Unsure of what to do, I made a motion to let go, but instead of Christabella regaining control, she fell to the floor with a thump, her cheek pressed into the carpet like a limp, discarded doll.
I winced.“Are you hurt, Chrissy?”
“Gigi...I can’t move!I can’t...”Tears welled into her eyes and she began to cry.
I started to panic.Ma couldn’t see us like this.“No, no, Chrissy, stop crying!”
To my surprise, Christabella stopped crying.But her eyes were wide and bloodshot, and her mouth trembled as if she were being forced to hold in her tears.
A cold, numb feeling settled into my limbs.“Chrissy, stop it.You’re scaring me.Get up.Just be normal!”
Christabella sat up woodenly.She was quiet.But the expression in her eyes didn’t change.
Panic clawed up my throat.What was happening?Why was my magic doing this?
The door knob turned harshly.Ma burst into the room, her eyes wide and flicking immediately to the charm I had drawn on Chrissy’s exposed arm.
“Ma, help,” I choked out.
She went to Chrissy immediately, spitting onto the corner of her apron and rubbing the charm off of Chrissy’s wrist until her skin was red and raw.The moment the charm was broken, Chrissy began to sob.I had never been so relieved to hear her cry.
“You’re alright, Christabella,” Ma said, stroking my sister’s hair and holding her close.Christabella clung to her neck and continued to sob.I shrunk back when Ma’s fierce gaze met mine.
“I-I didn’t mean to—"
“You will never use your magic like that again, do you understand?”Ma whispered harshly.
“But Mama–”
“It is wicked!No witch should use magic that harms our village and its people.You will forget it ever existed.If I catch you doing this again—if I hear you tellanyoneabout this—you’re no longer a daughter of mine.”She lifted Christabella up and whirled out of the room down the corridor.
Tears welled in my eyes, hot and stinging.I curled up on the floor beside the fort of pillows and blankets, crying into my hands, Grandma’s skirt left forgotten in a pile.
I had once heard our neighbors talk about a mother’s intuition.But why was it that when I most needed comfort, help, and someone to understand, Ma never knew it?
19
