Page 1 of Wayward Witch

The heavy thud of a spell book slamming onto the counter jolted me out of my daydream. A witch with her face flushed with anger glared at me with so much accusation.

"You lied to me!" she hissed through clenched teeth.

My heart raced as I tried to calm her down, but my words betrayed me. "Of course I did," I said quickly, cursing myself for not being able to tell her the truth. I hadn't meant to deceive her. Despite having this curse my entire life, I’d known better… Yet, I’d still said it, anyway.

"Why did you do it?" She yelled, causing heads to turn in our direction.

"I don't know," I whispered. The weight of their judging eyes weighed me down as they judged me.

Her accusations grew louder, attracting the attention of more patrons in the library. They glanced over at us, making me feel even smaller and more insignificant than usual. My curse had once again put me in a difficult situation, and I couldn't see a way out. This was why I wasn’t supposed to help patronsdirectly, but Maeve asked me to cover her counter for her lunch break.

"Look," I began, desperately trying to communicate effectively with the irate witch, "I'm sure there's another solution we can find." But my curse twisted my words, turning them into something insincere and misleading. "I doubt there's any solution to your problem."

The witch's eyes flashed dangerously, and I practically felt the heat of her anger radiating toward me. The tense atmosphere in the library grew as I felt trapped by my inability to speak the truth.

"Is this how you treat all your patrons?" she demanded, her voice dripping with contempt. "By lying and mocking them?"

"No," I wanted to say, to explain that it was just my curse, not me. Instead, what came out was, "Yes, I love treating people this way." Fuck my life. I needed to tape my mouth shut.

"Enough!" the witch bellowed, her voice reverberating through the library. "I demand to speak with your supervisor!"

My hands trembled as I reluctantly pressed the intercom button, knowing full well that calling Lyptico would only make things worse for me. Around us, the whispers and murmurs of other patrons grew louder, adding to my already mounting anxiety.

"Lyptico, please come to the front desk," I managed to say into the intercom, my voice barely above a whisper.

The seconds stretched into what felt like hours as I awaited his arrival, my stomach twisting and knotting itself in dread. I felt the weight of the gazes from the other patrons, their curiosity only serving to heighten my humiliation.

"Is there an issue here?" Lyptico's calm voice cut through the tense atmosphere as he approached.

The contrast between his composed demeanor and the witch's fury was stark. I couldn't help but wince at the storm brewing in her eyes. I knew that no matter how this conversation went, I would be the one to bear the brunt of it.

"Your employee," she spat, jabbing a finger in my direction, "has been lying to me nonstop! She provided false information that nearly led me to cast an incredibly dangerous spell!"

Lyptico's expression remained neutral as he listened to the witch's complaints. Thankfully, his face didn’t betray any of his thoughts. But I could sense his disappointment from the subtle tightening around his eyes as he glanced in my direction.

"Is this true, Selene?" he asked me quietly.

"Of course not," I replied, cursing myself as the lie slipped past my lips. My curse had betrayed me again. I clapped a hand over my mouth. There. I wouldn’t be able to say something stupid if I didn’t open it.

"Selene is... unique," Lyptico explained to the witch, choosing his words carefully. "She has a condition that can sometimes make communication... challenging."

"Whatever conditions she has doesn't excuse the fact that she is giving out harmful advice." The witch's voice was still outraged, but it wasn't as loud.

I watched as Lyptico extended a hand, offering an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry for any confusion," he said to the witch. "Allow me to take a look at this spell book and help you with what you need."

He took the book from her grip, his full attention on her to deescalate the situation. I shrank back, my heart pounding and my palms clammy, knowing full well that this was far from over.

They huddled together, flipping through the pages, occasionally murmuring to one another. The witch's expression softened, but her eyes still held a fire that roared every time she glanced at me. She finally nodded, seemingly satisfied with Lyptico's assistance. Then she turned on her heel and strode toward the exit, muttering darkly under her breath.

"Selene," Lyptico called, his voice low and measured. My stomach churned as his gaze met mine, disappointment etched into every feature. I felt like a cornered animal, desperate for some reprieve from the heavy weight of their own mistake.

"Follow me to my office," he instructed, leaving no room for argument. My heart heavy with dread, I trailed behind him, knowing this was the last straw. Lyptico had been very patient with me, but he had been clear that this couldn’t keep happening.

I braced myself for the reprimand I knew was coming. As we made our way past the rows of books and curious eyes, I tried to steady my breathing, to find some semblance of calm in the storm of my thoughts. Hopefully, he wouldn’t fire me this time. Then I could work out another way to prevent this from happening again. Again.

I'd tried so many things over the years, but they'd all failed. Between expensive mute potions, writing which also came out in lies, avoiding all types of communication and even a malfunctioning amulet that was supposed to prevent me from lying, but somehow made it worse.

The door to Lyptico's office swallowed us whole, leaving me feeling trapped by what was about to happen. My heart pounded against my ribcage as I glanced around the room, trying to find something, anything, to focus on other than the impending conversation. The faint scent of lavender and sage filled the air as Lyptico faced me, his expression as hard as stone.

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