Frankie (8:51)

Nina has to resist the urge to skip down the forest path. Nearly every fiber in her seven year old body is telling her to skip, but she doesn't give in. She's going to witch school today, and she's pretty certain that witches don't skip. The bubble of excitement and joy inside of her grows with each step. Even the birds in the trees seem to be joyfully singing their songs. Just for her. Her head buzzes with a plethora of thoughts, each one flitting around like so many butterflies. What will she learn? Will she make friends? Is her hat too big for her? She has a suspicion that the hat is slightly too big, but her mother said that she would grow into is the traditional black. But Nina and her mother spent the day yesterday picking flowers and weaving them into a garland that now sits on the brim. Daisies, buttercups, and snapdragons bounce merrily on her hat, seeming to shine even brighter against the dark black fabric. The path Nina follows curves around bushes and trees as if it was made to make room for the forest rather than cut through it. Neena only knows the names of a few plants around her, but her mother promised that she would learn more at school. The sun filters through the trees, leaving puddles of sunlight on the path. Nina amuses herself by jumping from one to another. A few curious squirrels watch her as she passes. They are a russet red color with little tufted ears, which twitch this way and that constantly. Soon the path leads to a clearing dominated by a stone cottage. The cottage wears its fresh thatch roof like a hat. A small chimney pokes out of the top with a curling stream of blue smoke. The cottage has little circular windows and a door that curves at the top. All around the cottage are flowering bushes and patches of herbs. As Nina approaches, she sees that the window sills and doors are carved with designs of vines, flowers, and small animals. The door knocker is in the shape of a fox, which seems to peer down at her with mischief in its eye. Nina hesitates before the door. She takes a deep breath to calm her nerves. Just as Nina reaches for the door knocker, the door swings open to reveal a tall woman with a warm smile. The teacher, Ms. Teek, welcomes Neena in cheerfully. She too wears a pointy hat, although hers is slightly curved at the tip and is a lovely shade of forget me, not blue. The other students are already waiting in the cottage. A couple of rows of benches are set up on one side of the room, facing a blackboard. The other half a dozen girls smile at Nina, looking as nervous and as excited as she feels. Nina takes an empty seat and looks around the cottage. The floors are paneled with worn wooden planks and scrubbed clean. The walls are covered in tapestries, shelves, and landscape paintings. From the wooden ceiling beams hang bundles of dried herbs. One corner of the room is crammed with floor to ceiling bookshelves and innumerable books. In the nook sits a large wingback chair covered in a woven blanket, and on a table next to it is a candlestick. A large fireplace crackles merrily along one wall with a copper kettle warming over it. There are several rooms leading off from the main one, each door and doorway carved with beautiful Neena can see a kitchen through one doorway and wonders if Ms. Teak lives here. The smell of cinnamon wafts through the house, giving it a warm, cozy feel. All of Neena's nerves seem to dissolve in the comfortable and welcoming atmosphere of the cottage. She turns her attention to the blackboard as Ms. Teak introduces herself and welcomes her new pupils to their first day of witch school. She promises them that they all have what it takes to become fantastic witches and wonderful students. Neena expects to spend the morning in the cottage, but Ms. Teak has the girls stand up on their feet and trotting out to the clearing. Immediately around the side of the cottage they find seven girl sized broomsticks lying on the ground in a neat row. There is also a chicken coop with a group of fat speckled hens watching curiously. Each girl lines up next to a broomstick and watches as Mystique shows them how to properly perch sidesaddle. She goes through the basics of broom control and gives them instructions on safety. After asking them a few questions to make sure they took in all the information, Ms. T Tique gives them free rein to try out riding on their own. But under her watchful gaze, Nina tries to ignore the one or two other girls who leap on their broomsticks and zoom around the clearing with ease. She's glad to see that several other girls are new at writing just like her. She carefully gets on her broom and hovers a few inches above the ground for a few minutes, feeling the balance. Finally, she leans slightly forward and the broom moves. Nina starts slowly going in wide circles around the clearing and never too far off the ground. Ms. Teague calls out encouragement to her and she begins to become braver. Her slightly jerky turns becomes smooth and easy as she goes around. She climbs higher off the ground and builds up speed Before Nina realizes what is