Shattered Stained Glass

I stand at a door

A wooden door

A heavy door

Surrounded by moss and vines

I raise my hand to knock

Just before my knuckles graze the oak

I’m transported

I am inside

Standing at the end of a long table

A dinner table

No -- a breakfast table

With girls of all ages

Seated on the long sides

And a grown woman

A full woman

With stiff beauty

And sharp grace

Staring at me

Staring into me

Peering through me

I apologize

I mumble

I stumble over my words

Until she bids me sit down

I sit

I'm in a winged back chair

Looking at this woman

Only this woman

The room is now a library

She is near

Just a desk separates us

A solid, imposing desk

Both tidy and cluttered

With meticulously placed items

Ink well

Paper

Glass weights

A golden statue figurine

She stares

With cold, piercing eyes

And calculating brow

I grow tense

Unsure what to do

Until finally she says I can stay

Relief floods me in waves

I am outside

Picking roses in a garden for the lady

The cold faced lady

Who feels near

Even when I can’t see her

I must please her

The girls are back

They are busy

Cleaning

Clearing

Cooking

Creating

I must create too

Back to the garden

I crawl on all fours

Snipping blades of grass

As they grow through checkered tiles

The garden is now the main entrance of the manor

Purple walls stretch before me

The open yard behind

I am both outside and in

Must make the place perfect before the lady comes

Must trim the grass and clear the lobby

I hear a cry

A baby being carried upstairs

It is Sam

His mother is there

I back off of the tile

I am at the table

Eating delicious food

Made by the older girls

We eat vegetables

The lady eats meat

She smiles at her food

Not at us

I am in an attic

A spacious attic

With a large fireplace

A cauldron

Shelves of potions

A cage

The lady is there

She watches me

Always watching me

We stand in front of a circle window

A stained glass window

Green and glowing

With a snake design

I am to prick my finger, she says

It’s the only way, she says

In that moment I sweat

She is a witch

She has been eating other girls

I am next

Panic fills me

I must get out

I know I’m dreaming

I must escape

I fight back

She’s strong

She grips my arm

Forcing my hand to reach for the window

A mouse -- or a squirrel -- at my feet

I look down

There is a paper

I pick it up and it reads:

“Duck”

I fall

Just as the widow smashes into dust

The mouse is a little girl

One from before

One who is my friend

She takes my hand

We run

We are outside

In my old blue van

All the girls are there

We must escape

The witch is coming

She is angry

She is haggard

She is aging before our eyes

It is winter

The snow is too high

Our van won’t go

We can't leave without the dog

In jumps Shadow, my childhood dog

I yell for the girl in the driver’s seat to step on it

I yell that we’ll all be eaten if we’re caught

The tires spin in place

We can’t move

My mouse-friend has a book

A spell book

She stole it

She tells me I am magic

That I can make a path

I try but I can’t read the book

It’s full of symbols I don’t understand

I close my eyes

I see sand on a beach

I bend down to dig

I dig as fast as I can with my two hands

The hole goes deep, deep down

I pile the sand on the side

I open my eyes

Large hands of snow rise up as tall as houses

All the way down the street

They pull the snow out of our way

Along both sides

Clearing a path

Covering up our tracks

Through my hometown

I know this street

I know this house

We are home

We are safe

The lady is gone