Hilary slowly walked through the streets of Hill Crest's shopping district ignoring the glares of people she passed by. Her heavy black leather boots made each of  her footsteps audible with rapid taps against the cement sidewalk. Her short, dark hair bounced lightly with each step as her long lapin ears flopped slightly the two piercings in her left ear clinking against one another occasionally. She was wearing jeans, a tank top, and a studded leather jacket with fishnet gloves, all black. She had been living with her parents in Hill Crest for the last six years and she had hated every minute of it. Her dad had come through on a big business deal for his company which earned him the big promotion he had been wanting for many years. With the money he was earning with the new job her parents felt it was a waste to stay in their neighborhood and moved into Hill Crest after his boss pulled some strings to get them a lavish house. Hilary had grown so disgusted with her parents shortly after the move, they shunned all the people who were their closest friends and neighbors in favor of the "high class" that lived in Hill Crest. Her father spent long hours at work to repay his boss, something she knew was never going to happen, and her mom spent all day at the spa or bars with her fake new friends.

During the years she had been shut out by the kids in school because her family has once been of the lower-middle class and came into their money and status solely by the grace of a significantly wealthier man. She had shut down socially, her grades didn't slip but she turned inward for comfort and eventually to books. Hill Crest's library housed a trove of books on every subject fiction or non and eventually Hilary found herself lost in books dealing with the occult. She had found a old novel series that romanticized witch craft, placing a young witch at the front of a story that revolved around a mesh of historical events. In the present day Hilary had long forgotten this book but it was the first step that had started her on the path she currently walks.

As she traversed down the street she noticed a strange sign resting against a light pole. It was made of wood that had been painted a very dark green a symbol, an Eye of Providence that was enclosed in an upside-down pyramid instead of rays of light, and an arrow in gold paint stood out boldly against the sign itself. Hilary cocked an eyebrow, she new the Eye and pyramids were sometimes used by cults as symbols of power or enlightenment but she had never seen them used together. "Eh, why not..could be better than any of the other shops.", she said to herself as she turned down the small side street her footsteps echoed against the buildings as the walkway was oddly quite compared to the main street she had just come from, like it existed in a world of its own. This didn't bother Hilary it was the sort of thing she liked as she frequented places that were abandoned with little noise besides herself and nature. She came out on the other end and found herself in the shopping area her family used to visit before moving, she found it a little strange that she had never realized just how close Hill Crest was to the poorer districts and yet seemed so distant even though it was only a few yards away.

Hilary looked around and found the same symbol painted on the darkened window of a shop across the street. She walked across without looking, unlike Hill Crest people in this area only went shopping during the week right after getting paid so it was pretty deserted on the weekends. She opened the door once she reached it and stepped inside, the interior was very dim and gloomy lit only by scattered candles and there was a musky smell like there was an old leak somewhere that was never fixed and had began to rot the wall. As her ruby eyes adjusted to the dim light she noticed mountains of old books and trinkets filled the shelves, covered tables, and even littered the floor. 

She glanced around the room but didn't see anyone so she began to look over the different items in the store. She curled her nose at a box labeled "Zombie Fingers" which had what she thought looked like chicken bones in it with a few flies buzzing over them. She came over to a pedestal with an open book and looked over the pages, the words were in some language she didn't understand but there was some Latin words thrown in which she recognized as a spell incantation. She flipped a few pages and found several different drawings of magic circles and few star charts but nothing else she recognized as magic.

She flipped back and noticed the page prior to where the book was open had a bookmark in it. As she looked over the page she found a set of numbers written in a different style from the rest of the page, after a second she realized the numbers the numbers were today's date followed by another set that she couldn't figure out. As she began to turn away she jumped in pure surprise as she nearly bumped into a short old woman in a black robe, "I see you're interested in the Tome of Min.", she said in a very ancient and worn voice. "Not really, I was just looking around.", Hilary replied as she moved past the woman. "Then by all means, child, look. Everything here is authentic, a treasure in its own right to someone like yourself.", Hilary froze then looked back only to see the woman was gone. "Over here deary.", she glanced and found the old woman behind the counter which puzzled her because she knew the woman couldn't be tall enough to stand so high behind the counter when she had seen it didn't have an elevated floor or a stool behind it.