happening. She is zooming around the treetops, laughing with joy. The feeling of the wind in her hair and the way the broom seems to respond to her every whim gives Nina a sense of freedom and power that she has never experienced before. She slows down and watches a woodpecker hard at work high up in a tree, enjoying the new perspective on the world around her. She looks down at the clearing where her classmates are also getting the hang of flying. They laugh and giggle, chasing one another around the clearing. Miss Teak watches contentedly, her own broomstick in hand. She gets on and calls the girls back to her. The seven girls hover in a line before Miss Teak. She gives them instructions to follow her and leads them out of the clearing over the trees. Miss Teek flies in large spirals and loop de loops, teaching her students some more complicated maneuvers. They follow her through the sky like ducklings follow their mother through water. After an hour of flying, Miss Teak and her seven pupils land back in the clearing. The hens cluck together as if gossiping. The girls lean their brooms against the wall of the cottage and follow Miss Teak back into the cottage for some tea. Miss Teak gives everyone a cup of fresh mint tea using mint from her garden and a dollop of honey from a hive in the forest nearby. The honey smells floral from the local wildflower pollen. The tea has a rejuvenating effect on the girls. They giggle and chatter to one another excitedly, Already greatly enjoying their first day of school. Miss Teak smiles at them, answering questions and giving out compliments. Everyone finishes their tea and takes turns washing out their cups in a small, light filled kitchen. They hurry back to their benches, eager to find out what they will be doing next. Miss Teak comes out from one of the back rooms of the cottage with a large box. She places the box on the ground and the girls all lean closer to get a better look. One or two of them gasp as the box moves slightly. There is definitely something alive inside. Ignoring the box, Miss Teak goes on to tell the girls about familiars. Familiars are animal companions that assist witches in their magic and rituals. Familiars can be any animal that the witch feels a connection with, and they are most definitely not pets. The witch does not own her familiar, but offers it food and care in return for their magical partnership. Miss Teak lists all the different kinds of familiars she's seen in her life, such as ravens, crows, toads, foxes, robins, rabbits, mice, dogs, butterflies, and dragonflies. She says there was even one very old witch who used to have a donkey as a familiar. Miss Teak goes on to say that the most traditional familiar is the cat. With a flourish, she lifts the lid of the box to show seven mewing kittens. The girls collectively gasp and squeal with excitement. Miss Teak takes the kittens out of the box one at a time to let them explore and tells the girls to sit on the ground around the room they are to interact with the kittens and see which one they feel a natural affinity with. Each kitten is a different color and seems to already have their own personality. There is a traditional black cat with orange eyes. She is lean and sleek, with a look that says she probably knows how to speak. A little orange boy with green eyes scampers from person to person, full of mischief and energy. A very fluffy grey kitten with orange eyes walks primly around the circle of girls, inspecting each one. There's a calico girl, so affectionate that she rubs up on every person she passes. The tabby cat's markings are so complex that she almost looks like they're morphing even as the girls watch. Piercing blue eyes come from the Siamese kitten as she blinks at the humans with mild interest. The smallest kitten is a black and white fluff ball with perfectly round yellow eyes that give her the impression of being surprised by absolutely everything. Kittens and young witches watch and tentatively get to know one another. For the next hour. Relationships begin to form, and Nina finds herself with the fluffy gray kitten curled up in her lap, purring loudly. Nina strokes her little body and notes how the kitten's fur reminds her of wispy gray rain clouds. One little orange eye opens and looks at her. The kitten mews contentedly at Neena, and the deal is done. Miss Teak tells them that their kittens will now follow them anywhere and that a name will come to the young witches in due course. For now it is time to move on to their study of herbs. Ms. Teak gives each girl a piece of parchment with drawings of herbs, their names and a description of their properties. She then sends the girls out into the clearing and the surrounding forest to identify their herbs. Nina heads to the door with the others. Her gray kitten comes along close at her heels. Some kittens, like the orange one and the calico, join their witches, but others are content to stay in the cottage and nap. While other girls make a beeline for the forest. Neena instead inspects the plants immediately around the cottage, thinking that a witch