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  Everything...makes...sense.

  This is why I was born and why I exist. To feel this miraculous love that fuels my soul with such fire.

  ***

  With all my might I fought against my impending consciousness. Powerless to stop it, I lay there, trying to hold on to the memory of what I’d just seen...where I’d just been, and most importantly, who I’d just been with.

  I raised my fingers to my lips and remembered Nicholas’s face and the feel of his kiss…the feel of his arms around me as we drifted together in the night sky.

  I remembered everything. Unlike all the other dreams, this time, the feeling of love stayed with me long after I awoke.

  I held the warm feeling close to my heart as I flicked open the drapes. My mind was still on Nicholas as I walked out to the patio and gazed beyond the hillside to the ocean’s gentle swells. Images of reality and fantasy spliced together as I remembered him on the beach with Max, and remembered him holding and kissing me in my dream. How real it felt! If only there was some way to have it all actually be real…

  Entirely caught up in my reverie, it took me a while to realize something very profound had happened...something about me had changed. While I gazed at the lustrous, panoramic view of nature’s beauty, reminiscing about delicious visions of Nicholas, my glasses were still beside my bed where I’d left them last night.

  Astonished, I rubbed my eyes and focused again. I could see perfectly—even better than with my glasses. Everything looked so sharp, so clean. Colors were brighter, details more in-depth and intricate. I could make out the tiniest indentation on a blade of grass, and distinguish the several shades of pink on each of the rose bushes.

  I ran back inside and into the bathroom, flipping on the light so I could see myself in the mirror. I’d never been able to see my face clearly without my glasses on, and as a result, I wasn’t exactly sure what I was supposed to look like. But this!

  I touched my face. It felt the same. It just looked different without the large spectacles covering it up. My features were more defined, better shaped. But that wasn’t what I noticed the most.

  My eyes, normally a dull grey when hidden behind the thick lenses, had transformed into a deep turquoise-blue. They looked larger and rounder than before, and shone with the brilliance of sapphire.

  Ana’s eyes.

  My mother’s eyes.

  I splashed some cool water on my face, half afraid my new-found focus would disappear, but also half-hoping it would. Why had this happened? What caused my eyes to somehow magically heal themselves and change color overnight?

  I needed to talk to Ana.

  The time on the clock by my bed read 6:32—pretty early for a house call. But this was an emergency. I ran up the cobblestone path, keeping a vigilant watch for any early risers. Breathlessly, I tapped on the kitchen door, and then pushed it open without waiting for a response. Delilah stood with her back toward me chopping something on the cutting board.

  “Mornin’, child. Miss Ana’s waitin’ for you in the sunroom,” she said, without turning around. Once again, I realized my arrival was not entirely unexpected.

  I found Ana already dressed and sipping her usual tea. When she turned to look at me she smiled serenely.

  “Good morning, you’re up and about early today,” she said.

  “Ana,” I gasped, “what happened to me? My eyes…”

  “You can see now,” she said simply, as if this explained everything.

  “But how? I don’t understand.”

  “Sit down, sweetheart. Have some tea,” she said, holding out a cup and saucer.

  My knees shook as I sat on the white wicker chair. I eyed the tea, and then took a small taste. As usual it was delicious, and already I felt calmer.

  “It’s simple, really,” Ana continued. “Once you allowed your eyes to open to the magical world around you, you gained your true vision. The glasses now only prevent you from seeing what’s real.”

  I was more confused than ever by her explanation. “So, you’re saying I don’t need glasses to be able to see in the magical world?”

  “Something to that effect, yes.”

  “Will I need them again as soon as I leave here? When I go to school?”

  Ana let out a tinkling laugh. “No, dear. You never leave the magical world. It’s always with you,” she said, waving her arm around. “Before, when your mind and heart were closed to the possibility of a magical existence, naturally you couldn’t see it. But now that you’ve opened up, your eyes see what is really there… all along… hiding in plain sight.”

