The Witching Hour

Kai tiptoed down the pier. The world was still slumbering, but the quietness of the morning demanded a certain reverence. The wind beat her white nightgown around her legs like a flag in the wind, and she wrapped her robe around her tighter. Her bare feet were cold, but she loved the feel of the earth and wood beneath them.  It was an unusually warm November morning, but she could feel winter’s breath creeping up on her. This November was so different from the one ten years ago. 

Kai sat at the edge of the pier looking into the water. She traced her fingers through the water as she watched the moon’s reflection in it. She held her breath as the sun started to peek over the horizon and then it happened, twilight. Lillian’s face appeared in the water and Kai released her breath. 

Tears ran down Kai’s face and she let them drip down in the water causing a ripple across Lillian’s face. “I’ve missed you, dear sister.” Her sister didn’t answer. She never did. “I still remember that day when the moon came down.” She wiped a hand across her eyes. “You were mesmerized. I have to admit he was beautiful with his silver hair. You always shone like a star. Is that why he took you? For your light?” Kai looked up and saw that the sun was rising higher in the sky and then she looked down and Lillian was gone. “See you next year, dear sister,” she touched the water as if she could touch her sister, but now she was once again only a memory. Kai rose to her feet and walked back to the little cabin of her childhood without looking back.