"So, what kind of place is this anyway?", the rabbit asked as she browsed the shelves. The old woman chuckled as she lit another candle, "It's a place for those like you, who find value in what others may call evil or unnatural. Every book, every item here is for use in sorcery.". Hilary rolled her eyes, "Everyone knows that eye of newt and tongue of frog stuff is a bunch of bull-", she jumped again as she felt a tug on her hair and the snip of something sharp. She sharply turned around and found the old woman behind her, holding a pair of scissors that were rusty except for the cutting edge. The woman s just gives a toothless grin as Hilary begins to panic then dashes out of the store, not stopping until she's back on the Hill Crest side.

The day dragged on and Hilary found herself thinking about the old shop keeper off and on, even trying to lose herself in her music did little good to block out the image of the woman's ghostly eyes and gross smile. Finally it was time for dinner, the one time of day her parents spent any length of time in the same room besides when they were in bed. Her mom was busy talking her head off and laughing about every little thing her 'friends' had said while out being pampered, her dad took the occasional bite of food while working on his laptop doing more work at home, and she was in the middle. Her parents had never taken notice of her problems while they had lived in Hill Crest, she had cut off her hair months ago and neither of them had said a word to her about it. She had even faked their signature to get a tattoo two years ago but had been caught by the artist at the parlor, when she got home neither of her parents were there even after being called by the manager. She turned up her MP3 player and finished as quickly as she could then disappeared into her room.

Hilary just sat in the dark, the only light coming from her MP3's screen as it droned out "Season of the Witch" by her favorite band, Forever Night. She faintly heard a set of foot steps and saw a shadow pass by under her door, most her mother, heading to the end of the hall where the master bedroom was. Hilary looked at her clock, it was only ten minutes until ten o'clock, then gathered a few things in her backpack and slipped out her window. She headed through the community quietly, one of the rules of the residential area of Hill Crest was an eight o'clock curfew, it wouldn't mean anything if she was caught but for what she had planned timing was crucial.

She quickly made her way through to the memorial park located at the other end of the shopping district and acted as a sort of hub for the rest of the town. Even though it wasn't at the city's center it was the one place where nearly every part of town connected. People had always argued how big the park was, it really only had two walls sectioning it off from the rest of the city, no one had ever seen where they may have connected to other walls or some natural barrier as they extended out of the city limits. Many of these people didn't go very far, sticking to the mostly open field just behind the walls and staying out of the heavily wooded area. But Hilary had found some old property records during her many hours of reading at the library and found that located deep in the woods, far past the parks legal boundaries was a structure that wasn't shown on modern maps. She had spent months digging around and found it was originally a plantation home and that much of the land had belonged to the plantation owner, but when the last descendant passed away all of the property was left to the town which used it for expansion. She had visited this place a few times before and found a cemetery near the main building that was so peaceful, undisturbed by even wildlife.

Hilary stopped and took a book out of her backpack, it was a spell book she had found at a book shop in the old neighborhood that had closed not long ago, there had been no record number and the shop keeper had mentioned having it since he took over the store. She had read it three times and discovered that scattered throughout the pages were pointers on increasing one's connection to the Ether and channel its energy. Hilary had attempted a simple spell before with no effect so she had decided to try and train herself in channeling energy first. According to one note in the book old graveyards may form portals to the spirit world at midnight depending on its age, the number of graves, and any tragic events tied to the area. She placed the book back in her pack and proceeded through the last thicket which sharply opened up into a clear field of tall grass, weeds, thorns, and wildflowers.

Hilary glanced at her watch, it was eleven thirty-five, plenty of time to get everything ready. As she reached the graveyard she carefully stepped over the remains of a brick wall and brushed her hands along the headstones, all of which were bronze and covered in a thick layer of copper carbonate, then sat in the center of what would have been a fountain many years ago, which she had cleaned out on a previous visit. She set up a battery powered lantern and took out a piece of chalk and a sheet of paper from her backpack, following the design on the paper she began to draw a magic circle within the fountain base. She brought the lantern closer as she made out each of the symbols that would focus the flow of energy into the center, checking her watch from time to time to make sure she could finish in time. Just five minutes to midnight the circle was complete, Hilary cleared it of her tools, even turning off the lantern, and took her place at its center. Clearing her mind she closed her eyes and took deep, slow breaths as she put into use all the channeling exercises she had learned.

