Noitisnart ni Niahmas

Boo!  Just checking to see if you're awake.  Welcome to my Halloween story!  As always, this is a first draft, and as such, some things may be just a touch wonky.  But, it's going to be good wonky, trust me.  Oh, and always, Copyright 2012, by Raymond Frazee.  Enjoy.

Noitisnart ni Niahmas

Part Two

There was no slow change, no flowing of body and texture from one form to another. One second, as Laurie was walking away, he was his normal, wizard-robed self—and in the next second, he wasn't.

He didn't realize anything was wrong. “What was that?” he asked, then stopped. Celeste knew why—He heard his voice. Laurie shook his head. “Wait a—” He looked at his wand hand. “What? What the hell?”

Then Laurie saw the hair.

“Is some thing the matter?” Celeste was trying to keep a straight face. She knew he was going to be confused, that he might be upset, that he just might completely freak out and go nuts on her. But I’m very good at explaining things, she thought. And he’s fairly open minded. I hope.

Laurie held a strand of long, curly, red hair out for examination. “What is this? Why is my hair this way?”

“Oh, you mean red?”

“And curly! And so . . . long!” Slowly the realization hit Laurie. “What did you say? What was that?”

Celeste held her hands together while she made a circle in the carpet with her toe. “Oh, that. I just said, you know . . .”

“What?”

“I said I wanted you to be my dream witch.”

Laurie moved towards her slowly. “That isn't what you said . . . you spoke . . .”

An eyebrow shot up. “Yes?”

“You spoke backwards.” The words came out in a whisper.

“Yeah, something like that.”

Laurie paused, unsure of what to say next. “I’m not . . .”

“Yes?”

“I’m not a witch.” Laurie spoke in an even softer whisper than before.

Celeste could no longer keep from smiling. “Are you sure?” she asked. “You might want to look.”

Laurie was afraid to do anything, but heeding Celeste’s advice, examined the hair still held in hand. The eyes followed the strand to its end, then the fingers that held it, the nails at the end, before darting just a little lower . . .

Celeste followed Laurie’s eyes, and when she noticed where they stopped, and now lingered—she knew this was the moment when all hell could very well break loose.

Laurie didn't know what to do but scream—in a voice near heard before now. “AHHHH!”

“Now, honey.” Celeste held out a hand. “There’s a reason—”

Looking up, Laurie used both hands to show Celeste her work. “You gave me breasts!”

“Oh, well . . “ Smiling sheepishly, she said, “I did more than that, honey.”

Laurie listened to Celeste’s words, then thought. Calm down; close your eyes. Feel yourself. Not just the, the . . . those things on your chest, but everything . . . Laurie did. Felt the long red hair; the new pert breasts; the thin, sculptured fingers; the change in center of gravity around the waist and hips; an up-flow of air by the thighs; something silky and tight on the legs; the way her tiny feet felt in high heels—

“Celeste!” Laurie’s eyes popped open. “You changed me into a girl!”

“Um . . .” She stared up at the ceiling. “Woman, actually: you’re far too hot to be a girl.”


“What?”

“And, technically, I made you a witch.” She shrugged. “So you not just any woman.”

Laurie remembered what Celeste had said only moments before. “Your dream witch.”

“Yeah.”

That didn't set well. “Well, change me back!”

Looking over the transformed Laurie, Celeste smiled, happy that her dream was made real. Oh, I’m being a mean bitch, she thought, but by the goddess, she’s so beautiful! And Laurie was beautiful, with a cute, turned up nose and emerald eyes framed by a mass of red curls; a curvy, sensual body with full hips that made Celeste swoon; long, statuesque legs in black silk nylons; and dainty feet wearing old fashioned Mary Janes. “I would, but . . .” She giggled. “Oh, forgot something.” She pointed her wand at Laurie. “Tah ytniop a deen uoy.”

Laurie felt the something appear atop her head. She reached up and felt the wide brimmed hat. “No!” she exclaimed. “A witches’ hat?”

“ I've got one. Besides, you’re a witch now.” She looks away, grinning.

Okay, there’s two ways to approach this, Laurie thought. I can assuming I’m having a psychotic breakdown, and none of this is really happening, or I can accept that Celeste can actually do magic, and her whole, “I’m a real witch” shtick wasn't a lie. “Why didn't you ever tell me?” she asked.

