Coralville Public Library's Teen Zine
Rosemary by Magadalaena
The first thing I noticed was the rosemary. The scent of it clung
to everything: the simple paintings hanging on the cream walls, the
overstuffed reading chair. The whole atmosphere was heavy with the
rosemary’s presence, though a quick glance revealed none of it was
in plain sight. I wasn’t sure what to do. It didn’t seem right to
call out. The rosemary was smothering; it made the whole place seem
asleep. I stood there awkwardly for a long moment, fiddling with my
duffle. Then at last I heard her.
“Who’s there?” I could barely recognize my aunt’s voice. It shook
and trembled with fright. I had been expecting the confident, and
slightly erratic aunt that took charge of everything when she
visited on Thanksgiving, the women who could always be counted on to
turn chaos into comfortable order , the person who always had a
witty response that made everything alright.
“It’s me, Aunt Gretel, Stephanie,” I said tentatively. “I’m visiting
for the summer, remember?”
“Stephie? Oh, I completely forgot. Come on, I’ll show you your room.
It’s the one I was telling you about, the one with the spectacular
view of the forest. It will be so fun having you over. You haven’t
been here before, have you? Well, once I’ve got the sheets on your
bed, we can have some hot chocolate and catch up on things.” This
was more like my Aunt Gretel, naturally open and chatty. She looked
normal too, red hair pulled neatly back into a strict ponytail, but
her posture suggested long, sleepless nights, and tense days where
everything was on edge. A cold little ghost scaled my spine and
settled at the back of my neck, whispering inaudible warnings that
were full of menace. Something was very wrong here.