Katie and the Forgetfulness Spell, dedicated to Sylvia Inbens.

Hello, this is Natasha, and I'm here with the latest Katie story, which is set around the time of New Year.

As it happens, it is also around the time of Sylvia's birthday birthday and her family are our latest supporters on Patreon.

Sylvia also suggested an idea for this story. So thank you Sylvia.

It was New Year's Eve and great Aunt Chloe had come to stay with Katie and her mum,

and Shumash was also there.

We haven't heard about him for a while, but he was still Katie's mum's best friend.

They enjoyed a traditional witch's dinner, nettle soup, roast trout garnished with sorrel leaves,

fried pumpkin wedges with lots of garlic and yogurt with sweet dates and honey.

Shumash cooked too. He made Indian dahl and spicy obegines to add a little warmth to the meal.

When they had finished eating, there were still three hours until the chimes of midnight and the new year.

And so they started to talk about their New Year's wishes.

Shumash wished that Katie and her mum would have everything they wanted in the coming year.

Katie's mum was hoping for a ring, but she just said that she would like a nice surprise in the summer.

Solomon the cat wished that business would pick up at the magic shop so that Katie's mum could afford to buy premium quality cat food.

Aunt Chloe said that at her advanced age, she would be happy just to enjoy good health

and to keep her balance on her broomstick.

Finally, it was Katie's turn to make a wish.

Katie knew exactly what she wanted, but she was afraid to say.

It was something she had been thinking about all year when things happened that made her feel like she was weird.

Like the time when her teacher Miss Vile accused her of using magic to pass her maths exam. And when she accidentally put a spell on the

Semolina pudding at school and made some people come out in purple spots. And when a bunch of kids

...