The Girl Who Grew Freckles

Once upon a time, there was a little girl called May. She had bright red hair that curled up into tight springs on her head, eyes as blue as the sky on a summer’s day, and the clearest skin you ever did see.

People would always compliment May on her clear skin, saying how lucky she was to be without a single mark. And the little girl would think to herself, “Yes, I am lucky,” and she would smile.

One day, while May was out for a walk through her town, she noticed that there were people around her who didn’t seem very well. They were pale and some would cough when others sneezed, and some would sneeze when others coughed. None of them looked very happy at all. Full of concern, she approached the sick people and asked them if she could do something to help.

“The only thing you could do to help us is go deep into the forest and tell that mean old witch that lives there to heal us,” the sick people sneered, turning their heads away from her. They didn’t think that May would walk all that way to see the witch on their behalf, and they certainly didn’t think the witch would help them.

May thought for a moment before smiling up at each person in turn. “I’ll do just that,” she said before turning on her heel and following the path which lead straight to the edge of the forest.

Once she reached the tall towering trees marking the forest’s entrance, the little girl stopped for a moment. The shadows within frightened her more than she wanted to admit, and thoughts of running all the way back to her safe, warm home were tempting. But then she thought of the sick people, and how she’d told them she would help them. And she stepped into the forest.

She walked and she walked for what felt like forever through the forest, growing increasingly tired with each step and wanting desperately for a break and yet continued on all the same. She passed the large rock that was shaped like a chair and didn’t stop to sit in it, she passed the field of colourful flowers and didn’t stop to pick any, she passed the sparkling spring and didn’t stop to splash in it. Every time she thought of stopping or turning around, she remembered the sick people and would walk just that little bit faster.

Eventually she found it, the witch’s home. At first she wasn’t sure it was the right one; it didn’t look anything like how the villagers described it. Instead of the dark and spooky hut she found a cute little cottage in a bright patch of sunshine, surrounded by those same colourful flowers. She considered for a moment continuing her search, but who else would live out in the middle of the forest except the witch?

Swallowing down a wave of fear, May made her way up to the delicately carved wooden door and knocked timidly on the timber. When the door opened, the girl had to look up up up into the face of the house’s owner, her neck nearly aching with how far back she had to bend her head. And when she did see the other person, she was all but convinced she had the wrong place.

“Excuse me sir, but can you tell me where the witch lives?” She asked the man in the doorway with a smile.

“The witch lives right here, as a matter of fact. Why do you ask?” The man replied with a question of his own, looking down at the little girl with laughter in his eyes.

“There are some people in the village who are sick, and I was hoping she could help me make them better,” the little girl answered honestly, as her parents had taught her to always tell what she thought was the truth. She looked down from the stranger’s kind green eyes to try and peer around him, seeing a cozzie kitchen and a couple of green plants in spotted pots but no one else.

The man nodded in understanding, leaving the door open as he walked back inside to grab a plate of cookies. The little girl hesitated for a moment before following after him and sitting down on one of the padded wooden dining chairs, taking one of the cookies offered to her with a polite “thank you”.

“Why do you want to help these people? Are they your family, friends?” The man asked, chewing on one of the biscuits himself. He smiled as May shook her head.

“No, but they’re sick, and I’d like to be able to help,” the little girl answered as she munched, hungry from her long journey.

“And why did you come to the witch? Everyone says that witches are evil, she might not want to help,” the man questioned again.

“Well, I thought maybe if I asked nicely, she’d say yes. I don’t think someone becomes evil just because other people say they are,” the little girl said with a shrug, finishing off her cookie and reaching for another from the plate in the middle of the small table.

The man didn’t seem to have any more questions, just smiled and nodded before standing up and leaving the room. When he returned, he was carrying a small box, made of the same warm brown wood as the door and the table and the chairs, dainty stars carved into the top which almost seemed to twinkle. He sat wordlessly at the table and opened the box, pulling out a wand that looked as if the forest itself had swallowed a hand full of rainbow gemstones.

May gasped as she looked from the beautiful wand up into the smiling stranger’s face and back again, cookie entirely forgotten. “You’re the witch,” she said softly after the dazzling jewels stopped distracting her, bright smile returning to her face.

“I am,” the witch agreed with a nod. “Though I usually go by Sebastian. A pleasure to meet you, little miss,” Sebastian made a magnificent bow over the table, ducking his head as May giggled.

“So will you help me? Please?” She asked as nicely as she could, clasping her hands together in her lap.

“I’ll help you,” he agreed, closing the box again. “But you have to know, magic like this always comes with a side effect. I can give you the ability to help those people, but it’ll leave its mark on you,” the man warned gently.

The little girl bit her lip for a moment, worried about what that meant for her. But then she thought about the sick people in her town, and she nodded. “I don’t mind,” she told the witch, and she smiled.

Sebastian responded with a smile of his own and held out one of his hands for one of hers, which she gladly gave over. He held the wand over her palm and the little girl watched in amazement as all of the brilliant jewels lit up, a shower of colourful light gracing her hand in a swirling spotted fashion before the gems dimmed again. She looked up expectantly at the man.

“All done,” he replied simply, placing the wand gently back into the box.

“No magic words?” She asked curiously, staring down at her hand as if willing the beautiful lights to return.

“Well you did already say please,” Sebastian replied with a smile, which the little girl returned before hopping off of the chair.

“Thank you so much, mister witch,” the little girl beamed as she ran to the door. She stopped as she realised she’d forgotten something, turning back to face the table. “But how do I make it work?” She asked.

“You’ll know,” the man replied, selecting another cookie from the plate and waving his goodbyes.

May nodded before racing off towards home again. She ran all the way past the sparkling spring, she ran all the way past the field of colourful flowers, she ran all the way past the rock shaped like a chair. She ran until she’d left the forest far behind, only slowing again when she’d reached her home town.

The group of sick people were in the same place as she’d left them, huddled together and looking miserable. The little girl smiled as she walked up to them.

“I asked the witch that lives in the forest to help you,” she said simply.

“Oh yeah? And what did the witch say?” One of the sick people asked, not paying much attention to May.

“He said that he’d help me help you,” the little girl replied, smile growing brighter. She took the following silence as an invitation to do exactly that, and reached out for the hand of the closest person.

Gasps filled the air as a rainbow glow surrounded their conjoined hands, and she waited until it faded before letting go, looking up to see the colour return to the lady’s face. She looked much healthier now, in the little girl’s opinion, despite the wide eyed stare.

An argument quickly arose over who got to be next, though one by one May made sure to hold each of the group member’s hands, smiling each time the colourful glow appeared and another previously sick person became healthy again.

By the time she’d seen to everyone, now chatting away excitedly with each other, the little girl felt tired. It was when she sat down to rest that she noticed the little handful of brown spots spread out over her arms. She curiously traced her fingers over the new freckles, which certainly hadn’t been there before.

The next day, after she’d helped her neighbour’s cat with its sore leg, May noticed another freckle just under her bottom lip. And when she made her school teacher’s sprained wrist go away, another freckle appeared on her foot.

With each person she helped, a new freckle would appear somewhere on the little girl. Over the years, as she grew less little, the brown spots covered her more and more. She didn’t often receive compliments on her skin anymore; sometimes on her bright hair or her eagerness to help, but seldom for her spotted skin.

One day May looked around at all the people she’d helped, all of them laughing and smiling as they went about their day. Then she looked down to the evidence of that dotting along her skin, and she smiled.

-By Shelby Shennan