  I remained silent for a while, trying to sort it all out. Ana looked at me, her head cocked to one side. “Think of it this way,” she said, putting a slender finger to the side of her mouth, “although this is a rough analogy, very rough.

  “Pretend you went to watch a movie in 3-D. Without the special glasses, the film would be off, would it not? The picture blurry, the depth perception wrong. But now pretend you already had the ability to watch the movie in 3-D without the special glasses. Putting them on would just confuse what was already there to begin with. Does that make any more sense to you?”

  “I suppose so…”

  “Darling, this is a good thing. I knew you were on your way, but this happened faster than even I thought it would.”

  “You knew this would happen?”

  “Yes, among other things.” She took a small sip of tea and refilled her cup.

  “What other things? Remember, I can’t see into the future anymore and I’d like to be a little more prepared next time something about my body decides to fundamentally change overnight!”

  She smiled coyly. “Don’t worry. Nothing happens until you are ready for it.”

  Somehow this didn’t make me feel any better. “What about my dad? How am I supposed to explain to him that I don’t need to wear my glasses anymore?”

  Ana paused, pursing her lips thoughtfully. “You bring up a good point. We’ll tell him you need to see an eye doctor—that your prescription is bothering you. While you’re there, you’ll be fitted for contact lenses that are much better suited for your optical condition.”

  “Okay, but what about until then? I can’t even see with these things on anymore!” I held up the useless spectacles.

  “Here, give them to me.” She took the glasses in one hand, and rubbed small circles on them with the other. She muttered what sounded like ‘lucet’, but I couldn’t be sure.

  “Here,” she said, handing them back to me. “See if that’s any better. They’re just plain glass now. If you like, you can just continue wearing them like that instead of telling your father—”

  “No,” I responded quickly. I wanted my real eyes back. “It’s too much of a pain to have to wear them all the time, anyway. They’ve never fit right, and I’m always worried about them falling off or losing them. Plus, it’s hard to take good pictures—the lenses get in the way.”

  “Fine, whatever you want to do…giving you the option.” She stood up. “Now you best hurry on home. Your father is waking up, and we don’t want him wondering where you are.”

  Chapter 12. Exposed

  “You look different,” Sophie announced when I met her and Lily before school. Lily just stood there with a knowing smile, while Sophie squinted and scrutinized my face.

  “Your eyes!” she finally exclaimed.

  “Is it that obvious?” I asked. That morning at breakfast, I’d told Dad I needed to visit the eye doctor as soon as I could get an appointment. He’d agreed and looked at me with concern, but hadn’t noticed anything. Nothing he mentioned anyway.

  “Nah, it’s really subtle. Your eyes just look a lot bluer. And bigger,” Sophie said.

  “Why’re you still wearing your glasses?” Lily asked.

  “Because of my dad. I have to pretend to go to the optometrist and get contacts before I can stop wearing them. Otherwise, he’d trip out.”

  Sophie nodded knowingly. “It’s like my last cha
nge. I thought my father was going to kill me! As if I would really dump a bottle of peroxide on my head!” She sniffed with indignation.

  I stared at her. “Huh?”

  Sophie kept talking, unaware of my confusion. “Lily’s lucky—both her parents are…you know…” She glanced around to make sure none of the other students milling around us were eavesdropping. “…So she never has to worry when the changes happen. My dad isn’t one—like yours—and he’s really conservative and old-fashioned. I thought he was going to ground me for a month! I’d never seen him so mad. He’s fine now though. Even likes it, I think.”

  I still had no idea what she was talking about. Lily, sensing my bewilderment, motioned for us to walk away from the large group of students gathering nearby.

  When we were a safe distance she leaned in and whispered, “Sophie, remember, she’s still pretty new and probably doesn’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Then she turned to me and explained in a hushed tone, “Sometimes, things happen to us as we come into our powers. Some things aren’t very obvious—the change is more on the inside than the outside. Other things are obvious, though. Like your eyes, for example. But another is our hair. It changes colors. Sometimes the change isn’t very dramatic…someone can have light brown hair and it turns a deeper, darker shade. But sometimes, like with Sophie, the change is pretty drastic.”

