Witch of the witches

Winifred, a twenty-year-old girl, sat quietly at her desk near the wall, studying while memories of her past surfaced in her mind. She recalled the beautiful moments with her mother and father. In her mind, she could hear their voices.

"Wini, come here," her mom called her, sitting on a mat in the garden. Meanwhile, her dad was helping her mom with some luggage. "Be careful, Mini, you'll get hurt," he said.

Lost in thought, Winifred was suddenly brought back to reality when a group of boys and girls entered the classroom. They gathered around her, but she didn't pay any attention to them. A girl from the group, standing right in front of Winifred's desk, said, "Hey!"

Winifred continued to ignore her, which frustrated the girl.

"Ahhhhh!" the girl yelled before grabbing Winifred's hair and throwing her against the wall.

The onlookers reacted with gasps. "Ooooohhh!" they exclaimed.

The girl, who had thrown Winifred, smiled widely. A boy from the group said, "That definitely hurt, Ash."

Ash, the girl who had attacked Winifred, responded, "Oh, really? Then the mission is complete."

The group, along with some classmates, started laughing, while others just stood by, doing nothing to help Winifred.

Winifred's beautiful memories of her parents turned into dark ones—memories of her mom and dad fighting. Her father's words echoed in her mind: "Your mom… she's not coming back."

Back in the present, Winifred stood up and asked Ash, "Why did you do that?"

Ash smirked and said, "Why? Hmm, let me tell you why."

Ash threw a straight kick at Winifred's stomach, causing her to collapse on the ground.

"Ahhh!" Winifred groaned.

The group and some students in the class reacted with exaggerated gasps, "Oooohhh!"

The same boy from Ash's group said, "Oh, Ash, don't you think this is too much for her?"

Ash replied, "Hmm, nah, I don't think so."

The boy added, "Well, hurry up. The teacher will come soon."

Ash smirked and said, "Did you hear that, Winifred? Come on, stand up. Let's finish this quickly."

Winifred slowly began to stand up again.

The boy said mockingly, "Ohhh, look at this, Ash. I think she really wants to finish this!"

Ash sneered, "Oh, really? Okay then."

As Winifred stood up, Ash quickly threw another straight kick at her stomach. But this time, Winifred caught Ash's leg.

Ash was shocked for a moment and yelled, "Let go of my leg, b****!"

Holding Ash's leg with her left hand, Winifred grabbed Ash's collar with her right hand.

"Hey, w****!" Ash shouted.

Winifred quickly turned to her left and threw Ash to the right side, slamming her into the wall. The sound of cracking and shattering glass echoed through the classroom and the hallway.

Everyone in the classroom was stunned, especially Ash's group. The boy from Ash's group couldn't believe what he had just seen.

"A-Ash? Ash?" he stammered.

Ash groaned, "Ahh… it hurts." She touched the back of her head, feeling pain. When she looked at her hand, she saw blood.

"Bloo… blood…" Ash stammered. Seeing the blood on her hand, she screamed loudly, "Ahhhhhh! Aaaaaaah!"

Winifred stood in front of her and asked, "Why did you do that?"

Ash, sitting on the ground in shock, stared at the blood on her hand. "What…?" she mumbled.

Winifred repeated firmly, "Why did you do that?"

Looking up at Winifred, Ash's body trembled. Her legs shook, and her expression of anger and pain changed to one of fear.

"S-So… sorry," Ash stuttered, terrified.

Winifred gathered all her belongings, put them in her bag, and walked out of the classroom.

During the school break, Winifred left for her regular job at a restaurant. She entered the restaurant through the back door, and the restaurant manager, her boss, noticed her. He could tell that something was different about her today, as her expression wasn't the same.

"You're early today! Did you eat?" the manager asked.

Winifred replied, "No, can I eat here and then start working? Is that okay?"

The manager smiled and said, "Yes, why not! Oh, and please, eat anything you want from the restaurant."

