Emily was busy baking some vanilla cookies when there was a knock at her door. Surprisingly, it was an unknown woman with orange curly hair — a stranger. The woman looked young and sweet, holding a metal tray covered in aluminium foil, emitting a heavenly scent like spicy chicken wings.

“Greetings! I am Miss Zoey, your neighbour,” the woman introduced herself.

Emily replied, “Good to see you, I’m Emily.”

“I just wanted to connect with you since we are neighbours. Please take this, I made it from scratch, homely and crispy.”

Emily smiled back, thanking her for the kind gesture and welcomed her to the neighbourhood.

For a while, Emily discovered more about Miss Zoey, who seemed like a sweet lady with a compassionate attitude and a soft nature. However, Emily noticed a few eerie aspects of her camouflaged features. Miss Zoey rarely got out of her house, and when she did, she would be drenched in sweat, rushing out as if to catch her breath. What could she be doing inside?

Secondly, weird and eerie noises often came from Miss Zoey’s house, as if there was a whole other universe inside. Once, Emily heard a loud thud and bang of metals and irons from her house.

‘Did someone break something inside?’ Emily wondered and rushed to her neighbour’s gate.

Miss Zoey came out with a smile, saying, “Phew! That microwave really needed some maintenance.”

But Emily knew it was the sound of something more hazardous and heavier than a microwave. What could she be doing inside?

Thirdly, Emily would notice quick flashes of light from her room’s window when going to bed. Sometimes, it created fear in her heart. What if she was a witch creating potions? Most of the time, her garden stank of acids and rust, with huge fumes of toxicity escaping from the chimneys. Miss Zoey always wore black dresses, dark and evil. Her lips were thin and bloodless. It must be true. She must be a witch!

Emily decided to sneak inside as soon as she got an opportunity, to check out by herself what all the strange happenings were about.

She thought, “If it’s true, then I must report her to the police.”

One day, Emily got the perfect opportunity. It was when Miss Zoey decided to take a break from her so-called ‘cooking-hazard’.

She handed over her house keys to Emily and said, “I might stay the night at my sister’s house. Please keep the keys and feed my dog in the morning.”

Emily’s eyes sparkled as she thought she could now expose her true identity.

She respectfully took over the keys and replied, “You do not need to worry about the dog. Besides, it’s good to take a break. Enjoy your time with your sister.”

“I’ll see you soon. Goodbye,” saying this Miss Zoey left.

“Goodbye,” murmured Emily with wickedness. Miss Zoey stepped inside a taxi, and Emily watched the car drive away.

As the stars scattered on the sky, glistening the whole neighbourhood, and everyone in town began going to their beds, Emily sneaked out of her house, keys in her hands and tiptoed into Miss Zoey’s house.

She unlocked the door and took steady steps inside, cautious not to make any squeaky noises from the wooden floor. Her house was quite antique, mildly furnished with vintage-style furnishings. There was an armchair, a grandfather clock and old, yet spick and span shelves. She took peeks inside the kitchen first, only to realise that Miss Zoey had no microwave in her house!

‘Lies. A witch is bound to lie. Yes, she must be a witch,’ she thought.

She peeked in most of the rooms and found nothing unusual, just some bedrooms, attics and living room furniture, etc. Emily stood erect for a while, questioning her mind.

‘Maybe I was wrong,’ she thought.

Suddenly, she heard loud barks and shrieks coming from a distance. Her heart pounded twice faster and her palms got sweaty. It was Miss Zoey’s dog, perhaps he had smelled an intruder. Thus, out of fear and frustration, Emily tried seeking safety and found a few wooden stairs leading somewhere down and deep. She rushed downstairs immediately.

As she reached the end and entered a large spacious room, she started panting and breathing hard. She lifted her eyes, and what she saw left her jaw-dropped in amazement.

Emily stood at the bottom of the stairs, and before her was an advanced tech-research laboratory, a huge difference from the vintage charm of the house above. White walls and stainless-steel counters filled the space with many unrecognised gadgets and strange devices. Large monitors displayed complex data, casting a blue glow around the room.

In the centre was an imposing machine, humming with energy and its fumes escaped from the chimneys. Shelves were filled with various electronic components, wires and circuit boards, flickering lights and displays projected.

The scent of acid and wires intensified. Miss Zoey wasn’t a witch. She was a tech-engineer, a scientist!

As Emily examined a few of her amazing inventions, Miss Zoey entered the lab, she stared at Emily, her face a mixture of confusion and surprise.

Emily’s heart pounded and she deeply regretted her decision. She asked for forgiveness due to her misconception. Miss Zoey accepted and remained calm. But from that day onwards, Emily was filled with embarrassment and learned a lesson to not judge a book by its cover.

Published in Dawn, Young World, August 10th, 2024