White Dress

Astrid’s Point of View

It was early on a Saturday morning, and we had a short special class at school. I pushed myself to get to my feet and was determined to execute the same routine as I had done the previous day. I fixed my bed, cleaned my room, emptied our garbage, and made breakfast for my family before they got up, the whole nine yards.

I got everything done that I could think of first thing in the morning, and I finished it all by five o'clock, after which I went to study around six-thirty. I then began writing in my journal after finishing all my tasks. I sighed as I came across a certain page in my journal where I indicated that Leo was my first love... I was ready to cut that page out of my notebook, but I just couldn’t do it right now.

I huffed out of frustration and started writing in my journal about my first encounter with a witch. It was a bizarre experience, but overall, I was so excited to work with her because it added spice to my life... and I knew that it would make me powerful.

I needed to put in the necessary effort to ensure that, in the end, I would be victorious in everything, to witness everyone kneeling down on me, crying and pleading for my mercy.

I was beaming from ear to ear at that thought. Minutes passed, and I decided to do some cross-stitch on a new scarf while I was feeling pretty good.

"Astrid, did you prepare our breakfast again? And I noticed the entire house was too tidy? How did you manage to muster up all of that energy?" My mother exclaimed as she opened our bedroom door and glanced over the corner at me from her study desk.

"It's a way for me to express my gratitude to you, Mama. I am quite aware of how important your gems and jewelries were." My voice was a little shaky as I stated it.

Of course, I exaggerated. I couldn't give a damn about that jewelry because I'd already gotten my hands on what I was looking for.

"You have no obligation to do that, sweetheart. You might get tired and get sick from waking up that early," she said as she went into our room. She walked near me, which made me shut my journal and slide it into a table drawer. "Don't worry. I will go out and get you some beautiful dresses. How does that sound?"

She then tapped my shoulders with a smile forming on her lips.

"I'm not sure whether I still want to go," I said with a grin after she asked.

Her expression changed upon hearing what I had just said, and in an instant, she seemed to become concerned.

"I don't see any reason why you won’t want to go," she argued.

"I am getting sick of being around those people," I explained.

My words shocked her. "Can you tell me how it makes you sick? Did they do something bad to you?" she inquired, her voice full of curiosity.

I shook my head and held her hand.

"What I'm saying isn't important, Mom. I just don't want to associate with people like them," I reasoned, then continued, "Which is why I prefer to just stay in this room and continue my studies in order to achieve my goal. Sounds good, right?" I explained it with a smile on my face.

"I suppose you were correct, but you still need friends, and that party will help you connect with your peers, Astrid. I want you to go to that birthday celebration," her voice was giving a hint that I needed to go, then she went on to say more. "In order for you to feel more confident, I will go out and get you a wonderful dress. Is that all right?" she then asked and kissed the top of my head.

I only smiled at my persistent mother. After our conversation, she went out of my room and shut the door. It dawned on me that I had no choice but to attend the party. That thought made me sigh in defeat. Perhaps I would have to spend the night at Leo's house this time. I just really couldn’t bring myself to face him because I was so angry with him. In addition, he was unworthy of my affection.

Furthermore, as soon as I reach the age of eighteen, I will start looking for my real mate. Taking proper care of myself would ensure that I would still remain one of the most attractive, talented, and smart shewolves in this territory for the foreseeable future. By doing so, my mate, and even Leo, would beg for my attention.

It was a disgrace that he liked Atasha when he should have felt such an emotion towards me. They made such a team. They were complete losers…

"Atasha and Leo," I said, my voice breaking into a whisper.

I next turned my attention to Atasha's bed, where I discovered that she had already woken up. I decided to get to my feet and went out of the room since I didn't want to talk to her anymore.

"Good morning, Astrid…" I heard her say as I walked to the front door. I sighed, knowing that I had no choice but to return her greeting.

"Good morning, Atasha! How are you today?" I mumbled to her and gave her a pleasant smile.

"I've heard from Mom that you're planning to get a dress for yourself. Does that sound completely right?" she inquired.

"I'm thinking about getting a dress for Leo's birthday celebration this Sunday," I said as I nodded in response. "I actually tried to find a good one yesterday. However, because it was pouring, I was unable to find any suitable clothes. I got drenched trying to find one. It was a good thing that someone actually helped me. It would have been good if I could have remembered his name." A smile escaped my lips as I went into the details.

I gave Atasha one more glance before I proceeded to go downstairs. I could tell from Atasha's expression that she was not quite convinced of those things I mentioned to her. Possibly suspicious was the right word...

Regardless of what she thought of me, the most important thing I needed to do was persuade her to accompany me to the church. But how do I do that?

***

Everyone else had left after school that day, except for me. While I was in the classroom, I was finishing up the black book that I had brought with me.

According to the descriptions in the text, the book was authored by a witch and a werewolf. It was used as a handbook for werewolves to negotiate with witches on behalf of their packs, who required the witches' aid for guidance, as well as to cast a spell on their enemies.

My heart was racing at an alarming rate.

"I couldn't come up with a successful strategy against the witches."

However, deep inside me was a fuel that ignited the fury of my hatred towards my pack mates and burned with the desire of my loathing for them.

At this point, I couldn’t even stop myself from reading the book. As I went on, I came to the conclusion that there were a few werewolves who sought to partner with the witches, but ultimately failed because they were outwitted by the witches' cunning.

