Page 15 of The Neighborhood Witch

Esmerelda Honeydew—or Ez, as her friends called her—was an inch under five feet tall with slip-on shoes that added an extra inch or two. A woman of short stature, but larger-than-life personality. She styled her dyed blonde hair up into a beehive. Her knee-length dress was a brightly colored, sparkly green that commanded attention from across the room. A kaleidoscope of colored rings adorned each finger. Foundation makeup caked her face to hide any appearance of wrinkles on her aged skin. Her cheeks red from rouge. High arched, brown eyebrows drawn above light blue eyeshadow that highlighted her silvery blue eyes. She tried to give off a more youthful appearance for someone in their late 60s.

“A curse upon that bard and that godforsaken play,” she proclaimed as she stood in the hallway to finish removing her coat. “A CURSE!”

“You take it way too personal.” Alice took the coat and placed it on a highly detailed, carved staircase newel post.

“He knew what he did,” Ez retorted. “He knew what hestole.”

“You weren’t even there,” Alice said.

“Still…” her voice trailed off as she plopped her oversized purse down on the hardwood flooring. She grinned and opened her arms, waiting for a hug. “How are you doing, kiddo?”

“I’m good,” Alice replied as she hugged Ez, whose head barely touched Alice’s shoulders. “It would be better if I had all my stuff.”

“We’ll get to that. We’ll get to that,” Ez assured her. “What was all the racket? It sounded like the house was coming apart.”

“That”—Alice responded with a hint of disdain, pointing upstairs—“was the overprotective one.”

“Good,” Ez replied. “He’s doing his job. Why are you keeping him up there?”

“Because if he was down here, he’d be following me all over the place. I can’t even step outside without him trying to follow,” Alice answered. “You want a flying broomstick following me in broad daylight?”

“Good point,” Ez said. She went to the wall and tapped three times, waiting for the response.

After a brief pause, three loud knocks echoed from upstairs.

“Good to see you too, old buddy!” Ez shouted upstairs before turning her attention back to Alice. “Now. Down to business.”

They headed down the hallway to the folding table. Ez took a seat, while Alice grabbed the teapot. She poured for both of them, topping off her cup.

“Thank you, kiddo.” Ez picked up the mug. She used her index finger to swirl the air above the steaming tea. The tea swished back and forth in the mug, following the same clockwise pattern as her finger, commanded by an unseen force. She took a sip. “Perfect. Absolutely perfect.”

“My stuff?” Alice asked.

“It should be here in a day or two,” Ez replied. “I have my best people working on it. We had to move it around, you know, to be safe.”

“Any word on those who tried to attack me?”

“Nothing,” Ez said before taking another sip of tea. “The trail went cold. We can’t find Sam, either. Whoever Sam told about your little secret has gone so far underground that my contactscan’t even find them.”

Alice buried her head in her hands to hide her frustration. She took a few breaths before looking back at Ez with a solemn, stoic expression. “Am I safe?”

“There is no way anyone could track your movements. I personally made sure of it. You have my guarantee. As long as you stay here and keep low, you’ll be safe.”

Alice smiled. “Well, that’s a relief.”

“I like the color of the house, but don’t you think it’s a bit much? Could draw attention to yourself.”

“If I have to move here, I’m going to at least put some of my style on this place,” Alice replied.

“I think your hair would already attract enough attention without adding a matching house.”

Alice brushed her purple hair behind her ears. “It’s who I am, and no amount of running or hiding will change it.”

“Well, at least you picked a great color,” Ez said before taking another sip. “How is everything going so far? Any troubles getting set up?”

“The house is… cozy, even if it feels a bit too much,” Alice said. “I have everything set up downstairs. I placed the order, but it’s a small grocery, so it’ll take longer to get that much in.”

“That’s fine. That’s fine,” Ez responded. “Do you think you can double the order?”

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