\u201cRosemary and lavender are good for everything. If you put it in the cupboard when it’s dried, it will also repel moths. Look, I even carry a small satchel of it in my bag! The scent of lavender calms and clears the head, it’s been used by witches for thousands of years,\u201d explained Hexy, standing next to the big pot of something that resembled an elixir.
\n\u201cAlways be careful with wort, though, you only need a little in your cooking because it has a horribly bitter taste. My grandfather even put wort in wine, but that was a long time ago.\u201d
\n\u201cLook, Hexy! What has happened to Kitty?\u201d Hanna cried. Kitty, who had been purring peacefully in her lap, suddenly became restless and started pacing the kitchen, his back arched. He was even hissing at times.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s alright\u201d said Hexy, \u201cbut look at Leslie!\u201d Leslie was the raven, who had even been taught to speak by his owner. Now, as usual, he sat in the window, flapping his wings and occasionally croaking:
\n\u201cWhat\u2019s going on? What\u2019s going on?\u201d
\n\u201cSomething is wrong\u201d Hanna said. Thunder echoed from the sky in response.
\nHexy turned back to the pot with an eerie calm, as if she had been expecting what was coming.
\n” “The next moment, the window burst open with a huge crash. Patrick’s smoke bomb flew through it, and in a few seconds thick smoke filled the room. Hanna couldn\u2019t see a thing, and Hexy didn’t answer her when she shouted her name.
\nFrom somewhere outside the window, Patrick\u2019s voice cut through the air.
\n\u201cForward! Get in, everyone! Bring out the guns!\u201d there was banging and shouting coming from the window, as the kids had broken into the house through it, but they couldn\u2019t see anything either.
\n\u201cCome on!\u201d
\n\u201cWhere is my water gun?\u201d
\n\u201cPatrick! Patrick, where do we go now?\u201d
\nThere was a huge commotion in the thick smoke. Leslie the raven was screeching as he tried to escape from the kitchen, his flapping of course scaring the kids to death.
\n\u201cAaaaaaaaaaah! Help! It really hurts!\u201d Patrick shouted suddenly, and immediately there was a deep silence. Hanna was crying from the smoke and started to grope her way towards where she heard Patrick’s voice.
\n\u201cHelp, he is bleeding badly!\u201d
\nThe silence was broken by Hexy shuffling around the kitchen and opening all the windows. The smoke slowly began to clear.” “The air was finally clear. The children were standing on the broken window ledges with startled faces, and Patrick was sitting on the floor next to the table, blood oozing from his left leg.
\nHexy slowly walked over and crouched down beside him. Patrick was scared out of his mind.
\n\u201cPlease don\u2019t hurt me\u2026 I think I stepped on a broken shard,\u201d he mumbled.
\nNo one dared to speak. Hanna wanted to say something, but Hexy stopped her.
\nThe old woman went to the stove, took some clean, white cotton wool from the drawer, dipped it in the pot, soaked it in the boiling liquid she had been making since the morning, and knelt down beside Patrick.
\n\u201cNow, give me your foot. We’ll fix it, it’ll be better than ever.\u201d
\nSaying that, she took Patrick’s leg in her lap and with one swift move, she pulled the huge shard of glass out of his flesh. Patrick shouted in agony.
\n\u201cCome on now! Don’t tell me it hurts! A famous general like you should take it like a man!\u201d Rebuked Hexy, bandaging the bleeding leg thoroughly with the cloth.
\n\u201cWow… It doesn’t hurt anymore!\u201d Patrick exclaimed in surprise, as the other children breathed a sigh of relief. But they knew that the siege for the house had been lost before it could really begin.” “\u201cWho wants some hot cocoa?\u201d Hexy asked the children after sitting them down around the table: Hanna in the lotus chair, of course.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s delicious! I swear, you’ve never tasted anything like it!\u201d said Hanna to encourage them. Slowly everyone’s fears subsided and they began to admire the strange kitchen in awe. Hanna proudly showed off the strange objects:
\n\u201cThis is a horseshoe, from a favourite horse of a landlord that lived long ago… the shoe is made of nickel! And that’s Leslie, the raven. You scared the hell out of him!\u201d
\n\u201cSo scared us!\u2019 Patrick countered.\u201d
\n\u201cI have a confession to make,\u201d said Hexy, pouring the cocoa into the most beautiful mugs. \u201cI started building this house for my daughter and myself many years ago. You were not even alive then. But my daughter became ill and I could not cure her. There was only one cure for her illness in another country, so we had to move, and the house remained abandoned. But now that I\u2019ve come back, I saw that you had taken it over. I put the sign up in vain. In fact, I am quite angry at myself about it.\u201d” “\u201cBut just because you’ve done something stupid, that doesn’t make you stupid,\u201d she continued. \u201cYou can play here if you like, but only outside in the garden. You see, I have made it look like a wild forest. And you can always get some cocoa inside.\u201d
\n\u201cAuntie Hexy…\u201d Patrick said, \u201cyou didn’t tell us what happened to your daughter.\u201d
\n\u201cShe stayed there, in that other country\u201d said Hexy with tears suddenly in her eyes, but pulled herself together quickly as she went to the pantry to get a tray of biscuits.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd guess what… Hexy can do card readings!\u201d Hanna whispered to the others. When Hexy returned with the cookies, Patrick almost rushed at her:
\n\u201cCould you tell my fortune, please? Please! I want to know if I will fail my math class again this year! Please tell me!\u201d
\nHexy smiled, took out the coloured cards, drew a few from the deck, laid them on the table in a star shape, looked at them with a grin, then said:
\n\u201cThe answer to that is relatively simple.\u201d The children listened intently.
\n\u201cIf you study, you will not fail!\u201d
\nCocoa and laughter filled the kitchen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1086,"template":"","class_list":["post-1088","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n