Hilda - The Challenge (11 page)

The wicked witch landed her broom next to
William and jumped off. Her face was radiating, she was breathing
heavily, her eyes had the blue sparkling pentacle in them again.
"This was so good... I needed this..."

"You're a flippin' breakneck stunt-pilot,
that's what you are," William said, relieved that she was on the
ground again, but also deeply impressed with the witch. "Damn, you
are good." He simply dropped the broom and pulled her into a hug,
rocking her.

Spontaneously Hilda threw her arms around him
and laughed, as the thrill of the looping and the speed were slowly
leveling out in her body.

After a while, William carrying both brooms
in one hand and the other around Hilda, they walked to Mirror Lake.
Again, Hilda was leaning into him, her head against his shoulder
and an arm around his waist. She was babbling over all kinds of
things she had done on a broom, flying artistry, daredevil acts,
stupid things and also about the time when she was still learning
and falling.

"William, I would really like to teach you
how to fly a broom," she said, "we could have so much fun
together!" She looked up at him, her face still shining, the blue
sparkle in her eyes again.

"I'd really like that too, Hilda." He meant
it.

The witch lay her head against his shoulder
again as she nodded.

The grassland ended. The large silver area
started. Its surface was flat as a newly ironed sheet and reflected
everything. It genuinely was Mirror Lake.

They stood at the shiny lake and looked out
over it.

"This is brilliant," said William, his brain
having difficulty coping with the view his eyes delivered.

Slowly, as if she was afraid to hurt him,
Hilda crawled away from under his arm, bent down and scooped up
some of the water. It lay in her hand as flat and solid as mercury.
"Look, it is really like this, a mirror, every little bit." As she
spoke, she elbowed her way under his arm again and raised her hand
so he had a good view.

"And that is real water?"

"Uhuh, nothing more, nothing less, it's
always been like this and nobody knows why. Isn't that shiny?"
Hilda dropped the water on the ground and wiped her hand on her
dress.

"And this is a regular part of the
rounds?"

She grinned. "Not really. I just wanted to
show it to you. Because it's so awesome. I wish I could make
something like that."

"Something tells me that you tried, right?"
William grinned as she punched him.

"Don't ask, okay? Just don't ask. Or you'll
never fly again!" She dove downwards again, scooped up more water
and flung that at William, after which the witch screamed for
laughter and ran off as fast as she could. She had the benefit of
having experience with running in a dress.

It was also something that hindered William
dearly, as he was in his wizard blue and silver again. He did his
best, but he knew it was a lost race from the start as he saw how
Hilda took off. Heavily panting he let himself fall onto the grass
as once again his legs got caught in the long robe, and lay on his
back, enjoying the feeling, the freedom and the fresh air.

"So... what's the problem?" Hilda appeared in
his view, bending over and looking down at him. "Are you too old?
Are you in a severely bad shape? Are you sleepy?"

"I got caught", said William, "in the fold of
the clothes." He lifted his legs a bit to demonstrate the problem.
"So I thought I'd lay down and wait for the problem to go
away."

"Hmmm. I could accommodate that of course,"
said Hilda, biting a finger for a moment. "But I'm afraid that it
is still a bit too cold for that." With a mischievous grin she sat
down next to him, her knees pulled up under her chin, her arms
wrapped around them. "It's nice here, isn't it?"

"It is. Very nice." William sat up also, and
gazed over the silvery surface of the lake.

After a while that they sat in silence, Hilda
put a hand on one of his. "You are doing it again."

"What am I doing?" William was unaware of
anything he would do to justify that remark. He did look at her
hand on his at the moment she did that, it was something he had not
expected.

"Your magic, William." She looked at him, an
expression on her face that he had never seen before. "Your
confusing magic. You are doing it and I don't know how to counter
it. I don't even want to counter it because it feels so good. And I
hate myself for... for... damn, I don't even know what!"

