Free Eliza's Shadow by Catherine Wittmack

happened to her that night,
back in Moco?
    Seeing as it was unlikely I would ever find
answers to my questions, I decided to put aside the mysteries of my past for
the time being to focus on my present situation, which judging from Ren’s level
of concern, was not very good. It seemed that however well-intentioned Cora’s
spell had been years ago it left me in a bit of a predicament. Yet, I knew so
little about what the past six years of shrouding had cost me that it was difficult
to determine how worried I should be.
    One thing was certain, I was exhausted and Ren
would be meeting me in the morning. I glanced at my school bag, hastily tossed
unopened by the door. The one truth I’d given Jane was that I did in fact have
a lot of homework to do. But as the weight of the day pressed my shoulders
deeper into the cushions, I decided to call it a day. Something told me I would
need all my strength for the next.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    7
     
     
    The patter of artificial
raindrops streaming from the speakers of my clock softly pulled me from the
veil of sleepiness. Unlike the day before, I felt groggy and disoriented,
unwilling to face the day ahead. Through the fog in my mind, my agreement to
meet Ren came back to me along with the urgent reminder that today would be one
unlike any I’d had before. Today, I would begin to learn what it meant to be a witch .
    My hand flew across the bed and slammed the alarm
button. A jolt of excitement shot through my limbs. I rolled out of bed and
sped energetically through my morning routine.
    “’Morning babe!” Jane shouted from the kitchen as
I scampered between the bathroom and my bedroom.
    As I rumbled through a pile of unfolded clean
clothes in a laundry basket on the floor, it occurred to me that I hadn’t given
Ren any instructions as to what time to pick me up. Just as I was hoping that I
would manage to make it out to the street before he arrived, avoiding an
introduction to Jane, the bell rang.
    I scrambled wildly around my room throwing on
clothes and retrieving necessary items for the day as I heard Jane make a
surprised remark.
    “Hey Jane, that’s… it’s for me!” I shouted.
    As I slid out of my room, Jane removed the bolt
and the door swung open.
    “Hi, I’m Ren. You must be Jane.” Ren said, his
face decorated with a gleaming smile as he shook the hand of my startled aunt.
    “Well, good morning Ren. It’s very nice to meet
you.” She said coolly, guarding her surprise.
    By that point, I stood looking pink and flustered
behind Jane. “Hey Ren. We’re gonna walk to school together.” I hastily
explained.
    “Uh huh.” Jane said with an entirely too amused
smile.
    “It was nice to meet you, Jane. I hope to see you
again soon.” Ren said politely before venturing down the stairs.
    Once Ren’s back was turned I scurried out the door
behind him and gave Jane one last embarrassed glance.
    “Cute.” Jane whispered.
    I shot her a tight lipped smile and pulled the
door behind me.
    I slowly hopped down the steps behind Ren, giving
myself a few moments to gather my wits. As we rounded the landing, he shot me
his own amused grin over his shoulder.
    “So I take it you haven’t figured out what to tell
Jane about me yet?” He asked.
    I groaned but held my tongue until we broke free
of the building and were safely outside and out of earshot.
    “Well, it’s not as if I’ve had a whole lot of time
to think this all through. I can’t tell her the truth. Right now, I’m just
trying to keep my story simple. We just met and I think we’re going to be…
friends.” I said awkwardly.
    “I’d like to think so.” He said hopefully.
    “What are we doing this morning? You’re really
early you know. We don’t need to be at school for an hour.” I muttered hastily
tugging my jacket over my shoulders.
    Ren’s grin widened and his eyes sparked.
    “There’s a place I’d like to take you. It’s on the
way.” He said gesturing across the street.
    “Where