Aunt Cecilia's Hocus Pocus

• Laura Bannister, Grade 6, Bangor Primary School
• Short Story
• 2001

Finalist in the 'Zapped! 2001' competition

The most amazing feeling is flying through the air, fists tightly clenched around smooth wood, the wind in your hair on a sleek black broomstick. My dog and I rode silently through the night, over the rooftops and chimneys on Aunt Cecilia’s broom.
I first discovered that Aunt Cecilia was a witch when my parents went overseas to a funeral of some second cousins uncle’s and I was sent to my Aunt’s house for the holidays. Aunt Cecilia’s house was big and old. It had a musty smell and suits of armour lined the walls. There was a glass case set in the wallfull of green bottles and powder.
My Aunt is of prim appearance and quite short.
She has no warts, no wonky nose,
No bony fingers, feet or toes,
She’s quite a clumsy witch you see, her homemade spells she tries on me. For example just last week, she sprouted whiskers from my cheeks.
When I was sick, a month ago,
She covered up all of my toes,
In purple liquid which instead,
Made me so nauseous that my head,
Began to bubble and turn read.
I’m speaking poetry you see; Cause Aunt has put a spell on me.
Having a witch for an aunt is kinda cool. I don’t have to clean or anything because the suits or armour are bewitched. Aunt just asks them and they walk around cleaning everywhere. Once I asked one to clean but he refused because I didn’t say please. Typical.
Aunt isn’t very good at magic, she often forgets spells or says the wrong words. Yesterday we went to a goblin market. There were little men with giant wonky ears sitting at stalls haggling over prices. Aunt and I wondered around. I didn’t know what I was looking for. A goblin in a brown patchy cloak was shouting his wares. “Shrinking spells. Buy something too big? Does one size fit all but you? There is a solution.” I was just thinking what I’d do with a shrinking spell when Aunt whisked me away to a darkish shop in the shadows. “One finding spell please.” She handed the goblin three gold coins. He pressed a packet into Aunts hand. By the next day Aunt had lost her finding spell.
I thought I knew everything about witches. I mean I was living with one. But then I found her broom. A flying broomstick. And oh I wanna fly. The next morning I was woken up by a bark. A big black dog was licking my face like there was no tomorrow. It was such a beautiful dog. Aunt Cecilia walked in. “Ah” she laughed. “Jet found you. He’s a little thankyou for putting up with an old witch.”
The broom flowed smoothly. Aunt had let me use it just this once. I tried to turn back. The broom wouldn’t turn. Jet barked. I was stuck in the air with a dog on a broomstick.