The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea

by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

It would lead them to the Dove, she said. If she could do the spell. It did not appear to be working. Part of Evelyn was nearly thankful for that. She knew, of course, that basically everything she’d been taught as a child had been a lie. But it was hard to shake the notion that witches were evil, especially since one had just sold her out so coldly. It seemed impossible that her beloved Flora would be one. “Listen,” Flora said. “You are a knife that binds, and you bind me to my brother. You will take me to him. You will put me where I belong, at his side, together again as we are meant to be.” But nothing happened. They were not, in fact, close to Alfie, nor the Dove for that matter. They sat in the boat, Evelyn playing her game of silence, as the sun beat down on them, the winds picked up and then died again, and the sun set. But still, Flora chanted. “You do not cut anymore; you will never cut again. You bind me to Alfie, and Alfie to me.” It was just as Evelyn thought it may be time to gracefully break the bad news that Flora was not, in fact, a practical witch when it happened. “I can’t believe it!” Evelyn cried. Which was true. She couldn’t. “Neither can I.” Flora looked around, bemused.