Hildegard's New Year Part 2
On rituals, bad mothers, and how pent up rage can sometimes be the catalyst for change.
The flame on the middle candle kept growing taller and wider. Having enveloped the entire chandelier, it was now brushing against bottles and glasses on the table, and yet no objects seemed affected by the heat.
‘The candle is intact,’ exclaimed Judy from her corner, ‘like it’s not even lit.’
‘It’s almost big enough,’ replied Hildegard, standing in a fighting stance on the other side of the room, ‘if it doesn’t collapse, this might work.’
Ebbing and swaying from side to side like a big tongue of fire, the flame did look like it could collapse at any moment. Colours flowed and sparks flew across the room, but nothing caught fire. Then the flame darted to the side towards the third place at the table. It expanded into a blazing mass that seemed to settle on the chair, ebbing in an almost liquid way. Then with a flicker, the mass separated from the candle.
‘This is it,’ said Hildegard, ‘now it will take shape.’
‘Is it…’ Judy hesitated, ‘mum?’
‘Too soon to say,’ Hildegard inwardly cursed her outfit change. The velvet dress would not be practical in a fight. Come on, reveal yourself, she thought, gritting her teeth.
The flame gained density and its movement slowed. It was now a reddish-yellow lump, gradually moulding in the shape of its chair. Its colour was darkening too, like lava becoming solid.
‘It looks almost… like a rock?’ ventured Judy.
With a crack, a slit opened in the shape, and an envelope fell on the table.
‘It’s a letter!’ Judy started slithering forward.
‘Careful,’ Hildegard was relaxing her stance, but still wary. ‘It could be a curse.’
‘It’s mum’s handwriting here,’ read Judy, ‘It says To my two precious and demanding gems.’
‘What?’ Hildegard stepped forward and grabbed the letter. She ran her fingers across the paper, her eyes closed. ‘No curses that I can sense.’
‘That means we’re good. Open it.’ Judy was standing on the tip of her tail, straight like an arrow.
‘All right, don’t get your scales in a twist.’ Hildegard’s voice trembled. She grabbed a knife from the table, cut the envelope open, and read out loud.
My dear children,
For the past fifty years, you have been trying to summon me on this day.
Every year, I hope that you have finally rendered yourselves independent of me and each other, as becomes a proper disciple of magic. Alas, I have always had a weak spot for my beloved babies, and since Judy appears to be unable to free herself of her clumsy predicament, even with her sister’s help, I will lend a hand.
I have forged a simulacrum out of flame and stone and moulded my magic within. It will stand for my presence in this ritual that you seek to perform.
If I don’t hear from you next year, I will know your attempt was successful.
I must head back to my studies now.
Good luck.
Mother
‘Well, this sounds like mum alright,’ Hildegard frowned. Judy sighed; as her sister read, she had coiled into herself on her seat.
‘Don’t take it personally, Judy.’ Hildegard sat on the table next to the snake. ‘You know she’s always cared more about her research than us.’ Judy hid her head under her coils.
‘It’s just, I was hoping we could see her for once.’ She muffled. Hildegard was busying herself around the simulacrum.
‘She sent this thing though, that’s more than she’s done in half a century.’
‘It’s not her, though.’
‘It’s got her power; I can feel it.’
Judy raised her head and slid on the table to face the block of stone.
‘You’re right, I feel it too.’ She looked at Hildegard with wide eyes. ‘I don’t normally feel magic in this snake form.’
‘I think it’s the best chance we’ve ever had.’ Hildegard sat back in her chair. ‘Take your place.’
Judy hesitated.
‘You remember the ritual?’
Hildegard let out a nervous laugh.
‘I have studied it every New Year’s Eve for the past fifty years. I couldn’t forget it if I tried.’
Judy’s snake mouth quivered.
‘You’re the best, Hildy.’
‘I know. Now, take your place. Let’s do this.’
Judy slithered to her chair, whilst Hildegard quickly cleared the table of all the food and plates, piling things up on the counter, and adjusted the third chair so that the rock was touching the table. She placed new candles in the holder and turned them on, chanting under her breath. Judy was looking at her, straight and still as a statue. Hildegard met her gaze, nodded, sat down and placed her hands on the table, closing her eyes. Judy followed her, coiling in the chair with her tail on the table.
They began to chant together, Hildegard in a stern, deep tone and Judy in a high-pitched trill. Two of the candles started to grow and wave, but the third remained still. The two sisters opened their eyes at the same time and looked at each other. Judy shook her head, and made to take her tail off the table, but Hildegard grabbed the edges so strongly that her knuckles turned white, and Judy’s tail was pulled back into place. She nodded, though tears were flowing down her scales.
