In the Open Cage

Chapter 24

It was a bright sunny day, the scent of pine sweet in the air, mingling with the earthy sweat of the horses. Blue sky peeked through dark leaves, and the shadows swayed with the motion of the wind.

It took Misa a moment to realise where she was, and when she looked down, she found herself riding a horse as if she had done it her entire life.

"Where do you plan to do it this time?" Misa asked the figure riding ahead.

Brown hair swished aside as Nisha glanced back at her, her ruby lips set in a mischievous smile. Misa wasn't sure when the memory was taking place as Nisha had the first signs of wrinkles forming above her brow and on either side of her toothy grin.

"You'll see, dear sister. It's quite a surprise."

Misa sighed, a worm of doubt and worry nibbling at her gut. She contemplated if she should suggest changing course, to delay the decadal ritual, but Nisha was set in her ways. Misa looked down at her hands. They too were becoming wrinkled, not so much that it appeared to be an old woman's, but enough to attest the age of one beyond her prime.

Misa's heart clenched. To be immortal. It was a much lonelier life than she'd expected, and it was a secret she'd harboured from Nisha for a very long time. The trees cleared out, and they paused to appreciate the bucolic scenery. Green hills stretched on either side of them, and just beyond the crest of one ahead, Misa could see a glimpse of a small town.

They rode on, sweating from the high sun. It took another half hour to reach their destination.

"There's someone I would like you to meet, sister," Nisha said. With that enigmatic smile, she snapped the reins and pushed her horse forward. Misa followed, taking in the festive mood of the townsfolk. A few girls twirled their dresses as they danced, giggling when an old woman called them to gift them each a crown of flowers.

No one paid them any heed, and Misa's doubt crept even further, wriggling, itching. It was wrong. These people, who had done nothing to them. Was it really the earth's will for witches to take their lives away?

Misa watched with longing at a mother humming while hanging bedsheets, her son teasing her, helping her, laughing as they playfully did their chores. How she wanted to have her own child, a husband to support them. She recalled the stable boy who had been cut down by her mother, his life ripped away because of her.

That life could never be hers.

Soon, they were at the outskirts of town once more. Misa followed Nisha silently, enjoying the calm breeze that brewed before a treacherous storm. It was something she'd come accustomed to, strange because it seemed to happen every time they prepared for their ritual.

A calm breeze, birds whistling and singing, the trees whispering. So peaceful, as if nature itself was unaware of the tragedy that would soon befall this place, where only the low hum of the wind against hollow homes would soon take the melody.

They came to a small cottage not far from the rest of the town that sat between several fields of crops. Misa thought they would move past it, but Nisha directed her horse down the dirt path and slipped off before the doghouse. A low growl emanated from within. Nisha was unfazed.

Flashing her grey eyes at Misa, she gestured to the cottage. "Come along. I'm sure you'll both be pleasantly surprised."

Misa slid off her horse and followed Nisha to the cottage. It was a homey little place, warm and loved. Something stirred within her, making note of a presence. A witch.

Nisha knocked at the door, harsh and methodical. It took a few moments for it to swing open, and when it did, Misa's eyes widened.

"Wilda," she breathed. The witch was as beautiful as was expected, and she had gained some weight since the last time Misa had last seen her. Somehow, she had become even more beautiful, perhaps because there was a happiness within her that Misa yearned for.