Thorn to Die

“Nah, I’m just out here thinking.” I dipped my big toe back into the warm water. “It’s a good place to get lost in your thoughts.”

Grammy Jo tossed her towel onto the dock behind me and waded out into deeper water. I adverted my eyes until I could be sure the water covered all necessary body parts.

“And what might those thoughts be?” she asked while treading water. With the moon above, her short silver hair nearly glowed.

“About Momma Tula. And the murder. And everything else, I guess.”

“You think Momma Tula wouldn’t be able to handle it if the police suspected me of murder?”

I turned my head sharply to look at Grammy. “How did you…?”

“I may be old, child, but I’m not stupid.” She splashed me and some of the water soaked the front of my blouse. “I see you girls worry. But you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. Things will work out. They always do for the Brunick women.”

A frown pulled at the corners of my mouth. Maybe that had been true in the past, but Momma Tula wasn’t pulling through this phase. And the longer she stayed like this, the harder it would be for me to go back to school and finish my degree. But the instant I thought that, an overwhelming surge of guilt washed over me.

Grammy swam closer to the dock. “Child, you’re still worrying. I can see it on your face.”

“But how am I supposed to let it all go?” I could feel the desperation in my voice and once again, I was six years old asking for Grammy to make everything okay. “Haven’t you been paying attention? Momma Tula isn’t getting better.”

“Your Momma is sick.” She shook her head as if I should’ve known that by now. “It’s going to take time. You were both traumatized in Arizona. I’m glad that you were able to pull through it so well, but my Tulipia has always been a sensitive girl. She processes things differently. You shouldn’t be so hard on her.”

“I’m not!” My spine straightened as I took the defensive. “I’m just trying to make sure she survives. Don’t you have any potion? Any magical cure that can fix her? Please, Grammy Jo. Tell me.”

“The only cure that woman needs is our love and time.”

She leaned on the dock, close enough so I could see the wrinkles next to her eyes. “My child, you can’t change her. You just have to support her until she chooses to change. Can you do that?”

I lifted my eyes to the heavens to stop the tears from falling. It was too much to ask. I might have been twenty-five years old, but I still needed my mother. Our magic had been the answer for so many problems. Want to dye your hair purple? There’s a spell for that. Want to get rid of a wart? There’s a spell for that. Want to pack up your house in one swift motion and run away from Arizona? There’s a spell for that. But there wasn’t one for this.

Grammy grabbed my hand and squeezed it tight. “I want you to stop worrying about me, about your Momma, and start living the life a twenty-five year old witch should be living. At your age, I had five boyfriends and a blossoming business to keep me happy. I’d suggest you find something similar.”

“Grammy!” I swatted at her shoulder. “I didn’t know you were such a player.”

“The best,” she said with a wide toothy grin. “Kept them coming back for more. It’s a Brunick family charm.”

While I wasn’t so sure about that, it didn’t surprise me that Grammy Jo had her admirers. She’d never let aging slow her down.

“Come on, child.” She began to swim into deeper water, her arms moving around her body in graceful circles. “Join me for a swim. It’ll make everything feel better.”

I looked over my shoulder at the house. No one seemed to be walking around. The yard was dead silent and even the bullfrogs had quieted down.

What the heck. Grammy Jo was right. I was only in my twenties and I needed to start acting like it.

Stripping off my top, I deposited it on Grammy’s towel and followed with the rest of my clothes. The moonlight danced along my pale skin and made my coppery hair appear almost blonde. It was now or never. I shrieked and ran the last few feet of the dock, jumping with all my strength and cannonballing into the water. Grammy whooped and hollered as I broke the surface for air.

It felt exhilarating; nothing between me and the silky smooth water caressing my skin. I bobbed on the surface, dragging my feet across the sandy floor below. So much for Aunt Viv’s water monsters.

The peaceful moment was soon shattered by the shadowy figure of a canoe sliding around the edge of the lake. Three figures sat inside it, their faces hidden in the dark. Raucous laughter bounced over the surface of the lake toward the dock. From the sound of their chatter, it seemed like we had ourselves a few naughty boy scouts commandeering an illegal late night canoe trip.

Grammy Jo cursed and swam toward me. “Darn campers. Can’t get a moment to ourselves. This is my lake.”

Well, technically it was a state lake, but I wasn’t about to correct the furious witch swimming next to me.

“Maybe we should get out.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” She raised her hands above her head, her fingertips connecting. “This will take care of them in no time.”

Uttering a few unrecognizable words in Latin, she spread her hands apart. A shadowy figure appeared. It was draped in a dark cloak with a sickle in hand. The Reaper. Grammy had perfected this illusion when my cousins and I were kids. We’d begged her to do it again and again, until she could call him up without thinking.