Bewiched

Chapter 20: Sunset

“Asha?” Asha opened her eyes. She was still on the floor next to Aris, and Daphne and Sylvia looked down on her. “I gave you more energy so you would wake up,” she said, “Because Uncle Dexter wants to talk to you and he said it couldn't wait.” She said it bitterly, like she didn't agree with Dexter.

Asha got up slowly, as she still felt very tired, even after Daphne's energy boost. She walked groggily out of the tent and looked out into the setting sun. There she saw Dexter. He was sitting on a rock with his eyes closed when she approached.

“Beautiful sunset, isn't it?” He asked.

“Yeah, I guess it is,” Asha said. They were silent for a long time. “Why did you want to see me?” Asha asked just as the last bit of sun faded into the sky.

“We watched you.” He said softly, “I have never seen anyone stop a volcano all on their own before, and not collapse from exhaustion then and there.”

“I was close,” Asha remembered. Now there was no light except for the fire behind them in the middle of the tents.

“But that is why I have decided not to teach you.”

“What?!?”

“You are mastering it very well by yourself,” he said calmly, “And so I have no reason to teach you. Now, I'm sorry about making you get up to talk to me. But it couldn't wait.” He stood up. “Now, get some rest, and I will see you tomorrow when we go to inspect the damage.”

He walked away to a tent and disappeared inside it. Daphne ran up to Asha as soon as he was gone. Apparently she had been waiting by the fire for them to be done talking.

“Come on,” She said, pulling Asha up, “We should get some sleep.” Sylvia flew over and nodded. She had been unusually quiet since they got back.

“Right.” Asha said. They walked to a tent. As they lay down on hammocks, Asha thought about what had happened that day. Crazy. And with that, she fell asleep.

“Don't you think we should pick up some of the debris?” Daphne asked.

They had just arrived in town, and it was quite a sorry sight. Pieces of rock and ash littered the ground and on the houses, like snow. There were holes in the roofs of the houses, and now there was a lava wall towering over them from last night. It might protect people from the next eruption. But mostly the town looked like a new dump. The small bushes that used to grow next to the houses had seemed to turn into rock, black and lifeless. Asha winced when she saw them.

“First, we should inspect the site more,” Dexter said. “We have to make sure there is no poisonous gas leaking out of crevices.”

All three of them split up to cover more area. None of them found any. Asha looked inside one of the houses. This house was barely touched, with only a few bits of the grass roof burned.

“I didn't find anything,” Asha told them when they met in the town square. “Did you?”

“No.” both of them said.

“Now can we clean this up?” Daphne asked.

“It's going to take forever!” Asha moaned. “We can't clean it all up by ourselves!” Suddenly a transportation fire appeared before them, and more than half the village appeared.

“We came to help,” a tall muscular man said. His black eyes were startling. “It's our village.” And so they set to work. They worked all day, but soon the village almost looked like there wasn't an eruption.

“Thank you,” the man turned to Asha. “You saved our village.” Asha blushed.

“It wasn't that big of a deal,” she said.

“But without you, we wouldn't even have known it was going to erupt,” the man pressed on. “And for that, we thank you.” He bowed, which made Asha blush even more. Daphne elbowed her in the gut and smiled.

“Looks like you have an admirer,” Her face was scrunched up like she was trying not to laugh out loud.

Later they went back to the campsite, just as the sun was setting. Asha met Daphne and Sylvia at Aris' tent. She was still asleep, and Daphne was crying silently on the floor next to her.

“What's wrong?” Asha asked when she saw Daphne.

“Aris probably won't be strong enough for travel for a long time,” tears rolled down her cheeks. “If you want to leave soon, we'll have to leave her behind.” Asha looked down at Aris.

Even though she had healed her a little bit, her condition didn't seem to be getting better. They had been planning to leave soon, now that Dexter said that he didn't need to teach Asha. They had been expecting Aris to heal faster than this.

“I could try healing her again,” Asha said. “She might-”

“No, no Asha!” Daphne interrupted. “You're still weak from using so much magic yesterday! And you know it!” Asha stared at the floor.

It was true. It was hard for her to use magic now because she was still tired. She remembered she had tried to bring a bush back to life but instead she felt very dizzy and had to sit down for a while. She knew deep in her heart that it wasn't good to take a chance now.

“But-” she tried to protest, and Daphne interrupted again.

“Look, I know you're worried about Aris. I am too. But you've got to rest until you're ready to help her more! You can't help anyone until you are better yourself!” Daphne was crying harder now, and Asha was staring at her. “You also don't have to keep your feelings inside you all the time!” Daphne said out of the blue. “I know you've had a hard life, and that it's easier to keep your feelings to yourself, but can't you trust us? I went through the same thing, when I lost my mother and didn't think I could trust anyone with my feelings so I kept them to myself! And where will that get you, tell me?!? Do you know that when you were hurting, when you were down, that it affected all of us?!? Think about how you feel, and tell me if you really are ready to use more magic!” Daphne put her head on Aris' blankets and sobbed into them. Asha kept staring at her.

“She's right you know.” Asha jumped.

Sometime during Daphne's speech, Aris seemed to have woken up. She lifted her head, winced, and her face turned white. Aris put her head back on the pillow. Daphne paid no attention to this and kept sobbing into the blankets.

“You really do keep your feelings bottled up sometimes, and it's hard to read what's on your mind. You don't have to keep everything you feel to yourself.” Tears suddenly dripped from Asha's eyes as she thought about all the things that had happened in her life, the good and the bad. It had seemed too much for her to handle when she found out that Professor Hagiggle was her father. Her real feelings had really been bottled up inside. Sylvia suddenly spoke up.

They're both right. I have been reading many of your emotions since the day I met you. You have many feelings inside that you are afraid to share.

I'm not afraid!

Yes you are, Sylvia shook her head. You just don't want to admit it to yourself. You are afraid. But that is nothing to be ashamed of. Everyone feels fear. It makes us strong. Asha dropped down to the ground, put her head between her legs, and sobbed.