by Julia Crane
“Sure, I’ll invite them over soon. We haven’t had much girl time lately. I’ve been spending all my time with Donald and Lauren has been with Josh.”
“Anna probably feels left out,” her mom said as she finally set the plate of food down in front of Keegan.
“Oh my god, Mom, this is amazing.” Keegan inhaled it.
“Keegan, don’t talk with your mouth full. It’s gross.” Emerald rolled her eyes , placed her cup of tea on the table and sat next to Keegan. The baby was still tossing Cheerios all over the floor. They both pretended not to notice. “How is Anna handling everything with her mom?”
“I don’t know. She hasn’t really talked about it.”
“Maybe I should call and check on Jennifer. I can never repay her for bringing you back to us.”
“I’m sure she’d like that.” Keegan got up and put her dishes in the sink. “I’m going to jump in the shower and get ready.”
“Well, have fun. I’m meeting Brigid and Katrina for lunch. I should be home before you get back. If not, make sure to text me when you get home.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Keegan took the stairs two at a time, excited to go back to the magical land. She really hoped she didn’t have any issues with her temper today.
After a swift shower and change of clothes, it was time to leave. The weather was starting to get cold so Keegan grabbed her pea coat before heading out the door with Thaddeus. “We have to pick up Donald on the way to get Sammy.”
“He hates when you call him that,” Thaddeus sighed, tugged his gray hooded sweatshirt over his head and they opened their car doors.
“I know.” Keegan laughed.
Keegan pulled up in front of Donald’s house a few moments later and he came out before she had time to text him to let him know she was there. Her face lit up when she saw the door open. She loved his lazy gait. He looked so cute in his Green Lantern t-shirt that was pulled snuggly across his chest. As he approached her side of the Jeep, she rolled down her window. He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss.
“You look even more beautiful than usual,” he said, with a grin. Keegan could feel the heat creep up her face.
“Gross! Just get in the Jeep,” Thaddeus said from the backseat.
Donald climbed in and shot an apologetic look over his shoulder. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were back there.”
“Whatever, let’s go get Sam.”
Once they picked up Sam they headed back to the same spot as before. The big wooden door had been replaced with what appeared to be a mirror just hanging in the air by itself.
“That’s pretty cool.” Sam said from the backseat. He was a tall, lanky kid with sandy blonde hair and pale green eyes. Keegan wondered if he and Thad had planned their clothes because they were both in plain gray hoodies and blue jeans.
“Come on, let’s get out there.” Keegan jumped out of the Jeep and rushed for the mirror.
No one else was around. Donald reached forward and touched the glass with his hand and his fingers when straight through. “Well, this is new. Calvron is always coming up with the oddest things. Let’s go through and see what awaits us on the other side.” He waggled his fingers in the air, making spooky noises.
Donald went first. Keegan made Thaddeus and Sam hold her hands so they could all go through at the same time.
Calvron had out done himself once again. Even Thaddeus was impressed.
It was as if they were walking on clouds and there was a huge ancient city suspended in the air. Golden temples and buildings stretched as far as they could see, the sun brightly shining. Every step they took it felt like they were going to fall through.
“Don’t worry, you’re safe. Calvron would never let anyone get hurt in his land,” Donald reassured Keegan as he noticed her hesitation.
With that Keegan took off in a run, her laugh echoing. Donald morphed swiftly into a tiger and chased after her, the two of them disappearing in the clouds.
Thaddeus and Sam looked at each other, shrugged and headed towards the main building. Thaddeus was hoping to run into Anna. They had to discuss some things, but for now, he might as well enjoy hanging out in this alternate world.
“Hey, look at your clothes.” Sam pointed at Thaddeus.
Thaddeus looked down. “Awesome.”
They were dressed in ancient gladiator wear.
“Come on, let’s go see what is inside!” he told Sam, beating on his armor.
He completely forgot about Anna.
