Witch of Apple Hill ~ Part 6

“Oh for the love of Pete, would you two pipe down,” said the third ghost who had casually been leaning again the wall in the corner with her own arms folded. “If anyone is being punished in the afterlife it’s me having to listen to the two of you bicker for eternity.” She floated to Elise. “What’s the plan?”

Elise shrugged. “I guess the usual, Rosemary, haunt, curse, and cause as much chaos as possible.”

“Oh could I haunt the Garvers this year?” asked Dorothea.

Rosemary rolled her eyes. “You have to haunt them, not swoon over them.”

“Why would I swoon?” asked Dorothea, a bit too dramatically.

“Because we all know you’re in love with the bloomin’ idiot of a mayor,” laughed Ernest.

“Am not,” pouted Dorothea.

Rosemary eyed Elise, “You okay? Usually you met the fortieth year with more enthusiasm.”

“I’m a loss of what I can do to protect this valley,” confessed Elise. “I’ve failed my ancestors.”

“You failed no one,” said Rosemary kindly. “Having read every book in the library, one thing I know to be true, you can’t stop progress. Life finds a way.”

“You’ve been watching Jurassic Park again,” smirked Elise.

Rosemary shrugged. “What can I say, Dorothea has a thing for Mayor Garver …”

“I do not!”

“… I have a thing for Jeff Goldblum. Still, my point is, this was bound to happen. It just happened on your watch.”

“So I need to fix it,” said Elise.

Before Rosemary could answer the front door chimed, alerting Elise, the ghosts and Roark that a patron had entered. The ghosts disappeared as Roark scurried under the desk.

“Mrs. Welch,” said Elise plastering on a smile to the old woman walking slowing into the library with her walker, “fair okay last night?”

Mrs. Welch flicked her wrist and then nudged her walker a little closer to Elise. “I’ve been dealing with that witch since I was born. She’s a nuisance, but she’s never maimed anyone as far as I know. If I were a witch I’d curse this whole town too.”

Elise cocked her head. “Really?”

“I’d slow everyone down,” said Ms. Welch. “I swear, everyone is in such a hurry, no one stops to admire how beautiful this valley is. I say if you take it for granted get your butt on the bus and don’t look back. But what do I know, I’m older than Moses and bound to greet him soon.”

Elise couldn’t help but find Ms. Welch’s answer ironic. The Welch family had been of the five “founding” families. They had suffered the curse since the beginning. The last time Elise had tried to run them out of town, she gave Ms. Welch a nose that constantly ran coldness in her heart that guaranteed Ms. Welch would never marry.

The door chimed again, this time announcing Mr. King and his cane. Elise couldn’t help but wonder if all the founding families would soon enter her library.

“Why Ms. Welch you’re looking awful spry today,” said Mr. King taking off his hat.

Elise knew that Mr. King was a tad bit older than Ms. Welch, even if Ms. Welch moved slower and acted as if Death was tapping on her door to let him in constantly.

“I’ve never been spry, Mr. King,” snapped Ms. Welch.