn't aging, how her blue tinged hair glowed in the dark and how she flew at night. Children would listen in awe, with mouths open and heart pounding. They would avoid Maureen whenever they met her on the street and run if she ever tried to call them. Maureen was a terror. Store owners didn't like her coming into their stores, but they sold her goods because she paid and they were after the money after all.

Nobody liked Maureen and everybody only knew one thing about Maureen; she was a witch who had killed her family. She had allegedly killed her parents, her husband and two sons. Maureen should be old and dead, but Maureen wasn't aging.

Everyone despised Maureen, except one person. Pearl's delight came from hearing stories about Maureen. Unlike other ten year olds, she wasn't scared of Maureen and during nap, Pearl would look down the street from her window and wonder how Maureen was living. Pearl longed to talk to Maureen, to walk into the enormous gray house with its closed windows and dance around in the rooms. Pearl fantasied about living like Maureen.

"How do you know Maureen flies at night, mother?" Pearl asked her mother after walking back from school one hot afternoon. Pearl's mother, Lora was on her knees on the brown tiled floor slowly mopping with sweat dripping down her face. She preferred to go on her knees and clean with a napkin, than use a mop stick. Whenever there were complains, she would insist that it cleaned better that way and everyone had accepted the quirk.

"I don't know," Lora said. She cocked her head sideways and stared thoughtfully at her daughter. "Everyone just knows…"

"But how did you know?" Pearl reiterated.

Lora frowned and a sneeze erupted from her. "Oh no," she said, "go inside. I wouldn't want to infect you. I think I've caught a cold."

Pearl nodded and stared at Lora in concern. "Don't fall sick," Pearl told her mum.

Something dawned on Pearl that day, Maureen was a hero, because Maureen was in a fight against everyone in the neighbourhood, but she never complained.

*****

"Pearl Anderson!" Mr. Rogers bellowed. Pearl's heart slammed hard against her rib cage and she turned to face Mr. Rogers immediately. Her legs shook slightly and her hands trembled from the shock of the shout. The pen in her right hand fell to the floor making a clank-clank rhythm.

"Do you want to go to what you're staring at?" Mr. Rogers smiled at Pearl. Pearl winced at the smile. She liked it better when he frowned, because he looked more sincere that way.

"No sir," she replied.

"Good." Mr. Rogers turned back to the class and Pearl tuned out his voice as she spared a glance again at the window. The tall gray fence stood loyally on the ground, guarding the gray house and the witch that lived within.

Pearl took her pen from the floor and tapped it against her lowly trimmed blonde hair wondering what Maureen might be up to. A bang caused Pearl to jump and she glanced into Dee's laughing face. The mouth revealed scattered teeth that Dee was considering bracing. Dee was short for Decaliomoena and since everyone had a hard time pronouncing it correctly and frustrating Dee, she shortened it.

Pearl glared at Dee. "You startled me!"

"Obviously," Dee said and laughed again, before placing a dirty flyer on Pearl's desk. She glanced around the room before whispering. "See what I found."

Pearl also looked around the noisy class. Mr. Rogers was gone and it was lunch break, although Pearl had been oblivious to that. She shook her head at Jameson who was performing a stunt with his head and hands on the floor. He enjoyed the attention he got. Pearl glanced back at the gray and blue flyer with the mud encrusted edges.

Witches Fraternity was written with dark ink in block letters. Pearl's eyes widened as she skimmed through the flyer. It had never happened before. It was a call for young children between ages 10-15 to apply as witches. Pearl's breath caught in her throat and she had to close her eyes to remind herself to breathe.

"What are you doing?" Dee whispered. Pearl opened her eyes to see Dee taking the flyer off her desk.

"Breathing," Pearl responded. She snatched the flyer out of Dee's light grip and tucked it into the wallet of her backpack. "You're not taking this back," she muttered.

"You're going to apply then?"

Pearl paused as she stared at Dee's flushed face and barely calm body. Dee was her best friend and knew how she admired Maureen, but Pearl thought it wouldn't be wise to announce her decision.

"Maybe not," Pearl said and shrugged.

The sun that brightened Dee's face set immediately and her face fell. "Alright. I think I will though," Dee replied. The bell rang for the end of break and Pearl watched Dee return to her seat. Pearl reached her hand into her bag, caressing the flyer and feeling joyful at realizing it was real. It was an opportunity to meet Maureen and the event was to be held at the gray house! Pearl almost did a dance- almost- but Miss Shanee walked in with her frown and her terrifying oval glasses, so Pearl maintained her seat.

*****

This was the reason Pearl hated being fat and ugly. Even though she had cut her blonde hair to look good, she felt she looked even more bloated. Now, she was growing it back. She hoped that she could be beautiful with just the right weight after meeting Maureen.

She spread her legs apart and jumped the ditch. Her left leg landed in the brown stagnant water and the water sprayed onto her skirt. Pearl huffed in annoyance. She didn't appreciate going to Maureen looking like an underdressed rodeo bull, but she couldn't go home to change. She walked as swiftly as her feet would carry her and hoped she wouldn't meet anyone who knew her. Of course, in Manety County, everyone knew everyone, but she wouldn't want them to see her walking into Maureen's. What would her mother say about that? The question roused her sleeping heart and it began skipping rapidly and her throat felt suddenly dry. Pearl rubbed her clammy hands together and sang to herself not to worry as she neared the large black gate.

