Yerim carefully s her way out of Sooyoung’s hold and sat up from the bed, tenderly settling the tips of her bare feet onto the wooden floor and pulling the blankets back over Sooyoung’s body. She turned and regarded the witch’s sleeping form with a mixture of regret and longing. The prospect of impending doom had set in further and further as she’d laid there; she’d had no trouble staying awake, even in the cozy comfort of Sooyoung’s arms. The witch’s presence had afforded her a measure of calm in what would have been a terrifying situation, but it couldn’t solve the main issue at hand. Yerim’s mind had run through many scenarios in an attempt to evade or accept her supposedly inevitable death. She contemplated a variety of solutions and potential outcomes, ranging from absurd to plausible, but only one of them was both viable and sure. One that she, and the other girls, had been avoiding so readily, had been evading like some sort of mad pursuer that was impossible to shake off:

    Becoming a witch.

    The girls who lived in the house were, as far as Yerim knew, immortal. Joohyun and Seulgi were immeasurably ancient, Seungwan had been stabbed through the stomach with a steel blade and emerged without a single scratch, and Sooyoung was technically already dead. Sure, they were trapped in this house and its periphery for eternity, but they were alive. They existed. And that’s all that mattered in the end, wasn’t it?

    Yerim’s stream of thought was interrupted by a meek knock on the door, followed by a soft creaking as a certain raven-haired woman stepped into the threshold. As always, Joohyun’s presence had a palliative effect, an effect that was oddly magnetic, causing the blonde to absentmindedly shuffle her way over to her. Joohyun’s arms were already open, welcoming her into a tender embrace that felt more like home than anything else in the world at that moment.

    It seemed as if any time that Yerim had a problem she couldn’t solve, or was suffering from internal turmoil, Joohyun’s arms were there for her.

    “Seungwan told you?” Yerim sniffled, unable to contain her emotion now that she was placed in such a vulnerable position.

    “Y-yes,” to the younger girl’s shock, Joohyun’s voice was unsteady, something that Yerim had never experienced in all the time she’d known her, “She told me about Sooyoung’s dream. And let’s go downstairs. I don’t want to wake her.”

    Yerim nodded and took the witch’s hand as they exited Sooyoung’s room. Joohyun’s fingers wrapped around hers securely. Perhaps Joohyun was aware of her ability to keep Yerim calm.

    “Seungwan is very worried for you,” Joohyun said as they descended the carpeted staircase, “She kept asking me how long you’d been inside of Sooyoung’s room, and wanted to check and make sure you hadn’t fallen asleep. She’s dead set on you not becoming a witch.”

    “Really? Why?”

    “Because she doesn’t want you to become a prisoner, like us,” Joohyun said matter-of-factly, leading Yerim into the kitchen and sitting her at the same table she’d sat in before, “She wants you to be free.”

    “What’s the point of being free if I’m dead?”

    Joohyun took a seat across the table from Yerim, conjuring up a cup of coffee out of thin air. Magic had finally become at least somewhat the norm in Yerim’s mind, so the fact that the steaming mug of fragrant black liquid appeared inches from her hand didn’t cause her stomach to drop.

    “You like two scoops of sugar and a quarter cup of milk in your coffee,” the older girl said, proudly, seeming to ignore the blonde’s prior question.

    “How’d you know that? More random unexplainable magic stuff? Or just mother’s intuition?” Yerim inquired jokingly, taking a sip of the hot, delicious drink and allowing it to settle on her tongue.

    If Joohyun didn’t want to address the topic of Yerim’s death, that was fine. Yerim herself was actually very sick of talking about such morbid things.

    “Mother’s intuition?” Joohyun cocked her head to the side in that adorably clueless way she had, “I’m not your mother, though.”

    “I know, but like… it’s just a joke. Because you take care of me and everything. You know, protecting me and stuff?”

    Joohyun’s confused expression shifted to one of happiness, her cheeks lighting up with a smile that Yerim couldn’t help but return immediately.