  “I had really dark brown hair,” Sophie interjected. “Then one morning, poof! I woke up with this.” She twirled a flaxen curl. “Blonde as can be.”

  “My hair was more of a light caramel color,” Lily continued, “One day last summer I went swimming. I dove in the water with one hair color, and emerged with this...” She patted her ebony mane and grinned. “My parents thought it was funny. They saw it happen but didn’t say anything to me. They waited until I’d gone back inside and screamed at my reflection before they explained what’d happened.”

  “What? Why does our hair change color?” I asked, trying not to laugh.

  Lily shrugged. “Not exactly sure why, it’s just one of those things that is. It’s just another step in assuming your true identity. Your real identity as a witch.” She whispered the last word.

  The first bell rang, and we shuffled off to class. I was grateful to return to the normal world of academia…the magical world had handed me enough surprises today. And it wasn’t even first period.

  The morning flew by, and the three of us headed over to the fountains to eat our lunches under the warm noontime sun. Sophie was complaining about the unfair pop quiz she had in her morning math class and griping about ‘needing to know stupid math anyways’, when Lily nudged me gently. I looked up from picking off the layers of my croissant to see Justin looking down at me.

  He shuffled his feet, obviously uncomfortable. “Um, hi, I just wanted to ask you something real quick. If you don’t mind.”

  “She doesn’t mind,” Sophie answered brightly, her face lighting up with a mischievous smile.

  Justin glanced from Sophie to Lily before he continued.

  “Um, the pictures from yesterday…well, I developed them last night…I have a darkroom at my house…and the one of you turned out really great. Even better than I expected.” He clumsily opened his backpack and withdrew a slender folder. Opening it, he reached inside and handed me the large glossy photo.

  “I wanted to show it to you first. If you hate it and want me to destroy it, I will; I’ll rip it up right now. But if you don’t hate it, I was hoping you wouldn’t mind if I…” His voice trailed off.

  I stared at the picture in awe. It was truly a great shot, even if it was of me. The entire page was covered in a warm yellowish glow…something I assumed Justin had added to the developing process. My head was angled away from the camera; my hair fell free, the tips gently caressing the little white flowers that grew in abundance on the green field. The light of the sun shone through each strand of my hair, creating shining sparks that looked like hundreds of diamonds twinkling.

  “Wow,” Lily said, leaning over my shoulder. “That’s a great picture!”

  “Thanks,” Justin mumbled modestly. “Since it doesn’t show your face, I was sort of hoping you wouldn’t mind if I used it for our assignment.”

  The hot blush of embarrassment burned my ears, and I handed the picture back to him. “Go ahead. You should use it. It’s a good picture. You’ll get a good grade.”

  He smiled and flipped his long, sun-kissed locks out of his eyes. “Thanks, I’m glad you like it.” He slid the picture back in his folder. “Guess I’ll see you later in class, then.”

  He smiled at all of us, but his eyes locked on mine. They lingered for a moment before he returned to his group of friends.

  After he was a safe distance away, Sophie giggled. “Ooh, someone’s got a crush.”

  “No I don’t!” I protested adamantly. “He’s nice, that’s all…But not my type,” I amended with less force, silently picturing Nicholas’s chiseled face.

  “Oh, really? Well then what is your type? Someone who’s not adorable and sweet and sexy in that hot-surfer-boy way? And by the way, I was talking about him, not you,” Sophie teased.

  I didn’t respond; I was too distracted by the daggers being sent my way with Savannah’s evil glare. Chills ran down my spine and a sick ache set in my stomach as her angry eyes bored into my skull. My head hurt, like it had been hit with something heavy. My chest felt tight and clenched. She was too far away to hear anything we were saying, but had a perfect view of everything we were doing.

