The villagers are coming. They’re trying to be discreet but our witchy senses that they so hate, can pick up even the slightest noise. I motion for the kids to be as quiet as they can. They know the drill. They’re always excited at this part. This is our fifth assignment and they miss magic. It has been a while since we visited our homeland. Don’t fret. We’re not planning on killing anyone. Just a simple memory loss charm does the trick. (They will feel disoriented and might convince themselves that this was a dream.) Our work here is crucial for the completion of ‘Phase 1’ of the plan (‘The Witches take over Earth’ plan. I’m only half kidding). We cannot afford any hiccups. We were sent to gain as much information as we can. Our ‘family’ provides the cover we need to mingle among these mortals. Our human names: Martha (Me) – Mother; Jake – Father; Mary, Nigel – the children. The perfect sweet little family. The covers usually last a year or two before the humans get suspicious of our quirks. It is quite hard for us to completely blend among the humans. I thought we were getting better at hiding our slipups though. Human don’t take kindly to species other than their own, so we stay under the radar as much as we can. We sometimes hear ‘Burn the witches’ thrown around jokingly, when they see any strange stuff. This is only some aggressive folk, but it’s better to be on guard anyway. For the past month, whispers about magic actually existing, have reached this place too and today we got found out. This time, Jake is the one who messed up. He was seen gathering firewood. (Our kind maintains a cold temperature year-round. This is hard to explain when it touches peak summer.) Unbeknownst to Jake, one overly suspicious woman (the mortals called her ‘brave’) saw him on the street and decided to follow him till our backyard. She must have seen something that gave us away because by nightfall, the entire village was giving us the cold shoulder. I knew, come morning that they would knock down on our door to get some answers. Depending on the crowd, violence cannot be ruled out. (There are other undercover ‘families’ spread all over the region but they cannot risk being found out. So, we’re on our own.) We started packing, the minute Mary and Nigel came home. They attend school here, which is a huge help for our mission. We learned human kids are little blabbermouths by our 3rd placement. They have no filter and apparently are taught not to lie by their elders. (How utterly stupid.) I wanted to leave immediately but Mary had her human friend’s birthday party today. She has never eaten cake before and it’s been all that she could talk about, since the moment she got the bloody invitation. I would never put petty needs like these over the main objective of our presence here, but Jake has other thoughts. He grew too attached to these kids. I saw it coming and did nothing. I blame myself. So, he insisted on letting Mary have one last normal day with her friends. I agreed (unwillingly) on the promise that we leave the minute she gets home. Everything was still going according to our plan till then. We take one last look at our house, and set off into the wild. There’s a portal planted somewhere deep inside the forest to serve as an escape route when things turn messy. I have a map to lead us there and we’ll be back home in seconds. We travelled for a few hours and just stopped to rest when we first heard the distant footsteps. This meant there were still a couple miles before they reached our surroundings. The Heads – Leaders of the magic world The ‘Heads’ had specifically instructed us not to harm the humans in any way, but we have permission to use some minor spells if need be. Of course, if we feel that our lives are being threatened, we can use any magic that we see fit. The footsteps are getting closer. We find the perfect hiding spot and plan to just wait till they pass us by. I would like to avoid a confrontation, if possible. Only one witch/wizard in the family can wield a wand in the human world. I get that honor in my family, but I cannot face an entire legion, even if it consists of humans, on my own. The lanterns that they’re carrying, makes it seem like the shadows are alive. I feel a bit spooked now. Not getting found out is the best-case scenario I can ask for. The wind picks up suddenly and we can hear a sound echoing in the tree trunk that we're hiding in. The more we look around to locate it, the louder the sound gets. I pinpoint the area from which it seems to be the loudest. It’s the region where Mary is searching around. I see a bag around her shoulders that I didn’t pay much attention to before. Mary is looking around frantically to find the sound, unaware that she’s the cause. She’s a bit naïve but the Heads picked her for this task. I trust that they know what they’re doing. (I hope that’s the case because she has been the giveaway the last 3 times.) I ask her to stop, and make her open up the bag. I find the source of the noise (and our panic heart attack.) Windchimes! She looks guilty and normally I would lose my temper, but we need to be at our quietest so I just choose to glare at her instead. She says her human friend gave it to her as a thank you for coming to the party. (This obviously makes total sense and I forgive her immediately. Not!) Amongst the chaos, all of us forget to keep a lookout. Suddenly, I hear a gasp and find a human head peep inside the tree. We’re found!
