Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 65042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
“Dear me—another one! I swear this town is getting quite out of control. It’s drawing people in from everywhere now.”
“Another one what?” I asked blankly. “Are you Goody Albright?”
“Yes I am, my dear. I’m afraid I don’t have much time but come have a seat with me and we can talk for a minute at least.”
She led me to two overstuffed armchairs in the lobby, right by the large fireplace which had a fire blazing in it. Since a chilly gust came through every time the front door of the inn was opened, I was glad to sit in one of the chairs close to the quietly crackling flames.
“Now then, tell me your circumstances and I’ll try to help you make sense of how you got here,” Goody Albright directed. “I’m very sorry not to offer you tea while we talk but I’m afraid just about every brownie I have is tied up with guests at the moment—we have a Women in Magic Convention going on at the moment and we’re trying to get ready for All Hallows Eve.”
Women in Magic? I wanted to ask questions, but she was already glancing at her watch, and I could tell my time with her was limited. As quickly as I could, I explained about getting the mysterious envelope and how it had contained two keys and a note that told me how to draw a doorway.
I showed her the keys and she examined then and nodded. But when I pulled out the note, I saw that it now said something else entirely. Instead of the poem that told how to draw a door, an address was written in the same, flowing script.
1209 Main Street, Hidden Hollow, MA, it said. Just that, and nothing more.
“This is strange,” I said, turning the scrap of paper over in my hand and looking at the back, which was blank. “It didn’t used to say this. It had a poem that told me to draw a door with the key and that it would take me ‘where I belonged.’”
“Hmm…a piece of magic parchment, perhaps.” Goody Albright took it from me and read the address. Her eyebrows shot up. “My—this is odd!”
Odder than everything else?—was what I wanted to say. Instead I asked politely, “How so?” as I leaned towards the fireplace and rubbed my hands together.
“Well, this address is to the vacant lot on the far end of Main Street,” Goody Albright told me. “I mean, it didn’t use to be vacant—there was a cottage there once. A lovely one—owned by Goody Hawkins. But after she left for the Human World, it disappeared.” She sighed. “Such a shame—it would have made a lovely shop. Especially now with things getting so busy.”
“Hawkins?” I frowned. “But…that was my father’s last name. And my grandmother’s too.”
Goody Albright looked thoughtful.
“Maybe you’re related to the witch who used to live there,” she mused. “Goody Hawkins was lovely but she made the mistake of falling in love with a mortal man with no magic at all. And since no one without at least some magic is allowed here in Hidden Hollow, she had to leave.” She shook her head. “Such a loss of a good witch.”
“Wait—are you saying my grandmother was a witch?” I asked, frowning.
“Well of course, my dear. And it would follow that after her death you would be called here, to Hidden Hollow to take her place as the next witch in her family line. But Goody Hawkins left ages ago. I’m not sure why you’re only now being drawn here.”
“Oh, but I’m not a witch!” I protested. “I mean, I don’t have any kind of magical powers.”
Goody Albright gave me a gentle smile.
“Of course you are and of course you do, my dear. Hidden Hollow is surrounded by a magical bubble which only magic users like witches and warlocks or Creatures who have magic in their blood may enter. If you didn’t have any power, you wouldn’t have been able to draw the door that led you here. Or to read the magical parchment which told you how to draw the door in the first place, for that matter.”
“But—” I began, but just then another of the bark-skinned women came over and whispered in Goody Albright’s ear.
“Oh dear!” She shook her head, looking grave. “It’s always something when we host these big conventions!” She looked at me. “I’m afraid I have to leave you, my dear. Er, what did you say your name was again?”
“Danni,” I told her. “Danni Forester.”
“No, no, my dear—you must go by the name of the witch who drew you here,” she corrected me. “So here you would be Goody Hawkins.”
“But—” I began, but she was already rising.
“I’m very sorry but I have an emergency I must see to,” she told me. “Why don’t you go down to the address on the parchment and see what you can see? Maybe the cottage has reappeared now that its rightful owner has shown up in town. If so and your key turns in the lock, it’s yours to stay in. If not, you can come back here. The Goddess knows we’re filled to the rafters with this convention but I’m sure I can find somewhere to put you.”