    “Well, of course I protect you and take care of you. You’re special to me. I remember the night we met, I saw you out the window, running away from that man. And you looked so scared,” Joohyun’s smile disappeared as she reached across the table and patted the back of Yerim’s hand, “I just wanted to help you, to make you not feel scared anymore. But here we are, hurting you in some way almost every time you come here. If I was truly a mother to you, I would tell you to go home, to never come back to this place again. But I can’t… I can’t do that. I just want to protect you, but all I do is hurt you. What kind of mother am I if all I do is hurt my poor, sweet child?”

    Yerim could feel her face filling with a heat that had nothing to do with the drink she was sipping. Joohyun’s eyes reflected an immeasurable sadness that almost forced Yerim to look down at the table, as if the weight of the witch’s emotion itself was tangible. The watery gleam in them was the icing on the cake, and Yerim could practically feel her own tears beginning to form.

    “That’s not true… you’ve helped me so many times,” Yerim swallowed in order to keep down the lump in , “You’re kind and loving and I wouldn’t be alive now if it wasn’t for you. Everytime I’m in trouble, or I feel bad, or I have a problem, I run to you. And you’ve always made me feel better. Even when you hurt me, I know it’s not on purpose. I know you don’t mean to… And you’re right, I can’t just leave here. You guys have become like a family to me.”

    Yerim’s gaze finally tracked its way upwards again. Her heart sank as she saw the long, glistening streams that ran down from Joohyun’s lashes, curving over the slope of her cheeks and ending at her jawbones.

    “D-don’t cry,” Yerim’s tone grew unsteady as she tried to hold herself together, “Don’t cry, or I’ll cry.”

    Joohyun shook her head, her dark hair swooping from side to side as she did so.

    “I’m a bad mother Yerim,” the older girl moaned, the tears flowing freely now as she dropped her head into her hands, “If only you knew…”

    “Knew what?” Yerim asked, furrowing her brow, “What is it that you guys have been hiding from me this whole time?”

    Joohyun shook her head more vigorously this time, her face obscured by her upturned palms.

    “Joohyun,” Yerim reached over the table and took the older girl by the elbow, “You have to tell me now. I’m going to die anyway, so I might as well know.”

    At the mention of the word “die”, Joohyun flinched back, finally lifting her head and revealing a shattered, soul-wrenching expression that conveyed the pinnacle of hopelessness, loss, and grief. Yerim quickly regretted her words.

    “Joohyun, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

    “No, it’s okay… you’re right. You deserve to know. You deserve to. But, before you do, let’s get you out of the circle for a bit. You’ve been here awhile.”

    Yerim nodded, hoping that Joohyun wasn’t just stalling for time. Granted, they technically had all the time in the world, and it wasn’t as if the younger girl would simply forget the conversation they’d just had because they went for a five minute walk. So, Yerim stood, reflexively waiting for Joohyun to join her so that she could hold the taller girl’s hand as they walked. The comfort measure was more for Joohyun now, who was dabbing away her tears with a piece of tissue she’d conjured from nowhere.

    “What should I do with my mug?” Yerim asked, gesturing to the still-steaming, half-filled cup on the table.

    “Leave it,” Joohyun said with a casual wave, “It’ll still be warm when we get inside.”

    With that, the pair began their trek into the outside world. Yerim allowed Joohyun to guide her most of the way, drifting in a half-aimless fashion, her feet dragging across the wooden floor as they exited the house. It was as if all of the energy had been out of her, and Joohyun was the only thing keeping her moving forward at that moment.

    Outside, the sky was bright and cloudless. The air was calm and still, the only sounds coming from the footfalls of the two girls as they made their way down the porch steps. Rays of sunshine danced through the half-stripped branches of trees, tittering over each angle of Joohyun’s features, extenuating how stressed and gaunt she looked.

    It took Yerim a moment to realize that they’d stopped moving, as her mind was elsewhere and her gaze was focused on the grassy ground beneath her feet. She glanced up to see Seulgi standing before them, her back turned away as she stared up at the sky in what seemed to be deep contemplation. She wore a sky blue dress with white frills on the collar and sleeve openings, her brown hair done up in two long, thin offshoots that were adorned with puffy white balls at the apex of each pigtail.

    Seulgi turned to face them, her expression shifting from one of relaxed indifference to withdrawn sadness in seconds. Yerim looked up at Joohyun, whose mouth was fixed into a restrained half-snarl. The blonde tensed as she remembered the last time that Seulgi and Joohyun had fought.

