Wicked Witch

Remember the Wicked Witch?

She was made of walls
At first they started inside
Around her heart
She thought they wanted to rip it out
But they were looking for warmth
The kind that builds on itself when an individual's internal incinerator
Is connected to another's
Like an energetic interlocking web of roots
Sharing what their limbs pull from the air
One of those one plus one equals three things
But she took no chances
She had no time for risky business
Too busy taking power to receive it

But then she thought, what of their breath?
To avoid a reaction to their respiration
She built a wall around her lungs,
Tightening her breath

They tried to show her love with food
But she was afraid to absorb their aura
So she turned her stomach upside-down and
Built and wall around it

To get to know her they asked about her interests
But she worried they would see weakness
To take advantage of
So she pulled her Adam's Apple to the bottom of her throat
And enclosed it inside walls

When they couldn't get her to talk to them
They told their own tales of temptations and thorns
So she clogged up her ears as if she was
On the highest mountaintop
And built a wall around them

In one final attempt they organized a walk
Through the most gorgeous gardens in town, and
Invited her
But she worried that time amongst the people
Walking with them
Might allow them to fear her less
So she built a wall
Around her
Entire body
So that no one could see her

With this, the group finally left her alone.

But Dorothy, who could see the goodness in her, told them to wait outside the door.

When they finally left, the Wicked Witch thought she would feel relieved. But with each wall she built she had caged herself further, restricting her own movement and causing tremendous tension. With everyone gone, the silence felt hollow and her body felt weak.

To try to relax, she laid down and serially sighed. She looked up at the ceiling suspiciously seeking out the source of the leak which had dripped on her face, but the ceiling was dry. Liquid was pouring from her eyes and melting the walls she put up. She scanned the room for the offending onion with no luck. She was able to breathe deeply again, but could only breathe in with jerky movements like a backfiring car while moaning like an oversized muffler. Uncontrollably, all but one of her walls quickly melted away. Her heart was still safe in its self-imposed casing.

Dorothy, who had heard the sobbing, went back in alone. She saw the Witch, no longer dressed in her scary costume, vulnerability and all. Upon seeing Dorothy, the Witch popped up, ready for battle. But before she could strike, Dorothy charged her, wrapped her in her arms and pressed her ear against the Witch. She could hear the Witch's heart slowing down.

The Witch raised her arm to strike, but felt something odd. It felt like sitting next to the fireplace, only it was radiating from inside of her. Her skin went soft along with her brow line. Dorothy's embrace had melted her last and final wall.

She felt more powerful than ever, capable of anything, fearing nothing.

But she saw a strange discoloration on her arm, creeping down her sleeve; and when she rolled it up she saw that her green skin was fading rapidly. It was flowing out from underneath her clothing and changing her. The strangeness of it caused her to push Dorothy away in shock.

But as her final stretch of green faded away, she realized it was the first time she could remember feeling at peace. As she wrapped Dorothy back into her heart she was a new person.

She was ready to receive the world.