Hildegard’s face was turning red as she kept chanting louder and louder, and beads of sweat formed on her forehead. Her sister’s candle was slightly taller than her head, whereas hers had reached the chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The last one still hadn’t budged. She shot a deadly look to the inert lump on the chair next to hers. You selfish bitch, she thought, you can’t call yourself a mother. The lump fractured with a loud cracking sound, a deep fissure opening in the middle. Its candle quivered. Judy’s body straightened up, and she looked at her sister, eyes wide. Hildegard turned to her with a gaze that made Judy recoil. Yes, you heard me. She thought viciously. You coward whiny baby. You can’t even fix your own messes.
Judy shuddered; she blinked a few times, as if she were about to cry. Instead, her chanting got firmer, and her body began to grow like the candles. Hildegard kept chanting as well, eyes fixed on her sister as she expanded. The chair collapsed under Judy’s weight. Whilst the tip of her tail was still on the table, her head now reached the ceiling, and the coils started to unfold around the room, filling up the space around them, pushing furniture and vases to the wall. Her flame and Hildegard’s were now grazing the ceiling. Judy looked down and stopped chanting.
‘You never loved me, mum,’ she told the lump, and dived down, opening her jaw.
The rock disappeared into her mouth, and the third candle’s flame died.
Hildegard gasped and fell silent. Judy let her head fall on her coils, that now formed a spiral around the room, and began to cry. Her skin bulged where the swallowed rock had stopped. Hildegard had no space to stand up, but she turned around on her chair and touched the snake softly.
‘Judy…’ she started, but her voice died in her throat. The rock’s lump was flattening in Judy’s body, and on her skin a glow was showing. Judy opened her eyes wide and shrieked. Her body shook and jerked, trampling anything around; Hildegard had to clamber on the table and create a protective barrier to avoid being crushed.
‘Judy!’ she screamed. Her sister didn’t seem to hear. Her skin started to blacken and break; a liquid the colour of lava oozed out of those cracks, and soon filled the floor. Judy’s shrieks became weaker and weaker, and she seemed to crumple and melt, until all that was left was a pool of lava and a wrinkled snakeskin.
‘Judy…’ whimpered Hildegard, crouching on the table. In the silence of the room, where only the liquid on the floor still sizzled weakly, sudden bangs exploded that startled Hildegard. She turned around and saw fireworks through the window, colouring the sky in flashes of red, purple, green; the clock on the wall informed her that it was midnight. She slumped on herself; tears flowed from her eyes, her shoulders shaking with sobs. She cried and cried, until a gargling noise got her attention, and she looked up. The liquid was bubbling and moving, regrouping from all corners of the room and converging under the table. Hildegard rubbed her face with her hands, smearing tears and makeup, tossed her shoes aside, climbed down from the table, and took a fighting stance in a corner of the room. A tiny glimmer of hope shone in her mind, but she had to be prepared.
The liquid had converged and thickened to an almost solid state. Yet, it still moved, as if it were trying to decide on a shape. Gradually, the movement slowed down to an almost imperceptible shiver as a human shape emerged. A person, lying on the floor. The lava colour faded, and a woman emerged. Her face looked similar to Hildegard’s, but long copper hair covered her naked body. The woman groaned and opened her eyes.
‘Judy!’ shouted Hildegard, running to her sister’s side. They hugged each other, as the fireworks kept exploding in bright colours across the sky.
Writing musings and news
Spring has arrived!
It feels out of sync to publish a story set on New Year’s Eve now, but in a way the weather is keeping with the theme, because it’s still quite cold in my city. Can’t wait for the return of warmer, sunnier, longer days. We’ll be travelling to Italy to see my family for Easter, so looking forward to some pampering. :-D
On the writing side, I’m doing a lot of work to ensure that the new schedule for my Oddball Tales creatures is sustainable in the long term. Interestingly, this is the first time I plan things around writing, rather than write around my life. Writing and I have had an on-again, off-again relationship since I was very young. The challenge of this space forced me to confront my doubts and make a choice to commit. Do I want to be an author? Yes. Yes, I do. Wow, that is scary, and a very anticlimatic way to communicate something important. It feels right at this time, though.
I am also collaborating with some great authors to create an anthology that should come out sometime during the summer. Our group came together through a series of prompts posted on Twitter meant to spark creativity shared by the wonderful T.C. Westminster. You could say the prompts exceeded expectations! There will most likely be a wide range of content, and I personally am contributing either one or two short stories. We are still in the early stages, and working with other authors is always a treat for me.
If you made it to here, thank you for spending time with me and my characters once again.
See you soon!
Ooh. I loved this one. I especially loved the art piece you included—all that fiery red really set the tone for this story!! ❤️🔥🔥