Palindrome

Animals

Lady's Dwell was part of my family history; the Lady in speaking was one of my ancestors who had fallen asleep near the road, tired after a long and hazardous journey. A man woke her, carried her to his cabin, and tended to her. As the story goes, they fell in love, and she stayed here. The man never asked where she came from, and the two opened an Inn that offered food and beds to weary travelers. This town grew up around that Inn, and that was now the Sunshine Cafe. The Lady was my great-great-great-grandmother, after whom I had my name. They had built the house I now lived in when the children came, and Grandma Hannah wanted a place for herself that wasn't filled with guests all the time.

When I looked down, I saw that I had written several items on my list that I didn't know I needed, but I let them stand, trusting my intuition. I wiped down the kitchen bench and did the dishes before I could hang the curtains to dry and put on another machine. I saw Evans worked hard, so I decided not to bother him about the lift. Grabbing my wicker basket and card, I went outside and locked the door behind me. Because of the noise, I lifted the basket and pointed toward the town to tell Evans where I was going; he saluted me with one hand and kept working.

The day was one of those mellow mornings, still quite cool but with a promise of a hot day later. The trees were light green, and the spring flowers were blooming. I stopped to talk to Mrs. Jensen, who sat outside, drinking her morning coffee. "Good morning, Mrs Jensen! I'll stop by tomorrow with more of your tea; I'm going to the store now to get some supplies."

"Morning, sweet Hannah. Everything ok? I thought you looked tired yesterday, and then I saw that boy driving you home. You be sure to keep safe now, will you."

You can always count on the neighbors to keep track of you. I reassured her, "I just slept badly but am much better today. Someone stole my bike; he was kind enough to offer me a lift home." She gave me a stare; "Who was he? I can't say I've seen him before." I blushed, feeling interrogated. "Oh, he's one of the Adamsons; they've moved into the Pevensy house." Mrs Jensen nodded, "Oh, I heard about someone moving in, a big family, supposedly. Stay safe; I bet your mother would have wanted me to warn you about them, boys." My smile broadened, and I thanked her kind heart before I resumed my mission.

I'd gotten halfway down my shopping list when I heard some commotion in the aisle next to the one I was in; someone was arguing. They tried to be quiet, but they were obviously fighting about something. I felt a tingling in my fingers before a voice popped into my head.

"Listen. It's about you."

Why had the Goddess started to talk to me regularly? Sometimes, she was a drama queen; I wondered if this would end up bad if I followed her advice.

"Don't you think we know you drove her home the other day? Her smell was all over the car; it reeked of witch and magic. We agreed to stay away till we found out some more."

It was a woman speaking, and from the context, I guessed it was William's sister.

"I was trying to do just that, find out more. She was in the car for under five minutes; no harm was done."

My heart hammered by the sound of his voice, conjuring up visions of him in sunglasses smiling at me.

A third voice.

"Oh, I can think of many things I could've done to her in five minutes..." There was the sound of a slap and a groan.

"Try to pretend you're not an animal, will you?"

A low laughter ensued. "I saw the way you looked at her, brother. I bet you would have loved having her alone in your car more often."

"Stop acting like an idiot; some of us can think with other parts than our dick."

"Hey, hey..." The sister tried to calm them down, "We're in the middle of the store; keep it down, please. You can fight it out at home."

William sneered, "You brought it up; don't act so innocent."

"I just wanted to remind you to keep away; Father will be angry if he hears about it when he gets here."

I stood at the end of the aisle, hugging the shelf filled with cereal. I'd put the basket on the floor beside me and almost didn't dare to breathe. Why were they supposed to keep away from me? How could they smell me in the car?

"Why should he hear about it if you don't tell him? I swear, she has no idea. If I can get some information from her voluntarily, wouldn't that be best? Maybe we can live here longer than six months; I'm tired of moving constantly." Williams's voice was intense.

"When have we ever met a witch that wanted to help us? They hate us. They think we're an abomination to nature." Belinda spat. 

My mind was swimming; what were they talking about? An abomination? We saw all life on earth as sacred, all things blessed by the Goddess. Forgetting about the basket, I took a step back and knew instantly I would fall on my back. I tried to grab something, but there was nothing to hold on to. The few items I reached just tumbled to the ground, adding to the chaos. The fall seemed to last an eternity, but I finally hit the floor, tipping my basket filled with groceries. I let out a loud oomph when I landed, hitting my head on the edge of the shelf on the other side. Footsteps rambled my way, but I had my eyes closed; the pain radiated from my head. I lay still for some moments, trying to calm the nauseousness building. When I finally looked up, I met three faces hovering over me. Two pairs of brown and one pair of blue eyes. All perfectly still, staring at me.

"Are you ok?" William kept his voice down, but I saw his nostrils flaring before he got down on one knee, and his warm hand found the gaping wound in the back of my head. I saw the blood on his fingers, and Benjamin took a step back as he put one hand on his sister's shoulder. In slow motion, I saw William lick one of his fingers, and the way he closed his eyes in bliss afterward made me wish we were alone in a bedroom. Then the pain hit me again; what kind of fantasy was that? I should be freaking out by the sight. I tried to get up, but my legs wouldn't respond. William saw me struggling and pushed me down again. "Keep still; you hurt your head pretty bad." He turned to his sister. "Belinda, can you get one staff member to help us? We need a first-aid kit, I believe." She didn't respond at first; her eyes were fixated on me. Instinct made me push myself closer to the shelf, further away from her body. Benjamin gave her a shake, and she woke like she was in a trance. "Sure? Can we just hit her again and say it was an accident?" I struggled to understand what she meant, and when her words finally made sense, I grabbed William. "Help me up." He shot a menacing glare at Belinda. "Don't be ridiculous. Never mind her, Hannah, she's just joking." I doubted it but said nothing as she slumped away for help.

Benjamin kept his distance as William slowly helped me up. "You should stay still; you might have a concussion." My head hammered; I could almost see the pain pulsating red around my skull. "I'm fine." I touched the wound gingerly; my hand came back covered in blood. I knew head injuries tended to bleed a lot, but I couldn't help but pale at the sight. To distract myself, I looked at William, what I saw in his eyes should have scared me half to death, but instead, I leaned closer in and inhaled his scent. It was sweet and wild simultaneously, like nothing I've ever smelled before. I saw his lips, blood-red and half open. He had a stubble, enough to empathize the sharp jaw, and my bloody hand crept towards his face. It was like in the car when time seemed to stop or move slow. Not a sound was heard other than our synchronized breathing. Gazing into his eyes, I saw visions of a dark forest and animals running; I saw myself standing in a field, dressed in a white dress, waiting for someone. My lips were just centimetres from his, and William's pupils almost covered his eyes. My hand rested against his chin, the beard soft under my touch. When I was about to lean in that last distance, William was dragged away from me. I saw the blood smear left by my hand and stumbled forward. I got a hold at the last second, keeping me upright. My body bent forward, heaving after the air. What the fuck just happened?

That was the exact words that Benjamin yelled at his brother.

"What the fuck was that? You looked like you would have her right in the middle of the store." He raised a hand and pointed at me. "She's a witch, you should know to stay the fuck away from her." William shook his head, his eyes glazed. I couldn't speak; I didn't know what was happening, and I was losing control. He swallowed. "Not a spell, I think." He whispered, but Benjamin heard him. My hands covered my mouth, trying to control my harsh breathing. I met William's eyes and did the only thing I could think of. I fainted.