Chapter 4

If you are having a troublesome time sleeping put some fresh chamomile under your pillow. Branches of chamomile can also be used to ward off bad dreams by weaving them into dream catchers.

In the depths of my subconscious, I find myself in a dream where I am surrounded by concrete pillars. There is a stream of water running through them with a small path. I am standing in a garden I have never seen before. It’s a beautiful oasis filled with trees and plants. It reminds me a little of my garden.

As I begin to explore my surroundings there is a sense of familiarity, almost as if I have been here before.

The flames on the pillars around me roar to life, crackling and swirling with a wild intensity. The flames growing more intense with every second. The fire is spreading through the trees, and the once lush garden is now engulfed in hot flames that burn all around me. Oddly, the heat has no effect on me.

The angry flames consume a patch of once luscious nightingale, and it quickly moves to the lavender. The smell of burning lavender coats my nostrils as I begin to panic. How am I going to get out of here?

Suddenly rain starts to fall. The flaming garden around me is filled with life by the water falling from the sky.

I look to my left and notice a large oak tree with the biggest leaves I have ever seen. It looks exactly like the oak tree on our property. I feel a strange pull towards it almost like this tree knows who I am.

Before I have a chance to get to the tree, I am awoken with a startle, my heart pounding. I am drenched in sweat.

Most dreams have meanings behind them. But what could this dream have meant?

I can see the sun beaming through my curtains, it’s morning. It looks bright and hot, so I get out of bed.

The memory of the dream lingers as I begin to get ready for the day, the vivid images of fire stick in my mind. I cannot help but wonder if the dream is a reflection of what is to come.

Many witches will have dreams of the future, but the future is not constant and it’s always changing.

I shower quickly and put on a purple sundress with my favourite black sneakers.

After the dream I had last night, I have a powerful sense to visit my garden. The garden is a well-kept secret on our property.

There are two ways to get to the garden. The fastest way is through an underground tunnel found under a trap door in the tool shed beside my house.

The second way, my favourite, is path through the forest. On nice days I like to enjoy the greenery on the path. Since today is already promising to be a beautiful day, I take the path behind my cottage.

The path in the forest is lined with quartz protection crystals and it is completely hidden and the only way to find the entrance to the path is behind my cottage between two evergreen trees; it is not easy to spot because the entrance is almost completely overgrown.

I begin walking down the narrow grassy path following the trail, listening the sounds of nature around me.

The garden is enclosed in a cave that opens up into a large cavern. The top of the cave was blasted away many years ago letting the sunshine in.

This garden was originally a place where my family held ancient rituals. There is a large stone in the centre that lights up when there is a full moon. The stone holds ancient magic, that we have yet to completely understand.

We use crystals which contain heavy magic to keep the entrance to the garden hidden. If someone who is not supposed to see it wanders nearby, they will only see the tall evergreen trees surrounding the entrance. Only our family and other immensely powerful witches can see past our crystal-guards.

This garden holds a remarkably diverse variety of plants, animals and insects. Which we use to make potions.

We help a lot of magical families with the plants we grow.

We used to hide there from my mother on Sundays. My dad always used to joke the closer you were to the garden the farther you were away from house chores.

My father had an ironic power for living on an orchard. He was pyrokinetic which means he could control fire. Fire and trees usually do not mix, but my dad had a gentle spirit and never hurt a fly - or a tree.

He was also a powerful potions master and despite being flammable he built our garden, with the help of me of course.

This place is special and we owe it all to my dad, Randy. Even though he is no longer with us I plan to carry on his legacy.

He taught me everything he knew about ingredients and making potions. Although, I am not nearly as good as him, I do my best and luckily, he wrote everything he learnt in a book that he left to me.

He is also responsible for many of the potion recipes we have now like the protection potion which is rosemary, lavender, bay leaves, mugwort, and garlic. We use this potion on our enchanted crystals.

I have done a lot of experimenting of my own throughout the years and one of my specialty potions is a focus potion which is rosemary, chamomile, coffee, sage and violet. It helped me when I was in high school.

Most witches get their powers when they are incredibly young. Sometimes as young as six months old. It is not easy for babies or toddlers to control themselves. I’m sure you can imagine how catastrophic that could be.

My dad being pyrokinetic, his mother had to create a very powerful binding potion to help control my dads' powers after he set the house on fire when he was nine months old during a tantrum.

This was the first time he showed any signs of his powers, and they were already powerful enough to ignite the living room in flames. His powers were bound until he was about five years old and he was able to control his emotions better.

Breaking my train of thought a shaggy black and white Border Collie with one blue and one brown eye runs up to me and drops a large leafy branch in front of me on the ground. I look up and I surprised I see Charles, the mysterious man from the day before, up ahead down the rocky path.