“I figured if I told you I was a real witch, you’d laugh at me.”

“Yeah, probably.” Shaking her head, Laurie added, “Though given how I am . . .” She held her arms out away from her body. “I’d say the witch part is confirmed. But why didn't you tell me about your other thing?”

At first Celeste was unsure what Laurie meant. Then the light bulb went on. “Oh, that . . .”
“Why didn't you tell me you were a lesbian?”

She sighed. “Want me to be honest?”

“Yes.”

“I kinda got the idea that you liked me, and . . .” Celeste shrugged. “I didn't want to upset you by telling you.”

“Oh, you’d have rather I hit on you first to find out?”

Celeste winced when confronted with that option. “Yeah, I . . .” She saw Laurie was smiling, indicating she wasn't as upset as her words might have indicated. “You’re right. That would have been worse.”

“Well . . .” Laurie looked herself over, marveling at how the short black dress she wore hugged her like a stocking. “You certainly know how you like your women.” She tapped her wand against the palm of her right hand absentmindedly. “So, why do this to me?”

That was something Celeste wasn't certain she knew how to answer. “I don’t know. Maybe something in the way you act at times told me you wouldn't mind.” She pointed to Witchbaby, who was now curling around Laurie’s ankles. “She hates men, and you’re about the only guy she’ll get close to without hissing and scratching. If she likes you, it means you've got a submerged feminine side that needs to come out.”

“Oh, really?” She knelt and scratched behind Witchbaby’s left ear. “You always do gender reassignments based on a kitty’s perception?”

“I listen to her a lot.”

“Does she really talk to you?”

“Maybe you’ll find out.” Celeste arched an eyebrow. “We can do a lot of things.”

“Like do spells by talking backwards?”

After a bit of eye rolling, Celeste said, “Yeah, I sort of led you on there.” She began to slowly pace around Laurie—not because she was thinking, or impatient, but because she wanted to check out the red-haired witch. “I knew about her a long time ago. I used to read comics, and thought it would be cool to do my spells that way—”

“You knew you were a witch from how old?”

“When I was like three.” She almost laughed at the surprised look on Laurie’s face. “My mom was a witch, too—as was my dad. Anyway, I taught myself to do my spells that way, and . . . well, you see how it works.”

“Very nicely, I see.” Laurie stood, smoothing out her dress without realizing what she was doing. “Does that mean I can do magic the same way?”

“Maybe. My dream witch might have that ability.” Celeste didn't need precognitive powers to know what was coming next.

“Really . . .” Laurie flicked her wand at Celeste and sort of mumbled, “Raliat eb at uy tanw I!” with the words sounding a bit like gibberish.

“ Didn't quite work the way you expected, did it?” Celeste stood tapping her foot, arms crossed over her bosom, a smile on her face.

“Naw, it didn't.”

“Take work, let me tell you.” She walked past the disappointed witch and motioned for her to follow. “I’ll show you something you can do.”

The women headed out the back, with Witchbaby darting outside as soon as the door was open. Celeste let Laurie head out first, watching her walk in heels as if she was born into them. And the view is nice from back here, she thought as she closed the door, watching Laurie’s butt sway with each step. “Okay,” she said, catching up to the transformed witch, “this is good enough.”

Laurie looked about her back yard, as if she expected to find something waiting for them. “What now?”

“Now . . . we do what witches do best.” She slipped her wand back up her sleeve and held out both hands. “Smoorb owt em evig.” A second later Celeste held a broom in each hand. “Here you go—” She handed one to Laurie. “Time to earn your wings.”

Laurie held the broom as if she expected it to explode in her hands. “You’re not serious.”

“It’s something every witch knows how to do.” Celeste turned her broom level and set it floating in the air about two feet above the ground. “Trust me, if you are really a witch, you’ll be able to fly.”

She didn't know if she should trust Celeste or not, but considering she did know magic—and she had transformed her into the witch of her dreams—then if she said she could fly, Laurie figured she should believe her. “Just do like you did?”

“Yep.”

“Okay . . .” Laurie did exactly as Celeste had done. To her surprise the broom hovered the same as the other. “Oh, shit!”

“See?” Celeste mounted the broom, pulling her legs up. “Come on, Witchbaby!” The cat leapt up onto the handle, then turned and walked towards the tip before sitting.

