“Good morning, Mom!” I beam. She looks at me with disbelief in her eyes.
“Good morning, sweetie,” she says cautiously. My good mood must be the calm before the storm judging by the sour face I had been wearing for the past few days. I give her a reassuring smile.
“Looks like a beautiful day,” I note. For some reason, my mood is always enhanced when the sun is shining. It had been rainy and gloomy all week, and I had the disposition to match.
“Yes it does,” she remarks, setting my glass in front of me. I get up to grab some cereal and milk and join her for breakfast.
“So, I read some more of my mother’s, I mean Natalia’s, journal last night,” I say, taking a spoonful of Frosted Flakes into my mouth.
“Oh?” she asks, with a raised eyebrow. She takes a sip from her mug of tea.
“Yeah. It was about different things. Mainly my ascension.” Donna nods but doesn’t respond so I continue. “Is it really true that I was made to be unremarkable on purpose?”
Donna puts her cup down gently on the breakfast table and gazes at me lovingly. “Sweetheart, you are anything but unremarkable. You’re a wonderful young lady.”
“But you know what I mean,” I say, a bit exasperated. Sometimes I just want to say ‘Cut the crap and tell me the truth!’ but that would be rude. Seriously though, I really wish she’d quit trying to dance around the truth. It’s making me dizzy. “Was I spelled so it’d be easier for me to blend in?”
“Yes. It had to be done. If your true self was revealed, the Dark would have come for you a long time ago.” She resumes picking at her oatmeal, which looks extremely unappetizing to me.
“And there are other things? To keep me safe?”
“Yes. The smoothies, of course.” She points to the glass and I take a large gulp in response. “There are wards around the house also. No one that wishes to harm you can get through.” Humph, that’s pretty smart. But what about when I leave the house? “You have a protection spell around you as well,” my mom says, answering my unspoken question. “Unfortunately, it’s superficial but it’s served you well thus far.”
I don’t have the heart to tell her about my ghostly assailant that night in the parking lot. I don’t want to worry her and it hasn’t happened since. Could I have been seeing things?
“Before I ascend, I have to choose. How?” I ask. Do I have to sign some paperwork or pledge my allegiance in blood? It all seems very sketchy.
“You just choose. In your heart. You have to be completely decisive though. You can’t waver.”
Hmmm, but how will… whoever know? I think Natalia called it the Divine Power. I get a shiver up my spine.
“She wants me to choose the Light.” I look down at my empty bowl. “Natalia,” I clarify.
“Yes. It’s the logical choice,” my mom says. “She thought you could bring the Light and Dark together. Though she despised the Dark. After what they did to your father.”
“Why bring them together? If she hates them so much?” I just don’t understand why she’d want any dealings with the murderous Dark Ones.
“To bring peace. The Light did not have the influence and resources that the Dark had. The Dark have status, wealth. You on the side of the Light would even the playing field, so to speak.” Donna can’t hide her annoyance at the thought.
“You don’t agree,” I remark.
My mom thinks about her answer carefully before shaking her head. “I don’t. The Dark will never succumb to the Light. They are extremely powerful. It will only bring more violence. Violence I don’t want you a part of.”
Donna wants to protect me, like a real mother does. Her love for me is genuine. Natalia may have loved me but she didn’t know me. She had no time invested in my future, though that wasn’t entirely her fault. As much as it pains me to admit, she had her own agenda.
“Will it hurt?” I whisper. It’s a trivial question and I am almost embarrassed at my concern. I’ve got a pretty high threshold for pain, but all things supernatural, quite frankly, scares the shit out of me.
Donna smiles her warm, loving smile. “I don’t think so, honey. It might be a bit of a jolt, but from what I’ve heard, it doesn’t hurt.” Whew, thank God for that! Or is it the Divine Power? Or are they the same? God is the only divine power I’ve ever known of.
I put my bowl and spoon in the sink and give my mom a quick peck on the cheek before heading back to my room. She is genuinely worried for me and I hate to see her troubled. At least she knows I am handling this as well as can be expected. That’s one less worry.