The Time Witch - Part 1

A Paranormal Mystery

Apr 26, 2024

THE TIME WITCH, a serialized paranormal cozy mystery about a young witch who can control time, but the magic was purposely hidden from her because it only brings death and destruction.

It all starts here…

The Time Witch paranormal mystery series.

No one needs to know I'm broken.

The thought stalled Evangeline's hand as she pulled a leather-bound book from a packing box. Random negative thoughts had plagued her all week. She chalked it up to stress. She'd bought an old Carnegie library and had the wild idea to turn it into a Bed & Breakfast Coffee House.

She looked around the main room of her crazy venture. "It's a good idea."

The library's main floor was divided into three parts: the entry, including a librarian's desk, a lecture room on one side, and a reading room on the other. Evangeline had started turning the lecture room into a sitting area. It contained the book stacks—her present vantage point—one original long oak table with straight-backed chairs and space for cozy reading. Sadly, its two love seats were on backorder.

The opposite side of the library had been cleared out to prep for the coffee shop. It needed a lot of work, although three round cafe tables and chairs hinted at its future. The space mostly showed signs of construction, with drop cloths protecting what needed to be preserved from what needed to be fixed.

Shoved into every corner stood boxes. Most of them were filled with the library's original book collection. Eventually, they'd all be in the stacks or lining the walls, as Evangeline intended to use the library's original design well. Practically every wall was fitted with shelves. They went from the floor up ten feet, stopping well below the fifteen-foot-high ceilings. Between the top of the shelving and the roof were the windows. They were placed high to offer plenty of light during the day without impacting the needed wall space.

"I'm talking to you," Evangeline called again, "not myself."

A closet door slowly creaked open. "Huh?" Danna asked. She leaned partway out, striking a pose as she stifled a sneeze. Dust floated around her stylish African head wrap, protecting her long raven braids. The bold purple silk covered her head and tied at the back. She pushed the oak door wider. "I thought you were talking to yourself. Again. You do that. In a totally cute way, of course."

"Of course," Evangeline said, "because little signs of insanity are so cute." She tried to hide the pang in her heart.

"It's original. Talking to books," Danna said. "Just let me know when they talk back."

Evangeline could have hugged her only employee for downplaying a bad habit. She often spoke out loud to no one in particular. "Not this time," she said. "I just wanted to hear someone agree that this was a good idea."

Danna paused. "Of course, it's the best idea ever, so stop second-guessing yourself."

"It's my natural state," Evangeline admitted.

"Stop," Danna ordered with a smile. "It's probably just the dust invading your brain. Ignore it and come get a closer look at what we will be calling the Closet of Forgotten Awesomeness." She opened the door wider.

It was too far away for Evangeline to see inside, and she had no intention of being distracted. The renovations were dragging. She needed the business up and running sooner rather than later, which meant no time for the closet. She ran over a mental to-do list: call the contractor to follow up on his vacation delay, check on the loveseats, and do more dusting. She might even drive to the city and get one of those HEPA air purifiers for the dust. She'd eventually get to the closet. She wanted to experience every new find since the library had many secrets.

Its secrets can wait, she thought, just like mine.

If she'd been closer to the closet, however, Evangeline would have made a different list—and the closet would have zoomed to the top. The intricately carved interior, with nooks full of scrolls and bound leather boxes, promised amazing discoveries.

"Later," Evangeline said, pulling a red-covered book from the box. She swiped it with her dust rag. I need to find a home for my new friend."

"Huh?" Danna's voice sounded muffled, having moved deeper into the storage closet.

"Don't tease me. I know I just called a book a friend," Evangeline said, "but I bought a library. If it's okay to talk to the books, why not treat them like long-lost friends?"

Danna briefly poked her head out of the closet, making a face. "The friendship should extend to this closet."

Evangeline was torn. She didn't want to dissuade her only employee—the only person close to her age in the town. Well, it wasn't that bad. Baxter Creek had plenty of residents in their twenties; it just skewed older. The average age of the small California town was over forty, and the town favored jazz music and liked its coffee with tall tales. As an interesting town quirk, the residents embraced superstition. The fact intrigued and worried her. Of course, she understood. The town had history—the kind that didn't always end in neat, logical answers, but would that translate into physical change? Would they embrace the library's facelift and new purpose?

