Chapter 107 - The Girl And The River And The Other Girl

We sang, we danced in circles around bonfires, we roasted bread, hot dogs, marshmallows and everything people brought with them as long as you could skewer it with a stick. With Alexandra's help, I found other members of Orion Coven to say goodbyes to them too. The disappointment in their eyes was clear, but so was the honesty in their best wishes for me.

I didn't even know them for that long, but I was glad that they weren't offended by my decision. The couple of hours I've spent celebrating with them were good ones because of that. Eventually, though, I grew tired. It was late, and dancing, singing and talking all were quite exhausting activities, physically and mentally.

I couldn't just go to sleep, though. There was still an hour and a half before sunrise and Wreath-Giving, which was enough for a quick nap, but with the surrounding ruckus I didn't feel like I would be able to fall asleep. I was at that unpleasant edge that merged mind muddled by exhaustion and body too wide awake and jittery to keep still.

I had to get away from the noise and the celebration, but the forest around was dark and, according to the information I had, full of spirits. Some of them were not that friendly… though, a dark forest at night was enough to deter me from going there, even with a flashlight. Let others search for the fern flower—I had no desire to bother checking if that legend was true or not. Instead, I walked towards the river.

The river was empty now, though there were people on the riverbank. I walked farther off until I could see the fires in the camp, but heard only hum from their voices and went towards the water. I was extremely careful not to slip on something unseen in the darkness as I descended it, but it was worth the effort to reach the cool water. One splash of it on my face and I was much better already.

I didn't hurry to go back, though. Instead, I sat down on a patch of grass and looked into the sky. It was clear today, and stars twinkled back at me, giving rise to all kinds of thoughts with their beauty that I so rarely looked at.

Were we alone in the universe? If aliens existed, did they also had their own witches and vampires and other stuff? If I am really an arch-witch, will I once be able to leave Earth and see for myself? What if I wasn't? What will I do then?

The hours until sunrise felt like they were going to go on forever. With a sigh, I decided to distract myself with some reading. Mobile internet wasn't that good here, but I had enough books downloaded on my phone to last me a month. I couldn't imagine a more pleasant location for reading either… as long as I concentrated very hard on ignoring all the insects crawling and flying in the dark, gathering towards the light of my phone screen even after I turned on night mode.

I wish I asked for a secret of mosquito-repelling spell from my aunt before leaving her.

I was deeply immersed in a dangerous journey of a woman on alien planet and her lizardman companion-slash-guide-slash-alien husband, when a splash of water next to me caught my attention. I raised my eyes towards the source of the sound and only the thought of how much a new phone would cost keep me from throwing my old one at what I saw.

It was a woman. Just a woman, blond and fair-skinned, dressed in a traditional plain white dress that many witches wore today. I'd think of her as one if she didn't just grew out of the water up to her chest, resting her chin on her elbows that she folded in front of her on the surface of the water like it was solid. That, and the fact that the water there was barely deeper than my soup plate. I could see a bottom if I just pointed at it with a flashlight.

"Hello, maiden. What are you doing with this thing in your hands?" the woman asked me with innocent curiosity on her face.

"Uh… I was just reading," I said, inching away from the shore. So this must've been one of the spirits I was told about. The crucial question was—a good one or a bad one? In fact… "I thought all the spirits should've been out of the river today, and, like, for an entire month later."

The woman stood up from the river up to her waist and let out a short boat of melodious laughter. It rang through the air like a song of bells. "That's just evil spirits! I'm not one of them. You don't have to be afraid of me."

I eased a little, but didn't go closer to the spirit. Evil spirits lied all the time. Still, this was a first spirit I've seen with my own eyes, and I was immensely curious. "What are you, then?"

"I'm a bereginya. You, humans, often mistake us with mermaids, but while they drown people, we help them. Not that there's much to help them with nowadays…" the spirit, bereginya, looked nostalgic. "Except for the magic-kind, your people forget about us now that they have their machines. Is that thing you read from a machine, too?"

I looked at my phone, still clutched so hard in my hands my knuckles turned white, and carefully put it in a pocket. "Yes, it is."

"I've seen several machines like these in the river, but they did nothing. They were all just like pretty, shiny stones. They'd make a fine offering, if people gave them as a gift, not just threw them out." The bereginya pursed her plump lips and sighed. "Maiden, how about playing a game with me? This is just a night for games. Tonight, many of your kin search through the forest, looking for the fern flower. If you play with me and win, I will tell you just where it is."