Twitching Witches

A long time ago, there were three sisters, who were born thirteen months apart, and their parents named each of them for the month in which she was born. April, the first daughter was born on April 13th. She was followed by May and then June - also born on the 13th day of their birth month. Their parents...for some unknown reason... called that a good sign.

Despite the age difference, the three sisters looked so much alike that people often thought they were triplets. They lived in a small country village where most holidays were opportunities for the entire population to celebrate together. The Halloween celebration quickly became a favourite for the sisters... who absolutely loved dressing up... especially in fancy costumes.

The highlight of this celebration was the annual Halloween Walk... down the main street from one end of the town to the other, ending at an open meadow. This event included various types of races... special Halloween food... music and dancing. Each year, people were invited to add their names to a hat and the one that was drawn would lead the parade. The chosen person could not enter again for the next five years... to give others a chance.

When they were toddlers, their mother bought different costumes... mostly because she had a hard time choosing between so many interesting ones each year. During those years, they stood at the roadside and watched the parade with their parents. As the parade passed, most spectators followed along behind them.

As soon as they were old enough to join the parade, they wanted to dress as witches... so they bought black dresses, hats and boots. Then they asked their father to cut willow sticks for them... long and thin... but not straight or smooth. Their parents saw their new costumes on Halloween night and were quite pleased with what they had done.

Each girl had transformed her outfit with touches of her favourite colour... using fancy belts, scarves, ribbons, and a few roughly-sewn, oddly-shaped patches. The willow sticks were wrapped in coloured strips of fish-net fabric, left to hang loosely at different lengths... while the tops were wrapped in black yarn and sprayed with glitter.

Since then, their costumes remained basically the same... starting with plain black dresses of varying lengths, and decorated with the same methods they'd always used. Their hats were a little crumpled and their current boots showed scuff marks... which they thought looked more authentic. And they still carried the willow sticks. Occasionally, some light source was caught and reflected by the glitter... almost like a spark of magic.

But, time passes, and the sisters were now adults, no longer living at home... but were living together in an older, three-story house, which... ironically... could pass for a real witch's house. They still walked in the Annual Halloween Parade and... every year, for the past seven years, they had entered their names in the draw to lead the event.

This year they had been chosen to lead and... as they prepared, their excitement echoed through the house... from top to bottom... as they raced up and down the stairs... changing details of their outfits... checking their hair... or makeup. Finally, they gathered by the front door... hearts beating a little faster... feeling quite pleased with themselves. They picked up their willow sticks and went out the door.

Suddenly, April looked at June. "What's wrong with you? Why are you wiggling so much?"

"Perhaps her dress is too tight after all the barbecue she ate last night," May said.

"No, it's not tight... just... it's making me itch," June said.

"Are you allergic to the fabric?" April asked her.

"I've worn it before with no problems."

Then May started to wriggle and scratch. "Mine is making me itch too."

"That's because you're watching June," April told her.

"We'll never be able to lead the parade like this," June said.

"Well, we don't have time to change now," April said, struggling to stay still.

"Our application was for Sister Witches," June reminded her. "We can't change now."

May shook her head. "Perhaps, if we try to concentrate on something else, it will go away."

"I doubt that will work," June said, "but I think I know how to deal with it."

"Tell us how," April and May said together.

"Perhaps, if we wiggle and twitch as we walk, it won't be so bad," June said slowly.

"Hmm, maybe everyone will think we're dancing," April said. "And if you feel the urge to scratch, simply run your hands up and down your sides. Got it?" They nodded.

"Yeah, that sounds good. And we can still enjoy the parade," May said.

"It could work if others follow our lead," June said, as she wriggled from head to toe.

April glanced around her. "Different, but it just might work," she conceded as they reached the starting point.

Others began to look at them, with puzzled expressions on their faces.

"What are they doing?" someone asked quietly.

"Maybe it's some new kind of dance," someone else said.

"I don't know," said another, "but they're leading the parade this year.

"Then, I guess we should - at least try - to do the same thing," a young woman said as she began to shiver.

"Twist and walk at the same time? I'm not sure I can,"said an older man.

"Pretend you're trying to scratch an itch... without using your hands." His wife gave him an elbow jab. "That should help you get started." They both laughed and began to shuffle along.

"Okay, let's get in line, everyone," the Mayor said, taking his place behind the sisters. "Let's follow the... Twitching Witches."

So, with the witches in the lead, the parade began. They shimmied, and wriggled, and twisted their way down the street. The spectators were puzzled at first, but then they all started twitching as the parade approached. And, as was the custom, they all joined the end of the parade as it passed by them.

Now, as might be expected, twitching their way down the street took a little longer than normal walking... but it also turned out to be a lot more fun. Everyone was stumbling and trying to stay on their feet. By the time they reached the meadow at the other end of town, they all fell to the ground, laughing hysterically. It took a few minutes for everyone to catch their breath.

After everyone had calmed down, the Mayor climbed up on the temporary stage and called for attention. "I can safely say that was the most exercise I've had all year. But it was also the most enjoyable. Am I right?"

The applause and cheering was so loud, he had to wave his hands to get their attention. Then he said, "Since this was so successful, I propose that the Twitching Witches should lead the parade for the foreseeable future. Who agrees with me?" The applause that followed was deafening.

April, May and June stood wide-eyed, and unbelieving, as reality sank in.

"What have we done?" April whispered.

"We can lead the parade as long as we want," May said.

June shook her head. "I don't know if I like this."

"Never mind," April said. "Enjoy the rest of the evening and we'll talk about it later."

When the girls returned home they rushed to remove their costumes, and all three ran for their showers. June was back downstairs first and ran quickly to the laundry room. It was just as she had suspected, and now she had to confess.

"Did you hear what they said?" June asked as her sisters came into the living room.

"And what they called us?" May asked.

"Yes, the Twitching Witches... not Sister Witches," April reminded them.

"So, what's wrong with that?" May asked.

"I think it sounds... okay," June finished speaking in a mumble.

"You do realize they'll be expecting us to dance the whole way again," April said.

"I think we can manage that," May said.

June squeezed her eyes shut tightly. "But next time, perhaps we should do it without the Itching Powder," she said, very fast.

The other two looked at her, with their eyebrows drawn down. "What did you say?"

"Remember when we took the dresses out of storage?" June asked.

"Yeah, they were a bit wrinkled," April said.

"What about it?" May asked.