From the book
The Beginning of the Story
Once, there was a little town sandwiched between a deep forest and gentle grassy hills. The town was built on an easy southward slope, its roofs the color of dark slices of toast all in a row. Clustered in the center of town, near the train station, were the town hall, the police station, the fire station, and the school. It was a normal town, one you could find anywhere.
But if you paid close attention, you’d find things you wouldn’t usually see.
For instance, silver bells hung from the tops of tall trees. Even when it wasn’t storming, these bells sometimes made a racket with their ringing. Then the townspeople would turn to each other and smile, saying, “Little Kiki must have gotten caught again.”
But how could someone so “little” ring the bells in the treetops? Well, if you looked to the east and peeked into Kiki’s home, you’d find the answer.
On a gate pillar facing the road hung a sign that read sneeze medicine, right next to a big green gate that sat wide open. Beyond the gate was a large garden, and a single-story house. The garden grew herbs in neat rows with broad leaves and pointy leaves—all different kinds—and a pungent scent filled the area. The smell continued into the house and was strongest around the copper pot in the kitchen. From there you’d have a perfect view of the front living room wall. Instead of paintings or family photographs as you’d expect, two brooms made of bundled branches hung there, a big one and a little one. And from the living room you could hear the family’s voices as they gathered for tea.
“Kiki, when are you planning to leave?” said a woman’s voice, full of disapproval. “I think it’s about time you let us know. You can’t keep putting it off like this.”
“That again?” A girl spoke now, somewhat annoyed. “Don’t worry, Mom. I’m your daughter, after all. I am a witch. I’m thinking about it.”
“How about leaving it up to Kiki, dear,” a calm man interjected. “Until she decides for herself, you can prod all you want, but it won’t make a difference.”
“Yes, you might be right.” The woman’s voice rose slightly. “I’m just anxious. I feel responsible, you know?”
In this house lived a family of witches. Well, Kokiri, the mother, came from a long line of witches, and Okino, the father, was human. As a folklorist, he studied legends and tales about spirits and magic. Kiki was their only child, soon to turn thirteen.
The three were talking over tea about Kiki’s coming-of-age day. When daughters of witches and humans reached the age of ten, they decided whether to follow tradition and live as witches themselves. If a girl picked this path, she promptly learned her mother’s magic and chose a full moon night of her thirteenth year as her coming-of-age day. For a young witch, this meant leaving her parents’ house and moving to live on her own in a town or village in need of magic. Of course, finding a witchless town on her own is a difficult thing for a little girl to do. But over the years, witches’ powers had grown weaker and their numbers had dropped. Such important tradition helped them survive, as well as share the existence of witches with as many towns, villages, and people as possible.
At age ten, Kiki had decided to become a witch and learn Kokiri’s magic right away. Kokiri had two magic abilities. The first was growing herbs to make...