    The brunette took slow, tentative steps forward, as if she were approaching a wild animal that could strike out at any second. A small, sympathetic smile formed on her lips as her exotic eyes rested on Yerim.

    When Seulgi had reached about an arm’s length away, Joohyun spoke, her tone deep, commanding, and terrifying. Yerim jumped back at her words, still holding on to the older girl’s hand.

    “We’re telling her the truth.”

    As she spoke, Joohyun reached around and pulled Yerim close by the shoulders, rubbing her arm to help her relax.

    Seulgi’s brows furrowed, and hung open in utter shock.

    “When did you decide this?” Seulgi asked, stepping forward more aggressively, causing Yerim to reflexively cower behind Joohyun, “We never spoke about it.”

    “Did you not hear about Sooyoung’s dream? Seungwan must’ve told you by now.”

    Joohyun talked in a hushed manner, as if it would somehow prevent Yerim from recognizing what they were discussing. Seulgi’s pupils flitted over to the blonde, momentarily taking on a cast of dreariness before moving back to Joohyun.

    “She did,” Seulgi muttered, “But this is such a complex conversation… I didn’t agree to have it yet. I don’t even know where to start.”

    “Then we’ll figure it out right here, right now. We’re telling her, Seulgi.”

    Joohyun was adamant.

    “You can tell her, if you’d like,” Seulgi replied, a bit louder this time, “But I never agreed-”

    “It doesn’t matter what you agreed,” Joohyun said through gritted teeth, her nose now inches away from Seulgi’s as she leaned forward.

    Yerim detached from Joohyun and stumbled backwards. Neither of the witches noticed. She held both of her hands close to her chest, her legs locked together as she stood there, just noticing the changes in the environment around them: swirling grey clouds seemed to be approaching from the outer edges of the sky, and a maliciously frigid breeze stirred up, shaking the previously peaceful branches back and forth like a thousand sweeping, jagged arms.

“G-guys, calm down…” Yerim said feebly, but Joohyun and Seulgi were too busy sizing each other up to notice.

“Even before Sooyoung’s dream, we should have told her,” Joohyun was fully yelling now, “I don’t know why I allowed you to convince me to-”

“I didn’t convince you to do anything!” Seulgi stomped her foot, and the earth shook in response, sending a hyperventilating Yerim to the ground, her hands splayed out behind her for support, “You’re the one who said she wouldn’t be able to handle it, that she would feel pressured to go through with it if we brought it up!”

“Yes, and then I decided that it was too dangerous, that we couldn’t let her go, and that it wasn’t worth discussing to begin with. But no, you had to be so greedy and selfish, and so willing to put her in danger for your own stupid personal gain-”

“You wanted it just as much as I did!” Seulgi screeched, throwing her hands up in exasperation, causing an eardrum-popping thunderclap to crash out across the landscape, “Don’t act like you’re the innocent one here!”

“Pl-please, Seulgi, Joohyun… don’t...”

Yerim could no longer find her own voice. Each word was weak and lofty, similar to the way her limbs and head had begun to feel. Her heart was racing and her breaths came quick and unsatisfying. Flashes of a toxic purple slammed into her view, the booming crash of impossibly immovable forces meeting at high speeds ringing through her ears. Something was slithering its way through her bones, something dark and grinning and evil, something that radiated out in waves from the two witches in front of her. Her head was on fire, as if someone had replaced her blood with gasoline and dropped a lit match into it, producing a raging inferno that threatened to sear her skull from the inside out. She was unable to tell whether anything she was experiencing was truly real or not. Her vision was becoming tunnel-like, her chest heaving up and down as she curled into the fetal position on the ground, tears streaming down her cheeks as she whimpered, unnoticed by the two witches who were so hyper-focused on arguing with one another.

“Oh my God, Yerim!”

A new voice came then, from somewhere in the distance. Heavy footfalls crunched across the grass towards her, and in her panicked stupor, Yerim made a noise of fright and attempt to crawl away, still sobbing.

