Come Back Witch

Opening his eyes, the green leaves above his head were brimmed with sunlight as the warmth of the day rested on him.

"Just five more minutes, Prof." Vince's voice was sleepy as he seemed to have just woken up from sleeping. Only after a few seconds did he seem to remember where he even was.

Jumping up from the ground, Vinces inspected his new surroundings. He was standing in a stunningly beautiful forest as if somebody planted it on purpose. The floor was filled with colorful but, to him, unknown flowers.

It felt surreal, as if he himself didn't belong here. His head hurt as the painful memories slowly seemed to fade away. Staring at his own body in confusion, he was unhurt, not a single wound or frozen body part. No, he seemed even more powerful than before, as if he had slept for days straight.

Everything just felt way too perfect for Vince, not a single leaf was covering another, and no tree was blocking the vision of the one behind them and he didn't like it at all.

"Where am I?" He asked himself, expecting no answer.

"You're in my garden." A young female voice spoke out behind him. Turning around with surprising speed, he saw her once again. The witch stood behind him, her school uniform traded for a long white dress and a sun hat.

She stood there, her hands hidden behind her body while bending forward a bit as if she were inspecting him. ''You really surprised me by surviving the walk down; you're much better than expected.''

Her voice carried an unusual calmness and joy. When she didn't see Vince reacting, she stepped a bit closer, snapping a finger against his forehead. But instead of hitting him, it went right through him.

"That is... surprising?" The witch said her tone was filled with confusion but also reminded Vinces of a person finding out a new mystery.

"What do you want from me?" Vinces finally answered, taking a step back from her. Normally his instincts would scream at him to stay at a distance, but this time they were completely silent, which seemed to scare him even more.

"Wow, always so prejudiced, but well, you aren't completely off. I indeed need you for something," as she slowly started walking around him. ''I want to see it as a small repayment.''

"Repayment for what?" Vinces asked cautiously, paying attention to every step she made.

"For protecting you, of course. Or how do you think you made it here alive?" Her voice seemed severe, but something told Vinces she wasn't telling the whole truth.

"Ah yes, saving me by doing what exactly? Leaving me on top of a mountain to freeze or nearly killing me in a car crash?'' His voice was filled with fury at the witch, but her reaction left him stunned.

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She seemed to be embarrassed. "I... I tried my best. I couldn't have predicted that my powers would be so low that I couldn't carry you over a measly mountain," as she turned away from him, not allowing Vinces to see her face.

Vince was completely lost, he didn't know how to react to this at all. And before he could compose himself again, the witch turned back to him again.

"Whatever, I still need you for something." Her voice sounded commanding, as if it were expected from him.

"I don't even know who you are; why should I help you?" Vinces wasn't against helping people in need, but this situation seemed much different than just a simple request.

"What do you mean, you don't know who I am? I'm Lysandra, the witch of grace and warden of the Fumi Forest.'' Her voice was filled with excitement as if she were praising herself.

"I have never heard of you before." Vinces voice was cold, he was telling the truth.

Lysandra seemed to stare at him in disbelief, as if he said something wrong.

"That can't be. Did the elder in the village never tell you anything?" She seemed to be in a panic, but Vinces didn't care too much about it, something felt wrong with her as if she wasn't truly here.

"I'm not from the town, I'm here as part of an exchange event," he said casually as the witch seemed to freeze on the spot.

"Oh no, I picked the wrong person. That can't be. No, it should be impossible," the witch rambled to herself, fear visible on her face as she finally snapped her fingers, disappearing completely.

"You stay here for now." Her voice faded with her disappearance. Letting Vinces just stand there in the middle of nowhere.

"What the fuck was that?" Searching around for the witch anywhere around but couldn't find her. His mind was racing; just way too many things were happening and seemingly not a single minute to relax in sight.

He didn't want to stay here in the open, so after a few minutes of waiting, he seemed to ignore the witches' command and slowly walked ahead, searching for any place to rest.

"If this is a garden, there should be some kind of house around, right?" He asked himself, trying to only focus on one thing for now.

The mix of unnatural fresh air and seemingly perfect chemistry between the plants, each leaving enough space for another, made him feel like he could lose direction easily in the maze of perfection and repetition.

But wherever he walked, everything seemed to be the same, so he decided to try a different approach, climbing on one of the apple trees around.

He grabbed one of the branches and wanted to use it as a small step up. Just after barely trying, he seemed to nearly fly up the tree. In just a few seconds he ascended the tree. Standing on the tallest branch, he only now really noticed the change of his strength.

He wanted to test his limits more, but something else caught his attention first. An old castle-style tower stood out from the tree crowns. It must be at least one hundred meters tall.

Even though one of its sides seemed to be in ruins, it would still be a better place to stay than the wild. With a single jump he leaped from the tree. His legs were barely hurting and he started walking towards the tower.

Every few steps he had to reroute, either because some unpleasant-looking plants were blocking his way or a small animal stood in there.

Not wanting to find out if either was dangerous, he decided to act slow for now.

While walking, he tried to about what had happened to him.

Somehow he managed to return from the mountain, and even though all his wounds were healed, his stamina also seemed to be restored. No, even the limits of his physical abilities seem to have vanished as if he became a completely new person.

There was also one other thing that was different; he honestly couldn't even describe it. It felt like he gained a new sense of something. He felt it when the witch stood behind him. Without watching, he knew exactly her position and that he should avoid combat against her.

Maybe he could also identify monsters with this ability.

No, what was he talking about? He just got to return to the village and get a new car to escape this abnormal place. He just hoped all his classmates were fine.

They should be, he was the only one that didn't arrive on the weekend and instead decided to drive here on Monday.

After a few minutes of walking, he turned up the speed, trying to find the new limits of his body. And he was more than just amazed. His speed had increased, not by a lot, but it was noticeable. The main factor was instead his seemingly never-ending endurance, as if he were able to sprint forever without making any long breaks.

But even when thinking, his new sense alarmed him of something appearing behind him. He decreased his speed and spun around easily, able to keep his balance.

Standing now in front of him was Lysandra, her face filled with annoyance and something deeper; it honestly reminded him of the people offering condolences at a funeral.

She slowly took a step closer.

''Vinces Carver, I'm sorry to tell you this, but your time will run out very soon."