One Half of Two Witches

“Give me it, you ole ugly!”

“Ole UGLY?! You look exactly like me, you bean-headed raisin!”

***

In the heart of the city is painted a vibrant and teeming city park with picture-perfect family barbecues and picnics, locals jogging or walking their prized dogs. It’s flushed with rows of green trees blanketing the base layer of a beautiful city backdrop. The squirrels make their routine scurry, and the birds are chiming against the soundscape of the lively sound of people conversing and outdoor activities.

It was almost a perfect movie.

Almost.

At the front lines of the park a petty crash erupted over an oversized tablet housed in a thick purple and glittery decorated case; flying against the winds of conflict, an emerald studded two-headed hydra charm. Snatching, shoving, and facepalming one another.

As far as they know, the last of the witches, several hundred years old who spent all their years keeping each other company, keeping the craft alive, and keeping their secret hidden. Masters of the craft, a living library, mother memories of old, centuries made diamonds, were fighting over a tablet on a bench at a city bus stop.

“I can do it by myself! Besides you are always buying stuff we don’t need.” Tabitha cawed raising her leg up and pushing her twin slowly across the bench. Agitha folds forward, arms flailing towards her sister in resistance. “You always take over when we try to shop online.” She grunts through her yolk-shaded teeth.

Others walk by as the elderly pair fight like toddlers. Too frightened to pull out their phones to record. They seem too old and fragile to have that much energy, let alone that kind of strength. Tabitha’s ability to push her sister with one leg made them jump and walk away quickly. There was an unfamiliar aura about them; something they couldn’t understand.

Not that they wanted to.

After a couple of minutes, they are tired out and calm. Agitha slides closer to her sister, and they pull the tablet close to their face, the screen almost touching their aged self-crafted bifocals. Allowing the screen to perfectly reflect on the matching eye wear. Heads so close to each other that the rims of their glasses clink softly against the other. Their heartbeat’s steadying, the bickering hit a decrescendo, while the soundscape swelled into a crescendo in its passing.

It was peaceful.

“WHERE’S THE CART!?” Agitha said loudly leaving condensation from her breath on the tablet screen.

“We’re IN the cart, your old bat!” Tabitha leans her head to the right to move out of range of her sister’s voice wiping the wetness from the screen and placing it back in position. “Well, what’s in it then?” Agitha peers her eyes at her sister.

“Ugh, let me read it to you:

Cart (7 items)

Epson Salt

Cast Iron Pan

Apple Cider Vinegar

Chamomile Tea

Potatoes

Carrots

Kale- “

“KALE?! Here it is 2026 and you still make me eat grass! I hate grass!” Agitha revolted turning her nose from the device in pure disgust, eyes crinkled shut, and mouth twisted into a crinkled frown.

“We have to eat our greens, Agi!” She adjusts her glasses, her nose now touching the tablet, making sure that her sister doesn’t see that she updated the cart from 1 bundle of kale to 2. Agitha opens one eye to see her sister’s face almost becoming one with the tablet screen and becomes enraged. “What are you hiding? You do this every time you make a change without consulting me!” She yells with both eyes open with shock.

Tabitha quickly removes her face and reveals the browsing portion of the Shopmart app. The letters are all enlarged and bold for better visibility to aid the pairs of old wise eyes.

“N-nothing! Just looking for something else now. See, see?!” She struggled to swallow during her panic, fighting the lack of moisture in her mouth while the inside of her esophagus sticks together almost making her choke on her words. Almost as if her body knew she was lying when she quickly tapped the Shopmart’s logo to quickly bring the web page back to its homepage. The homepage viewed summer savings, pool floats, sunglasses, and speakers. A summer sale paired with rollbacks and skincare products.

Pictured in orange and blue-filled squares housed charcoal grills, spatulas, corn on the cob, and- -

“—Oh! We need salty meats! We’re out of ham!” Agitha claps her hands together with unbridled joy, swinging her legs and feet back and forth like a pendulum of pure joy.

“We don’t have any? I’m sure we do. Besides, the doctor said that you can’t eat commer…commer-shaaaal? Commuh… Damnit, we can’t buy salted store-bought meats! The doctor said!” Tabitha pointed her finger at her sister nodding it from side to side with every word.

“Nu-uh! He said that YOU can’t have salty meats! Besides, it makes no sense no ways. We’ve been doing so well for the past few centuries without a ‘doctor’ and then you make us get one because we’re ‘old’ and now we hafta listen to em too? We’ve eaten salty meats all our lives. We’re not like these new time folks! With their corporate jobs and-and weak knees. We have STRONG knees, don’t we ,Tabi. Hell, it’s probably because of the salty meats if you ask me!” Agitha ranted fists clenched, burying deep with her lap.