“No, no, no, no, no, no!” was all Yerim was able to release from her lungs, the sounds coming slurred and almost incoherent. She frantically clawed at the dirt in an attempt to get to her feet, but her legs refused to listen to her commands, and she half-dragged herself along until two arms wrapped around her, pulling her back.

Yerim cried out as she was encapsulated by a pair of limbs, a torso, and a curtain of auburn hair. She fought as hard as she could, but the small body that struggled to keep her from moving appeared to be impervious to damage.

“Yerim, it’s okay, it’s me, it’s Seungwan. You’re safe now, they can’t hurt you…”

The witch’s whispers were low and breathy, their warmth playing on Yerim’s ear in a manner that sent tingles of soothing serenity trickling down from her head to her toes. The blonde’s muscles relaxed all at once, and she hid herself away below Seungwan’s chin, gripping tight to the older girl’s elbows and allowing her to take full control.

“That’s it, relax… relax…”

A hand ran its way down through her messy locks. The somehow avoided every knot and tangle, providing a painless method of calming for the scared girl. Each time the hand came up, settling on the back of her head briefly, Yerim was reminded of the way her father used to pat her on the head whenever she cried as a child. The security of his touch was unrivaled, a bastion of light that sliced through the pitch-hued fog of the world, providing a kind of safety that was more emotional than physical. It was a shiningly beautiful memory that was able to quelch the demonic emotions that had been attacking her just seconds before.

Yerim could feel her heart slowing and the dark spots in her perception receding, replaced by a sleepy, disarmed lethargy. She half-dozed against Seungwan’s body, her head pressed to the older girl’s collarbone.

“You see what you two did? You have to ing control yourselves.”

Seungwan’s words came as if from another dimension, far away and completely inaccessible, as far as Yerim was concerned.

Seulgi and Joohyun now stood shoulder-to-shoulder, their stances mirrored, their squabble forgotten in the wake of Seungwan’s arrival and Yerim’s breakdown. Both women looked perturbed and rueful.

“I d-didn’t mean to…” Joohyun answered, her devastated tone prompting Yerim to try and lift her head, but Seungwan wouldn’t allow her to, “It was Seulgi’s fault, Seulgi-”

“I didn’t do anything, you-”

“Shut up!” Seungwan yelled, and Yerim whined, that same vicious anxiety rearing its ugly head, making her withdraw deeper into the witch’s hold.

Seungwan took a minute to return Yerim to her trance-like state with a combination of sing-songy whispers and therapeutic touches before addressing Seulgi and Joohyun once again.

“You two know what happens when you fight like this, and you still did it in front of Yerim? Her mind can only take so much of it. You’re lucky she didn’t go insane like Shae-ron.”

“Sae-ron…” Yerim murmured.

Seungwan gave her a gentle shush.

“Yerim, I’m sorry,” Joohyun said, drawing nearer and placing a hand on Yerim’s back, “I didn’t mean to hurt you, sweetie.”

Yerim knew that Joohyun didn’t mean it. She knew that Joohyun never meant to harm her, and that she and Seulgi had gotten caught up in the moment. And while Seungwan’s magic was working like a charm to heal the damage that they’d inflicted on her, Yerim continued to feel an immense sense of unease at the thought of being touched by either Joohyun or Seulgi. At least for the time being.

As a result, Yerim withdrew deeper into Seungwan’s arms, sniffling as she did so, intent on getting as far away from Joohyun as possible, similar to a young child that had recently burned itself on a hot stove.

Joohyun recoiled from Yerim and let out a moan of desperation before bursting into tears.

“This is all your fault!” she shrieked at Seulgi, who put up her hands as if in surrender, but offered no protest.

Yerim remained glued to Seungwan, but she could hear the sound of Joohyun’s footfalls as the older girl rapidly retreated back into the house.

“What were you two fighting about this time?” Seungwan asked, regretfully watching Joohyun’s retreating form.

“She- Joohyun- she was going to tell Yerim about… about everything.”

Seungwan frowned, glancing down at her cowering companion in order to make sure she was alright before continuing the conversation.

“Everything?”

“Yeah… without consulting me first.” Seulgi said bitterly.

