Inn of the Purple Door – a Crimson Creative Challenge

For Crimsons Creative Challenge

Inn of the Purple Door

The bottles were lined up in a row. The window faced the full moon and each bottle touched some bit of the metal grid. All was in readiness. Shara entered her circle of salt, lit the candles and settled herself to the ground. She began mixing herbs with her mortar and pestle and chanting her spell.

“Earthly spirits you may not stay
I release you, be on your way
Evil deed come to this place no more
guarded by the purple door
Spirits who choose to hang around
to these bottles shall be bound
til I release thee for some time
yet ye shall return for thou art mine.”

With that, Shara picked up pinches of herbs from her bowl and threw them onto the candle flames. The candles flared with brilliant blue incandescence and Shara saw the spirits appear. Wafting through the air in their ghostly style. She watched as more and more spirits left the house. She hadn’t realized she had accumulated to many. The procession continued as ghost after ghost drifted away on the night air.

Shara really hoped they wouldn’t cause too much mischief. Most were only minor spirits, not enough strength to do much more than jostle a tea cup. Still she couldn’t have them floating about the place any more. Her inheritance had run dry, she had no worldly skills, and there wasn’t much call for a certified broom riding witch. She was turning her old home into a Bed and Breakfast. Still she was glad to see that her favorites were staying. She would set them loose whenever she could be fairly certain their presence would go unnoticed, after all she wasn’t a wicked witch. But now, to put a blessing on the purple door that stood as the guardian and entrance to the inn. Yes, that was it, the “Inn of the Purple Door” a grand sounding name.

Shara was as good as her word to the spirits. Nowadays if you want to stay at the Inn of the Purple Door during any full moon, you must book your reservations a year in advance. For those are the days when Shara releases her spirits and throws a tea party with them. Guests watch her sit and chat with the ghosts, thinking it’s an elaborate hoax, but it’s fun. Then on Halloween, she throws open the purple gate that guards the Inn and invites all the local spirits to a grand ball. Humans are included and they marvel at her technological capabilities to create such ethereal images.

Shara smiles, takes their money and winks to her ghostly friends.

word count 455

Til next time ~Peace ~JPP