She reached her hand to knock, but decided against it and pushed the gate open, surprised to discover it was unlocked. It felt nice to know that she could have come anytime and walked inside like she was a part of the place.

The tower clock on the other street chimed that it was three o'clock. Pearl was suddenly in a dilemma as she stared at the trimmed grass that stretched into Maureen's house and knew she should be back home watching her lean mother kneel and clean the floor. She shook her head and took a step into the house. She had waited for this all day and could go home after she was done. She closed the door and it shut soundlessly behind her.

"Welcome. You're the last participant," a metallic voice called from nowhere. It startled Pearl and she looked around for the owner of the voice in fear. There was no one. Closing her eyes and clearing her mind with a sigh, Pearl opened her eyes and looked around the large compound.

It was a large mass of land and the enormous grey house stood in the middle, just some steps away from Pearl. It didn't look as formidable as it seemed from the street. Pearl smiled as she walked towards the house, taking brisk steps toward her future. If she was the last participant, then she might as well bank on her luck and win the competition.

*****

Pearl followed the length of the brown rug that went from the front door and stopped behind two large closed doors. She pushed one open and walked in.

There were five women sitting on high chairs that looked like thrones. Pearl knew they made up the witches fraternity. The witches fraternity was as famous as Maureen was, but it was less talked about. The first time Pearl heard it was in a hushed conversation between her mother and the grocery store owner. Pearl had done some background research without making it obvious and had begun to respect the fraternity as much as she respected Maureen.

The five women were dressed in white and lilac dresses that covered their feet. Their head held beautiful wreaths and their black hair spilled down their back. Pearl's mouth fell at their youthful angelic beauty. Her eyes watered as she thought of becoming like that someday. How glorious that would be! she thought.

The room was a small hall with golden chandeliers and several candle stands at various corners. One stand had four candles each and they were all lit, glowing a fiery red. Pearl was seized by the urge to bow before these amazing creatures people had called witches.

"Yes, do it," the witch in the middle said. Pearl knew she would be Maureen and the sea coloured stone in her wreath ascertained that.

"Pay homage," the four others chanted slowly.

Pearl clumsily went to her knees and touched her forehead to the ground. A sharp image of her mother in nearly the same position cleaning the floor flashed through Pearl's mind, but she shrugged it away.

"Several people have been here, but they were unqualified. You're the last person and we hope that you can prove your qualification to the fraternity," Maureen said.

"You have to perform a task before you can be our little one," witch two said.

"We don't need a little witch, but perhaps having one around would be cool," witch three said.

Pearl couldn't help it as she nodded. It would be heavenly cool to be around them too.

"Your task is to get us the spring of youth," the fourth witch said. "The spring of youth will be found in the cave of shadows at the outskirts of town.

"We need you to go there, and come back with it," the fifth witch said.

"All you need is courage. You will go on foot and come back the same way. If you have a grain of fear in your heart, you won't be able to get it and joining us would be impossible," Maureen said. "Only a young person can obtain the spring of youth."

Pearl felt honoured to be the one. She desperately wanted to be part of them. To be as beautiful, as glorious, as revered as they were.

"I will go," Pearl said.

"Wonderful!" The fourth witch exclaimed. Pearl raised her head in excitement, but was taken aback by the colored teeth of the fourth witch.

"You can," Maureen was saying, then she sneezed. The sudden sound shocked Pearl and jeered her to real life. Reality was a world of imperfection and uncertainty.

"Damn!" The second witch said. "I freaking told you to take medication for your cold, knowing fully well that today is important!"

Pearl was suddenly invisible and no one seemed to notice her as they argued. Pearl watched the brown teeth, the voices sounded older and less sonorous. Maureen sneezed again. This time, it was violent and it caused her face to fall, or the youthful mask over her face.

Pearl watched the wrinkled old woman before her and stood to her feet.

"She mustn't leave. Get her!" Maureen barked. The four witches climbed out of their thrones except Maureen, and Pearl watched in a daze as wrinkled feet appeared beneath lovely gowns. She noticed the bulge of the bellies, the vascularized hands. Her brain woke up when the grisly hand of the third witch almost gripped her. Pearl took to her heels, and in the frenzy knocked down two candle stands. She went through the door before the women reached her and shut the two large doors on them. She drew the latch through it and locked it.

As Pearl hurried down the rug, she heard muffled shouts. She stopped short and glanced around her. She noticed a door she hadn't seen previously and unlocking the latch, her eyes widened to see eight children of Manety County.

"Pearl!"

Dee's rough face stared at Pearl's in surprise. Pearl was brought crashing to reality when children running out of the room crashed into her. Dee gripped her hands and they ran as the fire from the previously burning hall pursued them. They all fled the grey house, an army of scared and disappointed children.

Pearl watched the burning gray house as she got out of the gate with Dee. Witches fraternity had been a lie. Maureen might have been a witch or not. Maybe a witch who lived on past glory, or an innocent woman who thrived on the rumours created for her. Pearl's heart sank as she walked home, back to her lean mother who kneeled down to scrub the floor, to more rumours about Maureen whose death would be a sugary tale, to her room where the gray house would no longer be visible. She walked home and lost faith in witches and all they represented. Pearl felt she would always be who she was. Overweight and clumsy, never golden and angelic, because being angelic was a lie. Behind perfect faces, were wrinkled souls and crazy people.