Not Quite Right

Oh no, no, not again. Don’t react. You’ll cause her to panic. I fixed my face into a pleasant smile.

“Well, how does it look?” the woman in my shop asked, clasping her hands and jumping up from the chair.

“I’m just going to need to make some adjustments,” I replied, easing her back down into the seat. “Eyes on me, please.”

Just don’t look down, I pleaded wordlessly.

“Oh, I can’t wait any longer,” the woman said, turning in her chair before I could stop her. She frowned at her reflection in the mirror. “My nose doesn’t look different at all.”

“No, your nose doesn’t.” I grinned sheepishly. “I’ll just need to repeat the spell. It doesn’t always take the first time. Body parts can be quite stubborn, you know. Especially when they’ve been in place your whole life.” I chuckled half-heartedly.

The woman narrowed her eyes. “Fine, just hurry it up.” She started tapping her toes, then stopped abruptly.

Oh no.

She jumped up from the chair, screeching, “You shrunk my toes?! It was supposed to be my nose!”

“I can fix it! Please, just sit and I will have everything to rights in no time at all.”

“Absolutely not,” the woman shook her head vehemently. “You are not to cast another spell upon me. Who knows what you will shrink this time? How are you still in business?”

“Would it help if I told you that’s why I have the best prices in town?” 

The woman scoffed and marched out the door.

With a sigh, I plopped into the seat she had previously occupied. Another unhappy customer.

…

“Oh, we’ll be so glad to have you home, Dear,” my mother’s voice carried out of the mirror. “But is everything alright?”

“Yes, of course. I just need a break.” I took a deep breath. “The magic shop isn’t quite working out how I thought.”

“I know it’s always been hard for you, Hettie.” She hesitated. “I never quite understood why you insisted on pursuing magic as a career when it was such a struggle.”

“You never told me that.” I stared at her, my mouth agape. 

“Well, I wanted you to do what made you happy. I didn’t want to discourage you.” She wrung her hands. “But I can’t say I’m all that surprised that it hasn’t worked out,” she finished quickly.

I blinked at my mother’s reflection in the mirror, concern etched on her face. I knew she meant well, but it was quite a blow to learn even my own mother didn’t really believe in me.

I felt tired all of a sudden. “I’d better get packed. I’ll see you in a couple of days,” I managed to get out.

I heard my mother reply, “See you soon. I love you,” before I ended the call.

I plopped down on my bed and spent the better part of the afternoon contemplating what an utter failure I was.

…

“My poor Buttercup.” The innkeeper paced near the fireplace. “He hasn’t come home in two days. He must be so scared.” She stopped and turned to face me. “You have to help me. I’ll waive the cost of your supper.”

“I don’t– I’m not sure I could find him,” I replied.

“You are a witch, aren’t you? Or did you steal that hat?” She glared at me, hands on her hips.”

“No, no, I didn’t steal it. It’s just…I’m a bit out of practice,” I finished with a nod.

The woman waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, please. A witch doesn’t forget how to do magic. Go ahead and cast the spell before my Buttercup starves.”

“I did try to warn you,” I muttered under my breath, then smiled up at the woman. “Describe Buttercup for me.”

The woman beamed. “She is the fluffiest little yellow cat. She has white stripes and the tip of her tail is brown.” 

“I can see where she got her name,” I tell the woman politely. “Now, I’ll just need quiet while I focus.”

I pictured the fluffy yellow cat in my mind. Ears perked, tail swishing. Focus. A simple summoning spell for a cat. As I waved my wand in the air, I kept the vision going in my mind. Don’t get distracted. Yellow cat. My arms moved in the practiced motions. The gestures were never the problem. It was always my wandering mind. Yellow cat with white stripes, just doing cat things. Like chasing rats through the inn. 

And with a final flourish, the spell was complete. 

I cracked open my eyes and waited for Buttercup to appear. There was a scrabbling sound at the wooden door. I exhaled in relief. 

The innkeeper rushed to the door and flung it open. “Oh, Butter–”

I watched as a trail of rats skurried past her and into the inn. She squealed and jumped out of the way. She rounded on me. “You!” she screeched. 

I held up my hands. “I was only trying to help. I will fix this.”

“No, I will call in a proper witch to undo this mess.”

Buttercup chose that moment to race into the inn on the trail of all the rats.

…

I sat in a cozy chair by the fireplace, head in hands. At least the innkeeper hadn’t kicked me out entirely, but I did have to pay for my meal. The door opened behind me, but I paid it no mind until I heard the innkeeper.

“She was supposed to bring back my Buttercup, but instead filled the inn with rats!”

I sank down lower in my chair, hoping the new witch would ignore me—no such luck. I felt a tap on my shoulder.

“Would you mind explaining to me the spell you cast, so I may undo it?” an older woman asked, not unkindly. She sat in the chair next to me and smiled encouragingly, which was more than I deserved.

“It was just a summoning spell for a cat, only…I pictured Buttercup chasing rats, and then they appeared instead.” I lowered my head once more. 

“And you always picture your spell’s intentions in your mind like this?” The woman sounded genuinely curious, not critical, which was why I explained.

“It helps me to focus my spell. Although it clearly doesn’t work well enough.” I sighed.

The witch watched me for a moment. “May I examine you? With my magic?”

“Oh.” I had not been expecting that. “I suppose so.” I shifted in my seat. 

The woman took out her wand and performed a spell I didn’t recognize. “Just as I thought,” she muttered. She looked me in the eyes. “You’re cursed, I’m afraid.”

I stared at her. “I’m sorry. What do you mean I’m cursed?” I began to glance around the room.

“Oh, don’t worry. No one means you ill will. You were born with this curse. It makes it much harder to focus your magic. I’ve seen it a handful of times before.” She smiled at me. “In fact, I’m quite impressed you can do this level of magic, even if it’s a bit off. You were quite wrong about your focusing technique. It does help a great deal.” She leaned forward to pat my hand.

“But–you mean to say I’ve had this curse all my life?” I pondered this in silence for a moment. I finally dared to speak it aloud. “So I’m…not a failure?”

“Decidely not, Dear. This curse has just made it harder for you to learn magic than anyone else. That doesn’t make you a failure.”

“Can you…” I swallowed. “Can you fix it?”

“There’s no way to completely remove the curse, I’m afraid.”

“Oh, of course. Silly me.” I stared at my hands.

“Chin up,” the witch said, reaching out to place a hand on my knee. “I can brew you a potion that will improve your focus greatly. Things will still be a little harder for you, but you’ve already shown you can work much harder at magic than most witches.”

“Truly? You can help me?” I scarcely dared to believe it. I pictured my little magic shop, the one I had worked so hard to build, full of happy customers for once.

“If you take the potion before you practice magic, I have no doubt you will have a successful magical career.”

…

What did you think of the story? Can you relate to Hettie? Let us know in the comments!

Thanks so much for reading!

-Clever & WTF