Dream: Witch of a Teacher

Date: 9/2/2020

My name was Kanna and I was a young witch. I was just about 21, working from home while also taking courses on campus. Throughout my youth up until this point I had been the subject of bullying by those in my classes. I had been raised by my grandmother who was a very kind witch. She taught me to not lash out with my magic but to heal and teach with it. I took her words as law and made sure to never lash out with my magic. No matter how much I was bullied or chastised for what I was. It was in this present day that I met a young boy, named Loro, on one of my walks. He, too, was a witch it seemed but had not been given the same training I had. He had turned another young boy into a toad for stealing his lunch. Cliche as it was, it was still wrong. I returned the toad to its true form and watched Loro drop to his knees in defeat and anguish. "Why?! Why'd you change him back?! He deserved it for what he did! He deserved it!" Loro cried out. I knelt by him, "Because we must rise above what they think of us. They think witches are monsters but we don't have to be. We can use our magic to heal instead of hurt." Loro clenched his small hands into fists as I ran my hand soothingly over his back. "But they're the monsters. They took my mommy from me. They took my home from me. And that boy took my food. They're the monsters… why… why do we… have to be nice to them…?" I could hear the tears now and kissed the top of his head, "Because we don't have to become like them. And because not all of them are cruel. Some can be kind." Loro looked up at me and I nodded my head to a young girl who had been hiding nearby. She nervously came out with a lunch box in one hand and a lion doll in another.  "I… I couldn't stop him from eating the food… but I got these back for you." The girl told Loro with a small smile. He took them both with a weak smile. He clutched the lion doll to him. "Thank you Marie." "How about we get you both cleaned up and then back to your home's ok?" I suggested as I helped Loro back to his feet. The two nodded and we headed to my small home nearby. I got them cleaned up as I let some cookies bake for them. By the time their scratches had been treated and bandaged up, the cookies had finished baking. I walked them both to Marie's home first, she lived closest to me. Her father seemed surprised by the visit till he saw her and Loro. He hugged them both to him. "You two had me scared to death!" He told them, "Marie you were supposed to bring him here right after school. What happened?" "Excuse me, but I may be able to explain that." I told him. Apparently after the loss of Loro's mother he'd been staying with Marie and her father despite neither having any idea how to help a grieving young witch. I smiled and flicked Loro's forehead. "See, Loro? There are plenty of good people right here. So being a good witch isn't a bad idea at all." Marie's father, whom I learned was named Tyrian, watched how I was with the kids the whole time. He finally seemed to relax. I held out a small bag of cookies to him, "I baked these while I treated their wounds. I thought I'd leave them some. Though I didn't know they lived together." "I appreciate it." Tyrian said and took the cookie bag to the kitchen, "Kanna, you're a witch as well, yes?" "I am. Though I prefer to be called a healer as that's what I'm using most of my magic for." I stated with a smile. He chuckled at that, "Would you be willing to help teach Loro? He's young and needs someone who can help him understand his gifts. He sees them as a curse half the time. I don't want himto resent part of his heritage." I saw sorrow in the man's eyes and nodded. "I'd be happy to teach him. But only if you allow Marie to learn too. She has latent gifts, similar to what I assume are yours." Tyrian's eyes widened in surprise but he nodded, "Yes. It doesn't flow as strongly through us as it does through Loro but it's there. A teacher for them would be a wonderful thing." "I can start next week. Alas I'm also a student and this is finals week for me. Will that be alright? It will give me time to work on a lesson plan as well." Tyrian agreed and I exchanged numbers with him. I gave Loro and Marie both hugs before heading off. A few days went by and I was getting close to finishing all my college final exams. The college had a basketball game today. I normally would avoid the sports events but my friend Amaya was one off the cheerleaders so I told her I'd be there for her.  The game went well, Amaya cheered with all her spirit, and I met up with her after the game. She was full of energy as we headed to the after game bonfire. Without Amaya I often didn't feel normal. She helped me fit in. Most the cheerleaders had actually come to respect me because of her. She shared my healing tonics with them and sent them to me for my healing touch before sending them to doctors. They loved how gentle I was. So I became part of their family, in a way. The bonfire was huge. People there were already drinking a bit and gathering in their cliques. Some of the basketball players were breaking off to meet their girlfriends or try to score. I just shook my head and followed behind Amaya. This wasn't my scene. "Kanna?" I heard someone call out and looked over to a group of three guys. They were from our soccer team and also some of the few people I knew in highschool. Guess I wasn't able to keep under the radar after all. "Shit." I hissed quietly as they started walking our way. Amaya noticed my unease and waved over a couple of her cheerleader friends. "Kanna Monroe, right?" One guy asked me. Malcolm I believe was his name. A bit back my condemnation for him and gave a small