Chapter One
Mirabelle pressed her forehead against the cool car window. Ohio flew by while Tori Amos crooned “Cornflake Girl” through her smart phone. Her dad drove, strumming his fingers on the wheel to some invisible beat; her mom sat in the front seat knitting, despite the 85 degree temperature. Her mom was a creator – always making something wonderful and artistic. Their house overflowed with her crafts. Gavin, her younger brother, slept sprawled out across the two seats next to her, and her younger sister, Victoria, sat in the backseat tearing through Wildwood Dancing. Mirabelle sighed, wondering what she had gotten herself into. Two months ago, she had a normal future, college-bound in the fall with one last summer to spend with her friends and boyfriend. Now she was being shipped off to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania until at least Christmas. And yes, Lancaster County is where the Amish live.
Mirabelle had landed on this future due to a few different decisions. She applied to colleges she thought she could get into, but apparently could not. This left only one school to choose from, located in a state she never really considered living in (Texas). Her boyfriend, James, was going to NYU. Emo, artsy, and brilliant, James was a film major for now, but already had dreams of double-majoring in theater. Mirabelle planned to major in English Literature at Columbia University, or Villanova University, or Duke University, or University of Michigan, or University of North Carolina. She had not planned to major in English Literature at West Texas University. Mirabelle applied there because her English teacher that wrote her recommendations had gone there, and she wanted to impress her.
Even in the middle of summer, Mirabelle is pale. Like, has been asked if she’s wearing white tights on more than one occasion pale. Her straight, dark brown hair does little but point out how pale her skin is. On the bright side, she inherited some pretty awesome green eyes, which, on the rare occasion she dresses up and wears make-up, are the feature she likes to highlight. She has an almost concave chest and an unevenly matched round butt that looks great in pants, but is far too much for a pair of high-waisted shorts to handle. She likes loose jeans and T-shirts and had never bought anything low-cut, skin tight, or defined as “sexy.” And it was fine; James liked her regular girl look. When Mirabelle visited West Texas, everyone had big hair and big boobs. After thirty minutes of sarcastic comments, Mirabelle figured West Texas was not the place for her.
So she went home, had a small breakdown, and declared she would not go to college the next year. She would reapply the next spring.
Mirabelle’s parents were understanding. They had taken a laid-back approach to parenting. Mirabelle knew she was lucky. Most of her friends would have been carted off to West Texas with the “give it a semester” mentality. While her parents were not kicking her out to a school she dreaded, they were not, “Sure you can lay around the house for a year” understanding. They were not even willing to let her get a job and stay home. Three options:
Go to a Central or South American country and help build something; a house, a school, a community.
Be an Au Pair in Europe and learn a second language.
Live in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and work on her older sister’s farm
Number three seemed to be the best option. No chance of being caught in the middle of a violent coup, getting kidnapped Taken-style, or more likely, getting a terrible sunburn, or changing diapers. On the plus side, New York was only a three-hour car ride, so she could visit James.
When Mirabelle called Anona to ask her if she could spend at least until December at her house, Anona acted unsurprised, and immediately gave her a list of things to bring.
“You’ll want at least six pairs of jeans. Not nice jeans. Inexpensive jeans that you can get ripped and dirty. Buy some good socks that go about halfway up your calf and won’t slip down into your shoes. Lots of t-shirts for the fall, lots of sweatshirts for the winter. It doesn’t snow as much here as at home, but it’s pretty cold working outside. And it’s a hike just to get to the car. You’ll want a sturdy pair of working boots, some gym shoes for exercise and hiking, and some flip flops for the evening when it’s hot.” Anona rattled off.
“Is this like go-away camp? Do I need a poncho for the rain?” Mirabelle joked.
“No, you will need an actual heavy-duty raincoat. Those plastic ponchos are only good for sitting at baseball games and running from cabin to dining hall. They will not work picking fruit in the rain.” Anona continued to give her a very long list of things to bring, things not to bring (anything with a stiletto heel), and things Anona wanted her to bring from home for her (a frozen pizza from Piero’s).
