Guest Post: The Witch I Knew on Pleasant Home Road, Chapter 3 Part 1

****Hey guys, Mariah here. Sorry for the one post this week. I hurt my back something awful and am trying to get everything caught up now that I have some meds for it. Wish me luck. Anyways, a hearty welcome back to my friend Torin and to all of you for tuning in to another week of "The Witch I Knew on Pleasant Home Road."**************

SUNDAY CIDER

The faire was on a Sunday in mid-April and it wasn’t until almost a month later that Lilith and I arranged another time to meet, eat, and drink. We’d deliberated for a short while about the day until we decided on a Sunday evening. It was still decently temperate out instead of the scorching southern heat that’s so prominent. I remember not quite being able to find the house but the road I was on was correct: Pleasant Home Road. I’d eventually found the correct place and parked and walked to the door. Unassuming, the door seemed wholesomely easy to approach, unlike other doors with garish knockers or flanked by over-sized and useless pillars. There was no front yard unless you count the five yards of public grass in between the curb and the front door (in which case I suppose you could say there were five front yards almost like people say they wear a pair of jeans but who REALLY thinks about things like that..). The only things that flanked the front door were hedges and a few small plants, not particularly groomed but not left to overgrow either. To the right of the door was a pair of windows that allowed one to see into the kitchen. I knocked on the door (I always knock even in the presence of a door-bell and I don’t exactly know why) and after a brief period Lilith answered the door. We exchanged a curt hug and inquiries as to how the other was doing, despite having kept in touch throughout the month we’d not seen each other, and I walked inside. She’d immediately headed back into the kitchen where dinner was being prepared: Fish and vegetables, a favorite of mine. Of course to say I have a favorite food would discriminate against all other foods and I don’t hold myself to be a discriminatory person in any case. I love all food and I solemnly believe all food is sinful by nature and the only way to its salvation (my stomach) is through the one true savior (my mouth). That being said, the fish and veggies that night were particularly sinful. As a rule of mine, the first time I’m invited over to a friends house, I bring a libation as a gift. A sixer of cider in this case was today’s offering and she obliged my offering by popping two of them open fur us and bid me drink. It was a homey experience, being invited so readily into Lilith’s abode.

I’d forgotten to mention that by this point I’d become acquainted to her wee fluffies, Lilith and Harlow. Lilith, the human, introduced me to Lilith, the cat and Harlow, the dog and told me a bit about them. (This particular retelling might become a tad confusing in regards to names so bear with me). She explained that Harlow was very friendly which was apparent in hier mannerisms but Lilith, the dark-haired one.. the one with inquisitive eyes, the one that liked people from a distance.. the four-appendaged one.. the cat, wasn’t quite sure of herself around strangers and didn’t quite have her mother’s ability of speech (I suppose? Just because you never see a cat speak doesn’t mean they can’t)

While Harlow ran around my feet begging to be played with, Lilith watched from the bottom step of the staircase leading to the top level. After my first cider was downed I grabbed another one and Lilith, the one not watching me from the staircase, showed me around. The living room was very open with nothing separating it and the dining room save a single square pillar. In the middle of the living room space was a single couch, a tv, and beyond was the sliding glass doors leading outside. She showed me outside and Harlow soon followed of course, feeling the dogged urge to run around in circles. I stayed with the young pup for a bit watching her while Lilith headed inside to tend to the dinner preparations. Seeing the dog run around made me feel a tad sloth-like so I picked up a near-by rake and  pulled the leaves together in a pile in the back yard from the porch. The backyard, like the front, wasn’t beautiful but wasn’t unkempt in any way other than the leaves that I’d just raked. There was a large canvas awning above me and to my right, leading down some wooden steps, was a decent sized shed. To my left was an L shaped bench with no guard rail to keep one from falling off. Beyond the benches was a rectangular patch of earth that looked like with decent tilling it could harvest some good crop.

After a bit I turned around and Lilith stood on the threshold handing me a plate and we sat down on the benches and, like the Tea Room, indulged in conversation. The food was finished quickly so we gorged on each others stories. Stories of family, friends, love and life, spurned lovers and food allergies (they’re almost the same thing and I learned she’s allergic to almonds).  After sating ourselves on tales from each others lives we picked up our plates and headed inside. We walked towards the kitchen and it wasn’t until this moment that I’d noticed the tarot cards on the table. Eyeing them I handed my plate to Lilith and turned to get a better look. The table was small, barely a chairs width from the pillar, and strewn with knick-knacks and paraphernalia. I picked up the tarot cards and turned them over in my hands, studying the features. Lilith, by that time, had finished with the dishes and come back in the room and after a brief discussion about the cards she asked, “Would you like a reading?”. I’d declined politely but I filed the gesture away in my mind because I knew I later wanted to accept and it was at this point I’d felt a realization of a certain lingering sensation. The kind of feeling you get when you finally place where you saw that persons face, or recall what flavour it is you’re tasting. Ever since I stepped in the house I felt a blanket of a desire to be patient rest itself on my shoulders. It wasn’t unsettling in the least and that’s what intensified my normal feelings of childish excitement at seeing my friend’s houses. Normally I’d go over to a friend’s house and feel giddy and want to explore everywhere and shove my nose into all their closets and bathrooms to see my new surroundings. Upon arriving at Lilith’s house the urge to discover still presented itself in my head space but it was tempered with this feeling of something urging me to slow down. That resulted in me having my senses tuned and pricked up until this point. As soon as I decided that I’d later accept her invitation to give me a reading I knew what she was.