Love and Magic

April 16, 1986

It was abnormally dark on the night Allis Cleary came into this world. The full moon could not be seen through the storm clouds that formed overhead. Even before the clouds appeared, Elisa Cleary sensed the storm that would ravage the small town of Salmon, CA where she lived. Elisa’s labor cries could be heard outside the hospital room and even two rooms over. She refused anything for the pain, even when it was almost too much to bear. Elisa wanted her baby girl brought into this world as naturally as possible. After 13 hours of excruciating pain, she finally heard her daughter’s voice cry out through the room.

“Wow, she’s got a great set of lungs,” one of the delivery nurses chuckled.

“Can I have her now?” Elisa strained her neck, trying to see her daughter as she asked.

“Let us get her cleaned up a little, then we’ll bring her to you, sweetie. Just take a break and relax a minute.” The nurse told her.

The doctor looked a little worried as he helped Elisa lay back on the delivery bed. Elisa laid back and felt a sense of contentment knowing her daughter was safe and healthy. She closed her eyes, meaning to rest for just a few minutes, but Elisa would never open her eyes again. The doctor said that the pain and blood loss had been too much for Elisa to cope with and she died bringing her daughter into this world…

April 16, 2002

Allis awoke from the same dream she had each year on her birthday. The dream took her to a room with people dressed in white. She could hear a woman screaming and then a baby crying. She heard the woman whisper, “I love you Allis.” Then the dream would end, and she would wake up in her own bed. She knew from the first time she had this dream that it was her mother’s voice she heard and the room was the delivery room where she was born. She just did not know why she kept having the same dream and why it had always felt so real. Allis lived with her adopted mother, Amanda Edwards. Her biological mother had died giving birth to her and her adopted father died when she was only a year old. Sometimes, she thought somehow that all of the death was her fault. On the nights after this particular dream, these thoughts were always worse. Amanda loved Allis and was never cruel to her. She of course did not blame her husband’s death on Allis. Her late husband, Jake had died of complications during an onset of pneumonia, that was not anyone’s fault. The reality was that Amanda was grateful for Allis. She gave her something to focus on, rather than falling into depression after losing her best friend and her husband that close together. Amanda had known Allis’s biological mother, Elisa. The two of them had met in college and became best friends. When Elisa found out she was pregnant, she asked Amanda to be Allis’s Godmother, right away. Amanda instantly agreed, but even then, she felt Elisa knew something was going to happen, because Elisa had given Amanda specific instructions in the event of her death. She even had paperwork drawn up to give Amanda and Jake custody of Allis if she should pass away. Elisa always knew when something was going to happen or when the weather was going to take a turn for the worse. It seemed, looking back now, that Elisa knew a lot of things before anyone should have known them.

So, When Elisa passed giving birth to Allis, Amanda was heartbroken, but she and Jake had promised to take care of Allis if anything happened to Elisa. As soon as the hospital could, they released Allis into Amanda’s and Jake’s custody. Amanda and Jake agreed to keep Allis’s last name Cleary, in memory of her mother.

“Rise and shine, Beautiful!” Amanda called as she came into Allis’s bedroom. “Oh good, you’re already awake. I have a surprise for you, before I drop you off at school.”

Allis sighed, “You know I hate it when you make a big deal out of my birthday.”

“Yeah I know, but today is special, today you’re sixteen!”

“What’s so special about that?”

“You’ll see.” Amanda said with a smirk. “I expect you downstairs in ten minutes.”

Allis knew there was no sense in arguing so she got out of bed and got ready.

“Ok so what’s this big surprise?” Allis asked as she and Amanda began backing out of the driveway.

Amanda stopped and looked at Allis as she said, “It’s actually from your mother.”

“What do you mean?” Allis asked, confused. “How could it be from my mom? She died when I was born, she couldn’t have left anything for me.”

Amanda had not talked about Elisa’s uncanny ability to predict future events to Allis. She didn’t know how Allis would react, and she didn’t want Allis’s view of her mother to be obscured. Now, however, she didn’t really have a choice, Allis deserved to know the truth.

Amanda took a deep breath, “Well I’m not sure how or why, but your mom used to know when something was going to happen before it was even remotely possible for anyone to know. So I guess I didn’t find it all that strange when Jake and I collected her possessions, and found a trunk with instructions to give it and its contents to you on your sixteenth birthday.”

Allis, more confused than ever asked, “So you’re saying my mom was psychic?”

“I think your mom just had a really strong connection to her intuition. The instructions she left said no one was to open the trunk but you, and was very adamant about it being on your sixteenth birthday. I have kept all of your mom’s stuff in a storage building downtown.”

Curiosity and fear played across Allis’s face as she and Amanda pulled up in front of the storage buildings. Amanda pulled out a little gold key and handed it to Allis.

