Broken Wish by Julie C. Dao

Author:Julie C. Dao [Dao, Julie C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Disney Book Group
Published: 2020-10-06T00:00:00+00:00

“You don’t have to keep bringing me offerings, you know,” Mathilda huffed, when Elva came back the next night with a basketful of Mama’s famous molasses cookies. “I’m not some vengeful goddess you have to appease.”

“I just wanted to pay you back for agreeing to teach me.”

“One good deed deserves another, then?” the witch asked dryly. “You most certainly got that from your mother. Bring that mirror over and we’ll get started. I want to see you call up the vision of the storm.”

Elva sat down, fidgeting with the mirror. “The first night I saw it, I had other visions, too: an old well, my parents running through the woods, and strangers in odd clothing. I want to see it all again, but I’m not sure if I can.”

“Just try your best. I’ll pull you back if you’re expending too much energy.”

Elva’s hands shook as she lifted the mirror. “I’d like to see the storm and the visions that came after, please,” she told it. It felt silly to say it out loud with Mathilda watching, but it seemed to do the trick. Her reflection vanished to show the symbol of the willow tree, burning bright, before the roiling dark sky and ravaged farm reappeared in its place. Elva shuddered at the sight of the dead goats and ruined barn but did her best to maintain her focus.

When the tree symbol glowed again, she thought she spotted a strange squarish outline around it, but the next vision came before she could look closely.

Mama and Papa were running through the North Woods, terrified, and then the scene turned into that of Elva herself, kneeling over a body beside the well. She’d had multiple dreams about it but still couldn’t get used to the grief and horror on her own face. Mama’s voice murmured dreamily from the mirror: “The price of breaking a promise…the price…”

The tree symbol appeared once more, and this time Elva was certain that a shining square surrounded it. It was almost like a door that stood ajar, revealing the bright room that lay beyond. If she could only reach out and open it…

But then the dizzying succession of images came into view: the young man in the odd hat, yelling in a foreign language; the pretty girl looking frightened as candlelight flickered over her face; and the boy and girl, who looked about Elva’s age, running through a strange world full of impossibly tall, shiny glass columns.

“That’s enough now,” Mathilda said curtly. “The visions are taking too much from you.”

Elva slumped back in her chair, breathless, as nausea tugged at her stomach. “Thank you,” she panted, as drops of sweat glided down her face.

“In the future, you won’t need me to pull you back. You’ll know your own limits, and you’ll develop better endurance.” Mathilda frowned. “That is no ordinary storm you saw. The way the lightning tore the sky, the thunder, and the violence suggests some sort of magical involvement. Your family curse indeed seems to be another result of your mother’s promise.

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