The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Witch Balls 
by Linda Lee Rice 

I woke up feeling dizzy and disoriented, the last thing I remember was drinking tea. The old lady looked harmless as she smiled when I entered the Tea Shoppe. The inside of the shop was an array of scents and colors. Beautiful teacups and teapots lined the shelves with a variety of teas underneath.

Intriguing glass balls hung from the windows that looked as if they were spun with spider silk. “Oh! What gorgeous ornaments in your windows.” I touched one delicately admiring the intricate webbing design.

“I’m happy you’re enjoying them. They were designed for me by a friend of mine who dabbles in that sort of thing. I’ve collected them for years. When one is completed, then my friend sends me another one.” The old woman smiled as if reminiscing something. “Some of them are very old and fragile. The one you’re admiring just arrived today since the other ones are completed.”

I smiled back at her a little baffled but figured with her age she was just confused. The lovely balls look finished to me. “Do these balls have a name?” I asked.

“Why yes, they are called Witch’s Balls. When you hang them in your window, it’s supposed to keep witches and spirits away. Their souls become trapped within the balls. The only way the spirits can be released is if the ball is broken or cracked. That’s why I had the new one delivered because the one that was in its place was carelessly smashed by a customer. He didn’t even say he was sorry, just laughed as I picked up the pieces. But you know, rudeness does have its price.” She reached up and gently tapped another ball and grinned to herself.” But come along and I’ll serve you my specialty tea.”

She seated me at a lovely corner table which gave me a view of the balls spinning in the window. Every once in a while, it looked as if something flashed inside but then when I looked again, it was gone. The old lady brought the tea and the teapot, and the aroma slowly wafted around my head. It smelled spicy and sweet at the same time, and the biscuit that came with it looked delicious.

I sipped my tea, still intrigued by the witch balls dangling in the sunlight each to their rhythm. Finishing my cup and before pouring another one, I had to see what those flashes of light were. I walked over to the window and peered closely. Inside was a tiny man banging on the side, becoming tangled up in the webs. He looked at me and was trying to tell me something.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and just before I passed out, I heard the old lady’s voice with a sorrowful note in it. “I’m sorry you had to see that; I was hoping he would’ve settled down by not and not attracted your attention. But since he has, now I have to do something about it,” she let out a big sigh as I slumped to the ground.

I can barely see through the tangled web of the ball and even though I’m pounding on the glass, it makes no difference. I can see an eye staring back at me sorrowfully as the old woman hangs my ball in the window.

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Fiction © Copyright Linda Lee Rice
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More about Linda Lee Rice:

Linda Lee Rice aka Ruzicka has poetry published in Twilight Times, Dark Krypt, Fables, Descending Darkness, Writing Village, Spine, and Page, Muses Gallery, Bloodbond, Lycan Valley Press Publishers, Alban Lake, Highland Park Poetry, Rosette Maleficarum, The Siren’s Call, Edify Fiction and the June Cotner anthology, “House Blessings” and “Garden Blessings

She has short stories published in The Grit, and Reminisce, Haunted Encounters: Friends and Family, FrostFire Worlds. Plus, a personal essay at Mamalode. She also has various articles and blogs published online as a freelance writer.