like Ms. Teak would surely have a lot of herbs growing as close as possible to her own kitchen. Neena is rewarded for her forward thinking by finding a handful of plants immediately in the herb garden. She finds basil, chamomile, fennel, peppermint, rosemary, sage and thyme. As Neenah marks off each herb, she recites their uses to her kitten. Basil is used for home love, purification and success. Fennel encourages courage, energy and strength. Time bestows confidence, growth and happiness. The kitten is either unimpressed by her knowledge or already knows all this information and continues to hunt grasshoppers in the bushes. Nina finds ivy growing on the side of the cottage as well as carnations, daffodils, gardenias, jasmine, lavender poppies, and roses in the flower beds. Before she marks each flower off on her sheet, she pauses to take a deep breath of the sweet aromas. She's just admiring a bunch of lilacs and violets when she notices her kitten lying lazily in a patch of catnip. Neena giggles and picks up her kitten carrying the napping ball of fluff. A few of the other girls have come back towards the cottage intent on asking Ms. Teak for help because they are having a hard time finding some of the herbs. Nina wastes no time in helping them, pointing out the places near the cottage where they can find things like clovers, dandelions, ferns, and wild garlic. Soon all seven of the girls are pointing out herbs and flowers to one another. Neenah's gray kitten chases the orange and calico kittens around the yard as the girls finish their assignment. Ms. Teak comes outside as they finish bearing a tray of freshly made peach juice. The sun is high in the sky now and it warms the clearing nicely. Ms. Teak gathers the girls on a patch of mossy ground. All seven kittens join their witches, either napping in their laps or playing in the grass. Ms. Teak congratulates the girls on their successful first day of witch school. She smiles warmly at them around the circle. Ms. Teak wants to end the day by explaining to them exactly what the role of a witch is within a community. She tells them that it is an important role and one that requires patience, knowledge and compassion. A witch is a healer which requires a strong knowledge of plants, herbs, and the human body. She can sometimes be called upon to help make important decisions within the community. For this task she must be fair, just, and unbiased. Everything she does needs to be for the well being of the entire community she serves. Witches are the ones who speak up for those who otherwise go unheard. They live and work on the edges, never seeking payment or fame for their work. In return, the communities will care and provide for them. Witches are confidants and secret keepers. They keep the secrets of their people, but also of the forest. Their duty is to care for the natural world as much as they care for other people. That is one of the main reasons witches have familiars to work in partnership with nature. Everywhere witches go, they always strive to bring with them, peace and balance. The young witches take this information in with rapt attention. The responsibilities of their roles as witches. Not something they take lightly, but they also feel a sense of importance and duty. Ms. Teak's speech fills them with confidence and the desire to be the best witches they can be. Nina vows to work as hard as she can at her studies and strive to always bring compassion with her everywhere she goes. Ms. Teak smiles at them all and assures them that they will have plenty of training to teach them how to be good witches. She feels certain that they will all succeed. Ms. Teak thanks them for their hard work today and bids them goodbye, promising to see them tomorrow. The girls wander off in different directions, each one leading or carrying their kitten. Neena and her gray kitten walk back the way she came this morning. The kitten follows her, taking everything in with wide eyes. Nina's head feels full of knowledge after her first day. The sun is lower in the sky now, making the forest path slightly dimmer, but not in an eerie way. It's more like when a roaring fire in the fireplace burns down to embers. The light is comforting and calming. Nina practices her herb identification as she walks. Geraniums for concentration. And there is honeysuckle, which brings Optim. On the left is yarrow, often used in protection. The kitten pads silently along next to her, seemingly not paying attention. But Neena notices the little cat glancing at the places she points to. Nina smiles to herself and scoops up her kitten. She looks down into the gray face with orange eyes. Her kitten face is like two brilliant suns appearing against a sky of rain clouds. And yet Nina knows the earth needs both sun and rain. Suddenly a name pops into her head. Iris. Nina remembers her grandmother telling her that Iris was the name of the goddess of rainbows. Sun and rain together make the rainbow. Nina whispers the name to the kitten. Iris muse at Nina, apparently pleased with her name. Nina smiles and turns her feet towards home.