“She looked perfectly at easy,” Laurie said.

“It’s not like we haven’t done this before.”

“Are we really going to fly?”

“Only if you get your ass on that broom.” Celeste chuckled as she looked at the sky. “This twilight will mess up everyone’s vision. They won’t notice us, and even if they do, they’ll think their eyes are playing tricks on them.” She nodded in Laurie’s direction. “Come on. There’s something I want to show you.”

After tucking her wand up her sleeve, Laurie did as Celeste had, straddling the broom before sitting upon the handle and pulling her legs up. Instead of crashing to the ground, as she’d half expected, she was floating alongside her friend. “Damn! This really does . . .” She smiled broadly. “I’m on a broom!”

“Like I said, a real witch.”

“How do we make it . . .” Laurie was almost afraid to say the word. “Fly?”

“You know the story of asking the caterpillar how it walks?” Celeste asked.

“Yeah, a little.”

“Flying for a witch is a little like that. If I tell you what to do, you’ll probably screw up and crash into a tree.” She floated about another three feet higher. “If you just fly—just go on your gut—you’ll do okay.”

Once more, Laurie wasn't sure how she should feel about this advice—but I’m a girl, dressed like a witch, hovering on a broom, so I damn sure can’t call her a liar, she thought. In her mind she imagined rising a few more feet, and to her surprise the broom responded. She thought about moving forward a couple of feet . . . “It’s working!” she cried as she inched forward.

“Now you’re flying.” Celeste grinned. “You ready for something even better?”

“You said you wanted to show me something.”

The grin still on her face, Celeste said, “Come on,” and began to quickly ascend into the sky. Realizing she wouldn't learn more unless followed, Laurie leaned over the handle and jetted after the more experienced witch.

They were nearly a couple of hundred feet over the town when Laurie pulled along side. “Can I say this is pretty amazing?”

“I think you already did,” Celeste responded. She nodded up. “Lets climb a little more.”

“I’m right behind you.” Together, both witches rose into the darkening sky. Magic hour was disappearing, and the stars were out. “There’s no moon,” Laurie said.

“Almost a new moon,” Celeste said. “It’s going to be very dark.”

Laurie didn’t question how it was they could hear each other so well while flying about fifteen feet apart. Just then she realized something, and reached up to touch her head. “Hey! My hat’s still on!”
“Sure—what sort of witch flies without a pointy hat on!”

She spent a few moments to take in the town, now whizzing about six hundred feet below. “Where are we going?”

Celeste cocked a look towards her flying partner. “I was going to do this after handing out candy to the little monsters—”

“Oh, shit! I forgot—”

“Don’t worry; all the candy’s outside, and the kids will help themselves.” Celeste tossed her head side to side. “And they won’t take too much, either.”

“A little magic as we left?”

“I don’t always need a wand, honey . . .” She looked straight ahead. “Anyway, I was going to do this by myself, but seeing how things have turned out tonight . . .” The glance she cast towards Laurie was full of mirth. “I thought you might want to see how the other half have fun.”

Laurie didn’t know how to interpret that statement. Does she mean witches? Or does she mean women? She decided she wanted to learn more, no matter what it meant. “Then what are we waiting for?” she said. “Lets go, Witchy Poo!”

Pulling out her wand, Celeste never once wondered if she was doing the right thing. I could get in trouble for transforming him, she thought. I could get into even more trouble for what I’m going to do next . . . But Celeste was in one of her moods, where she wanted to run wild and free, where she wanted the magic to take her, where she wanted to be with . . . I want to be with a friend, and I don’t have a better friend than Laurie.

She pointed the wand at the empty sky before them. “Urmyg i htrop roga!” Celeste cried.

The sky began to churn a hundred feet before the witches. As they closed, a whirlpool of clouds formed, and turned towards them. When they were only a few feet away, the inside of the whirlpool cleared, and became a deep pool of stars—but they weren’t the same stars that were in this sky.

Celeste flew into the starry pool; Laurie didn’t hesitate, and followed her friend in. As soon as they vanished the clouds returned and slowly dissipated, becoming another item in the unseen sky . . .




So where are they headed?  What do witches do when they can fly anywhere?  Are you curious?  Tune in next week.  And if you have something to say, leave me a message.