Daoine

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Memory Lane

    Willow was thrilled to have her magic restored and be accepted back into the community. She resumed her usual lessons, older witches teaching her and her fellow six students. These sessions were fewer as total control of power came into view, occurring every couple of days. Willow progressed faster than most, to the surprise of numerous people. Those whom she fascinated she stuck up an acquaintanceship with, none of which were her peers. In between lessons she had freedom to do as she wished. An added privilege of growing up was the right to travel father away from her little village on her own.
    Her favorite place to go was a small lake about a half an hour walk away. No other witches enjoyed going to the spot so she was always left with her own thoughts. She enjoyed the peace. She often brought her bow and arrows with her to hunt down small game and have a meal. On one such occasion, about a year after she had rejoined her fellow witches, she was startled by something large stepping through the undergrowth. On instinct, she stung her bow and pointed at the place she had pinpointed the sound to be coming from.
    A man walked out from through the trees. Well, he couldn't actually be called a man, he was too young still. He was unnerved, to say the least, to have an arrow pointed at his head and stopped instantly. He studied her for a second.
    "Willow?" asked the teen. "Is that you?"
    "Who are you and how do you know my name?" threatened Willow, still aiming the bow.
    "Willow, it's me, Eric. Don't you remember me?" expressed Eric.
    "Eric, no it can't be you." denied Willow, though she lowered her bow. "You shouldn't even remember me.?"
    "Why shouldn't I?" questioned Eric.
    "Well, I erased a bit of your memory." confessed Willow.
    "A... wh... ho... what did you erase?" Eric finally asked, "And how?"
    "I'm a witch," stated Willow, ignoring his first question.
    "There's no such thing," said Eric in disbelief.
    "Yes there is and you better start believing if you want me to tell you anymore." informed Willow.
    "Ok, it's just a hard thing to get my head around. So, what can you do?" asked Eric.
    "We have powers to a certain extent." replied Willow.
    "Can you show me?" asked Eric.
    "Not now, sit and I'll tell you a little." requested Willow.
    They took a seat on the forest floor, Eric on a fallen log and Willow sitting cross legged on the ground.
    "Witches have inhabited the earth without the knowledge of man and even before they existed. We have what you would call magic, though we don't use wands or even words to control it. We speak with our minds and the energy surrounding everything obeys to our will." introduced Willow.
    "Are you saying that you could control me if you wanted to?"
    "I cant, but a extremely powerful witch could. You see, there is energy in everything, living things, objects, even forces, like gravity. For living things, the energy flows like blood through the body. In objects, this energy exists within and for forces, they are energy. Living things are the easiest to control, meaning plants and forest animals. Humans are beyond our normal range. Some objects are controllable with practice and controlling forces requires a very powerful witch."
    "How did you erase my memory then, I'm a human."
    "For one thing you were a child and you were in a very weak condition. Also, I was manipulating only a very small part and not you as a whole."
    "Now tell me, what did you erase and why."
    "Fine, you deserve an answer. I'll start with what." Willow went on to describe the whole event. From being brought into the forest to leaving him by his house. By the time she was done, Eric was almost in shock.
    "So let me get this straight. I was kidnapped, drained of energy. Then you returned me home and erased my memory."
    "Basically, yes"
    "Then shouldn't I be weak because I lost all my energy."
    "No, I already explained this to you. You didn't loose all of your energy for one thing. Two, loosing energy is like loosing blood. Unless you loose too much, your body just makes more. The only thing that could have happened to you is that you were slower for a period of time."
    "Oh, so that's what happened!" exclaimed Eric.
    "What?"
    "One evening I came home late from school and I couldn't remember why. That must have been the day I got kidnapped. After that my grades fell and no one understood why, not even me. My marks gradually got better again but it took about a year and a half." explained Eric. "My head is starting to throb with all these new ideas."
    "I'm almost done. When I erased your memory, I spent all my powers. I was an inexperienced witch with limited energy. Being so young I couldn't even erase your memory properly. I accidentally just blocked it off. I learned that's what I did when I studied the spell afterward. Because I had exhausted all my energy, I spent two years studying from books and was shunned by the witches my age. Practicing spells is regarded much more worthwhile than simply studying them. From then on I was considered an inferior witch.
    "During my two years studying, I gave myself the task of finding another way to fuel our powers." Willow related her experience in Viburnum's library and her triumph at the council meeting.
    "Wow, good for you! I have an idea. Will you let me explain it to you?" asked Eric.
    "Go ahead." said Willow uneasily.
    "You told me that you only blocked my memory and it's weird to know my own experience through your point of view so..."
    Willow shook her head, anticipating what he was about to say. "Trust me; you don't want your memory back. It really would be horrible."
    "Please, and if it hurts too much you can block it again,"
    Willow's patience with such an ignorant human boy was starting to wear down. Her objection caved with half a mind to teach the boy to actually listen to her.
    "Fine, are you truly sure you want to? It will be painful."
    "Yes"
    "Lie down on your stomach and relax. When I free your memory it will surface immediately."
    "How can I stay relaxed with that in mind?"
    "Just do it!" said Willow with a note of finality.
    Like she had previously, Willow touched her fingertips to Eric's head. She concentrated on entering Eric's mind. Once in, she scanned for a wall obstructing her way. It was easy to find, especially because it was her own magic. It was also evident how he remembered her. She had only blocked what was painful and he had thought of her as a friend. The instant after Willow lowered the wall, Eric shuddered.
    "Did you think that I was exaggerating?"
    "No, I just couldn't even imagine... something like this."
    For a second time she took pity on him. "Hold still and let me handle it."
    Eric couldn�' even contemplate arguing, he was in agony.
    Willow reached out once more and, like a flick of a switch, Eric's tormenting ceased.
    "What did you do? I can still recall it."
    Returning to her modest self, she replied, "I shut off all emotion connected to the memory, just a modification of the original spell."
    "I owe you an apology for my disbelief and a thank-you."
    Under her tanned skin, Willow blushed faintly. "I should be returning now. I have spells to study."
    "One thing first, how do you know Viburnum isn't hiding something from your clan?"
    Willow was thrown off balance by the bluntness of his question. "Viburnum is an honorable witch and deserves my full respect." she denied savagely
    "From your various descriptions of witches they don't appear honorable, more along the lines of greedy and deceitful."
    "Well..."
    "Listen, I find it odd that she new exactly what book to find your information in. What if she already knew it, as well as more?"
    A buried suspicion bloomed in Willow. She had connected those dots and had also decided that there would be a lot to learn from Viburnum's private shelves.
    "I'll consider your opinion," she said. She rose in one practiced, graceful motion and lifted her bow from the forest floor.
    "Will I ever see you again?" Eric's voice quivered.
    "We shall find out in time," were Willow's final words as she parted from the clearing.