Curiosity + Cat = ...

Day #23: A Summoning Goes Unexpectedly, Autumn Cozy Fantasy Prompt Challenge

Lilah,

My dearest, best, most wonderful older sister, I have a teensy tiny confession to make…and a favor to ask of you.

Remember how, when we were little, you always got mad at me for getting into your things and playing with your toys while you were at school? Mother always chided me for being too curious, but you always had the best and most interesting things in your room. And, of course, as time has gone on and we’ve gotten older…well, not much has really changed, has it? Except I do think we’ve grown closer over time as we’ve each matured: more like best friends than sisters out to quarrel with each other. (You know as well as I do how relieved Mother and Father are about that.)

And yes, I know better, of course I do, and I absolutely understand when you say not to go into your study or interfere with your diagrams and potions and books. They could be dangerous, of course, and magic is never to be trifled with! And I know well that my skill with magic is….well, wanting. You were always so clever and bright and it just made sense to you, whereas I’m clumsy and distracted and can never keep anything straight. That is, of course, why you became a witch and I didn’t.

It’s just that…well…if you haven’t known before now…I’ve always wished I was more like you. And sometimes when a person wishes a thing like that, they…well, they might make silly choices that, obviously, no reasonable person would ever make.

Oh dear. I expect you’ll be frightfully mad at me. I can imagine you reading this, the way you’ll purse your lips and tap your fingers just so, wanting me to get straight to the point. I’ve never been very good at that….

By the way, have you noticed that your familiar has never been fond of me? Every other cat is more than happy for me to pet them, but Beverly has nothing but glares and hisses for me anytime I get close. It is quite distressing, not to mention distracting! I’m not exactly sure what condition things were left in after the wind picked up, but I do hope the jars of moon water that I was arranging for you didn’t get knocked over. That damn cat may have made a real mess of things…more than I already did. The point is, I don’t think things would have gotten quite so messy if Beverly hadn’t leaped up and attacked me.

Should I have been in your study? Perhaps not. But I had come across some moon water and I know how often you need that for your spells, so I thought it would be a good birthday gift. And given how busy you are, I thought it would be a nice surprise to set it all up for you while you were out.

How was I to know that you’d have a summoning circle set up? Or that’s what I assumed it was…admittedly, I am somewhat less certain now, under the circumstances. But I found it very curious, with the chalk patterns and the candles….

And Beverly…well, all right. I’ve always been a bit jealous of the damn cat. Or rather, jealous of you for having a familiar like Beverly. Even if she hates me. Maybe I thought things would be different if I could summon my own familiar.

So, am I really to blame for lighting the candles and looking for the summoning spell? First I set up the moon water so nice - I do hope it didn’t get knocked over - and then, I will confess, my curiosity got the better of me.

You may be unsurprised to know that it didn’t go well. The Latin has always been tricky enough for me and I was, admittedly, struggling. But then suddenly Beverly leaped at me from - I don’t know, the rafters maybe?. She was all teeth and claws and hissing like a miniature nightmare tornado cloaked in black fur. The rest is a blur…I know I dropped the book, and I think I stumbled. And then the wind picked up….

In any case, I’m not quite sure what happened, but things are…strange now. I think I’m a…ghost? Or trapped in a parallel dimension? It’s very difficult to describe, and it’s rather fascinating here. The colors are all different, the textures are fuzzier somehow, and while the shapes of your study are similar, the dimensions seem…off? Like they have been contorted somehow, and I suspect that if I take so much as a single step I could end up a mile away. I am staying very still for now.

I did find that some loose papers and smaller objects got caught up in the wind and ended up here with me, wherever this is…and it seems there’s a narrow space where I think I can see the floor of your actual study - in the color and texture it ought to be - so I’ll slip this letter through and hope Beverly will at least see that it reaches you. This is all partly her fault, anyways, though I will accept the majority of the blame.

If you can…please help? I promise not to meddle ever again! I’ve learned my lesson this time. Promise!!

Your favorite (and only!) little sister,

Emmy

PS: I will say, it isn’t terrible here. It’s actually quite charming? As I’ve been writing this, a small squirrel-like creature has approached. It seems friendly, but I don’t think squirrels are supposed to be, well, pink. Or quite so very fluffy. Is this how one finds their familiar? It’s not what I expected….