So Mote It Be

Once upon a time, there was a mad witch, a story we told our children before bed. But it seems it wasn't just a story, I know first hand and that knowledge cost me everything.

Ireland 1858, everything seemed to be magic. The forests were sunny, the birds were chirping and the wind was singing love songs to all North Ireland. Gaëlle, a young beautiful girl lived in the woods by the Noafa tree for almost a decade. In Larne, a town nearby, people were talking about her. They were saying she was a witch and she was devouring children's hearts for breakfast. It was a popular parent's story. If the children didn't get in bed, the witch of the woods would eat their hearts. The rumors were as false as the Loch Ness monster in Scotia. Until the day it wasn't...

Her heart was pure, her beauty off the charts, and her voice sounded like heaven on Earth. Gaëlle O'Farrell was indeed a witch, but not the wicked kind. She was growing her own garden, vegetables and herbs, and made her own medication. She was living with the love of her life. Niall O'Sullivan was just a man, not a sorcerer nor a warlock, just normal.

Her dear love, Niall, was going in town to run errands. When he arrived in Larne's Market place, he stumbled on a bunch of drunk tough guys who were aware of who he was.

"Look who's here ... Where's your witch? Are you hiding her pretty little face into the woods like a creep?" The other guys were laughing and pushing him around. "Maybe after taking care of you, we are going to care of her," said the man to Niall.

The last thing Niall wanted was to get into a fight he was bound to lose. "I don't want any trouble. I'm just here to shop," said Niall. One of the guys punched him in the face and the other automatically got in the fight and beat to death the poor bastard. Patrick, the leader of the group, spat on Niall's body and ran away.

Gaëlle waited for hours for her love's return, but he never did. She decided to go look for him because she had a bad feeling. When she arrived in town, it was late. Every shop was closed and everybody was already gone. And she saw him, left for dead on the ground. She ran to him just before his last moment.

"Don't be mad love, they don't know better. They're scared of what's different. I got to know you, that's why I love you with all my heart," said Niall roughly coughing.

"No, you can't leave me, I won't allow it," she said screaming and crying. But it was already too late. Niall's dead body lie in her arms. Devastated, she swore she'll find the one responsible for her love's death. Legend said you heard her heart of glass break into pieces. In a matter of seconds, the sky spat waves of rain, wind picked up violently, lighting charged the night and Gaëlle was standing up, arms in the air and began to chant:

"By the sky and waves of darkness

I summon thee, demon of wrath

Of the sinful, clear my path

There will be honor for thee

So mote it be''

In an instant, he responded, Satan himself. All mighty he took her hand and they disappeared into the night.

For a few days, nothing special happened. It took two weeks before it started. Patrick, the bastard who beat Niall to death, was in the forest cutting some woods for the winter. He heard someone singing an old song, but he didn't see anyone. In the corner of his eye, he saw a figure moving really fast. He turned his head, but he saw nothing. For a few minutes it kept happening, but it seemed it was always closer and closer. Until it was breathing down his neck, he could feel it. Patrick was so scared he couldn't move a finger. He was afraid of what he might find if he looked behind. And finally it spoke.

"Destruction, violence and blood you brought upon this town. You will perish in the flames of what remains of this place. You will taste your own blood and the blood of the ones you love before the moon reached its highest peak. Everything you love will be wiped of this Earth. You will suffer as I did and I will watch you die in the most horrible pain you could imagine. Remember Patrick, you brought that upon yourself."

And just like that, he was alone again, kneeling in the grass, terrorized. He knew who she was, Gaëlle. When he came back in town, horror struck. Almost all the townies were bathing in their blood, so he ran towards his house, lungs burning. He found Gaëlle, his three children and his wife.

"Back so soon? You run pretty fast for a coward, don't you?" The witch said while she was stroking one of the children's hair, the whole family was terrified, "So we are, one against five here. Like when you killed my love. But this time, who do you think will win?" When she saw Patrick didn't respond she shouted, "ANSWER ME".

Out of breath, he tried to answer "I ... I ... didn't mean ... mean ... to kill..." and his voice suddenly died because he was choked by an invisible hand. He almost lost consciousness and it stopped.

"You almost had me there, I don't want to kill you in this instant. I want you to watch your wife and your offspring die before your eyes." She laughed and stabbed Patrick's wife in the thigh for her to survive the first strike. Her screams filled the neighborhood, but there was nobody to hear her distress. The children started to cry, but Gaëlle never had a maternal bone in her, so she magically sewed their lips together. When the house was quiet again, she continued to play with the pretty wife.

"What can we do next? Am I going to cut something out of her? Maybe an eye? What do you think Patrick?" said Gaëlle.

"I'm sorry, I was drunk, I didn't mean to kill him. We just wanted to scare him. Please, don't hurt them." Patrick was crying and begging and she loved every second of it.

She released the wife and gave him a long kiss. "You chose well my dear, I'll take the only thing she ever gave you. You love her so much that it's going to be perfect," she said amused by the desperation in Patrick's eyes.

She turned her back and he tried to attack her to protect his family, but she saw right through him. She closed her fist and immediately Patrick fell to his knees. He wasn't able to move. The witch spoke, "Bad bad boy, they will pay for that you know."

She grabbed Patrick's wife by the neck and lifted her from the ground. Her right hand nails cut the fabric above the wife's heart. With one quick move, the witch penetrated the flesh and ripped the heart out with her bare hand. Blood spilled everywhere, muffling cries were heard and Patrick, still immobilized, was pale as snow. "You see Patrick, I am the powerful one here. Every frightening story you told your children before bed, every legend people of your miserable town falsely created on me, every rumor that terrorized your weak people, they all became true today because of you. You will have every death on your hands, not mine. Are you proud of what you accomplished? You doomed an entire town. And you will have to live with it," Gaëlle said with a soft voice. She was looking crazy, eating by madness. Patrick was still crying the loss of his wife, he couldn't believe what was happening. The witch freed him from the binding spell.

"I enjoyed the representation, but now I'm bored." She turned back and slew the throat of his offspring. Patrick screamed and cried and asked why. He ran to his family, brutally murdered, and rocked them in his arms. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? THEY DIDN'T DESERVE THAT. WHY?" He yelled.

"You deserved to see your loved one being ripped from you. Now you understand what I went through." Her dark laugh echoed in the house and she walk towards the exit. Before reaching the door she looked at Patrick and said, "Make no mistake, I'm not letting you go, I ensure you a life of terror and nightmares. You will walk this Earth under my complete mercy. When you'll start to rebuild your life, I will be there to shatter the walls. If you found a special someone, I will rip her out of your arms. If you found happiness, I will bring despair. I will end you by your own hands."

When she left the house, it was quiet. She was leaving behind her the love of her life, her kindness and a town wiped of human existence. At the edge of the woods she stopped and began to chant:

"By the trees and the woods

By the dark ones and the misunderstood

By the demons and the restless

By the rivers and the lifeless

Hide but never seek once was

Reveal new nature's laws

By the power I touch in thee

So mote it be"