“Here you go, Honey, it’s number seven right down the middle there.” Amanda said as she pointed. “Take your time, and don’t worry about school, everyone’s entitled to play hooky on their birthday. I’m going to go grab a cappuccino. Just call me when you’re done and ready to be picked up. I love you.”

“I love you too, and thank you for this. It’s really a great present. Maybe I’ll finally get some answers to the questions I’ve always had about my mother.” Allis hugged Amanda, then she got out of the car and made her way to the center strip of storage buildings. It was cooler than usual for the middle of April. Allis wished she had thought to grab a jacket. The only sound was the gravel crunching beneath her feet as she made her way to the storage unit. As she reached number seven, Allis took a deep breath.

“Maybe now I’ll understand why I have that dream, and why I’ve always felt so different.” Allis said to herself.

She turned the key, removed the lock, and pulled the door open. Allis looked around at the stuff that once belonged to her mother. Everything was dusty, and inside the unit it was kind of dark. Allis looked for a light switch, and was relieved to see one just to her right. She flipped the switch and two fluorescent lights came on overhead. Allis stepped further inside and pulled the door shut behind her to block out some of the cool morning air. With the door shut she could smell the faint scent of lavender and sage.

She looked around among the furniture, pictures, and boxes until she finally found the trunk Amanda had told her about, she carefully made her way to it. The trunk was actually an old cedar chest. It was probably built to hold extra linen and bedding. Allis had no idea what she would find inside, but was anxious and nervous to find out. Her hands were shaking as she opened the lid. The first thing she saw was a photo of a woman who was at least eight months pregnant.

“This was my mom.”

Allis had never given much thought as to whether she looked like her mother or not. She had seen pictures of her mom before of course, but she just never really thought about any resemblance there might have been. She could see now that she had the same wavy auburn hair, fair skin, green eyes, and freckles that her mother had. The next thing Allis noticed inside the trunk was an envelope with her name on it. It was written in the most beautiful handwriting she had ever seen. With trembling hands, Allis picked up the envelope and opened it. Inside was a letter…

My Dearest Allis,

Hello my darling daughter. I hope you have had a good life thus far. I know Amanda and Jake will have taken good care of you and given you all the love in their hearts. I wish I could be with you. I’m sure that you must have a lot of questions about me and your father. Your father’s name is Travis Mitchell, but he and I have not spoken since I found out I was pregnant with you. When I told him I was pregnant, I had to tell him something else. Which is what I’m about to tell you… I am a witch. You are a witch as well. You probably don’t believe in witches or magic, but I swear it’s true. I’m sure by now you have noticed that you are a bit different from your friends and classmates. Maybe you have been able to predict what’s going to happen, or maybe you can tell whether someone is good or bad. You may be able to move things without touching them, or make things happen with just a thought. I don’t know what powers you have been given, but I know there is power within you. I am what is called an Intuitive. I get very strong feelings and visions of the future; I can also speak with the spirits. The women in our family have always possessed magic of some kind. We have passed this magic down through the bloodline for generations. I am giving you all of the items and information I have collected and used with my gift. When, and if, you decide to accept who and what you are; there is someone who will help you. My mother, your grandmother lives in Sligo, GA. Her name is Vida Marie Cleary. I know she will love you and be a wonderful grandmother. She will teach you everything you need to know about how to use your abilities or to just control them if that is your wish. Even if you decide not to accept your gift, your grandmother will want to see you and be a part of your life. I’m sorry for not telling you about her sooner, but I wanted you to have a normal life for as long as possible. Please know that I am always watching over you, and I love you with all of my heart. I wish I could be there with you, however, I know everything happens for a reason. Again, know that I love you very much and I only wish for the very best things to come to you.

Your loving mother, Elisa

Allis finished reading the letter with tears streaming down her face. Yes, this was a lot to accept from someone she had never met; yet somehow she knew it was the truth. Allis dried her tears and continued to look through the contents of the trunk. Inside, she found two leather bound diaries that belonged to her mother, a bunch of notes on the different properties and uses for plants and herbs and other information, two wooden boxes full of a variety of stones, an assortment of candles and incense, and a metal case with a unique shaped lock. Allis looked through everything again and could not find a key for the metal case. She sat there studying the odd shaped lock and knew she had seen the shape before. It was like a diamond, but the lines that made the bottom point crossed through the point and made an “X” below the diamond. If only she could remember where she had seen that shape. Then it dawned on her, she had been seeing that shape ever since she could remember, in the dream of her birth. Her mother’s necklace. That was the key. Unfortunately, she had no idea where the necklace might be. For all she knew, her mother may have been buried still wearing it. Just then Allis’s cell phone began to ring. It was Amanda.

“Hey, honey, I’m sorry to interrupt you, but I forgot to give you something, and I brought you breakfast.”

“Okay I’ll be right there.” Allis put everything back into the trunk and opened the door of the storage unit. Amanda was standing on the other side with a bag of donuts, Allis’s favorite cappuccino, and her mother’s necklace…