Chapter 13
Anna walked through the door at home, exhausted after being out all day with Keegan and the rest of the crew. All she really wanted to do was grab a sandwich and trudged up to her room.
“Anna, guess what?” Her mother walked in from the kitchen. Anna groaned. She just wanted to be left alone.
“No idea, Mom.” She hung up her jacket and sunk into the couch. She knew she couldn’t run up to her room if her mother was in talkative mood.
“I’ve found Magdalena and you will not believe the luck. She lives only thirty minutes away.” Her eyes sparkled when she was happy. Her laugh lines were well-earned.
“You mean you found the light witch?” Anna clasped her hand over her mouth. She was no longer tired. “Did you talk to her? Does she know about me? Did she agree to see me? I wonder if she’ll like me.”
“Slow down sweetie. Yes, yes, yes, and yes. She wants to meet you right away, as soon as possible. I told her you could come over tomorrow around 10:00. I hope that is okay with you?”
“Is that okay with me? Ah, yeah! I’ve waited so long for someone to help me. I really hope she likes me. What am I going to wear? I can’t believe I just said that, I sounded like Keegan. Speaking of Keegan, I need to call her.” Anna hopped out of the couch.
“Not so fast. Remember you can’t get her hopes up. Do not say anything to her about trying to get the bond back. You promised me, Anna.” Her mother looked at her with pleading eyes.
“I won’t say anything. I just want to tell her that I have someone that can help me develop as a witch.” She walked away, already on the phone with Keegan. They talked for a few moments. Anna had to pull the phone away when Keegan squealed with excitement on the other end. Keegan said. "I'm just happy for you to have someone to help you with your gift. This is so exciting."
Anna made herself a ham and cheese sandwich with mayo and pickles. Grabbing a bag of chips, she sat on the stool and imagined how awesome tomorrow was going to be.
Her mind filled with images of meeting her first real light witch. What would she look like? Would she be able to tell she was a witch? She wanted to tell Xavier about it, but he was a human and unaware of her lineage. Probably not a good idea.
When she finally went to her room to try to get some sleep, she tossed and turned all night. She was too excited to sleep. She must have dozed off because the next thing she knew her mom was knocking on her door telling her it was 9:00. She only had thirty minutes to get ready!
Okay, calm down, she told herself. Just throw on some clothes. Anna tossed almost all of her clothes on the floor, nothing seemed right.
Just as she was about to scream into her pillow, her mother walked in the door and smiled.
“It’s okay, Anna. Breathe.” She glanced around the room and zeroed in on a pair of black skinny jeans. Picking them up, she handed them to Anna. “Here, wear this. And...” Perusing her daughter’s closet, she found a green flowing shirt and tossed it to her. “And that.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Anna gave her a grateful smile and clutched the clothes to her chest.
“Breakfast? You should probably eat something.”
“I’m too nervous to eat,” Anna replied, yanking the shirt over her tank top.
Narrowing her eyes, her mother said, “I’ll get you a granola bar and some OJ.”
Anna was so nervous she could hardly sit still on the drive. Her mom had plugged the address into the GPS so she wouldn’t get lost, so she was able to arrive promptly and with a minimal of e
ffort.
Anna pulled up to the house and put the car in Park, and stared. You have to be kidding me.
There was a mini-van parked in the driveway and a white picket fence, complete with flowers, surrounding a two story ranch home. It was not at all what Anna had expected. She thought it would be some cool hidden house off the beaten path, maybe bats in the attic and cobwebs on the front porch.
Not Suzie Homemaker in the suburbs.
One last look in the mirror and she jumped out and headed for the door with her stomach in knots.
She rang the doorbell.
A stereotypical soccer mom answered. The woman had short, wavy dull brown hair, and a plain face. Her nose was slightly too large, her lips were thin, and her eyes were too close together. She did have a beautiful smile that somehow smoothed over the flaws. She was even in soccer mom clothes: a matching pink velour jumpsuit.
