Sorchia's Universe

Looking for previous episodes? Start Here with a PDF of 1-18. Episode 23: Witches, Witches Everywhere Older relatives, slightly singed but maintaining an air of refinement, rest on tussocks near the river, enjoying quiet conversation. Their breaths puff into white vapor in the cool morning air. All in all, the scene is one of a pleasant outdoor celebration in full swing despite the occasional crash from the burning castle. The one common trait all witches share—no matter their politics––is adaptability. Even the musicians, looking a bit the worse for wear, have struck up a lively tune. Younger cousins dance and cavort on the fresh grass. The remains of New Castle Highmoor smolders in the background. A Darkmore cousin—one of the Dutch Darkmores, I believe––hands me a goblet of wine. “What a bash!” He shouts, green eyes blazing, blond hair positively standing on end. He’s more than a little buzzed despite the early hour. Then I remember that for him, it is still the crux of the evening...

If you want to read the whole story so far, Follow this link to Episodes 1-20 Episode21: Unexpected Discarding the light blanket Mayebelle has wrapped aroundme, I scrabble in the spring-damp mold of the forest floor. Pain in mymidsection redoubles, but I crawl to the edge of the road and use a handy rowansapling to hoist myself up. “Maddock!” I would have run to him, but little Priscillaor Madeleine or Jane will not be ignored. A contraction tightens like a band of iron across mystomach. The figure on the path is running now. Running toward us. My wombconvulses, and I’m sure I’m about to die. Mayebelle pulls me back to the warmthof the makeshift pallet of leaves and spare clothes and pushes me on my back. “It’s real, isn’t it, Mayebelle?” I can’t see past hersolid form and a nagging fear whispers to me, telling me the castle and Maddockare wishful visions only. “It has to be real this time.” Mayebelle glances over her shoulder. When she turnstoward me, her face is in shadow. “It’s rea...

Looking for previous episodes? Scroll down for a PDF of Episodes 1-18.  Then follow right here every week as we reach the conclusion. “A Cold Spring” Episode 19: Something Witchy This Way Comes  Far to the east, a full moon rises behind glacier-encrusted mountains shimmering with the last red rays of the sunset. Unruly cataracts tumble from the heights, falling in a silver ribbon and exploding in white mist. A snaking blue line, the Whispering River runs from its ancient bed at the base of the mountains, past the foothills, and into Highmoor Valley. In a wide curve it skirts the valleys edge and plunges again down the incline Mayebelle and I have just ascended. I hear its cold waters leaping across colder stones.    A sweet scent of meadow grass and early spring wildflowers carried up the ridge on a cool, damp breeze cools the sweat on my forehead.  From the forest a chorus of spring frogs chirp and an owl glides past with a satiny whoosh. The shadow of the ridge stretches t...

The Witch hits the fan in these episodes of “A Cold Spring.”  Need to find previous episodes? Start HERE . Episode 13: Magic of the Darker Sort Stately stewards carried in the main course on silver platters—a savory roast seasoned with rosemary and thyme. The sumptuous fragrance drew oohs and ahhs from the assemblage.  Cutlery clinked on the fine china, crystal goblets glittered, and the hall filled with laughter. Conversation bubbled throughout the room, ebullient as the champagne. Even the older relatives seemed to relax. Though the La Croixs sat on one side of the table and the Darkmores on the other, they chatted across the steaming plates and sparkling glasses as if the two families had forgotten centuries of uneasy alliances before Lucia blasted them apart.  With a flourish, the steward refilled Maddock’s glass with champagne and mine with sparkling apple juice. Maddock touched my glass with his and nodded toward the gabbling, laughing crowd. “Am I mista...

Looking for previous episodes of “A Cold Spring?” Start HERE with a pdf of episodes 1-8 and a post of episodes 9 and 10. Episode 11: Kinship Will Out In the ensuing years, Aunt Clarissa and I discovered many of our kin whose wits had not been so muddled with wine or so shocked with disbelief that they could not escape the carnage of Old Highmoor Castle. Still and all, better than two thirds of both the Darkmores and the La Croixs perished that night. The survivors scattered to the four winds, animosities forgotten in the struggle to stay alive without the strength of numbers in a hostile, witch-hating world. Slowly but surely, Aunt Clarissa gathered the Darkmore survivors together in an organized but widely-scattered family once again.  Lucia’s curse spun a web of fear and mistrust. We did not meet in large numbers; we did not seek out the La Croix survivors who, like the Darkmores, gradually reconnected; we concealed our true natures; and we did not returned to Highm...

Witches and curses and magic–OH, MY! “A Cold Spring” is a wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimy story of tragedy and survival.  If you’ve just discovered it and don’t want to wander all over the Interwebs to read previous episodes–scroll to the bottom for a pdf of Episodes 1-8. Episode 7: Goblets of Fine, Old Wine Goblets of very fine and very old wine delivered by a young and slightly inebriated La Croix cousin put an end to any thoughts of a clandestine rendezvous upstairs. Our duties as host and hostess called. At last, the long road leading from the forest to the castle lay empty and it was time to toast and mingle among our disparate relations. Copious amounts of wine and Scotch flowed from crystal carafes, and the murmur of voices grew to a cheerful din. The moon peeped in the western windows of New Castle Highmoor before our respective circuits brought us back together on the veranda. “I’ve spent the better part the evening either tracing my lineage back t...