Her face shifted to showing anger a bit, then
came back to the puzzled and distant look as if she could not
decide.

"Hey, hey, calm down, little witch," William
said, his soft soothing and deep. He put his free hand on hers for
a moment.

Quickly she drew her hand away from him,
holding it with her free hand, looking at his eyes. "Stop this,
William. Stop it or tell me what you are doing to me," she
whispered.

A shimmer of understanding seeped through to
William's brain. "I think that I am beginning to see, Hilda. I
really do. You know I have no magic." He let his fingers flutter
through the air. She nodded, her face serious now. "What I do have,
and that has grown over the days, is very fond feelings towards
you. Five years ago we met. For only, what was it, half an hour?
But that time has been etched in my memory. I thought of you almost
every day since that day we met in the coffee house. The day you
left my world, sitting in the back of the old truck."

Hilda nodded slowly, she did not want to rush
him. She wanted to hear every word he said. She reached out and
took one of his hands in hers again.

"And now, three days ago, my truck ended up
here, in your world. You opened the door, and despite the weird
happening I recognised you immediately. There was no doubt in my
head if I was dreaming. I just knew who you were. And now..." -he
weaved his fingers through hers- "...now I am getting to know you
more and more. And I like you more and more. I think that is what
you are feeling, and that it is what you are mistaking for
magic."

She thought about his words. Let them ring
through her head, analysed them, looked at them from every side she
could think of. "That is what you think," she said. Slowly she
nodded. Then she let his hand slip, got up and walked to the
waterfront There she stood, her back to him, staring out over the
silver mirror that was made of water. In her head she heard again
what he had told her, about liking her. About thinking about her.
And he had not laughed when he'd said it, or even grinned. He had
been serious and honest. And he had kept the small crystal
ball.

"William, do you have the crystal ball with
you?", she asked without turning around.

"Yes, I do. Do you need it?"

"No. Thank you. Just wanted to know." Her
heart pounded harder and louder. He had the crystal ball with him
even now. And yes, he had recognised her. Just, she had to admit to
herself, as she had recognised him the instant she'd seen him.
There was a small voice in her head, talking much louder than she
wanted it to, and she couldn't make it shut up. It told her that
she had thought of William very often also. Even as she tried to
argue with the voice that that had only been because he had helped
her return home, the voice was unrelenting: you thought of him. And
it also reminded her how she had felt the second her eyes had
perceived him, despite the haunting feelings about the
challenge.

"Damn it," she mumbled. She hated it when she
could not win, and now she had even lost from herself.

William gave her the time he thought she
needed. Then he got to his feet and walked towards her, making sure
that she saw him coming. She remained standing where she was, also
when he stood behind her and he put his hands on her shoulders.

"Are you feeling okay, Hilda?"

He saw her nod. She lifted her right hand,
and put it on his hand that rested on her left shoulder.

"You know," she said, "I could throw you in
the water now."

"Yes, I know, and you know that you would end
up there also, don't you?"

She nodded again, and William just knew that
the blue sparkle was in her eyes.

They stood there, close to each other, the
tension growing as the stand-off near a gunslingers corral, each
waiting for the other to make the first move. It was already
determined that they were going to get wet, it was only a matter of
time.

Hilda had an enormous grin on her face and
she was grateful for her hair hanging over her cheeks so William
could not see it. She was slowly getting ready to grab him and pull
him into the water by making herself fall backwards into it.

William was getting ready to throw his arms
around Hilda and jump in, lifting her as he did so.

The book salesman won.

They came up again, gasping for air,
spluttering, splashing and laughing. Hilda's shriek still echoed in
William's ears.

The water was not deep, they could sit up and
have head and shoulders over the water.

"That was not fair!", Hilda grinned, trying
to brush her long wet hair from her face. Despite William's serious
attempts to help, it did not really work. "I wanted to throw
you!"

"No problem," he said and got up, offering
her a hand. This time she smiled and let him pull her to her feet.
Then they waded through the water and climbed onto the grass
again.

