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    Now before you judge me, yes I do listen to her prayers. It’s not like I do it on purpose or that I want to. She was a witch after all and everyone knows when a witch makes a wish it will come true. And prayers are just like wishes just a little more private. That’s where I come in, I’m a bell. No not one of those things you see hanging above a church. I am a guardian, and I make sure witches don’t step out of line. I’m as real as you or your neighbor only more important, but enough about me. This story is about Sarah and how she made a very bad wish.

    Once there was a town called Orkney. In the town there was a village girl named Sarah. She prayed to the Lord, but not for the same reasons as you and I. She prayed yes but Sarah was selfish. She always knew her prayers would come true. She prayed for grandmother to die. She prayed for her father to never go to war. She prayed for a fate so strange but not her own.
Sarah Williams was the most prized member in her family. The entire town thought she was incredibly devout, and they knew the Williams were blessed with her. No, she wasn’t the smartest person in her family. She couldn’t tend to the fields like her brothers could. She certainly couldn’t go to market and sell goods with her mother, and she was no good when it came to sales. Her prayers were always answered.

    So every Sunday as instructed by her parents she prayed three times. Two for the family and one for herself. Of course, she did as she was told in fear that any disobedience would bring sin towards herself and a severe punishment with it. The one thing she hated though was that she never received what she wanted as a child. One time she prayed for an eternal drought. So she would be able to play with the other kids in the sun as much as she wanted. Another time she prayed for the wolves to eat all the sheep from a neighboring farm. She had gotten close to one and it bit her. Every Sunday she would wish and every Sunday she would get nothing but what her parents asked.

    It made her so upset “why...?” she cried “why would God bless everyone else but me? I’m the one who prayed… not mother…. and da...”, Sarah never got an answer at least not from the heavens, “What makes you so deserving child” her grandmother said in a calm assertive tone. She was never very fond of Sarah’s gifts. She felt a terrible dark force whenever Sarah went to church as though the devil himself had given her powers. Jane had no problem vocalizing it for the world to hear. Sarah sat on a stool as her hair was brushed by her eldest brother Nathaniel, “Let’s face the facts Nat …. She hates me.” Sarah choked out on the verge of tears “No” He said “she doesn’t hate you she loves you sweetheart. She just doesn’t know how to show it so it makes her unhappy and mad”. Sarah seemed unchanged by his statement “Hey sis you wanna come with me and Grandma Jane to market to fetch meds for the horse, a lot of your friends are in town and you can have quality time with grandma. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

    Despite his efforts Sarah just didn’t feel up to spending time with the woman who thought she was a spawn of Satan. “She’ll just throw holy water at me again and call me names like demon or Lucifer” said Sarah. They left it at that. The grandmother always thought something was wrong with Sarah even before she was a miracle worker. Jane blamed not only the good things on her but the bad as well. Saying that it could have been prevented if Sarah had done something or if Sarah had done nothing at all. The family could care less about the old broad so life went on.

    Sarah would go to church, and everything would be ‘right as rain’ for the Williams. That is until her grandmother died. On Sarah’s 20th birthday her grandmother had succumb to a grate illness that not even the best doctors could pinpoint. Sarah had gone to church one evening and came home with a distant expression. Later that night her grandmother died, her last words were “...Sarah…why”.

    To make matters worse Sarah was to be courted two months from now. She hated the very idea of relinquishing her freedom to some rich man from two towns over. It had to be done though. Money was tight on the farm and they were about to lose everything. After the wedding a war broke out. All healthy and able men were called out to battle. Even her father and brothers. In a moment of desperation she went to church and prayed. The next day the cavalry had come to collect soldiers, and to their surprise the Williams were not called out. No, the only one who was requested was Sarah’s husband. Later he was found dead on enemy lines, and Sarah received his entire fortune. The worst was yet to come though.

Strange things started happening. Every night the house shook, but only when Sarah stayed there. The forest would make strange noises during the day, almost like an entire kingdom was whispering threats at the town. Worst of all were the scratches the family would wake up with every day. And every day it would only get worse.

    The entire town of Orkney went half mad and everyone was desperate for an answer. There was no one to blame though. No one even had a theory on the matter, no one except the Williams. Her parents, Diane and Brier always knew about Sarah, and how her powers never really came from God. To them there was only one explanation, the bell had come for Sarah. For every witch that their ever was, there was a bell, a consequence if you will. It was only a matter of time before all of Sarah’s wishing had finally caught up to her. They were hoping it would never come, and were far from prepared for what was to come.

    One sleepless night Sarah was torn from her bed, and tossed out the door by none other than her own parents. The only solution they saw before them was to have her leave. It broke their hearts, but they knew that all of this chaos was to do with her. Sarah understood and she left under the cover of night never to be seen again. The next few months went by without a hitch. Everyone was happy, and thought the whole thing was in their minds. No one knew what became of Sarah and her wonderful prayers. Some say she prayed to be rich and no lives on a far off island. Others say she died during the ugliness of the past year. Not even the Williams know what happened to that girl, but I know. Sarah Williams had made one last wish. She wanted all of evil to just go. So she went to church and prayed right before she left town.