Mirabelle had only seen Anona six times in the last four years. She had gone to school at Fordham and dropped out her sophomore year of college. Because of this Mirabelle had not been too terrified to tell her parents she was not going to college directly after high school. Anona was an art student and had met George Andrew Stanton at an art gallery opening. He was a painter who made dark, fantastical art. Anona, with her dark hair, green eyes, and almost magical presence, became his instant muse. She spent the next three years working as his principal model at all times, catering to his every artistic whim. When Anona was twenty-two, George was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. A week later, he gave her a large portion of money (Anona never told Mirabelle how large) and went to spend the rest of his days in hospice. Anona bought a farm in rural Pennsylvania and completely traded her high-fashion, art world life for overalls and dirty nails.
Mirabelle had been to Anona’s farm once before, a few months after she bought it. Their family had driven the twelve hours and stayed a week, helping her get settled. They slept in sleeping bags on the floor in the living room, which was unfinished. Their father had dragged in a bed for Anona and a couch for the living room, but when they left the house was still pretty empty. Anona insisted that once she had a bed, she was golden. She was clearly in love with her farm. She walked the whole thing constantly, smiling, making plans. Mirabelle was a little excited to see how it looked since they had visited three years ago.
Thankfully, when Victoria and Gavin had launched a slapping fight, their dad announced Anona’s was just a mile down the road. Mirabelle peered out the window – the area was unchanged. They drove past farms, rolling hills, even a house that had a buffalo in their yard. Though it had not been there three years earlier, Mirabelle recognized Anona’s house by the mailbox. While every other farm had a simple white mailbox at the end of the driveways, Anona had a blue mailbox painted with crescent moons and stars. Their dad laughed a little to himself as he pulled their Explorer into the driveway.
“Now entering the world of Anona,” Her dad began, “Beware of fantastical creatures, man-eating trees, and all other things to be considered extraordinary.” The whole car giggled. Anona had always lived in a world a little off from normal, but with a good head and a good heart. As the car inched up a hill and pulled around the bend, the cottage came into view. It was painted bright white, with blue shutters and a great big porch. Wind chimes hung around the entire perimeter of the house filling the heavy air with swishing clinks. Two big rocking chairs sat on one end of the porch and a big wooden table and chairs at the other end. To the left of the house were rows and rows of Anona’s fruit trees. Mostly apple with a few peach trees, in the fall Anona made a good deal of her living selling homemade pies, jellies, doughnuts, and ciders at Farmer’s Markets across Pennsylvania. In front of the house, Anona had two small herb gardens divided by a stone path. To the right of the house lay a vegetable garden and beautiful flower garden. Anona had told Mirabelle three years earlier that she planned to design a gorgeous garden, but Mirabell
e would never have believed how spectacular it had become. The flowers exploded a myriad of bright colors in their July glory. Behind the house, a pumpkin patch was beginning to show signs of an autumn harvest. If you followed the driveway further, you would see a dense wood behind Anona’s house and a creek running through the property, with a bridge to drive the car over it. Beyond the woods were the maple trees that would harvest syrup in February, giving Anona some income to see her through until the summer months. The gravel driveway ended at the barn, which was painted an old-fashioned red. Anona wasn’t an animal farmer, per se, but she did have 2 dogs (Brownie and Selkie), 3 sheep (Lemon, Lime, and Clementine), a goat (Elsie), a black cat (Hedgie), and a few ducks that liked to sleep there. No cows. Anona loved the farm work, but milking cows is a whole other level of commitment. A total of ten acres, Anona’s land went on forever compared to the suburbia she was raised in.
As Mirabelle climbed out of the car, Anona ran out the front door, waving wildly.
“I thought I heard a car!” Anona shouted, hugging everyone.
“My biggest baby!” Their mom exclaimed, hugging her oldest child.
“You must be so tired! It’s only five, how early did you leave?” Anona asked.