She waited patiently continuing her attempts to channel the universe's energies when she began to feel a certain intensity in the air. The crickets which had been chirping a short distance away had fallen completely silent and Hilary could feel a force on her body like something pushing her away, she opened her eyes and turned toward the source. She sat frozen in awe as she saw one of the windows in the decrepit house was lit by a strange swirling light that cast no illumination of the ground outside. The rabbit slowly got to her feet and walked over to the house, feeling drawn in by her own curiosity she passed the window and opened the door carefully steeping on the rotting floor until she came to the door leading into the room affected by the lights.

She peeped through a hole in the door and watched as a hunched figure dressed in black held its withered arms out over a magic circle, chanting in some foreign language rhythmically as colored light spewed from the center of the circle where several items had been laid. The light grew brighter and brighter as the figure continued its chant, Hilary's eyes widen with surprise as she recognized the shape as the old woman from the magic shop she simply remained silent as she watched the spectacle before her. The light flooded the room to the point it was so bright Hilary had to look away, as the light faded and her eyes readjusted she turned back to her peep hole. The figure had changed some: she was standing taller, straighter and the black cloth hung on her loosely before falling to the floor. The woman was nude underneath, her feline features showed well even in the dim light and her tail had an odd shape to it as it was bulkier at the end.

Hilary thought to turn and run as she curiosity had turned into a bit of fear from what she had witnessed, but just as she was ready to move away the woman turned toward the door, her face frozen in an unwelcoming frown. "Well do not just stand there, come in come in.", she said in a very sultry voice as the doors swung open revealing Hilary completely. "Uh..um..", Hilary fumbled with her words as she tried to find something to say, the years of antisocial behavior putting her in a position she wasn't used to. "You do not have to say anything Hill Ari.", the woman turned toward her fully showing off her petite yet youthful form, "How did you?", Hilary began to ask as the woman  slowly waved a finger, "Minds are like books: they are easy to read so long as you know how.", she replied. Hilary began to ask another question and the woman interrupted, "What am I, you want to ask? Why ask when you know the answer? Go on.. say it.", Hilary paused a moment then quietly whispered, "A witch.". "Yes, I have been called that. I have been called many things in my life. I am  The Ancient One, The Sister of Evil, The Three Armed Devil, The Bride of Satan. I am Minapisica and I must thank you for without your help I would have been trapped as an old woman for who knows how long.".

Hilary looked puzzled, "Without my help? What did I do?", Minapisica  gestured to a table as Hilary turned her attention to it she recognized the scissors the old woman had used and realized she had cut off a lock of hair. Minapisica nodded slowly, still bearing that unwelcoming frown, "The spell that rejuvenates me to a younger form requires the hair of a virgin woman who is of proper age. When you entered my shop I searched your mind and saw no... intimate moments in your memories.". Hilary stood silent for a moment as Minapisica admired herself in a broken full-length mirror, "I must thank you, Hill Ari. I think this is the best I have looked in the last hundred years.", the cat replied as Hilary began to ask but then remembering what she had just seen thought the witch could be much older than she seemed.

Minapisica gave a very eerie smile as she finished examining her 'new' body, "Yes, quite lovely. If I had to guess I would say you put me back in my twenties, at the least.", she turned to the rabbit her face back to frowning, "How would you like to make an arrangement?". Hilary gulped a little then as calmly asked, "What did you have in mind?", then remembering rules of etiquette she had read on addressing a weilder of magic added, "Madam Mina Pizaka?", as she gave a little bow. Minpisica chuckled a little, "The age for such formalities has long passed, but I admit it is much appreciated. The arrangement I have in mind is this: Provide me with the knowledge you have of this age as well as more of your precious hair and in turn I shall provide you with my knowledge. With my knowledge you may leave such childish tricks as many of your books taught you behind and accomplish true feats of sorcery.". Hilary thought for only a moment, given Minapisica's implied age helping her fit in as well as giving her a little hair was too good to pass up even if Minapisica proved to be a tough teacher. Hilary stood straight and approached Minapisica, noticing the cat witch was nearly a foot shorter than her then kneeled down before her, "Teach me, Madam Mina.", Minapisica grinned again, "Mina...I suppose that will do for my new life."

The End.....maybe