warned.
“I would expect nothing less from that boy,” Gram responded.
Chapter
Three
Gram led me down the hallway, passing the bedrooms, and into the
enclosed patio. She rummaged through a white cupboard, moving
bottles and bags until she found a small white box. She pulled out a
small crystal vial attached to a silver chain from the container. It was filled with
a purple liquid that shimmered with green, blue, yellow, and red sparks.
Something felt so familiar about this moment.
Holding the vial out to me by the chain, she said, “When you were young, Mara, you knew things about the magic that I had not known until I was much
older."
"Magic? I just had a good imagination," I interrupted.
She raised her eyebrows at me.
"Sorry, I'll listen," I apologized.
"By the time you were six years old, you were so comfortable with your gift
that I became worried. I had begun to suspect that your mother was using her magic for Cedric Drygen.'
My gift? Is Gram losing her mind? I wondered.
She put the vial into my palm, enclosing my finger around it. She held my hand tightly. "Please forgive me for taking away your memories and the magic
you held. I only did what I thought was best."
"What are you talking about?" I asked, staring at the vial in my hand. My grandmother has definitely lost her mind. “Magic isn’t real, Gram.”
"I needed to protect you. Please trust me. Drink this, and you will soon have
the answers you seek," Gram pleaded. Her brown eyes glistened with tears which she quickly blinked away.
Her desperation frightened me, but I had no choice – I trusted her. My
grandmother was the strongest person I knew. So, I took the top off the vial and
inhaled the sweet-smelling liquid. Without another thought, I drank it. The cold
fluid turned warm as it slid down my throat.
"It just tastes like blackberrsh…" The room began to spin. I reached out to my Gram, afraid of what was happening.
“You will be fine, love. Sit down and rest.” She led me to the wicker love seat, where I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.
The sound of a child humming roused me. Blinking to clear my vision, I found
myself in my parents’ bedroom. Glancing over, I saw a young girl, admiring herself in front of a mirror.
Smiling, she smoothed her lengthy black curls and adjusted the white ribbon
in her hair. She shifted the bow on the headband, ensuring it was in the perfect
position – off to the left. With her hair in shape, she seemed focused on the lacy
edges of her white socks. When they were folded perfectly, and her black shoes
were shiny, she spun around. The girl giggled as her lavender dress lifted and showed white ruffles.
Strong feelings overwhelmed me, and I wanted to twirl until the room
blurred into colors, and the light took ahold of me. That was when I realized I wasn’t watching a stranger. I was spying on a younger version of myself.
A creak sounded, and I whipped around to see the door open. I was faced
