Author's Note: This is a series of stories that I have been meaning to write for a very long time. It is entitled I, Witchand it deals with various short stories about modern day 'good' witches. The Sacred Day stories refer to the eight sabbats that fall on the solstices, the equinoxes and the days in between. The Lunar Night stories refer to events that take place on the full moon of the month and other stories shall be labeled as so. Please pay attention to the title because for the first little bit these stories probably will not be in order. Other than that, no flames please if you don't like witchcraft or wicca or paganism then don't read this story. If you do want to leave a review, a constructive reivew, then go ahead. I'll get back to you in time.

Sacred Day III: Season of Love

Goddess Brigid, hear my call

Send your power to one so small

Tis the time for love and light

The world’s awakening and gone’s the night.

Bring to me my heart’s desire,

Here my call by this candle’s fire.

--Prayer to the Goddess Brigid at Imbolc (Feb 2)

.

“And remember students, the Valentine’s Dance is this Thursday which is also the day itself! Tickets will be on sale until this Thursday at lunch so please, buy them as soon as possible...”

“So,” began Amanda Jones as the morning announcements finished and the science teacher began writing Monday’s lesson on the board. “Are you going to go to the dance?”

“Hmm?” asked Amanda’s lab partner another junior girl by the name of Cassandra Wallace. “What did you ask me?”

“I asked if you were going to go to the dance on Thursday.”

Cassandra shook her head. “No.”

“Oh,” Amanda complained. “Why not?”

Cassandra said nothing but looked at her friend.

“It’s because you don’t have a date?” Amanda asked.

“I’m not going to be a third wheel,” Cassandra stated as she turned her attention away from her friend and onto the page before her.

“Oh come on,” Amanda whined in a hushed whisper as she too began taking down notes. “You’re not going to be a third wheel.”

“Yes I will,”

“No you won’t,” Amanda insisted. “You weren’t last Saturday.”

Cassandra visibly grimaced. Saturday February second had not been a good day for her. She, Amanda and Amanda’s boyfriend Jason had decided to go to the movies on an assumed double date but Cassandra’s date Eric who was on Jason’s hockey team had been a no show. As a result, Cassandra had been a third wheel and instead of cowering into the arms of a big strong hockey player she was forced to leave the movie early.

That hadn’t bothered her though. She had needed the fresh air and her little corner of the world was enjoying an unusually warm beginning to February. The air was wet with the dampness of a new spring and despite the gentle chill that had been in the air, Cassandra had felt right at home. For the following hour and a half she had sat on her coat on the steps of the multiplex, meditating on the change of seasons and waiting for her friends to come out—which they did eventually.

“Okay,” Amanda continued with a grimace of her own. “I guess you were. I am sorry ‘bout that. Jason called Eric and his mom said that Eric had come down with some nasty stomach bug. Jason was on his back all day Sunday and...” she stopped mid sentence causing Cassandra to look up.

“Mandy?” asked Cassandra as she looked into her friends pale face. “You okay?” When her friend didn’t answer, Cassandra knew that she had to get Amanda to the nearest girls washroom. “Mr. Clarke?” she spoke up, getting the attention of her chemistry teacher. “Mr. Clarke!”

“Yes?” asked the grey-haired science teacher as he turned around.

“Amanda’s sick. Can I help her to the ladies’ room?”

“Of course,” Mr. Clarke assured and in an instant Cassandra had Amanda on her feet and in the hallway.

“Come on,” she prompted as the two of them speed-walked to the nearest ladies’ room. “You’re going to be okay.”

“No,” Amanda countered, sprinting to the door. “I’m going to hurl.”

.

Cassandra stayed by Amanda’s side for the next twenty minutes leaving only once to tell their teacher that they would both be missing class. Once Amanda had emptied the contents of her stomach into the stall and was sure that nothing was going to come back up again, Cassandra helped her to the office where her older brother Tim picked her up.

“Hey Tim,” Cassandra greeted brightly as Amanda’s six-foot three tall brother took her bags. “How’s college?”

Tim grimaced causing Cassandra’s heart to reach out to him. Tim had wanted to get a scholarship for football to one of the universities in the states, but nothing had come his way and was stuck going to school in the city which meant a two hour commute one way—it left him tired and despondent at the end of the day. He would have lived in city but he didn’t for two reasons—one was that he didn’t have enough money and two—he couldn’t leave his mother and sister alone, not after their father’s death. And so he had stuck around—but Cassandra figured that that wasn’t what he was grimacing about.

“That bad eh?” she asked with a sympathetic smile as Amanda raced to the office washroom to empty out the contents of her stomach again.

“No it’s not that bad,” Tim assured. “I mean I’m doing okay in my classes—better than I ever got in my senior year but it’s Clara.”

“Clara?” asked Cassandra with a stab of jealousy in her heart. “Who’s—”

“My girlfriend,” Tim answered. “Or rather ex-girlfriend now”

“Oh,” Cassandra sympathised. “She broke up with you?”

“Yeah and over Facebook no less...now everyone knows.”

