The Summer Solstice ~ Enchanted (14 page)

On other occasions, I ask her more traditional
questions that lead to longer discussions than I would wish. I try to avoid
these.

“Are we supposed to chant? And what about spells?
Do I have to start learning any new languages?” I make a face. “Latin seems as
if it would be difficult to master.”

After the initial annoyance of my last comment,
Rose educates me. “There are no magic potions or cauldrons. We do not cast
spells or speak Latin. We simply speak to our gods and call upon our nature
with our minds. You asked me about Wicca before, and now I can fully answer you
on that subject. Wiccans believe in many of the same things that we do. We both
celebrate the gods. The one main difference between Wiccans and Enchanters, are
that Wiccans practice magic while we simply are magic. You see – Wiccan’s
call upon the gods to do as they request. Our ancestors have given us the power
to use as our free will. We still celebrate where we came from, but our powers
are ours alone.”

“So, why aren’t we considered witches again?” The
terms are all so confusing. It seems to me that with the powers we hold, we are
exactly witches.

“In a way, we are. We are magical beings who
possess power and speak to the supernatural world. But over time, the term
“witch” has come to mean something much more negative than how it originated.
However, there is a reason for that. In our history, there are various forms of
witches. I guess you could say that we are a version of a witch. We are called
Enchanters. You’ll learn that the law book isn’t followed the way it should be.
There are few that choose to abuse the powers we’ve been given and ignore the
handbook. I guess you could call these types of Enchanters, witches.

“So Wiccans gave us a bad rap.”

Rose thinks about this and nods. “Yes, exactly that.”

I skim over the last 200 pages or so before dinner,
not wanting to spend another second reading. My new eyes are blurring from the
constant overuse of them. Yawning, I close the book, effortlessly.

It still amazes me to have this new strength. One
week ago I would have grunted and sweat it out in order to close this cement
block of a book. Today it’s effortless.

As I move up the old staircase to the main floor of
the house, I check out my arm muscles, flexing as I walk. They don’t look any
bigger to me. More defined, maybe. That was the other thing that I’d noticed.
There’s definitely been a change in my appearance since my birthday. Just like
in my visions and dreams, my muscles are perfectly toned, my body fat gone,
eyes a brighter shade of silver, and my hair now thick, shiny and long,
reaching down just past my shoulder blades.

“Katrina can you please set the table for
Charlotte? She ran out to get the pizza so she should be back any minute.”

Now that I am aware of what I am and why Charlotte
has really come to stay, Rose has treated us both very differently. Charlotte
is no longer the caretaker in the house. She is more like a roommate who does
most of the chores. But now that I see how she does the chores, I am not sorry
for her workload.

During one of our lessons on gravity manipulation,
Charlotte told me she was going to let me in on a secret of hers. Why she
wanted to begin doing chores in that moment was perplexing – until I
watched her use her powers. First she called for the mop; it flew to her hand
instantly. Then she called for water and soap in a bucket; the water bucket
that was sitting in the corner of the room slid across the floor. She commanded
the mop and cleaning water to mop every inch of the floor. But the little
feather stick dancing around the house was what had my stomach heaving over
with unstoppable laughter. Charlotte mopped, vacuumed, and dusted the entire
great room without lifting a finger. She gave me a wink and said, “Imagine my
torture when you couldn’t know what I was. I actually had to do this stuff
around you.”

Life became fun again. For the first time since my
mom passed away I felt as if life could be normal – scratch that, normal
may not be the best word to use. But the magic lessons distract me from the
pain when I need it to.

Rose and Charlotte understand the times when I need
to be alone. I pay my respects to my mom every night before bed. Outside my
balcony window I make it a nightly routine to pick a different star –
because I image her hopping from star-to-star like a dancing fairy – and
pray to her. I tell her that I miss her and love her.

