The Change

by Kirsten Miller

‘Witch’ is the label society slaps on women it can’t understand or control.

Be careful what you let others have,” Nessa’s mother had advised her the day she graduated from nursing school. “Everyone you help’s gonna want a piece of you. Give what you can, but you’ll be worthless to all of them unless you stay whole.”

But it didn’t seem to matter where a woman was—there was always someone waiting to shove her out of the spotlight and into a steaming pile of shit.

No one teaches girls how to take care of themselves. We train them to be pretty and kind and polite right before we set them loose in a world filled with wolves. Then we act surprised and horrified when some of them get eaten.

“This is what you were made for,” she told her. “Why do you think women are designed to outlive men? Why do we keep going for thirty years after our bodies can no longer reproduce? Do you think nature meant for those years to be useless? No, of course not. Our lives our designed to have three parts. The first is education. The second, creation. And in part three, we put our experience to use and protect those who are weaker. This third stage, which you have entered, can be one of incredible power.”

“When Eve ate the apple, she realized there was a whole world beyond Eden. The snake told her she could spend her life in a garden taking care of some man’s insatiable needs—or she could see what else was out there. So she put on some clothes and went out to explore. What would you do if you were wearing her shoes?” Faith didn’t even need a moment to ponder the question. “Listen to the snake,” she said.