  Her eyes narrowed menacingly, and she stiffly turned away from me back to her friends.

  I exhaled loudly.

  “Callie, you okay?” Lily and Sophie asked in unison.

  “I’m fine...fine...” I shook my head. “What’s her problem, anyway?” I muttered.

  “Who?” Lily and Sophie asked in unison again. They looked at each other and chuckled.

  “Savannah—she was glaring at me like she hated me right now.”

  “Uh, I dunno,” Sophie said uncertainly. “Maybe because Justin was over here talking to you?”

  “What—does she like him or something?” Geez, he was here for one second talking about class stuff. It’s not like we were making out or anything.

  “I think so,” Lily piped in. “I guess they went out a few times, but now he doesn’t really pay any attention to her. She’s already told people he’d be taking her to the Winter Ball, but so far he hasn’t asked her. I doubt he ever will,” she added with a smirk.

  My heart clenched again. Did I really just make enemies with the most popular girl in school because some boy asked me a question? Figures. I knew things were going too well around here.

  “So, what—does she hate me now? She looked like she wanted to kill me. I mean, really…Does she go around hating on everyone he speaks to?”

  Sophie shrugged her shoulders. “I dunno,” she repeated. “Maybe her ginormous ego got hurt. I wasn’t totally kidding before; it seems like he might kinda like you…you don’t have to be a witch to be able to read body language.”

  I sighed. What if she was right? It was both flattering and uncomfortable to consider the possibility that Justin liked me in that way. I barely knew him at all, and I certainly had no desire to make enemies with Savannah and her crew. I’d never had someone look at me with so much animosity before.

  “Well, she has nothing to worry about, as far as I’m concerned. I only like him as a friend, and I’m not responsible for what he may do or how he may feel.”

  Sophie and Lily looked at me sympathetically, and Lily glanced over her shoulder at Savannah’s group, who were now all glowering in our direction.

  “Of course, we know that. But something tells me she won’t see it the same way.”

  Chapter 13. Morningstars

  Late Friday afternoon, I twittered nervously around the cottage making sure it was extra spotless. Sophie and Lily were on their way over for a slumber party—my first one. Ever. I
n fact, it was the first time I’d ever had friends come visit me at all.

  Because it was the first time I ever had friends.

  I didn’t know what was expected, so I was nervous…and excited. Sophie and Lily were so much fun to be around, and in this safe place we could discuss magic openly. Maybe even practice some.

  At a quarter ‘til five, I pushed through Ana’s kitchen door as usual. Delilah was busy making something that made the place smell like a five-star Italian restaurant.

  “Mmm…Dee, that smells so good. What’re you making?” My mouth watered at the tantalizing aromas.

  “Can’t have a proper slumber party without pizzas,” she replied gruffly. “I’m finishing up the dough now. All the different toppings are stewing and simmering.”

  I peeked over her shoulder and stifled a laugh. “Um, you know there are only three of us, right?” I looked at the piles of sausage links and pepperoni that could feed a small army.

  “Friday Special. Everyone’s getting some. The work crew, the house staff, your pa, me an’ Ana. Plus, gotta have some for leftovers.” She gave me a toothy grin that belied her crusty voice.

  “Cool. Well, it smells amazing. I’m starving!”

  “Go on, now. Ana’s waiting in the parlor. Henri will deliver yours to you gals in about an hour or so.” She shooed me away and turned back to her kneading.

  In the parlor, Ana sat in a large chair working on some needlepoint, and Henri was bent over one of the fireplaces trying to get a flame started.

  I walked over to Ana and spoke in a hushed voice. “How come you don’t just flick that on?” I motioned to the fire pit.

  She laughed. “Henri’s got to do something to earn his keep around here.” She winked.

  My eyes darted back and forth from Henri to Ana, and I leaned closer to her. “Does he know about you and what you are?” I whispered.