"We shall see," Evangeline whispered to the room, not wanting to admit she was a little superstitious, too. "What did you find in the closet?"

Danna took another step into the main library. She brushed at her clothes, sending glittering particles dancing in the air. For the briefest of moments, they formed a halo over her head. She coughed. "Uh, I don't want to spoil the surprise. You gotta see it for yourself."

"More secrets?"

"The best kind," Danna promised, sensing Evangeline's more profound meaning. "Don't worry, I didn't find a ghost or anything that cool."

"Don't say the 'G' word," Evangeline gasped. A rumor like that could stall renovations, and the clock was ticking. She could almost hear it.

Tick. Tock. Tockity Ting. Tonk. Tung.

Pausing, Evangeline listened. She could actually hear a clock. It sounded broken. Looking around, she didn't see the source and knew she hadn't brought anything that ticked into the library. Since the building kept revealing hidden treasures, she was sure the clock would turn out to be another.

"Trust me, you have time for the closet," Danna said, checking her phone. "And I'll leave you to it, but I should point out a few things before I go."

Evangeline waved the dust rag in the air. "I just need a minute," she said, taking the red-covered book to a special section of the library.

"Only if it's really a minute," Danna said, disappearing into the closet.

Evangeline crossed the foyer of the historic building. It had served the community for over eleven decades, but the digital streaming age—plus a more extensive library attached to a nearby college—made the little library obsolete. The town council put it up for sale, along with all the contents. Unfortunately, few people wanted to own a library in a Northern California coastal town—at least, not one with strict historical preservation rules.

When no buyers came forward, the library remained unused for seventeen months. Luckily, Evangeline read about it and rushed to make an offer. The town council was so elated to unload the property for a fair price that they eased the rules and approved the renovation request. It happened so fast; it was like a dream.

Well… it was more than that for Evangeline. It was a lifeline. She'd grabbed onto it, feeling lucky the opportunity had appeared. It attempted to fill a void… one where her parents had been. Of course, nothing could heal that loss.

Customers would, however, bring the library to life—her life, too. She'd already engaged with potential guests by posting pictures of the renovation progress online. It earned her eager followers who wanted to stay at a B&B in a library. She even had a waiting list. The big draw: overnight guests would have full access to the books. They could stroll along the stacks and curl up in a corner to read any time of the day or night.

Standing back to admire the special reading corner, Evangeline had to admit it would always be her favorite spot. She hoped her guests liked it, too. She imagined an avid reader snuggling up with a good book in the winged burgundy chair. Its leather was seasoned to a buttery softness with a faint scent of woodsy tobacco. Once owned by a little old professor from Oxford—at least, that's the story she told herself. She'd actually found the chair at a swap meet. It sat next to the only front-facing window at eye level, offering good reading light during the day. A floor lamp would suffice at night.

Evangeline turned on the floor lamp as the last rays of sunlight cast an orange hue through the paned glass. She admired the color washing into the room, even though it highlighted a mess. To any casual visitor, their progress appeared hopeless. They were at that point where everything needed attention.

"Everyone will come here to read, and this will be the favorite place to sit," Evangeline predicted to the leather chair, realizing she was doing it again—talking to herself. "Technically, I'm talking to the chair."

Behind it, Evangeline admired a walnut bookcase she'd discovered in the basement. It was a Danner Revolving bookcase with four levels, a 23-inch square, and a rolling base like a desk chair. She spun it to reveal space on a lower shelf, perfect for the fallen book. As she stretched to add it, something heavy dropped out. The trinket clattered on the parquet floor.

Evangeline picked up a 2-inch by 3-inch photograph—a ferrotype or tintype—standard in the 19th century. It must have slipped from a cardboard mount: the bookmark she'd noticed earlier. Who are you? she wondered, knowing the couple posing in a tight embrace were long gone.

Shifting the iron-backed image toward the lamp, her heart lurched. The dark gray image's quality was poor. Rusted in spots, it also had blistering where the enamel lifted away from the thin sheet of iron. Still, one face stood out, unsmiling—Evangeline's.