...20 YEARS LATER

1712 - Salem, Massachusetts

The forest floor is still damp from a recent rainfall. I’m glad I decided to wait before going out to forage, or else I would’ve been caught up in that mess. Now I have plenty of time before dinner to gather some sweet berries and I can avoid getting my hair wet.

It’s not long before I spot one of the bushes. They’re not hard to find, with bright magenta berries sticking out against the deep green of the surrounding brush. Careful to avoid the thorns, I pick as many of them as I can. Mother’s going to love this. I hadn’t told her I was on the hunt for these berries, which are her favorite - for all she knows, I’m out here looking for more deadwood to throw on the fire. But that’ll make it all that much better when I surprise her with them later.

After I’ve picked as many berries as I can manage (without getting stuck by the thorns), I wrap them all up in a small cloth and tuck them in my dress pocket. I look up to the sun - it’s getting late. I turn on my heel and start running, easily dodging the many familiar branches hanging in my way as I head home.

Anthony is waiting for me when I arrive, standing just off the main path. When he sees me, a playful grin appears on his face. “What took you so long, short stack?”

I push past him. “Don’t call me that. And just why do you need to know?”

He chuckles, not at all fazed by my attitude. “Just curious. Your ma’s been looking for you, you know - sent me to wait here until you got back.”

Great. I hope I can still surprise her with the berries. “Shit. She worried?”

“Oh, you know how she gets. I had to intervene before she cursed the whole town.”

I grimace when he says this. “Anthony, you know I don’t believe in all that horse shit.”

“I know.” His eyes are suddenly serious. “I’m not kidding this time. She was holding some… some sort of big rock, waving it around-”

“Oh, not again…” I sigh heavily. “That ‘big rock’ she was waving around was probably that chunk of kyanite she has. She keeps insisting it’s got incredible powers.”

“Well, whatever it was, she was really starting to scare everyone. I was able to calm her down, though. No harm, no foul.” Anthony smirks, his seriousness fading. “Go on, then. She’s waiting for you.”

I give him my thanks and then make my way to the tent Mom and I share. It’s one of the biggest ones in the town, but it really isn’t that spacious; there’s only enough room to accommodate our two beds, some storage, and Mom’s ‘kitchen.’ (I call it that, but really, her ‘kitchen’ is a few mortar and pestles, a few dozen spice racks, and a collection of fancy rocks.) The people in this town (if you can even call a collection of mediocre tents a town) come to her for medicine, and she responds by rubbing some indiscriminate mixture of herbs and rocks on them - and if that isn’t crazy enough, they leave feeling cured.

I guess I shouldn’t complain too much, though, since they supply us with meat from their hunts and fruits and vegetables from their gardens in return for her services. We’re lucky that we aren’t out here on our own. I know I could handle myself, but I don’t know how long she would last.

“Isabel? Is that you?”

Before I even enter the tent, Mom knows I’m back. Even if I don’t believe in any of the crazy shit she does, I’ll admit she’s incredibly keen. “It’s me, Mom.”

She runs up to me from the kitchen, hugging me tightly. “Bell, you had me so worried! No one had seen you all afternoon! Where were you?”

“Mom, not so tight!” I cringe, hoping she hasn’t squished the berries still in my pocket. “Relax. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you where I was going. I wanted this to be a surprise.” I reach down and pull out the cloth, unraveling it - and to my delight, the berries are intact. “I brought these for you.”

She smiles as she sees the gleaming berries. “Oh, Bell - thank you!” She takes the cloth from my hands. “I’ll work these into dinner. Maybe I’ll make some nice sweet berry tarts, or…”

I follow her as she rambles on, stepping outside to the lit campfire in our yard. Anthony is there, one hand on his hip and the other in his pocket. He nods to me, acknowledging the berries. He knows they’re Mom’s favorite.

“Anthony, you’re back! Will you join us for dinner?” Mom asks, drawn out of her rambling for a few short moments upon noticing Anthony.

He taps the corner of his mouth in playful thought. “Hmm… I think I can. What’s on the menu?”

Mom smiles. “Good! We’ve got some of the venison the hunters brought in today, and now thanks to my gorgeous Bell here, we’ll be having sweet berry tarts for dessert!”

I wince when she calls me gorgeous, but Anthony is unfazed. He chuckles. “Sounds delightful. I’d be honored to join you.”

I shake my head, but I’m not annoyed; I would never admit it to him, but I do enjoy Anthony’s company. Even if he can be a pain in the ass.

He sits down next to me on one of the hefty logs surrounding the fire, and I feel butterflies in my stomach when I notice how close he’s sitting.

Scratch that - it seems, despite my best efforts to believe otherwise, some stupid part of me more than just enjoys his company. I try to ignore the chills running up my spine and focus on Mom, who’s started on dinner.

“She was holding some… some sort of big rock, waving it around…”

Damn it, Mom, don’t you know you have to be careful with that stuff? My pulse quickens as I remember an argument we had only a few days ago. She wanted to hold a town-wide cleansing ritual or something, and I told her it was just too dangerous.

“We’re far enough outside of Salem, darling! Don’t worry about all that.” She tried to reassure me, but I wasn’t having it.

“I won’t let you. You don’t know if anyone’s going to turn you in, if-”

“Turn me in? After all I’ve done for them?” She always gets touchy when I bring that up, but it’s always a possibility. “They would never.”

Although our little camp town is too far for anyone from Salem to find us, I still get worried that someone here will go and tell… them. And if they find out about Mom, about what she does…

Although she didn’t want me to, I know about the horrors that go on in Salem. They started years ago, just before I was born, and they haven’t stopped. They’ve only gotten worse. Those who are accused of being “witches” are captured by rioting mobs, put on a trial that couldn’t be more rigged against them, and if found guilty are then killed. It seems Mom got out of Salem at just the right time, before the amount of so-called “witches” started going exponentially up.

I can’t have her be captured by those insane people. I have to protect her, at all costs.

Anthony fidgets beside me, shaking me out of my thoughts. Mom has gotten lost in her cooking, as she always does, and her back is turned to us. “How has she been?” Anthony whispers.

I glance over at Mom, who doesn’t seem to hear us. “You know her. Stubborn, as always.”

He sighs. “Of course. Well, eventually she’ll give in.”

“Or she won’t, and then we’ll have to make sure she doesn’t go too overboard with that ritual. We can’t have anyone outside of here seeing that.”

“Don’t worry, Bell. We’ll protect her.” Something about his voice is different when he says this. It sounds… deeper, and more intent. I feel my cheeks heat up, and I know I must be blushing. Even now, after knowing Anthony all of my life, I can’t help but feel more butterflies when he calls me Bell.

Mom turns to face us. “You two, dinner is ready!” She smiles at us, and I can’t help but smile back.