Tabitha cocks her head at her sister; face stamped with a patronizing smirk.

“Well, it wasn’t me!” Agitha threw her hands up irritated with her sister’s expression.

“It doesn’t matter who he said it to, Tabi! He was looking at the both of us when he said it!” scrunching her face into a frown.

“He’s always lookin’ at the both of us!” Agitha snaps back.

“It’s because you told him that we were a two-headed hydra and insisted that we sit on the examin..examunn… the damn sick people table together! I could have sat there without you!” she spat getting frustrated because she was forced to used words that were difficult for her.

“When have we ever? You were too scared to check in by yourself! I had to answer all those pointless questions for you. Wastin’ my good breath!” Agitha nods her head.

“The last time I gave into what you wanted we were bent over the river, puking out cholera!” Tabitha strengthened her point.

“Did we die, Tabitha? We didn’t! Salty meats are not going to be the death of us, sister! Whether he told me or you or that guy right there!” she shouts pointing rudely toward the man jogging into view, startling him. “doesn’t matter! Compared to us witches he’s a charlatan. A wacky man! If it makes you feel any better, just this last time and that’s it. We’ve survived plagues and all, salt is not going to be the end of us, it’s too trivial.” she confidently preaches to her sister. She was sure that they would be fine.

Tabitha was silent. Her sister’s argument made so much sense to her that she was trying to look deep within her heart to find words other than ‘you’re right’.

Tabitha positions her body forward again, bringing the tablet back to nose point and adding the Salt-Cured Ham into the cart.

“And done. It says it will be at the house today by 5 pm. So, by the time we get off the bus home, the stuff will be there waiting.” Tabitha rests her back against the bench. Her sister blinks at her and then does the same and closes her eyes.

They are tired.

“Online shopping sure is a lot of work” Agitha breathed resting her neck loosely to the side eyes still rested closed.

“It’s nothing compared to foraging it ourselves back in the day.” Tabitha added closing her eyes.

A metallic groan of metal awakens the women; a white city transit van calls to them with a raspy squeal of its brake pads, as it comes to a slow stop. The engine rumbled metal turned purr calming into an idle state, while the butterfly doors swung open with a welcoming hiss and a dull clap. Agitha stood first, dusted herself off, and walked in front of her sister who was still seated, and offered her right hand. Tabitha looked to the left of her, grabbed her thin empty tote bag, placed their tablet inside, and took her sister’s hand with her left.

They walked forward to the van hand in hand and greeted the driver. He was new today. But they didn’t mind. They prefer not to be too familiar with others as old as they were and the routine mourning of people that came attached to it. Being close to non-witches over the years proved too hurtful to continue the trend. Keeping to themselves was the best way for them to stay happy. Using their secret was the law that helped convince them not to build relationships with others. All they needed was one another. They would always have each other to talk to. Always was there something to talk about.

Agitha led her sister to the seat at the very back and allowed her to sit by the window and sit beside her. They always sat at the back of the van. Its steady vibrations and drumming coo always lulled them straight into slumber.

They’re asleep.

Both snored in unison until a sudden deceleration was felt pulling their heads forward. Blinking at each other, they communicated with a silent glance to be sure both were awake. Agitha led her sister by hand off the vehicle and carefully onto the pavement in front of a small, fenced house with a forest peeking behind it. Still holding hands, Agitha watched as the van drove away

while Tabitha looked to their home to see the grocery placed neatly on its doorstep. They walked the cobble hopped path before them; the grass was healthy and bright with bright green all over. Patches of daffodils blooming with the remembrance of what spring was, are seen across the front yard swaying in welcome with the wind. The brown small house was a very old and charming English cottage style. It has a gray thatched roof with two windows paired with dark blue painted shutters and a matching door. Multi-colored flowered vined clung to its exterior, weaving its dominance over how much of the house you could truly see.

They both walk to the porch and split hands. Tabitha walks to grab the groceries while her sister steps at the front door, looks left and right, then pulls a loose brown piece of wood out like a drawer, that hides away a very old bronze key, while Tabitha stood right behind her with the bags.

In contrast to the outside of the home, the inside was cold and rotting from the inside out. Time passing lives here and it leaves scars of old and scratched surfaces. The flooring was warped and displayed a patchwork pattern of brown and dark greens. Settled dust disturbed by new dust birthed from the holes in the ceiling; falling from the ceiling like weightless dance of snow. The house had no furniture, cabinets, or stairways. Just the shadows and imprints of what was. Agitha, shuts the front door behind them locks it, and quietly walk from front and straight to the back door.