Winifred's face lit up. "Oh, really? Thank you!"

She felt a little better after the manager greeted her warmly and offered her food. Winifred rarely ate outside because she was always short on money, so being able to eat at the restaurant felt like a big deal to her.

She went to the staff room, took her Lunchbox out of her bag, placed it on the table, and said to herself, "Well, at least one good thing happened today."

Then, she headed to the kitchen and asked her coworker, "The boss said I can eat anything from the restaurant. Can you please make a hot spicy ramen for me?"

Her coworker, a boy, replied, "What? Hot spicy ramen? It'll take time to make, and no one has ordered it right now!"

Winifred explained, "I'm eating my Lunchbox, so I have time. Can you please make it for me?"

The boy rolled his eyes and said, "What don't you understand? I don't want to make it. Here, eat this sandwich." He threw an old cheese sandwich in her direction. The plate was dirty, and the sandwich was half-eaten.

"Oh, that one—I ate half of it earlier," the boy said with a smirk.

The excitement Winifred had felt about eating something nice faded instantly. Memories of what had happened at school and the challenges she faced every day came rushing back to her.

She thought to herself, "Well, this isn't anything new," and left the kitchen, knowing that even if she forced him to make the ramen, he might mess with it.

Another coworker, who had overheard everything, stood silently in the background.

Winifred returned to the staff room with no expression on her face. She opened her Lunchbox and started eating. About 12 minutes later, someone opened the door to the staff room. Winifred was the only one there, but she didn't look up and continued eating her meal.

Suddenly, a bowl of hot spicy ramen was placed on the table in front of her. Surprised, she looked up. It was Winter, her coworker and friend.

"Here, you wanted this, right?" Winter said.

Without hesitation, Winifred picked up the bowl. Using her chopsticks, she grabbed some ramen, blew on it to cool it down, and tasted it.

"Um...mmm! It's tasty!" Winifred said.

Winter smiled. "Well, it's my own recipe. I'm still practicing."

"Um…mmm! It's really good, Winter," Winifred replied.

Winter grinned and said, "Really? Well, maybe it's time to leave this job and open my own restaurant! Ha ha, just kidding—we need more recipes for that."

Winifred, still eating, drank some of the ramen soup. "Ahh! It's really tasty, Winter. Thank you," she said.

"The pleasure's mine," Winter replied. "But why didn't you ask me to make it? Why ask that idiot?"

Winifred answered, "I wanted to know what it would feel like to eat something like everyone else does."

"Oh, I see. I understand now," Winter said.

After finishing her ramen, Winifred said, "Thank you, Winter."

Winter replied, "Ahh, we're friends, right? So don't thank me."

"Yeah, I know," Winifred said. "It's time to work now, Winter. Let's go!"

Winter said, "Oh, yeah! I almost forgot. Let's go, Winifred."

They worked together until 7 p.m. When their shift ended, they walked out of the restaurant together.

Winifred smiled and said, "Thanks for the ramen today, Winter."

Winter smiled back and replied, "You're welcome! But I told you not to thank me. We're friends!"

"Yeah, yeah," Winifred said.

Suddenly, someone called out, "Hi, Win!"

Both Winter and Winifred turned around. Winter smiled, "Oh, it's Mom!"

Winter's mom approached them and said, "I was shopping nearby, and it's 7 p.m., so I thought I'd walk you home."

Winter, "Oh, okay!"

Winter's mom smiled at Winifred , "How are you, Winifred? Are you doing well? Please come to our home anytime you want, whenever you feel like it."

Winifred smiled faintly and replied, "Yes, of course, Auntie."

Winter's mom, "How about joining us for dinner tonight?"

Winter's face lit up. "Yeah, great idea, Mom! Let's go, Winifred!"

Winifred hesitated. "Thank you for inviting me, Auntie, but I already ate a dish Winter made for me today. Maybe next time—I also have some important work to do."

Winter, "I'm still learning; it was just a trial dish."