“Dad made us leave at five am.” Gavin complained.
“You slept nearly the whole trip; you should not be tired at all.” Victoria snapped at her perpetually exhausted fifteen-year-old brother.
“Well, I’ve got dinner almost ready, do you want to come in and sit down or walk around and stretch your legs?” Gavin and Victoria opted to go inside and sit, with directions from Anona to watch the potatoes. Their parents wanted a tour of the floral garden.
“Do you mind if I go wander by the fruit trees for a little while?” Mirabelle asked.
“You don’t have to ask. Go ahead. Get to know them.” Anona winked. Mirabelle resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Hopefully the dreamy, kind of crazy Anona would subside to a more normal version of her sister if they were going to live together this long.
Only a moment after getting to the trees, Mirabelle noticed the utter silence. The suburbs weren’t really loud, especially compared to the city, but this was unearthly. A strong breeze interrupted the silence and the gentle rustling of the leaves on all the rows of trees brushed past Mirabelle. A few rows in, Mirabelle could not see the house anymore. In the middle of summer, the trees were plentiful with fruit and deep green leaves. She wandered through, running her hands against the trunks. Mirabelle loved the summer. The warm wind tossed her hair behind her while she made her way deeper into the orchard. Mirabelle understood the appeal of living here; she was sure the work would be hard, but at least the scenery made up for it.
She walked the length of the fruit orchard, coming to the bank of the creek. It was much wider than Mirabelle had remembered, the water rushing over rocks. She sat at the edge to dip her hands in, when something white caught her eye. She whipped her head up to see a woman in a white dress run past the driveway and then disappearing into the woods.
“Strange.” Mirabelle said to herself. She felt a sudden chill on the air and decided to walk back to the house. The five am wake-up call was beginning to wear on her; she had been too nervous and excited to sleep in the car. Making her way to the driveway, Mirabelle followed it back to the house, where Anona had set the table on the porch for dinner. The smells of roasted potatoes and onions, pork chops, and peach pie reached Mirabelle’s nose.
“I am going to get fat here.” She murmured.
* * *
After the delicious dinner, the family stayed on the porch until the last lights of the day fell behind the horizon, and Anona lit lanterns and candles to keep the porch aglow. Eventually, everyone made their way to bed, their parents in the room that would be Mirabelle’s, Victoria in Anona’s bed with her, and Gavin and Mirabelle each on a couch in the living room. Mirabelle fell fast asleep within moments of lying on the couch.
The next morning, their parents, Gavin and Victoria headed home early; Gavin had summer school starting in a few days, so they could not stay any longer. After a tearful goodbye, Mirabelle and Anona went back into the house and sat at the kitchen table. Her smartphone was left with her parents. The farm did not get any reception and it hardly made sense to keep one for a rare trip to the city. There was a landline and a laptop for Mirabelle to keep in contact with her friends and family. Anona had a cell phone she used when going to farmers’ markets, but it usually sat in the junk drawer in the kitchen. Mirabelle was sure she would be the only one of her friends without any personal connection to the wonderful virtual world. Even her friend Katie who was going to school in India was taking her phone.
Anona’s house had one large room that made up the kitchen, the “creation” area, as Anona dubbed it, and the living room. The kitchen area had cabinets, a stove, an oven, a sink, a large table with eight chairs, and a lot of counter space. The creation area had two smaller tables with mismatched stools surrounding them. Lastly, the living area had a wall of bookshelves over-flowing with books, two couches, two chairs, a coffee table, and a fireplace. Mirabelle’s room had a double bed covered in a pink antique quilt, a bedside table with lamp, a dresser, and a desk with “Fairy Tales Do Come True” painted on a plank of wood hung above it.
“What are you thinking at this exact moment?” Anona asked.
“Have I made a huge mistake?” Mirabelle blurted out. Both sisters giggled. “I don’t know, it’s July and I’m sitting in Pennsylvania about to embark on a year working a fruit farm with my older sister while all my friends go off to college to drink and party and screw random people and…” she shrugged. “I think I might be a little lost.”
