She was very satisfied with the work and now upset that she had to hide such a thing of beauty. Her mother, Athena, would kill her if she ever found out, and Rochelle had the weirdest feeling that Athena already knew. Rochelle just tried to shrug it off and forget about it, convincing herself there was no way her mother could possibly know, as she pulled a sweatshirt on.
Athena was a firm believer in black magick, and she loved all the gifts it gave her. She read her tarot cards daily and took care of them, and because of them Athena really did have eyes in the back of her head. She was praying when Rochelle got downstairs, which was not at all unusual, she usually prayed at this time of day. Still, it made Rochelle a little nervous.
Athena was at the altar, burning fragrant incense. She was kneeling and deeply inhaling the sweet musk of the incense. Her lips were mouthing the words of her prayers, but all was silent. This prayer seemed more important, more intense than others did. Rochelle inhaled deeply, trying to guess the intent of the prayer from the smell of the incense, but could not. Then a flash of light reflected off the clear crystal Athena held in her left hand. Rochelle heartbeat quickened as she tried to imagine why her mother was praying for clarity. She started to back away to the front door, and leave her mother with her prayers. “Rochelle, come here for a moment,” Athena said in a perfectly calm voice.
“No. No, it’s okay…I don’t want to interrupt your prayers…we’ll talk later.” Rochelle had to calm down, if she didn’t Athena would know something was up. “No, I’m done now. Come talk to me,“ Athena insisted, rising from the altar and sitting in the black, overstuffed chairs on the other side of the living room. She motioned for Rochelle to sit on the floor in front of her.
“Do you remember how I used to brush your hair when you were little?” Athena pulled Rochelle’s silken hair behind her ears, her thumbnails scratching behind the ears. She ran a brush through the full length many times. Rochelle wasn’t sure why but she had a sinking feeling.
“Mom, I’m really tired, I think I’m going to bed. Okay?”
“Just a couple more minutes. You’re always running around with your friends. I never get to see you anymore.”
“Mom, I’ve got a huge test tomorrow, I need to get some sleep.”
“Okay, okay, you win, go on upstairs, but I’m going to be up for a while.” Athena said as she collected the long, black hairs out of the brush, and twisting them through her fingers. Rochelle was uneasy, but went to bed and convinced herself nothing was wrong. The next morning she got up and nothing was strange, except for the fact that her tattoo was much sorer than yesterday, and Athena was no where to be found. She usually at least said goodbye or left a note, but this morning there was nothing. Rochelle was so busy looking for her mother she never saw the poppet on the altar with raven black hair and a pin in its back.