Last night, Witchy came spinning into my cottage (as she always does. I’ve never seen anyone so…um…“enthusiastic” about every moment of life).

“Liberty! Guess what?”

“Hmm. With you, Witchy, I can’t even begin to imagine ‘what.’”

She paused her exuberant spinning for a moment, cocking her head to one side.

“Why not?”

“Well, because with you, my dear friend, you find yourself in some, um, unusual situations that no one could have ever seen coming.”

“But it’s fun to guess. It’s like exercise for your imagination!”

“That’s true, Witchy, but sometimes my imagination has had enough exercise for one day, and that would be the case right now. How about just telling me what’s got you so excited this evening?”

“Okay. I wouldn’t want your imagination to pull a muscle. Do imaginations even have muscles?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Whew! That’s good. Well, I heard from my friend who lost his house! After that whole iron fiasco, he had a rough time there for a while but he’s got another home now!”

“That’s great, Witchy. I remember you telling me about the Iron Incident. Gosh, he was in a bit of a mess.”

“Yes, but he was so lucky to have a strong community of friends. He stayed a day or two at a time with some of his friends. He said that was so as not to wear out his welcome? That’s another one of those weird English things I haven’t learned yet. I have never seen a welcome in any of the shops. Where do you get one of those? Do you sleep on it? Is it like socks? I love socks.”

“He just meant that he didn’t want to be a bother to his hosts. They welcomed him and he didn’t want them to start resenting him being there.”

“Then why didn’t he just say that?”

“I don’t know, Witchy. I’ve spoken English my whole life and still don’t think it always makes sense. You do pretty well for someone who is still learning. Anyway, what happened with your friend?”

“While he was staying with his friends, all of them were busy working on building a new igloo for him! With so many people helping, it hardly took any time at all. He moved into it last night and this one is even better than the one he melted.”

“That’s great, Witchy! I’m happy for him!”

“Me, too. And he’s even got satellite TV and a dishwasher.”

“Wow, pretty fancy!”

“And while they were rebuilding, they got him some wrinkle-free clothes and threw out his iron.”

“That was probably wise.”

“Yes. I mean…it would be nice to think he wouldn’t make the same big, awful mistake twice, but…”

“Right. He is human, after all.”

“Yes, and so is my friend, Claude. But even though he’s had that cat for a long time, he still hasn’t figured out how to stay on its good side. He gets into the dumbest arguments with it and finds himself on the business end of those pointy things. My friend, Carrie, calls them needlefeets.

“Ah, that’s an excellent description. I think your friend, Claude, needs to have a conversation with Carrie.”

“I think so, too. Maybe she can talk sense to him.”

“Or mediate between Claude and his cat for those rather pointed conversations…”

“As long as it’s not a conversation about math. We never had that in the Transylvania Forest. We just used our magic to whip up whatever we needed. I can’t imagine any actual use for that stuff.”

“It’s not my favourite thing either, Witchy, although I have to admit that out here in the real world — ”

“Wait. Are you saying all those centuries I lived in the Transylvania Forest weren’t real? Did I hallucinate? You’re scaring me!”

“No, I’m sorry. I meant, out here in the non-magical world where — ”

“What? What do you mean, non-magical? I find magic in this world every day!”

She had me there. “Yes, I do, too, Witchy. I don’t mean that kind of magic. What I mean is…in your old life, you conjured up whatever you needed— ”

“Until my spells started going wonky with…well, you know that tragic story.”

“Yes, Witchy, I do. Anyway, you and your friends, all the witches, the vampires, everyone in the Forest — you lived a very different way than we live out here. You had a simpler life and didn’t need cars and shops and tall buildings and all sorts of things that require math to create and run.”

“It’s true. For all of those centuries, things were quite simple. It has been hard learning to live in such a different country where everything is strange. It might have been easier on a younger witch, but — ”

She interrupted herself and shot me stern look with one eyebrow raised. “Not that I’m saying I’m old, you understand.”

“Of course I do, Witchy.”

“I suppose I’ve done quite well to manage here. It was so hard leaving everyone and everything I’d ever known. Especially after they were all so mean to me. But of course, I’ve had my beloved cauldron, Enchantra, to help me, and you, too, Liberty. I’m so glad I met you not long after I moved here.”

“I’m so glad for that, too, Witchy. I don’t have any other family in England. They’re all in Canada.”

My little witch friend gasped, her blue hand flying to her mouth. “You said ‘other family’?”

“Yes?” I replied, puzzled.

“Um…do you mean…are you saying…”

And then the penny dropped. I smiled softly and pulled her close for a hug. “Yes, Witchy. You’re my family.”

I heard a quiet sniffle from my shoulder as I held her close.

“I know it was hard on you to have everyone be so mean. Especially your coven; they were your family. And worse because it was for something you couldn’t help.”

“Yes, it hurt a lot,” she sniffed, pulling away and wiping her eyes.

“Sometimes even family and friends aren’t very nice to us. They can even be cruel at times. It’s important to know that you have a right to stay away from those people. You did the right thing in leaving. They were horrible to you.”

“I know. They really were.”

“And look how much happier you are now!”

“Yes. It was so hard…I was so tempted to stay where I was because it was familiar and no one had ever left the Forest before. But the longer I stayed, the more nasty they were, and — well, I just couldn’t do it anymore. Enchantra encouraged me; she said there was something bigger waiting for me outside the Forest.”

“Oh, yes, Witchy, there is. Just you wait and see…”

Witchy’s Heartwarming Story of Love and Friendship Will Make You Smile