“I know you’re confused, Minnie…” the voice spoke softly, and when Mina heard her nickname, she felt like she would break down and cry right then and there.
But, she couldn’t do that. She needed to be strong. Her mother had something important to tell her, otherwise she wouldn’t be here.
“Momma, can you come here?” Mina whimpered, her voice full of hope that she could hug her mom just one last time.
“You know that’s not possible, Minnie,” the voice spoke.
At that moment, smoke arose from the fire and wrapped Rose’s face, giving her the appearance of Mina’s mother. This time, Rose’s lips moved, and it looked like Mina’s mother was speaking.
“I just want to hug you,” Mina bit her lip, in a futile effort to displace the pain and prevent herself from crying.
“There’s nothing I’d like to do more than that, my sweet child but we cannot do that, not yet.”
These words made Mina hopeful.
“You are here for a reason,” Mina’s mother continued, “and one of them is to find out the truth about me. About yourself.”
“Myself?” Mina wondered, looking at the foggy figure.
“Yes, Minnie,” her mother’s voice was as gentle as always and Mina remembered bed time stories, kisses on rainy days, and hot cups of cocoa before bed. “You are like me, a witch.”
“I’m a witch?” Mina repeated.
It seemed so incredible and, yet, on second thought, it made perfect sense.
“You are so much more, my sweet Minnie,” her mother told her, “you are the keeper of the book.”
“But…” Mina lowered her head. “I lost the book. Kellam and I lost it…”
A foggy finger lowered itself to her chin and she felt a cool chill on her skin.
“You didn’t lose it,” the voice revealed.
“What do you mean?” Mina asked, confused.
“There is no time,” her mother spoke, “your brother will explain everything when he finds you.”
“But, he’s the one who’s lost!” Mina shouted, much louder than she’d intended. “I’m looking for him!”
Mina didn’t care that the other girls would hear what she was saying, and that they might figure out that she’d been lying to them all this time. All that was irrelevant right now. She was talking to her mother and her mother obviously knew something about Kellam, something Mina herself didn’t know.
“Where is he?” Mina pleaded. “Do you know? Please, tell me!”
“I can’t,” her mother spoke kindly, “but he is closer than you think. The book is safe, for now. But, he doesn’t have the power that you have. He can only keep it safe for a while, but they’ll find him and take it from him. You must keep it safe. You are the only one who can do it.”
“Me?” Mina was shocked. “I… I don’t even know what to do with it…”
“It doesn’t matter,” her mother spoke so softly that Mina knew she was smiling, “the moment the book is in your hands, you’ll know what to do.”
“Momma?” Mina cried. “Help me…”
“My sweet child… you don’t need my help, you never did. You are braver than you think, just believe in yourself, and let your heart guide you…”
The cold, cloudy hand caressed her cheek one last time, then the figure dispersed all around her. Mina lifted her hand and pressed it against that same spot. Her cheek was still chilled, a little wet to the touch. She smiled. Her heart was full.
Rose’s body magically lowered itself to the ground, but instead of standing on her feet, she slumped down like a rag doll without any control over her body. The humming slowly subsided, until only silence remained. The fire now flickered gently, the flames a strange mixture of red, orange and occasionally blue. It crackled softly, telling its story. The girls let go of one another’s hands, and opened their eyes. When they saw that Rose was on the ground, they rushed over to her, helping her up.
Mina watched all this with interest, not sure when it was allowed for her to interfere and offer her help. Rose hid her face with her palms, then rubbed her eyes. When she opened them again, she gazed at Mina.