William watched the water in the lake. There
was not a wave in it, it lay as still as if nothing had happened,
as if no one had splashed round in.

"Eerie, isn't it?", Hilda said who also
looked over the water.

"It is, in a way."

Hilda leaned against him, her back against
his chest. She hoped he would put his arms around her. Her hopes
were answered, and she felt good. She didn't exactly know why, but
this just felt good.

William smiled as he felt Hilda relax in his
arms.

Hilda however was a wicked witch. Even when
she slowly turned in William's arms and looked at him. She knew
that he knew she was going to make them land in the water again,
but this time it was the witch's prerogative to decide how it was
going to happen. And she had set her mind to making it spectacular,
even if that meant a draining exercise.

William watched Hilda's face and noticed the
blue sparkles. "Your eyes have blue sparkles."

"Yes."

Then she made the two of them lift off into
the air, only half a yard. Slowly they drifted over the water, as
if a bit of wind was blowing them there. Hilda held on to William's
blue, silver and wet robe as she was not sure how long she could
hold this without her wand. Then, at the last moment, she made them
swing around and they crashed into the water, William going in
first, with Hilda on top of him.

He had known it was going to happen, and
still she had taken him by surprise.

Again they came up, sputtering and
laughing.

"You witch!", William laughed, splashing
water to Hilda.

"Ah, you noticed," the subject grinned,
sitting in the water as if nothing out of the ordinary had
happened. She got up. "I'm getting onto the grass and dry my
clothes. If you want your stuff dried, you'd better follow me."

William followed her. He was curious to find
out how she was going to do that.

Hilda wiped her hands on the grass. As
William had a look of wonder on his face, she explained: "The wand
hardly ever appears with wet hands."

"Oh, I see. Is that a general thing or just
something for you?"

"No, everyone I know has a problem with that.
Ah, there you are." The silver wand glistened in her hand. "Now let
me see..." She pointed the wand at William. "Arefacio."

William still was wet. "Are you sure that
thing is waterproof?"

"Oh, shut up and suck an elf, will you?"
Hilda did not like it when someone questioned her professional
abilities. "Arefactum. Hah, see? I can do this. I just hate Latin."
She used the spell on herself also and then they both were dry.

Hilda however was not satisfied yet, and did
a "Comptum cincinnatus" on herself, so her hair was in order again.
"Sorry about that," she mumbled to William, and then she made their
brooms come up to them. "I think we'd best get to the mountains
now, to get your precious things."

Before she could get on her broom, William
put a hand on her arm. "Thank you. For this great moment. It was
really great to laugh with you."

"Hmm, yeah, I guess." Hilda had overpowered
the little voice in her head and was back to her own distancing
self again. "Come, hop on, we have a fast flight ahead of us."

William noticed the change in her and did not
comment on it. So they got on their brooms and took off, Hilda
setting their course to the spot where he had arrived in this
interesting and fascinating world.

They landed almost on top of the truck. Hilda
was feeling quite tired, as she had not slept well that night. The
looping and the lifting-stunt at the lake had taken some out of her
also, and now the fast flight to the mountains. That had made for a
not too fabulous landing. She was secretly glad that William had
not noticed it. She sat and relaxed on a big chunk of rock as
William was going through his stuff in the truck. She hoped his
pile would not be extremely large, they still had to fly back.

All that duo-flying of the last days was
quite a bigger strain on her than she cared to admit, and she'd be
damned before she was going to make a mention about it to him.

William took his time to select the books he
wanted to take back. Of course there was the special book in the
silk scarf. He had not forgotten it when Hilda had offered to take
him along, but clothes and a safe place had seemed more important
then. He decided on eight books. From the back of his truck he
watched Hilda sitting on the rock. What a special creature, he
thought, and such an amazing woman. He sat on his truck for a
while, so he could sort out his head a bit.