“You must be Anna,” she said with a lovely smile. Please, come in.” She held the door open to allow Anna to pass through.
Anna knew she was staring at the light witch but she couldn’t help it. It was so far from what she’d thought that she couldn’t wrap her head around it.
Magdalena laughed as she closed the door behind Anna. “You look surprised. Not quite what you expected?”
“Umm, I’m not sure what I expected, but you’re right. I am a little surprised.”
“Were you expected something more along the lines of this?” Magdalena snapped her fingers and was replaced instantly by a beautiful woman with long dark hair, perfectly proportioned face, and a smile that could light up the room. She still looked similar to the woman that opened the door, just a beautiful version. She was wearing a long flowing black robe, with purple and gold cords hanging off her neck.
“Yes, I expected you to look exactly like that.” Anna’s cheeks flushed a deep red.
“It’s okay, Anna. I have just toned myself down to blend better with the humans. When I am home and the doors are locked this is how I look in my true form. Let’s go into the den.”
Anna followed her into the den, looking around the immaculate house still in awe by what had transpired.
Magdalena’s home was pretty normal. Her walls were painted in warm earth tones and her furniture was a mish-mash of well-worn antiques. Beautiful nature paintings adorned the walls, lit by the overabundance of natural light that came through the windows. It was pretty and serene. She still had a flat screen television in front of the couch and a laptop on a corner desk.
Magdalena gestured for Anna to sit at the large wooden table as they passed through a swinging door into the kitchen. “Would you like something to drink? I have iced tea and sodas.”
“Iced tea would be great.”
The light witch drifted to the refrigerator on silent feet, pulling out a pitcher of dark tea. She filled a glass and sat it before Anna with a plate of cookies.
“Anna, I would like you to show me what you can do with magic,” she finally said as she took a seat across from Anna and looked at her expectantly.
“Um, okay. I can’t do much. I haven’t been trained.” She opened her palms and smiled as the flames appeared. Surely that would impress Magdalena.
“What else can you do?”
“That’s it.” Anna shrugged.
Magdalena’s mouth pursed as she studied her. “What do you mean, that is it?”
“That’s all I can do.” Embarrassed, Anna looked away, taking a sip of her tea. It was some kind of fruity tea and it was delicious.
“How did you learn to conjure the fire?” Magdalena inquired, sitting forward with her elbows on the table.
“I’m not sure. I saw a witch on TV do it so I figured I’d give it a try. It took about a dozen times till I could finally get it to work.”
“What were you thinking when the flames came out?”
“Well, for a while I tried chanting fire fire come alive. That didn’t work. I tried screaming and jumping around but that didn’t work either. Eventually, I gave up and sat on my bed to read. I figured I’d give it one more go, so I closed my eyes, took some deep breaths and relaxed my mind. I visualized the fire and there it was. It was quite amazing if I do say so myself.”
“Anna, you have so much to learn,” Magdalena sighed, rubbing her forehead. “I wish I had met you years ago.”
“You’re not the only one.” Anna mumbled under her breath.
The light witch stood abruptly and held up a finger before walking out of the room. Anna drank the rest of her tea while she waited, gazing around the kitchen. What little wall space that wasn’t covered by white cabinets was pale purple. A small window over the sink looked out over rolling hills and a pair of glass double doors opened out into a small backyard.
When Magdalena returned a moment later, she had a satchel in one hand. Pulling out a notebook and pen, she opened both and said, “I’m going to give you some exercises, but first I want to know something. Is there anything in particular you would like to learn or study?”
“Actually, there is,” Anna said, rotating her empty glass absently on the table. “I’m not sure if my mom told you that she brought my friend back to life by using black magic?”
“Yes, she mentioned that when we spoke.” Magdalena’s face was empty of emotion.
“Well, my friend, Keegan, is an elf. I was kinda hoping you could teach me how to get back the bond she had with her chosen. The black magic seems to have broken it.”
