YOU'RE ALL MINE - ch 12

YOU’RE ALL MINE - ch 12

(the magic of Midnight)

^ ^

Mia didn’t smile, she grinned eagerly and whole-heartedly.

“Mia,” Midnight meowed, “if your grin grows any wider, your face will crack!” Mia only laughed with more delight.

“Aintin, I know I’m still not great at this, but I feel I’ve gotten much better. What do you think?” she asked as she sat on one of the wicker rockers that near the front door in Finola’s yard.

“Mia, you’ve been at this for an hour every Saturday for the past six months. I do, in my heart believe you’re almost ready to go solo. However, I would really appreciate it if you’d allow me tag along – just in case. You decide where you’d like to go, and I’ll be behind you. BUT, it will be your trip with you leading. Do you think you’re ready?”

Mia thought for sure her aunt heard her gulp! “A solo, Aintin? I wouldn’t even know where I’d want to go or how to get there. I really like riding the leys, but I want to study more on where they cross. I think I’ve finally realized that leys are just lines unless you tell them where you want to go. But I still feel the need to keep reviewing your book.”

“Good, choice, my stor. That would have been my suggestion, but you’ve grown enough to understand this yourself. Let’s look at the map and plot out a course. Since this is Saturday, let’s take a trip to Dunlavin. I hear they’ve opened a new gift shop. Maybe I can show them some of my amulets and strike a consignment bargain.”

“Aintin! You make jewelry to sell?”

Finola chuckled. “Oh no, mo stor. I never have but word gets around and I hear more people are looking for what they call ‘good luck charms’. I can make some general amulets and add a mild, general protection spell. Of course, I’d never admit to the spell but, well, we’ll see when we get there. Who knows? Maybe, I can earn enough to put something away for my old age. Let’s plan for Saturday around eleven. That way you can work your garden, and we can get to the shop before the lunch crowd.”

“Aintin, that sounds great!” Mia looked at her great aunt whose hair had turned gray a long time ago. While there were few lines in her face, Mia knew her age to be somewhere around seventy. Even with this knowledge, Mia knew enough to not remark on her great aunt’s possible age.

Midnight meowed loudly and jumped up and down, “Yippee! Another ride. These have gotten to be so much fun.”

Mia laughed at her feline friend and said, “They’re fun, now, Midnight, since you don’t throw up anymore!”

“Aintin, I have a question.”

Finola laughed. “You usually do, mo stor! Before you ask, I have a gift for you. I was going to give it to you on your birthday, but we were so busy with the ley lines, I decided to hold it for a few months. I believe it’s now time. Give me a minute to go inside and get it.”

Mia sipped the cool lemonade her great aunt favored and was always in awe of how perfect it tasted. She thought, “That will be another question. I’ll have to ask her to teach me how to make this.”

Seconds later, Finola walked to where Mia was sitting and handed her a book that seemed to be about three-inches thick. Mia looked at the old brown leather cover that was cracked with age. There was no title, no author’s name. Just a book whose cover was locked with a leather strap and brass clasp. From her pocket, Finola retrieved an old brass key tethered to a thin leather strap that was long enough to fit around Mia’s neck.

“Mia, wear this as well as the amulet I gave you. This key will open the lock. It’s the book of spells my da gave me when I was about your age. Before you attempt any of them, read the entire book. Learn the use of each spell, what is needed for each to succeed, and what cautions you need to take if and when you attempt to cast a spell. Just heed this warning, mo stor. Never, and I cannot emphasize this strongly enough, never use a spell to harm anyone. If you do, the spells are designed to backfire and hit you directly but three times stronger. Promise me, Mia, that you’ll do everything I just told you.”

Mia sat there, her eyes opened wide, and her mouth opened in surprise and a bit of fear. “Aintin,” she all but whispered. “if I need a spell, can I come to you for help first? You know, so I don’t mess it up.”

Finola hugged her niece. “Of course, you can, my love. And as long as we’re talking about spells, open the book to the chapter on flowers.”

Mia did as instructed. Finola said, “Look up the spell to use on roses.”

Mia did but said, “Aintin, this spell is to grow roses. This is November. The roses in your garden are now in hibernation due to the cold weather.”

“Ah, trust me, my stor. Hold my hand and we’ll read the spell together, but first close your eyes for ten seconds and imagine my patch of roses, with the biggest, reddest, and sweetest fragrance you’ve ever seen.”

Mia opened her eyes and together, they recited the spell.

Roses I dream of

With color like fire,

To be more than an image.

It’s what I desire.

With blossoms so large

That is now what I see.

So I desire it;

So mote it be.

As Mia sat there, wide-eyed, mouth agape, she watched the rose bushes slowly spring back to life with large, blood-red blossoms. From the twenty feet away from where she sat with her aunt, she smelled the sweet, enticing fragrance of a newly blossomed rose.