Chapter 93─A recommendation from Rose

“No. Is she in church today? How weird. Where’s she?” Milla asked with her eyes stretched wide from shock.

“She just left. I wonder if she came for herself or to spy on us,” Mishka remarked as she picked up her handbag.

“Are we going out to meet and greet her? Milla asked with a confused frown between her brows.

“We can, just out of curiosity. We didn’t sneak out of the house. Everyone at home knows where we are.

So, maybe she just came for herself,” Mishka responded.

“Do you really think so?” Milla asked in a lower tone of voice.

“I don’t think that she has any reason to check if we’re really at church. She would have waited for us to tell us. Why did she just go out before we reached her then?” Mishka asked as she looked at Milla for an answer.

“Do you think that she’s beginning to feel guilty about being involved in strange and dark activities?” Milla whispered as she looked Mishka straight in the eyes.

“I spent some time with her at the party last night. She didn’t look like someone who was undergoing a change in character,” Mishka responded in a low tone of voice as she slowly began to walk in the direction of the church door.

“So then, she came out of mere curiosity?” Milla asked as she followed Mishka.

“Maybe she also had a bad dream like I did, although I don’t think that she would deal with her fears by going to church.

She would go and chant in the basement instead or she would consult with a fellow fortune teller,” Mishka commented just below her breath.

“Let’s hope that she experienced something serious enough to drive her to a confession in church,” Milla responded.

“But, from when did you start thinking about your grandma as a fortune-teller?” she asked suddenly, standing still in her tracks.

“I think we all think she’s into dark spiritual activities ever since we began to notice her fascination with a TV program which involves witches and their craft,” Mishka responded.

“She could be here out of mere curiosity, to see if her conscience is real, but anyway, I know that it’s not just that,” Milla remarked in a grim tone of voice, turning down the corners of her mouth in distaste.

“You have changed your opinion about her, I see,” Mishka responded as she walked out of the church door. She began to look around for Myrtle.

“Strange. Why isn’t she waiting for us so that she can confront us, if that was her purpose for coming to church?” Mishka asked as she looked around trying to spot Myrtle’s favorite vehicle.

“Maybe she wasn’t even focused on us at all. Anyway, let’s leave so that I tell you about the details of the video that we watched last night,” Milla suggested.

“Okay then, let’s go, but we’re not going straight home because I also have to tell you about something. Just in case I need your help at some point,” Mishka remarked.

Milla stared at her in confusion.

“Where are we going then?” she asked, frowning in concern.

“We’re going to drive to Grandma’s friend, Rose,” Mishka replied in a low tone of voice.

“Why? Is she gonna teach us about what she does? Or, will she explain about what your grandmother does?

I would be very happy to know why your grandma changes a cat into a man and then back again,” Milla muttered as she walked on towards Mishka’s vehicle.

***

“The man is in a mountain lodge and yes, he is being kept there against his will,” Rose stated after returning from her small cottage where she had taken a look inside her crystal ball for Mishka’s sake.

“So, my dream was exact and to the point?” Mishka asked as she flew up from her chair, eager to hear Rose’s response.

“Yes, it seems as if you have a gift for uncovering mysteries,” Rose responded without looking directly at Mishka.

“Like seeing into the future?” Milla asked with her eyes stretched wide in fascination.

“Not necessarily,” Rose responded. “But she can see what’s happening in another place if she just focuses properly.

The fact that you can gain information about someone who is far away from you means that you do have a gift which you must develop,” Rose explained to Mishka while casting a quick glance at the door.

“Are you expecting someone?” Mishka asked with her eyebrows raised curiously.

“No, I’m just thinking that if this man is a werewolf, then my gardener might know about him because he knows some werewolves as friends. They confide in him sometimes,” Rose responded.

“Do you think that Bruce’s wolf community will be able to track him down using their own sensory skills?” Mishka asked. She was not sure whether she should be hopeful about this.

“If I trust their skills then it means that I’m beginning to believe in their power,” she told herself in alarm.

“I should be using my skills to track him down instead,” she mumbled.

“But it helps when there’s as much help as possible in these kind of cases. Besides, you still have to learn how to develop and sharpen your skills first,” Rose remarked, glancing at Mishka in concern.

“You mean it’s a skill that needs to be fine-tuned?” Mishka asked, frowning in contemplation.

“Yes, but first we have to celebrate it.

But, we have to do it quietly because we don’t want your grandmother to find out about this right now. We don’t know how she will react.

She might end up envious as is often the case when the older person needs to hand over to the young,” Rose commented with a sigh as she lowered herself into an armchair in her lounge.

“But, you can’t become a witch now, can you?” Milla asked staring at Mishka in concern.

“No, not at all. She can be gifted in many ways and still be a good person,” Rose responded hastily.

“Oh, that’s good,” Milla responded with a deep sigh of relief.

“Milla, how can you even think that I could become a witch and take after Grandma?” Mishka asked in a teasing tone of voice.

“I wasn’t thinking that. I just thought that your skills can become so developed that you have to participate in everything,” Mishka responded quickly.

“But, I know that you would never perform magic. You will always use your skills to help,” she added keeping her eyes firmly on Mishka’s face.

“No. One always has a choice about how to use one’s skills. Being in love can be good to track down someone, but it can also lead to lack of focus later on,” Rose remarked as she studied Mishka’s face with her big eyes.

“Am I in love?” Mishka asked, frowning in confusion. “I just like him, that’s all,” she responded, frowning at Rose.

“You’re going to be doing more than that in the future, I think,” Rose responded.

Mishka stared back at Rose in confusion.

“Well, we still need to find Bruce or else he could get into deeper danger,” she remarked with her eyes clouding over with worry again.

“The werewolves are gonna track him down,” Rose remarked with a distant look in her eyes.

“Oh, so I don’t have to do anything on my side? Then why did I have a dream that’s so accurate?” Mishka asked, sighing in frustration.

“It’s all about him being found. Not about who gets to find him. You might even have a role to play in helping them,” Rose replied as she gave Mishka a concerned glance.

“So, should I tell them about my dream?” Mishka asked, holding her breath.

“You can if they ask for your assistance, otherwise you can use technology to find out more, while they use their senses. Wolves and humans can interact,” Rose responded with a smile.

“Then does that mean that it would be okay for them to be in love?” Milla asked as she gazed at Mishka with concern in her eyes.

“Do you mean that he is also in love with Mishka?” Rose asked, raising her brows at Mishka curiously.