She Is Not a Witch

It was snowing.

The southern city of Hopland was experiencing a rare light snowfall. In this warm coastal city, snow was truly a surprising event.

White snowflakes drifted slowly from the sky, landing in the courtyard. The air grew colder than usual. Children in cotton jackets played happily in the snow, throwing snowballs and building snowmen. For these coastal children, it was almost their first time seeing snow, so they were especially excited.

A large frost-covered glass window separated the cold outdoors from the warm interior. Inside, the fireplace burned quietly, and a red wood antique clock on the wall ticked steadily.

Melu sat quietly on a small sofa by the fireplace. The left armrest, warmed by the fire, felt comfortably hot to the touch. She had draped a woolen blanket over herself. The blanket, knitted from yarn, looked somewhat old, with small pills in some places.

One might think that the young lady of the Helis family and current family head could afford a better blanket, but this one held special meaning for her.

Though she was generally well-behaved as a child, she had her playful moments. When she was about 8 years old, Hopland had also experienced a snowfall, even heavier than this one. She, Fenrai, and some other girls their age had played in the snow, trying to build various things like little people, cats, and dogs.

But lacking experience, their creations always looked strange and unattractive. Edmond and Vic, some of the boys, stood nearby mocking them. Fenrai, unable to contain her anger, threw a snowball at them. This sparked a full-on snowball fight between the boys and girls, with snow flying back and forth.

In the midst of running and throwing, someone trampled the small animals they had built earlier. Melu cried bitterly, feeling wronged. Fenrai tried to comfort her, but she wouldn’t stop. Eventually, Fenrai went to find Big Brother Fernelton, who was nearly an adult then and the oldest and most respected among their generation.

He quickly gathered Edmond, Vic, and the other 9-year-olds, making them apologize to her. Though Edmond was mischievous, he didn’t dare disobey Big Brother Fernelton, so he reluctantly apologized, finally stopping Melu’s tears.

Later, Fernelton found some shovels and gathered snow much faster than they could by hand. He then had Edmond and the other boys help build with snow. At first, they were disdainful, not wanting to play house with the girls. But as they built, they became interested. Vic suggested they all build a castle together, which many children agreed with.

So, more than a dozen children joined forces to build a snow castle, with Big Brother Fernelton watching nearby. Sometimes he’d find tools to help flatten the snow into large blocks and gave them small wooden boards to create angular shapes, which heightened their enthusiasm.

They spent the entire day like this, not even wanting to stop for lunch, their minds filled with ideas for building a better-looking castle. The children ran back and forth in the snow, constantly gathering more at the center. They first roughly piled up a small mountain, then Fernelton helped them plan the general shape, including walls, the castle’s main body, and towers. Each person was responsible for a small section and began to work.

Edmond wanted to build the highest fortress in the castle, Fenrai a tall tower, and Vic the castle’s main body. Since they came from the best families and usually led the group, the other children couldn’t compete, so they got to choose first. Fernelton, noticing Melu wasn’t choosing, curiously came over to ask if she was too shy to speak up.

At the time, she didn’t know what to choose, so she just said she’d help the other children build the city walls, as it seemed simpler. So Fenrai and 5-6 children built the castle’s main body in the center, while the other 8-9 children built the walls around the perimeter.

By afternoon, the castle was finally complete, after several reviews and modifications suggested by Big Brother Fernelton.

The white ice and snow castle had slightly crooked, uneven walls. The central castle body wasn’t very symmetrical, and the towers were rather thick, not looking particularly beautiful. But overall, one could tell it was meant to be a castle.

Though not perfect, everyone was still very happy and began assigning where they would live in the castle.

Edmond spoke first, saying he would live in the central round hall of the castle’s keep, as that’s where the king lived. Next was Fenrai, who said she’d live in the tower, like a princess. Vic looked around and said he’d live in the middle of the castle, as he wanted to be a general. The other children also shared their ideas, choosing where to live and what roles they wanted to play – ministers, heroes, queens, bishops, poets, and so on.

Finally, Fernelton asked Melu where she wanted to live. After some thought, she replied that she wanted to live with her family, just being happy together. Edmond laughed at this, saying it was a boring wish. Seeing Melu on the verge of tears again, Big Brother Fernelton scolded Edmond, telling him not to judge others’ dreams carelessly. This made Melu feel a little better.

After playing in the snow all day, Melu, who had a weaker constitution, caught a cold. She had a headache, fever, and spent days curled up in bed. Her father specially requested a priest from the church to perform a healing spell on her daily, which helped a bit, but she still felt weak. Lying in bed for so long became uncomfortable.

Seeing her unhappy mood, Head Maid Aunt Liga sat by her bedside to keep her company, talking while knitting a woolen blanket.

Melu lay in bed listening to Aunt Liga’s stories about the past, like scenes from her youth living in a mountain village, wild boars, magical beasts, foxes, and tales of Liga’s childhood with her siblings and the games they played. Melu listened with great interest, no longer feeling bored in bed.

The cold lasted for a week or two. During this time, Fenrai tried to visit several times, but fearing contagion, both sets of parents wouldn’t let them meet. She left gifts, not just from herself but from other children too. Even Edmond and Vic had Fenrai bring Melu a beautiful small dagger.

By the time Melu recovered, Aunt Liga had finished knitting the blanket, telling her to use it when cold and to be careful not to catch cold again.

Time flowed gently by. The blanket that once covered her entire body now only fit over her shoulders. The person who knitted it was no longer there, and the children she once played with had scattered in life, some never to be seen again.

The fire burned quietly, past memories seeming to float in the flames. Melu, immersed in recollection, sometimes smiled, sometimes looked sad. When the blanket slipped from her shoulders, she unconsciously woke from her reverie, pulled it back up, and stoked the fire in the fireplace to rekindle it.

Melu gazed at the orange-red flames, her eyes no longer showing the worry and unease of the past. A calm, peaceful light reflected in them instead.

Even though the past was gone and familiar faces had drifted away, she would continue moving forward. Just as she had dreamed as a child, she would make the Helis family a warm, big family once again.