Qabihah Says Each Of My Oleanders Has A Name

Dear Readers,

You may think of oleanders as just a bunch of plants, anonymous plants at that. You might imagine them to be like blades of grass that grow between the stones of the walkway as weeds. But no! Each of my precious plants has a name even though I own hundreds of them.

Athena is my favorite plant. It is also the oldest. She grows closest to my quarters inside the Cairo mansion where I reside. In fact when she blooms, her pink flowers brush against my windows. Athena is the most reliable plant. She always blooms earliest in the season. Her blooms fade after all the others. Her brew is also the most potent. I charge my clients the most hefty price to use her nectar in my magical brews. She never fails me, and she never fails my clients.

The Owl is the oleander growing right beside Athena. I think the name is suitable. Athena the Goddess of Wisdom, the Goddess of Athens, the one who helped the crafty Odysseus, is frequently pictured with an owl sitting on her shoulder. The Owl is her helper and her assistant. She adds her blooms to Athena's. Sometimes they are intertwined and hard to separate.

Together these plants and I rule Cairo and very nearly the whole Mediterranean world.

I will tell you about my other plants tomorrow and the next day and the next day after that.

Sincerely yours,

Qabihah, Witch of Cairo
P.S. You may read more about me in Dora, Lady Ware's, memoirs, Hitler's Daughter.