As much as I would have loved to make the dishes
bounce around the table like Beauty and the Beast, I wouldn’t dare. Rose has
strict rules as to when I’m allowed to use my powers. I haven’t yet used them
outside of supervised practice – which she knows of anyway. I take a peek
over my shoulder and when I see that the coast is clear, I float the last dish
over to the table and set it down gently.
I’m getting good at this
, I
think calmly but I can feel the bubbles of excitement simmering within me.

When I practice on my own, it’s usually after
everyone has gone to bed and I’m alone in my room. If Rose ever found out I was
practicing on my own, she would be furious. Never did I try something so
extreme, but agility and endurance were two powers I couldn’t wait to attempt.
And they were fun. At first, I’d practice jumping down from short distances.
But gradually I became braver and eventually I was jumping off my balcony and
running long distance along the beachfront late into the night.

“Practicing patience is important,” Rose tells me.
But sometimes the energy inside me is as if it’s building up and just wants to
explode, which is exactly why the runs at night are great for me.

I’d wait until Alec’s run was over. I’m forbidden
to see him again until I’m in full control of my powers. I understand,
although, I miss him. He’s called a few times but I’m starting to run out of
excuses as to why I can’t see him.

“Pizza delivery!” Charlotte’s musical voice enters
through the front doors. I can smell the greasy goodness immediately. My mouth
waters.

“Thank you, dear,” Rose smiles gratefully as she
enters the dining room behind Charlotte. “I had a craving, what can I say?”

I chuckle at this. It’s a great experience to watch
my grandmother letting her hair down. She used to be so uptight – I
realize now that she just didn’t know how to act around me, since I wasn’t part
of the secret yet. But for the community Rose had to uphold a certain
appearance to be what the people of Apollo Beach need her to be. Every now and
then, when she brings it home with her, she goes back to being her ridged old
self.

Tonight
is a good night.

“Yes, thank you Charlotte. I can’t remember the
last time I had pizza.”

We are all sitting down for dinner now. I reach for
the first box, excited to start shoveling pizza into my mouth. “Wait.”
Charlotte stops me. She looks to Rose. “Should we show Katrina how we eat
pizza?”

Rose smirks. “No need to get our hands dirty.” She
nods. “I think she’s ready for a small lesson.”

My eyes grow wide and my heart races fast at the
thought of getting to practice my magic.

“Now Kat, pay close attention. This is how
Enchanters eat a pizza.” Charlotte, clearly showing off, places her hands
behind her back, grinning with each move. “First, we open the box.” The lid of
the first pizza box flips open, revealing a meat lovers pizza.

“Goodness dear, did you have to buy all of the dead
animals?” Rose looks disgusted at the box Charlotte has purchased. Rose is a
vegetarian.

Charlotte shrugs, winking at me. “Kat likes meat.
And quite honestly, so do I.” She looks at me, gaining my attention again. “You
try. Open the second box.”

I concentrate. Luckily, levitation is something
I’ve practiced at night in my room. But as I concentrate on lifting the lid off
of the box, the entire box jumps up, lid in tact. I frown. “What did I do
wrong?”

“It’s a balance thing. You have to concentrate on
it as if you were actually using your hands.” The hint Rose gives me helps
tremendously. My second attempt at opening the pizza is successful.

“Try this, Kat.” Charlotte lifts up a pizza now and
opens her mouth just as it’s about to hit her in the lips. She takes a big bite
of it and the pizza drops onto the plate in front of her.

I lift my pizza successfully but it hits my chin
before I can get it aimed into my mouth. Aiming is hard. I do as Rose said
earlier and focus more on how I’d use my hands to eat the pizza and once again
I am successful.

“Well. That was
lesson one. And I’d say it was a success.” Rose stands up and grins at Charlotte.
“Now onto lesson two.”

For lesson two, Rose drags Charlotte and me to the
pool deck. The night sky is shielded with slow-moving clouds, threatening the
release of rain for the first time since my move to Apollo Beach. We make our
way around the giraffe-tiled deck, to the balcony that faces our private
beachfront. I look from left to right to the proud faces of Rose and Charlotte
as they smile out into the Bay breeze. It’s contagious. I’m smiling now too.