“Well, you know my position on this,” Seungwan said coldly, her leer boring into Seulgi, “I’m entirely against it, and I think we should’ve forgotten about it as soon as we brought it up. But now that you’ve gone so far in talking about it, testing things out… it makes sense to tell Yeri. Especially given what’s happened recently.”

Seulgi sighed, her shoulders visibly slouching in defeat.

“I’ll talk to her, once she’s recovered more,” Seungwan continued, absentmindedly moving to scoop Yerim into her arms.

The blonde let out a tiny yelp of surprise as she was swept up and into Seungwan’s stable hold. At this point, her senses were returning to her without complication, but her body was still drained, her muscles refusing to cooperate with her directions and her world rocking nauseously side-to-side.

“You should go try and comfort Joohyun,” Seungwan said to Seulgi once she’d gotten a secure enough grip on Yerim, “She’s in a lot distress right now.”

“Yeah, yeah I should…” Seulgi said contemplatively, “And for the second time, sorry about that, Yerim. I got carried away.”

The blonde gave a small smile back and attempted to wave it off, but her hand merely flopped down, hanging off to the side limply.

“It’s okay…” Yerim managed to choke out.

Seulgi offered a short bow before scurrying away.

“Come on,” Seungwan said, watching Seulgi’s departure in much the same way she’d watched Joohyun’s, as if their presence was making her as tense as Yerim was, “Let’s get you to the edge of the circle.”

“I can walk,” the blonde knew it was a lie, but being carried somewhere was embarrassing, especially by Seungwan; the last thing Yerim wanted to do was to look weak in front of the stoic older girl.

“No you can’t,” the auburn-haired witch said as she began to move forward, with no evidence of struggle due to the one-hundred pound load in her arms, “Just relax and enjoy the ride.”

Yerim resigned herself to her current position. Seungwan arranged her extremities so that they were tucked neatly up against Yerim’s trunk at non-irritating angles, utilizing magic to keep them in place where her own arms couldn’t reach. The younger girl allowed herself to be cradled like an oversized baby, trying not to think of how silly she must look from an outside perspective. She scanned their surroundings as they traveled deeper into the woods, and was pleased to see that the sky had gone back to an inviting azure, and that the winds had died down considerably. The day had become unseasonably warm and fresh, and she took the time to admire its crispness as they continued towards the edge of the circle.

After a minute of walking, a purposely gradual pace that was meant to soothe rather than hurry along, Seungwan started to sing. She did so in a quiet yet pristinely melodic voice. Her normally flat affect morphed into a lively, high pitch that carried out every note with a sweet, echoey resonance, one that was unnatural coming from such a trebled tone. Each lyric swept from her lips and curled up into the air like strands of smooth, fragrant cigarette smoke, dissipating as quickly as they’d come to be, overlapped by the newly generated utterances that so eagerly chased behind them. It was a hypnotizing symphony.

“So descend into cliché,
    If the music has forsaken you,
    Roll the stone over the grave,
    I never liked that one anyways,
    Or stare into the face,
    Of whatever it is that's facing you,
    And if the levee breaks,
    You'll find out what it is that's replacing you,

And when the mirror breaks,
    I wouldn't miss it for the world,
    Call it blackstar, call it painstar,
    The same thing happens when you touch it...
    Did they tell you what happens when you touch it?
    Did they tell you what happens when you touch it?
    Did they tell you...
    Did they tell me...
    What happened to you?”

Seungwan held that final note, her breath curving upwards to a peak before breaking into an inhale, an inhale that fit into the cadence of the song like a puzzle piece, clicking into place just as she exhaled to continue the swooping “oooooooooooh…” that slowly faded until it was little more than a failed whisper in the space around them.

    A chill made its way up Yerim’s spine, accompanied by goosebumps along her arms as Seungwan concluded her short serenade.

    “What song was that?” Yerim inquired once Seungwan had finished.

    “You know, I’m not sure,” Seungwan admitted, “I remember that my brother liked it a lot, and would always listen to it… there’s a lot more to it, it’s a really long song, but I remember all the words. I wish I could remember the name of it.”

    “Well, it was absolutely beautiful. I understand why you were in choir. I bet you were the best one there,” Yerim, who found that her strength was coming back more and more by the second, looked up to see Seungwan’s cheeks rapidly turning pink, an almost instantaneous reaction to the blonde’s compliment.

