Chapter 1
This is a story about grown ups, where things happen sometimes. It is a happy story, filled with fluff and light, though sometimes bad stuff happens and there are challenges. People do grow and change, and their worlds do sometimes shrink or expand. People learn things sometimes, and sometimes they don’t. It is not a story without a plot. What it is, however, is a story where even when bad stuff happens, things turn out all right in rhe end, or at least they grow as people, and nothing is here for shock value. Most importantly, nobody dies any grusome deaths. There are no limbs missing, or gory details. You shouod be able to safely read it before bed.
What we have here instead is a forest, a forest called Nepheline. This will be important later, because the forest is alive. The forest is also a safe place. Nothing bad can enter or exit it, anything evil — evil, mind you, not human, humans, as our stories tell us, have flaws, but a flaw is not an evilness — but evil cannot cross the boundaries of this forest. Everyone else, however, especially those who are in need of sancuary, those running and discriminated against, are welcome in this place. The forest is a large one, filled with many sacred and hidden places, many of which we will discover together, but for today, we are here to discover a cottage, in the middle of the woods. The cottage is surrounded by flowers, and with a garden full to the brim of herbs.
In short, this is a witch’s garden, a witch’s home, and she lives here with her apprentice, a woman in her 20s called Bernice. The Witch is called Helena. Bernice doesnt like her name so Helena has allowed her to be called Bee. Helena finds this funny because Bee doesnt like insects very much, and insists Bee face her fears. Bee would rather have been called something else, but as she’s gotten used to the name, she finds she actually likes it, even if she likes to pretend Bee is short for Beatrice instead.
Bee and Helena get along most of the time. Helena is a garden witch and mostly kind, though she has her moods. She is in her late 60s, Bee thinks, but she’s always been a little too afraid to ask, and they havent gotten to astrology charts yet.
Helena tells Bee that Bee ought to know herself before looking to the stars to know about herself others, but what she doesnt know is that Bee is a cheat and has been looking through the hidden manuals in the basement for months.
Bee has been here as an apprentice for about a year. In fact, her year and a day is coming up soon. Helena can occasionally be a jerk and likes holding information Bee doesn’t know above Bee’s head. Helena says all the interesting information comes once Bee has commited.
Bee has asked Helena lots of times if that means Helena thinks Bee is ready to be a dedicant, but Helena just smiles and says Bee should only follow her inner knowing.
Bee has considered switching out the house teas to Cinnamon, which Helena hates and Bee loves, but has decided it would be . . . decidedly unlightfilled.
Instead she talks to the black cat she’s named Midnight. Helena let her choose it, but seemed to regret this afterward.
Despite supposing to be a beacon of light, Helena possesses a snark that Bee sometimes resents. When Bee proudly told her of the cat’s name, Helena sipped her tea. “Was dusk too hard to pronounce for you?” she had asked.
Then she’d added as Bee pouted, to the cat, “I rather thought Gloom suited you, but here we are”
The cat, much to Bee’s disappointment, did not talk.
“He’s giving you the silent treatment,” Helena had said jokingly when Bee had asked about it.
. . .
To be continued
Thanks for reading!
