T H E S E C R E T W I T C H

[Music Recommendation: "Dreamy Shards" by Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Cross OST)-available in Youtube or Spotify] ~ Please listen to it in a loop while you read this part to experience the utmost beauty of this chapter ~

[Please note: We're still in Hora's POV - when she met a mysterious woman by the lake…]

Even if my heart told me that she's not a bad person, I should remain rational. I couldn't risk it—it's Sena's life after all. Maybe she's just a weird passerby, a normal human. And even if she turned out to be a witch, too, how in the world would she know of my situation? It's very suspicious. I should be wary.

"You can... help me?" I asked the mysterious woman standing in front of me. "Do you even know what's going on with me? What my problem is, my heartache, and everything?"

"Yes. I know," she answered. "And I know so much more than that."

"That's easy to say. But where's your proof?" I asked, irritated. "You're just saying general things, like those fake fortune tellers!"