Witchy's Songwriting Début Takes a Swing at "The Pinhead"!

Illustration by Witchy

Our little blue friend gets back at Vladimir the Vampire for dumping her when she needed him most

Yesterday morning, I was barely finished meditating when Witchy burst through the door of my cottage. 

“Liberty! Liberty!” she squealed excitedly as she twirled her way into the parlor and set down a shoulder bag on the floor. 

Unfolding my legs from under myself, I rose from my chair next to the fire. “Morning, Witchy! Gosh, you’re here early!”

“I know! I have been up all night! I could not wait to come and show you something!”

“Wow, that sounds exciting! Can you wait a few minutes? I got up right before meditating and I could do with a pot of tea. Come talk to me in the kitchen while I make it!”

Dutifully, my little blue friend followed me into the kitchen, bouncing from one foot to the other and barely able to contain herself while I filled the kettle and got the teapot out of the cupboard.

“What’s got you so wound up, Witchy?” I dropped a licorice tea bag into the pot.

“Well, you know how I have had a hard time not feeling hurt and angry about the way Vladimir the Pinhead Vampire treated me?”

“Yes. Yes, I really do.”

“I mean, the way he dumped me just because my spells went wonky and he was embarrassed to be seen with me … that was just mean!”

“It really was. I’m sorry he did that to you.”

“Thank you. I mean, especially after all I did for him for a couple hundred years. You would think he would have been nicer to me when I was having such a hard time!”

“It’s true, Witchy. He should have supported you and been kind. It was even worse because all your friends were laughing at you, too. Well, they weren’t really friends, now, were they?”

“No! They really weren’t!”

“So I’m a little confused. Given how much that whole experience hurt you and is the reason you left the Magical Blue Trees and ended up here, why are you so excited today? What’s Vladimir got to do with you being in such good spirits?”

“I think I am finally over the Pinhead!”

“Wow, Witchy! That’s great! Did something in particular happen? I mean, I know you’ve had some good days with that, but I’m also aware that you’ve still been struggling with letting go of how much he hurt you.”

“I know! I really have!”

“So what’s different?”

“You know how you have been teaching me how to play the piano?”

“Yes?” I admit. I was puzzled.

“I know I am not very good at it yet, but — ”

“You’re doing great, Witchy.”

“I hope you are right! I would love to be able to play all those fancy songs like you do!” 

“It takes time. I’ve been playing since I was 4 years old. You just started. Be gentle with yourself. The more you practice, the quicker you’ll improve. You just have to be patient.”

“I know,” Witchy sighed. “Well, even though I am just learning, I have noticed that sometimes when I am practicing, some of my feelings leak out.”

“Your feelings leak out?”

“Yes. I do not know how else to say it but I start thinking about things and then feelings leak out and when I stop practicing, I feel better!”

“That’s terrific, Witchy! Music has always been that way for me, too. Well, except when I did public performances or competitions when I was a kid. I was pretty shy and playing in front of hundreds of people was scary, but when I was by myself I could play for hours and it always made me feel better.”

“Oh, boy! You have that, too? I must be doing it right!” 

“As long as you’re doing it because you love it, that’s all that matters, Precious. It doesn’t have to be perfect; you just have to enjoy it.”

“Oh, I do! I really do!”

“That’s great! So … are you saying that playing the piano has helped you let go of your feelings about Vladimir?”

“Yes!”

“Well, now I understand why you’re so excited!”

“No. You really do not.”

Here we go again, I thought, wondering if I would ever get used to her convoluted story-telling. 

The kettle was boiling. I filled the teapot with water and covered it with my colourful tea cosy. I was happy to have my back to Witchy in that moment so I could take a slow deep breath, gathering my patience for whatever story she was about to try to relate.

“Okay. So I don’t understand why you’re so excited. Let’s sit down and you can tell me where I’ve gone wrong,” I offered, setting the teapot and two mugs on the table and pulling out a chair. 

“Wait!” she fairly shouted, holding up a palm toward me in a “stop” gesture. 

I paused, halfway between standing and sitting. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh. Sorry. Please sit down. I have to get something!” She disappeared into the parlour and returned moments later with the shoulder bag she’d brought along. 

“You’ve certainly piqued my curiosity!” I always did love a good surprise. 

“I have something to show you!” Witchy smiled so big, I thought her face might crack as she pulled her laptop from the bag and sat down. 

“Gosh, Witchy, you’ve been doing things on your laptop, too? You’re learning all kinds of things!”

“Well, Enchantra helped. I am still not very good at this computer stuff.”

“That’s one smart cauldron you have there!”

“I know! She did not even yell at me for keeping her up late last night because of this ‘something’ I want to show you! She even helped me get it set up to the right place so all you have to do is click on it!”

“I didn’t think she was ever in the habit of yelling.”

“She isn’t.”

“So … why would you expect her to yell at you for keeping her up late?”

“I didn’t. I was only saying she did not yell at me.”

I opened my mouth to speak again and thought better of it. Shaking my head slightly, I gave up trying to figure it out and refocused my attention on what Witchy was doing. 

Opening her laptop, she turned it toward me. I was staring at her YouTube channel. I’d helped her create it recently and she’s been busy making little stories for me to upload. 

Apparently, she’d been busy creating something else altogether, too. And it was a most surprising “something,” indeed.

“Look! Look at what I did!” she squealed. 

Pointing at the screen and giggling, my little friend was positively beaming as she continued to bounce. “I wrote a song! I wrote an actual song! And I put it on YouTube! Well, Enchantra mostly helped me with everything other than writing it, singing it and playing the piano — well, as much as I can play the piano when I do not know how to do it very well — but look! I have an actual song on actual YouTube!” 

I’m sure my eyes nearly popped out of my head. “Witchy! This is wonderful! Well done!” 

A closer look revealed the title and I fought hard not to burst into laughter. I knew this was a turning point for her; she was finally on the road to healing from her relationship with Vladimir. I wouldn’t want to offend my serious little friend. 

“I hope you still think it is wonderful when you hear it! I have never done anything like this before! Well, except for drawing the pictures. I have done lots of those before!”

“It’ll be perfect, Precious. Do you want me to watch the video now?”

“Yes! No! No, wait! Yes! Oh, Liberty! Now I am scared! What if you do not like my song?”

“I’ll love it, Witchy, because it came from your heart. Are you ready for me to listen?”

“Hm. Maybe. Could we have some tea while we watch?”

“Sure!” I removed the tea cosy and filled our mugs while Witchy dove under the table. 

“What are you doing down there?” I asked, bending sideways in my chair and peering at my sweet little friend. She was curled up in a little ball hugging her knees.

“Hiding.”

“Yes, I can see that. Except I know you’re there so you’re not really hiding.”

“I’m not?”

“No. Come on, Witchy. There’s no reason to be afraid. You were so excited for me to see this. Come out and let’s watch together, okay?”

Slowly, she crawled out from her “hiding spot” and sat down at the table kitty corner from me. 

And together, we celebrated this next step in her healing journey — and her big musical and creative accomplishment — by playing her original work, The Pinhead Song.

Video courtesy of YouTube@DearWitchy