The sacrifices they made to the witches when they asked them to curse someone were so bad that their entire family died.

"There were some werewolves who signed a bargain with the witches and ended up taking their own lives so that the curse would not be passed on to the next generation." I read one specific note from the page.

Aside from wishing for a disease, bad luck, or good health and healing, praying for a curse was the most beautiful of all the wishes you could think of. But if I hadn't asked the witch for that information, no one would have known whether or not the prophecy was real. The fact that no one else had asked them the same question gave me confidence that there was a reason why that black book had been tucked away on the shelves for me to see.

"It was destined for me to find out," I said as I touched the book in my hands.

All of the mysteries concerning the witches' church that had been strewn over this werewolf territory had been written down in this book. From the werewolves to the witches, there was a long list of pleas.

The history, prophecy, and predictions of the last few years... this was almost like an entire book and a complete guide to being a formidable werewolf, all in one package. I was willing to guess that only a wealthy individual was privy to all of these secrets, who may or may not be the Alpha of a particular pack.

I then had a distinct feeling that someone was approaching, so I quickly gathered my belongings and dashed down the corridor. I decided to start looking for Atasha as I wanted to inform her that I would not be attending Leo's birthday party the next day.

The next thing I would do was invite her to join me to pray to the Moon Goddess at the abandoned church, without her knowing that by going to that place, we would then be dealing with a demon... I chuckled because I knew I would be able to pull it off because Atasha was, after all, a complete moron. I was glad I had a sister with such a nice personality, but she was very stupid.

I walked back to our house and waited for Atasha to return home. My parents left the house to do some yard maintenance, and I came home to find a box with a letter from my mother. When I took a look at the message, I immediately sighed and shook my head. It was my mother, telling me to go to that party and basically have fun. I opened the box and discovered a white dress inside.

"It's just stunning..." I eyed it with awe. "Thank you so much, Mom," I said under my breath, and I placed everything back in the box, including the note.

While Atasha hadn’t returned yet, as I assumed she was still playing outside, I went upstairs and stayed in our room to wait for her patiently. The fact that Atasha had already given up on begging me to play with her was a significant improvement. I admit that I used to enjoy playing outside with my twin sister when we were around ten years old. Since then, though, everything has just changed.

My previous curiosity no longer piqued my interest. It was as though everyone had perished for no apparent reason. The love that I had previously, which was drawing and sketching, seemed to have died and didn't seem to be returning. It didn't feel any more thrilling. I just discovered that one day I was relegated to cross-stitching.

Then I found out about witches, which was quite fascinating. Working with them and reaching an agreement with one of them made my life more interesting. I couldn’t wait for my plan to be a success. I guess we have to see who gets the final laugh.

I didn't have anything else to do, so I decided to do some cross stitch to help me relax. I gathered my materials, including fabric, needles, and a pattern, and got to work.

"Keep your cool, Astrid," I remarked to myself as I looked in the mirror and saw a goat with a human body behind my reflection.

He was positioned at the rear of the room. I couldn’t help but think whether this was a result of me negotiating with a witch that resulted in me getting a different pair of eyes.

"What an odd vision," I uttered, and I maintained my composure.

When Atasha eventually arrived, I informed her that I couldn't attend Leo's birthday celebration.

"I'm sorry, Atasha. Even though I already had an outfit ready for that event, I made the decision not to go," I told her with a smile.

Atasha's expression saddened, and she wrapped her arms around me. I threw my arms around her too and rubbed the back of her head with my fingertips, then I kissed her on the cheek.

"You have such silky smooth hair, Atasha, it makes me envious," I said in hushed tones.

"Oh! Thank you so much, Astrid! You're making me blush!" she exclaimed with delight.

I then chuckled a bit and said, "By the way, it's important that you don't tell Mom that I'm not going to Leo's party, okay?" I begged her for a favor.

"But I don't want to lie to our mother!" she frowned.

"Is this the first time you've lied, Atasha?" I asked, breaking up our embrace and casting a glimpse at her face as I did so. "It's alright, you're under no obligation to do me a favor. If you're not comfortable with it, then don't do it..." I explained, and then I showed her my sad expression.

She then sighed in defeat. "Okay, I'll take care of it, Astrid. Don't worry, I'll inform our mother that you attended Leo's birthday celebration." Then she caressed my hand.

"I greatly appreciate it, Atasha. Thank you for being such a wonderful twin sister," I said while my face was beaming with pure delight. "I couldn't imagine having a sister who is different from you. It is a blessing for me to have you in my life," I uttered and embraced her once again.

"Me too, Astrid, me too," she responded, then I heard her sob a little farther.

I then informed her that I would be busy with work and she made the decision to go out to the house to inform Leo that I would not be attending the party. Despite the fact that my fist was clenched and shaking, I gave her a charming grin and nodded.

"Tomorrow will be the day, and you'll have to deal with the witch's curse," I muttered inwardly.

Atasha and I were planning to go to the church tomorrow, so I wrote the witch to let her know I would be there and bring my twin sister with me.

To avoid being seen by anyone, I went to the corn field around six o'clock in the evening. I slid the letter underneath the main door.

"I will see you again tomorrow…" Suddenly, the raspy voice of an elderly woman whirled into my ears.

I turned around to see if someone had come to check on me, but there was no one there. But I already had a feeling who it was...

My final words were, "See you then."