"Oh, you made a dish for Winifred today? How was it, Winifred?" Winter's mom asked,

"It was really tasty, Auntie," Winifred replied.

Winter's mom smiled. "Oh, really? Well, then dinner tonight is your responsibility, Winter. You can cook for your dad, too!"

"What? Really, Mom?" Winter exclaimed.

"Yes, of course," her mom replied.

Winter hugged her mom with a big smile on her face.

Seeing Winter and her mom's happiness, Winifred started to recall memories of her own mother. It became difficult for her to control her emotions.

Suddenly, "Oh, I just remembered someone is waiting for me. I need to hurry, or I'll be late!" Winifred said,

Winter, "Oh, okay. Bye, Winifred! See you later!"

Winter's mom, understanding Winifred's emotions, said, "Okay, take care, Winifred."

Winifred replied, "Okay! Bye, Winter. Bye, Auntie." She then ran off toward her home.

As Winifred left, Winter's mom sighed and said, "Winter."

"Yes, Mom?" Winter replied.

"You know what happened to Winifred's parents, right?" her mom asked.

"Yes, Mom. I know. It's really sad," Winter said.

Her mom nodded and said, "Yes, I know. So as her friend, make sure you're always there for her, okay?"

Winter replied, "Of course, Mom. I'll always be by Winifred's side."

With that, Winter and her mom walked back home together.

Winifred opened the door to her small apartment. She lived in a modest building, and as she stepped inside, the darkness of the room seemed to match the emptiness she felt. She switched on the light, but even as the room filled with brightness, the void in her heart remained. Remembering Winter with her mom, their conversation, and the way they hugged each other, tears began to roll down her cheeks.

Her mother had left her three years ago and never returned. Winifred's father had told her that her mom would never come back. He now lived with another woman outside the city and had a child with her. Winifred's parents used to fight often, and eventually, her mom left. Not long after, her dad also left her behind, choosing to live with his new family. He only visited her once a month, telling her to get a job and take care of herself. He said he couldn't support her anymore because he had his new family to look after.

Winifred lived alone in a small apartment because her parents had sold the house where they used to live together. The memories of the happy times she had spent with her mom and dad haunted her. Those times felt like a distant dream, and the reality of her loneliness hit her hard every day.

Sitting on the floor, she cried, letting her emotions overwhelm her. She tried to stop, but the weight of her sadness turned into anger. She slapped her cheeks and said to herself, "Hummm… Don't cry! You have dreams, and you have to complete them." For a moment, she stopped crying, but soon, the tears returned, louder and more uncontrollable than before.

After some time, she lay on the floor, her tears slowly subsiding. She decided she needed some fresh air. Winifred wiped her face, drank some water, and stepped outside. It was nighttime, but the streetlights provided a soft glow. She walked down the road, heading toward her usual spot by the river.

As she strolled near the riverbank, the cool air started to soothe her. She stopped by the water, staring at the calm surface. She whispered to herself, "It's okay, Wini. You have dreams, and you can achieve them. You have to be strong so you can make yourself happy again. Hummm..."

Suddenly, strong gusts of wind began to blow, catching her off guard. "What? What just happened? Why did the wind change so suddenly?" she muttered, trying to make sense of it. Before she could process the situation, a bright flash of light filled her vision. The intensity of the light forced her to close her eyes.

She opened her eyes after her vision adjusted to the bright flash. As her eyesight cleared, she noticed a faint glow in front of her. The light was coming from the ground. Looking down, she saw herself standing inside a circle made of light, There were different symbols all over the circle—symbols that Winifred had never seen before, She was standing in the center of all those strange symbols. Suddenly, the circle glowed brighter and brighter, pulsing with intensity.

Then, in an instant, the light stopped, and everything went silent. Winifred had vanished. The circle where she had been standing was empty, leaving behind faint marks on the ground. Slowly, the marks began to fade, and the circle vanished into the air.