witch

B& I were lying in bed, snuggled under the quilt. B had been on the phone to an old woman who lived in Urunga. In my dream, Urunga was north of here, on the Queensland East Coast beyond Gympie. I knew that the woman was a witch. After the phone call, we waited and soon we heard the slow footsteps and the dull thud of her walking stick coming down the hall toward our room. She came into the room through a door to the right of the room and slowly walked around the base of the bed toward me, on the left-hand-side of the bed. I was scared. She eyed me and realised that I was not the one. She stared at B, turned, and walked back around the base of the bed and up to where she could easily see B. She had shrewd black eyes, a sharp nose, and she was wearing a black dress with black stockings and shoes—much like a grieving widow. She was of ill intent and was here because B had told her that another old woman, a healer, wanted to help B and had given her gifts. The witch wanted the gifts, perhaps to intercept the magic of the healer. She reached down and picked up the first gift, a large pot plant, which I identified as a Money Plant, and asked if she could have it. She then took the second gift, a bunch of long-stemmed yellow flowers wrapped in cellophane and asked if she could have those. We both felt that we couldn’t refuse her or something terrible would happen. We sat down to have green tea and water. I felt awkward and transparently wary of her, whereas B seemed at ease. I walked her to the door where she confronted me, laying a brittle hand on my arm, asked why I disliked her. I answered, saying something that I can’t quite recall, and her appearance changed, resembling the other old woman: the healer. She had long grey hair that hung around her shoulders, a strong face and a more solid body. She smiled at me, although I still felt distrustful, and she left, taking the plant and flowers with her. I went back to where we had been having tea and there was a large cake sitting on the low coffee table. I broke off a hunk of cake in my hand and ate it wolfishly. There was a large dog sitting looking at me and I offered him some cake. We both ate the cake, he biting off big chunks and swallowing them whole, and me, grabbing handfuls of cake and eating them as fast as I could. I told him he was a good dog and he looked at me, surprised and grateful.