“Ick,” Cassandra stated as she gave Tim a friendly and quite sympathetic hug. “That’s such a horrible thing to do...you’re obviously too good for her.”

Tim gave Cassandra a half smile. “You’re probably right. But after meeting Clara at freshmen orientation well I... I just felt as though the pieces of my life were falling into place—do you know what I mean?”

Cassandra shook her head. “No. No boyfriend remember?”

Tim returned the sympathetic smile that Cassandra had given him earlier. “You know, love’s completely over rated and you’ll find someone in your own time.”

“Yeah,” Cassandra began with a wistful sigh as she watched Tim help his sister who had come out of the office washroom. “In my own time…”

.

“So are you sure you’re alright?” Cassandra asked later that night after supper. “I mean you’re not puking anymore or anything?”

“No,” Amanda assured weakly. “I haven’t been sick for an hour or so.”

“Guess you got what Jason got from Eric eh?”

“I guess,” Amanda replied. “Just make sure that you don’t—”

“Oh don’t worry,” Cassandra interrupted. “I don’t get sick.”

“That’s right,” Amanda continued with a weak laugh. “You have your witchy super powers to keep you safe from what ails us mere mortals.”

Cassandra smiled. “That’s right. Get better okay?”

“Kay Cassie,” Amanda stated her spirits lifted. “Night.”

“Night.”

With that Cassandra hung up the phone and smiled to herself. ‘Witchy Super Powers’ she thought silently. ‘As if...’ While Cassandra scoffed at the notion of super powers, her dear friend wasn’t wrong about one thing. Cassandra was a witch. She followed the sacred days and on February 2nd when she had been left on her own outside she had performed a mental ritual to the awakening world.

Now however she had in mind a different sort of ritual. One that would bring love into her life—hopefully a very specific love at that. It wasn’t as if Cassandra wasn’t aware to the fact that love spells could be very unpredictable, she was. But she was just so sick of not finding someone to love that she was willing to ignore her family who said that sixteen was not too young an age to be single. Buying into the whole media trap of—if you’re not in a relationship you’re not happy—Cassandra was willing to use the magic in her life to change her circumstance—hopefully.

Late that night, after assuring that her parents were sound asleep, Cassandra cast a circle using her circular rug as a base. At one edge was a simple altar of a cloth with a small cast-iron cauldron and red candle within it. Sitting before the candle Cassandra closed her eyes and began to meditate…then when she was read she lit the candle, held her hands on either side of its burning flame and began to chant.

“Candle of fire, Candle of light

Manifest my desires here on this night

I call on the powers, I call on thee

Bring love to my life, so mote it be.”

When the small red tea light candle had extinguished itself Cassandra cleaned up and went to bed. That night she dreamed of Amanda’s brother Tim confessing his undying love for her and in the morning when she awoke, she took the dream to be a sign. She had tried to make the spell as neutral as possible, bringing love generally into her life but every so often as she had been chanting, Tim’s image had come into her face. She had seen his tall frame, his intense blue eyes and sandy-blonde hair. She had been in love with him for as long as she could remember and it was his love that she wanted in her life. And hopefully, because of the spell she had cast the night before, it would happen.

.

It was the day of the dance; Amanda was feeling ten-thousand percent better and had asked Cassandra’s help in getting ready. “Are you sure you don’t want to come?” asked Amanda as she surveyed herself in the mirror admiring her thin frame that was hugged in all the right places by the delicate red dress she had on. “If you can make me look this beautiful then we can certainly do something for you and—”

“And I told you,” Cassandra interrupted as she fixed one dangly curl that was falling into Amanda’s face. “Not going.”

“Oh Sis,” stated Tim as he peeked his head into the room. “Wow.”

“Go away Tim.”

“Hi Tim,” Cassandra said with a smile. “How are things?”

Tim’s face lit up. “Great. Clara and I are back together…we’re going out for Valentine’s Day and I’m on my way out…” he turned to leave but he paused and turned back to Cassandra. “You didn’t do anything did you?”

“Do something?” Cassandra asked, hoping that her face wasn’t as pale as it felt. “What could I have done?”

Tim shrugged. “I dunno. I know that you’re a witch and I was wondering if you had cast a love spell or something…” he looked at Cassandra and saw that for the first time in a long time he couldn’t read her face. “No? Oh well…” and with that Tim turned to leave the two friends alone.

Once he was gone Cassandra sunk onto Amanda’s bed stunned. Her spell had worked, but not in the way that she had expected. She had wanted to bring Tim’s love into her life but instead she had brought the love that Tim had wanted into his life. It had backfired in the worst way and as she tried to bite back the tears she couldn’t help but notice Amanda’s face.

“Oh you poor thing,” she whispered as she sat next to her dearest friend. “I had no idea that you were so in love with my brother…” she paused and took Cassandra by the hand. “Come on, let’s find you something to wear.”

-End-

Author's Note (2): So there you have it. Love spells don't always work out the way you want them too--Cassandra learned this the hard way. If you liked this story or if you want to tell me something that could improve it please leave a review and I'll get back to ya! Thanks for reading. Till next time.