    “Thank you… and I don’t know about the best one there, but I’d like to think I was pretty good.”

    Yerim giggled, ruminating on how caring and gentle the older girl had been lately. This was, hands down, the most intimate she’d been since they’d met, and while the blonde had never seen Seungwan as an unkind person, she didn’t expect this level of softness from her at all. It was intriguing.

    “Thank you for saving me back there… again,” Yerim leaned her head back, no longer self-conscious about the fact that she was resting inches from the witch’s right , “I don’t know what would’ve happened without you there.”

    “Don’t sweat it. Anyone else would’ve done the same thing.”

    “That’s such a cop-out, cliched answer.”

    “Shut up.”

    Both girls laughed just as they arrived at their destination, this time a small clearing of weeds and wild grass interspersed with patches of silty soil. Half of the clearing was located within the circle, the other half without. Yerim had grown quite accustomed to differentiating between whether she was in the circle or not; there was a sort of invisible, mental wall that she could detect lying a few feet before them.

    “Can you stand on your own yet?” Seungwan asked.

    “Yeah, I think so,” Yerim said, flexing the muscles in her legs and torso in order to try and ascertain their level of function.

    “Okay, I’ll let you down slowly,” Seungwan lowered Yerim’s legs first, allowing the soles of Yerim’s shoes to settle on the ground while the blonde’s arms remained locked around her neck, “Hang on to me if you have to. I don’t mind.”

    “Okay…”

    Yerim placed the full weight of her body onto her feet in pieces, steadily relying less and less on the witch for support. Seungwan’s legs and torso remained locked in position, her hands shifting along with the younger girl’s motions, providing the perfect means for Yerim to regain her footing.

    It was awkward at first, as if she’d been lying down for weeks rather minutes. Her legs were shaky and uncooperative, and she would have fallen several times were it not for Seungwan’s intervention.

    Once the blonde had gained her footing, she took her first step like a child that was still learning to walk. Each shift in weight was awkward and difficult to manage, but Seungwan remained right by her side, holding her upright whenever she listed too far off balance. It didn’t take long for her to get back into the swing of things, and Seungwan allowed her to approach the final steps before the barrier completely alone.

    As she approached the invisible divider, she noticed a that it was becoming harder and harder to continue onwards. It was a difficulty that had nothing to do with her balance; rather, it was as if space was trying to keep her from moving towards the barrier. Her steps, while steady and controlled, met a rapidly mounting resistance. She visibly struggled through the last five feet.

    Behind her, Seungwan had gone completely pale.

    “Oh no…”

    But Yerim couldn’t hear her. Yerim couldn’t hear anything aside from a faint ringing as she moved to cross that threshold, to exit the witches’ dimension and rejoin her own. She grunted as the air became thick as molasses, to the point where she was completely unable to continue towards freedom.

    She pushed as hard as she could. Her still-recovering muscles tensed in exertion as sweat painted her skin, her heart now bounding in her ears as she physically drained herself.

    To Seungwan, it appeared as if the younger girl were merely standing still, moving imperceptible inches at a time, but she knew better. She knew all too well what was happening, but she was too frozen in despair to do anything about it.

    Once Yerim had run out of steam, she collapsed onto her knees, panting in exhaustion as she finally was able to reach that near-untouchable barrier.

    Her hands were the first thing to make contact with it. Unlike all the other times, it was solid, thick, and immovable. There was absolutely no give. There was no moment of crossing from the chilly, foreignness of the magical land back into the warm, familiar reality of her own world. There was only resistance.

She pressed with what little strength she had left, begging, pleading with the thoughts that bounced around her skull. It was finally dawning on her what was going on, and no amount of comforting from anyone would be able to draw her back from the whirlpool of mental torment that had been unleashed within her.

    Her fists beat futilely against the barrier, each strike growing weaker as thick, unstoppable tears blurred her vision. A primal, hair-raising scream released from her lips as she sank to the dirt, all energy gone as the truth advanced on her, clamping down and swallowing her whole like some monstrous, eldritch horror.

    She was trapped.

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Thanks for reading<3