Tabitha, hands occupied with holding the groceries, steps aside as Agitha walks in front of her to unlock and open the back door for both to walk through. Like with the front of the house, Agitha pulls out a loose piece of wood, revealing a second drawer, locks the back door, and places the bronze key inside closing it.

Stepping out of the decoy house, they are immediately faced with a forest dense with fog and shadow, a forked path cutting through its base. Agitha and Tabitha both stood side by side at its base. Tabitha sits the groceries on the ground to free her hands. In perfect sync, Tabitha raises her left hand and Agitha raises her right tracing each half of an arc in the air. Upon completion, producing a small sound of olden grinding gears unlocking an invisible door.

In place of the unseen arc drawn by the sisters, an opened doorway was revealed behind the pulls of the fog, allowing them to step into their true home and to become one here, in contrast to behaving separately elsewhere. Still unspoken, they immediately get into domestic rhythm of routine. Moving as a single entity; one was the right as the other was the left. The reward for getting things done to take pleasure in the salted meat they had brought home. In perfect choreography, a non-verbal dance, they unpack groceries, sun charging their crystals, tools and glasses of water through the windowsills carefully. The rainbow-kissed prisms of light beamed from the window through hundreds of sun catchers across the ceiling, leaving no room for the ceiling to be visible. Their living space was a chaotic and beautiful mess, packed with colorful trinkets, wards, canopy of dried lavender, wolfs bane, and skeletal roots hung so thick upon the walls.

Every surface groaned with brass astrolabes, dripping tallow candles, and overflowing bundles of parchment, creating a chaotic sanctuary that felt entirely infinite.

They moved to the heavy oak table to slice into the rich, glistening salt-cured ham, eating with an immense, unbothered contentment that made the noisy corporate world fade entirely. After a flawless, silent cleanup, they shifted gracefully into their evening rituals, sitting side-by-side in matching rocking chairs that creaked in rhythmic unison. They sipped their afternoon tea magic while their hands flew through their matching hobbies—Tabitha bundling dried herbs while Agitha tucked the remnants into handmade sewing bags, locking in good intentions with every knot. Their shadows danced across the walls, stretching toward a quiet corner of the hearth where a small, ancient graveyard of past familiars rested under the floorboards.

As the fire dipped to a low glow, their vocal complaints softened into a deep, subconscious murmuring, creaking gently back and forth. “I’m glad you made me buy it, Agi,” Tabitha breathed, her head lulling sideways as she savored the lingering salt of the treat. “It was good… but where do you think the others went? Are we truly the last ones?” Agitha didn’t answer with words, only a heavy, rhythmic sigh that mirrored her sister’s breathing, their thoughts intertwining in the silence of a world that had outgrown them.

They were just so, so tired.

***

In the heart of the city is painted a vibrant and teeming city park with picture-perfect family barbeques and picnics, locals jogging or walking their prized dogs. It’s flushed with rows of green trees blanketing the base layer of a beautiful city backdrop. The squirrels make their routine scurry, and the birds are chiming against the soundscape of the lively sound of people conversing and outdoor activities.

It was almost a perfect movie.

Almost.

The siblings are seated in silence at the forefront of the park while people walk by, leaving them completely unnoticed. Their aura was dead silent as they were.

Tabitha leaning on her sister’s shoulder watching Agitha shop on the Shopmart app for grocery items. Agitha would look at her sister for approval and if she nodded, the item would be added to the cart. No bickering. No fighting. Complete non-verbal agreement.

Tabitha had a stroke last month and it silenced her. Rendered her from casting verbal spells, to verbally express her anxieties and frustrations, to communicate with her sister.

Agitha cast her very last spell last month. A small and ancient incantation that forever stripped her of a voice and words. She refused to let them be forced to live only as one half of two witches.

The first month in centuries the sisters were silenced and perhaps more to come.

Agitha taps her aged finger on the checkout button and scrolling through the items one last time.

Cart

Pomegranate Juice

Red Wine

Garlic Bulbs

Shiitake Mushrooms

Purple Cabbage

Beets

Potatoes

Kale

Granny Smith Apples

She makes eye contact with her sister and awaits an answer not to speak a single word.

Tabitha slowly nods with a long sigh, and her sister completed the order.

Tabitha then faces forward, resting her back on the bench and closing her eyes.

Mimicking her sister, Agitha does the same.

They are forever silent.

***