Of course, Witches existed. I often saw them sit there, all smug and proud, while everyone supplied them with food and clothes. When there's a problem they get called. Wether it's something wrong with the fields, or a cow having colics and needing relief.

I never really liked them. They thought they were better than others, like they were so much smarter. I've seen what they do. Mix together some herbs and trick people into thinking they're better. Any midwife or apocethary can do that.

When they came into the village, out of their huts in the forest, I was probably the only girl not looking forward to it. They did it every year. I don't know how they did it. Maybe randomly. They selected a few girls who'd become witches.

Obviously I didn't want to be a witch. I was 13. I wanted to get out of the village and sing. Or dance and marry a singer.

Maybe that's why one of them, the tall, thin one pointed at me, with her awful spindly little finger, and grinned at me with her missing teeth.

"This one."