Rose places her hand in mine and I’m shocked by the
touch. Rose and I don’t touch like this. Her hand feels long and smooth, but
her grip is tight. I can sense our powers connect, from the palms of my hands
to my inner core. Solstice-to-Solstice. Energy surges through me and I grow
stronger and stronger as the milliseconds pass. The tingling sensation at the
tips of my fingers and toes go away but the energy in me continues to run the
course of my veins like an electric current. My mind and body are ignited.

As our energy unites, I’m aware of the drastic
change in the sky. The dark looming clouds pick up pace and part as thunder
strikes, and rain showers down upon us. My first instinct is to run. But Rose’s
grip on my hand is devouring it like a hungry lion. Her smile grows into
jubilant laughter as the rain soaks us through our clothes.
Is she doing
this?
My hair thrashes around me in response to the wind but I don’t care.
Our energy is impenetrable. I can’t help but wonder if I’m able to release such
a power at my young Solstice age.

“Take Charlotte’s hand.” Rose is shouting over the
wind.

I look to Charlotte who has her hand extended to me
but her eyes are shut and she looks as if she’s experienced something profound.
Her chin is raised to the sky as she soaks in the night’s energy. I take her
hand and face forward, anxious to know what Rose is going to do next. I’ve
never seen her so carefree and spontaneous.

“Our earth’s elements are what energizes us and
stimulates our power. We have power without it. But with it, we are that much
stronger, and that much more in control.” Rose is shouting this to me, her
voice fighting with the wind.

“Are you doing this?” I shout back. Part of me is
nervous. The wind is strong enough to carry us away at this point. But we are
rooted in our spots.

Rose chuckles. “
We
are doing this, Katrina.
Together, our power is stronger. It’s time that you saw what we can really do.”
She pauses for a second. “Shhhhhhhh.” Her loud hush is heard by the wind.

In that moment, all grows quiet. I look to the sky.
The clouds have vanished. I look out at the calm Bay waters. Then the moon
begins to glow, as if someone is playing with the brightness control.

Amazing.

“What was that?” I ask, still searching for a hint
of the magic I just experienced.

“Environmental manipulation.” These words come from
Charlotte. They are the first words she’s spoken since we’ve been out here. I’d
almost forgotten she was here. I take in the fancy words.
Environmental
manipulation
. “As Solstice, we have the power to control all elements in
the environment.”

The thought is confusing. “But what’s the point of
that? What good are we doing?” I think back to all of the lectures that
Charlotte and Rose have given me, about the use of our powers and how careful
we need to be when using them. “Couldn’t that kind of power hurt someone?”

Rose has a somber look on her face as she answers
this. “Yes. But that is the exact reason we need to learn to control it.”

I don’t completely understand this and I know
better than to ask Rose more. If she wanted to tell me more, she would. This
again, is something I know I’m to figure out on my own.

“I want to show you one more thing.” Rose let’s go
of my hand and steps sideways just slightly. “Energy sourcing is how we
reenergize. Just us being out here, and taking in all that the earth has to
offer, is filling our needs as Enchanters. But it’s more than that.” She looks
to Charlotte now. “Show her, dear.”

Charlotte nods and faces front. She closes her
eyes, fists bolted tight and she takes a slow, deep breath. When she exhales, a
fog is released from her mouth. It circles around in front of her, but never
vanishes. Charlotte opens her eyes and holds her palm up, careful not to touch
the eerie vapor-substance. She blows on it softly and I watch, as it becomes
sprinkles of glitter-like particles that release into the air. And then it’s
gone.

“That’s our power made up of the earth’s elements.
And what we take from the earth, we give back. It’s a cycle of life that keeps
us powerful and healthy. When you get to my old age, it’s difficult to keep up,
but it’s really up to you how long you choose to recycle.”