“I see.” Magdalena nodded and made a note in her notebook before looking up at Anna. “I am going to tell you right now. I will not help you get your friend’s bond back. I will teach you the way of the witch, if you are willing to follow my instructions and really want to learn.”
Anna tried to compose herself though the anger filled her. “Why won’t you teach me about the bond?”
“Because, that is not the right reason to learn the way of the witch, especially the way of the light witch.” Magdalena put her palms flat on the table. “I don’t teach or practice dark magic, and any kind of spell dealing with dark magic is far out of your grasp right now, anyway. You will start from the beginning. The first thing you need to understand about magic is there are certain rules you must follow. One of those is that you mustn’t interfere with the free will of others. Sometimes you just need to let life take its course.”
“Fine.” Anna answered shortly, peeved at the change in plans but determined to see her training through. She couldn’t understand why everyone was making such a big deal about it. Was it so horrible that she wanted to help her friend? “So I guess you won’t tell me how I can win over Xavier, my best friend I’ve been crushing on forever?”
“Anna, you need to take this serious.”
“I was just kidding,” Anna sighed. “What do you want me to do first?”
“The most important part of your training,” Magdalena told her, gesturing for Anna to follow her to the living room. “We’ll be keeping a Book of Shadows.”
“I get my own Book of Shadows? Like on Charmed? Cool!”
“This isn’t a game, Anna, or a television show. A Book of Shadows is like a witch’s diary.” She gestured at a small bookcase near her computer desk. It was full of small journals, some of them with cracked and broken bindings while some looked shiny and new. “In it, you record your thoughts, feelings, poetry, successes and failures in spellwork, and anything else for which you need it. Consider it a journal of your magic.”
“Are these all yours?”
Magdalena nodded. “All of them except this corner of the top shelf. These are blank. I want you to pick one that speaks to you.”
“To keep?” Anna looked up at her, puzzled.
She laughed. “Yes, to keep. You must start using it right away.”
Anna stepped forward, kneeling to run her fingers across the spines of the empty notebooks. She slid a few out to see their covers. “They’re so plain.”
“The inside is what matters, Anna. You’ll find that to hold tru
e across all aspects of life.” Magdalena gave her a beautiful smile, the kind that reached and crinkled her eyes. “A simple Book of Shadows isn’t ostentatious. A witch should never draw attention to herself.”
There was one book, a thick black leather-bound to which she kept returning. It seemed to hum beneath her fingertips. She pulled it from between the other books, held it in both her hands and smiled.
“This one. Though, I really expected it to look different.”
Magdalena shook her head, amused. “Oh, Anna. You have so far to go. Let’s talk about what you need to do first, okay? Bring your journal.”
They headed back to the kitchen table, where Magdalena handed her a pen. “I have two things for you to do over the next week, and you have to promise to remember to do them.”
Anna nodded, opened her journal and put the day’s date in big block letters at the top of the first page.
“Every day for the next 7 days, I want you to experience the sunrise and sunset.”
“Um, what?”
“In the morning, you are to get up before sunrise and find a spot outside where you can easily see the sun crest over the horizon. Stay until it is fully risen, marking down in your Book of Shadows every sensation and every thought you have while you observe. Consider all five of your senses and write down every thought, no matter how mundane.”
“Okay.” Anna drew out the word, confused, but made a note in her journal.
“Then, you will do the same each evening with the sunset. Seven sunrises and seven sunsets. I expect you to have many pages of notes to go over with me when we meet a week from today. You can begin with the sunset tonight.”
“That’s it?”
“That is it, for now. Believe me, Anna, your journey has only just begun.”
Chapter 14
Keegan came down the stairs in her pajamas and yawned. Her mom was typing away on the computer at the kitchen table, her ever present mug of tea at her elbow. Her mother glanced up and gave her a brief smile. “We’re going to Italy next week.”