smile, "Yes. Can I help you?" "Well whaddaya know. The witch actually did follow us here." Another guy, Zander, stated with a smirk. "I didn't follow you anywhere. Us being at the same college is an unfortunate coincidence." I told them, "If all you want to do is make snide remarks I suggest you go elsewhere." "C'mon Monroe. I thought we were friends." The last guy, Carmen, teased. It was at that point Amaya's friends showed up. They stepped between me and the boys, crossing their arms. Amaya pulled me to her. "You ok, Kanna?" She asked me. "Yeah. Just some old bullies from highschool that don't know how to leave things in the past." I told her with a grin. The trio of guys watched us in a mix of surprise and annoyance. Zander was the first to speak up. "So did you cast a spell to make them protect you just like back then?" Zander quipped with a smug smirk. One of Amaya's friends, Chelsea, immediately stomped a heel into his foot. "She doesn't need spells to make friends. Unlike you, she has a good heart." Came her other friend, Mikayla. Zander bit back the scream that was clear on his face, "You little bitch!" Malcolm pulled Zander back at that point. "That's enough." Carmen seemed uncomfortable. Seems those two weren't here for the same reason Zander was. Carmen pulled on Zander's arm to get him to leave and finally got him to back off. They walked off but Malcolm stayed.  "Can you please call off your guards?" He asked calmly. I looked to Chelsea and Mikayla. They nodded and went back to their main group. "They'll come back if things get bad." Amaya told Malcolm. "I'm not here to cause trouble. Zander… well he's kind of an idiot but we didn't plan for trouble." Malcolm explained. "Get to the point, Mal." I told him and he smiled at that. "It may seem stupid for me to speak for the others but we had planned to try and start over. They're idiots but they're changed idiots." Malcolm explained, "Just… please remove whatever curse you put on us." I chuckled at that. I couldn't help it. "I never cast a curse on you. I just said I did to get you guys to leave me alone. Any bad luck that befell you three was on you." Malcolm sighed at that, "I believe you. I had my theories but it was worth it to ask." "Are you three really going to let her be?" Amaya chimed in. "Well they probably will." Malcolm stated and held out his hand to show a small crystal flower forming in it, "But I kind of need her help." He looked to me and the uneasiness I'd seen in his eyes all those years finally made sense. "You need a teacher." I stated and shook my head, "I can teach you but you'll be learning with my other students. Who are kids. So you better behave." Amaya crossed her arms, "I can have my cousin come by too. I don't want this guy hurting you." Irritation creased Malcolm's brow but he handed the crystal flower to Amaya, "I promise you I wish no ill-will towards her. I just need a teacher. This flower is my only bit of control with these abilities." Amaya took the flower from him and nodded in agreement. We made a deal and the following week became more exciting than I was expecting. Tyrian dropped Marie and Loro off at my home about 2pm. Malcolm got there about 3pm. His soccer practices were beginning so he had to show up after that. "Loro, Marie, this is Malcolm. He'll be learning with you. He'll be a little late to some classes because he's also got his soccer practice. Try and get along, ok?" Malcolm gave a small smile to the kids. Loro glared at him while Marie smiled back. I shook my head and motioned to a seat. The class went on fairly well. No real trouble outside a couple small mistakes in spellwork.  The next few weeks were without much incident. I helped the three of them learn to recognize the types of herbs used for healing tonics and salves. At the end of the month I had their test be to make a salve. They all managed to pass. Did I have them practice their active abilities too? Yes. But knowing more about the healing side is helpful. Tyrian came by to pick up the kids. Loro and Malcolm bumped fists before the kids left. I was surprised how easily he seemed to win the boy over. After they left it was just me and Malcolm. "What do your friends think of you doing all this?" I asked him as I got our work station cleaned up. "Zander doesn't trust you but he knows I need someone to teach me. Carmen is grateful to you. They've known about this a while for me. I was struggling with it before they…" he shook his head, "Before we picked on you." "You were struggling to control something that I had far better control on. It doesn't excuse you but it makes sense." I told him and gave him a small smile, "So quit beating yourself up." Malcolm nodded and sat on a chair, "You're an amazing person Kanna. I'm sure you know it by now but you really are." I shook my head, "Mal, that's enough. Flattery doesn't suit you." He chuckled at that, "You should try dating sometime. I think Tyrian likes you." I glared at him, "Admiration and infatuation are two different things. He admires me and is grateful for my help in training his kids. That's a far different thing than wanting to date me." I saw him smirk, "I think he likes you." "I think you're delusional." I told him, "Plus he'd be in for heartbreak because I already like someone… but she has a boyfriend." Malcolm laughed a bit and shook his head, "Yeah I had a feeling you were pining for the cheerleader. Part of why I tried." "Oh please. You're pining for someone unattainable as well." I told him with a roll of my eyes. I heard the honk of a car horn to signal the arrival of his ride. "Then maybe we should try looking elsewhere." Malcolm said and headed out the door, "See ya next week Kanna." I awoke after that.