“A little lost? Well you have come to the right place. I was a little lost, but then I came to this farm, and I am found.” Anona smiled. “How was your last year of high school?”
“Anti-climatic.” She admitted. “I was beyond ready to leave high school behind. Apparently, I was not quite ready for college.”
“You were ready for an adventure, and you have stumbled upon one.” Anona walked into the kitchen and put on the teakettle.
“Obviously since the last time I was here you got real floors put in among other things.”
“I did!” Anona laughed. “I also got a very nice shower installed. It’s lovely after a long sweaty day working the land to wash the day off under a spa shower head. I put together all the gardens, which are doing pretty well. The floral one is still giving me some issues, but I will work it out. What else… I painted every room in the house, and by that I actually mean two boys from the neighborhood who I paid. And, of course, the crown jewel,” Anona nodded at her enormous refrigerator. “Much better than I could have imagined. In the fall there will be stacks of pies in here ready to go to the Farmer’s Markets.”
“Any thing new on the personal front?” Mirabelle ran her fingers over the fabric of the couch.
“No. This corner of Pennsylvania is not exactly crawling with single twenty-somethings. I’m not really looking for anything at the moment. But, you have a boyfriend now! And he is going to be living in New York, not too far away.”
“Yes. James. He’s wonderful.” Mirabelle gushed. “He’s very into film and art and sees something in me, though I am not exactly sure what.”
“Perhaps he sees a kind girl with great eyes and legs for days.” Anona teased. “Now, I know you joked about coming here versus being an au pair because you were not keen on spending that much time with kids,” Anona began. Mirabelle raised her eyebrows, unaware of where this was going. “I run a day camp.” She finished.
“What?!” Mirabelle exclaimed. “How do you have time?” Anona laughed.
“There’s time for everything you need there to be. So today is Sunday so no camp, but tomorrow, the kids will be here and expecting a day of activities.”
“Okay. What do activities entail? I’m not exactly a wiz at arts and crafts or capture the flag.” Anona laughed.
; “Capture the flag is not until the end of the summer, and that is both insane and a ton of fun.” Mirabelle rolled her eyes. “Really, though, can you imagine capture the flag here? It got crazy in our backyard which was one-twentieth of the size and had two trees to hide behind.”
“What do I have to do tomorrow?”
“To start, I am going to have you pick up half the kids, which will be easier for me. I’ll drive to get the ones that live further away, but the nearby neighbors, you can pick up and walk back here.”
“I’ve been here less than a day, Anona. I don’t exactly know my way around yet.” Mirabelle said, a little annoyed.
“There are only two houses you will need to pick kids up at. The first is Tommy and Ashley’s house. All you have to do is turn right at the end of my driveway and walk until you see their red house. They can show you how to get to Ben’s house and then back here. They are two nine year olds and an eleven year old. They know how to get around, but it’s safer if they have an adult with them.”
“How many kids are at this camp?”
“Seven.”
“Well that makes me feel better. I was picturing fifty kids showing up tomorrow morning.” Mirabelle said. Anona shook her head.
“It’s just for the neighborhood kids who want to come. And by neighborhood, I mean ten square mile radius.”
Chapter Two
Anona woke Mirabelle, who had spent the last month sleeping in everyday and did not appreciate it, at 6 am.
“What time does this camp start?” Mirabelle snapped.
“8 am. I figured you might want some coffee or tea before you made the mile walk each way?” Mirabelle grumbled and pulled herself out of bed. Anona was already dressed and chipper. Mirabelle pulled on a pair of gym shorts and added a sweatshirt over her T-shirt for the cool morning.
“Coffee or tea?” Anona asked.
“Tea, please.” Mirabelle answered. She shuffled into the kitchen and gasped. Anona had a full breakfast on the table. Scrambled eggs, bacon, potatoes and toast.
Welcome to Witchhood (Sister Witches Book 1) Page 1
