Prologue
I breathed in the pink eraser of my pencil and immediately felt my face frozen as my thoughts was blank. I had no idea what to write about my family history since I had not known my father for years and my mother was very difficult to comprehend. The bus ride of noisy classmates made it hard to think of anything positive about my life as the heavy weight, large bus driver hit every bump or pothole in broken concrete roads.
There is one thing I hate most than being named after a coin, divorce parents in high school, is being an heir to a group of witches. Witchcraft has been in my bloodline since the Louisiana Purchase when Madame Dominique arrived from France in search for love and disobedient to her father wishes to marry a well-known rich French man, she picked a slave. People have learned over time that race is skin deep, Madame Dominique raise her daughter as another white girl. My very great grandfather told lies that her father dies before arriving from Paris. Madame Dominique was angry and learn the way of the black slaves since her lover was hung. 
It was one way that people in the early bias society made it. That one thing was voodoo. She learned to carry on during that time raising one of my great grandmother, who was taught everything of witchcraft. Dominique gave all the knowledge of magic she could spare in her whole entire life. Soon they laid a curse on that grandfather. The bus came to a stop bring me back from my thoughts for my English essay.

“The weird girl is getting off the bus.” one ninth grader said to her friend who sat close to her whispering loudly into her ear.
“I just hate people that are freaks.” one of my fellow high school boy who I never talked to said to the boys in the back of the bus.
“Don’t they make circuses and zoos for her kind.” the boy at the front of the bus said as thou I was invisible to understand.
Nevertheless, I continue to hold my books and ignore the comments I hear everyday I ride this bus.

Mother had a long conversation after I gotten off the bus from high school that I cannot reject the calling of being a witch. I threw the piece of paper for my English assignment in the trash because no one would believe me if I said that every female in my mother’s family has been a witch for centuries.  That this calling would not go away like a summer cold for me to live a normal life. I grab my little mug of coffee sipping the last drop of caffeine to help me make it through the night. Mother simply open the door to the car with her white wrinkle free scrub, loud department store perfume, and a light smoky sent of her cigarette.

“Today we will go and get you something to help you find a boyfriend for prom.” mother replied unhooking the badge sitting across from the dashboard of the car.

“Mom people hate me at that school, if it was not for you making me go I would not even be there.” I said as I look at the papers scattered in my book bag.
I hated school. Many people thought I was a freak. Now mom expect some boy at my high school to magically waltz in my life and escort me to prom. That was more make believe than the book of shadows that stayed place in our living room among the other books on the selves.
“Penny, there’s something human in the experience, a union with the not ordinary that makes you complete.” mother quoted those words again in my life with such seriousness. 

“I am saying I guess I will try to understand my power but a guy wanting to date me in high school is too much for any magician to perform.” I said while riding to Mrs. Talbert’s store. 
My thoughts race to the movie Carrie. It would all be some plot of kindness to take me out. What is the importance of man and woman being together except for continue mankind. It would be like Sabrina, Robyn, and Ursula with a few guys on the bus to set me up a stage with pig blood. The car ride was pretty silence. I wonder what bothered mother.

“What really happen to great grandmother,” I remarked while sitting down in the passenger’s seat.
It was nothing for mother to drive me to the little counter drug store but everyone do not knows the truth about Ms. Talbert’s store. My mother is now interested in me learning the craft and joining the coven.
When you first walk into the store is like any little drug store in town.

Once you look in the front there it is. There are many candles, oils, soaps already prepared. There are statues and books scattered among these things. My mother is concern about me not having a prom date since this is my last year in high school.

“Come here Penny a fix Adam and Eve candle prepared.” my mother hand me the pink and red candle.

“Oh Mom this stuff doesn’t work.” I replied as I held the candle looking though my glasses.

“Ever made a wish upon a star?” a voice spoke from behind me stopping my heart in complete silence.

I turn to see it was the store keeper Ms. Talbert. She was an elderly pale female who con my mother to buy prepared things.

“I never have the time.” I remarked as I hush the stillness grew between us three.

My mother face grown with a sadness. I know usually she gives me that look when she is ashamed of me.

“Foolish, that candle will bring the boy of your dreams” Ms. Talbert said smiling at my mother.

“It is time for her to take her place.” my mother told Ms. Talbert as she winked her right eye.

“Yes, we need another powerful one since the death of your grandmother.” Ms. Talbert remarked to my mother as she handed her a book.

“A new book.” Mother replied as she look through it.

“They are not as good as your grandmother. It such pain how she must live her after life.” Ms. Talbert replied stacking her supplies.

I wonder how my great grandmother died. Some people talk about her like she is still alive. It bothered me to enter the coven as a new witch. I did not want to end up like her in anyway.  Whatever punishment she is enduring but it was so hard that it drove my grandmother and mother to never visit New Orleans. I spoke once of seeing her since it is norm for us to see our ancestors. Later my father chased away a huge animal like wolf on the front porch.  My mother talked to a few realtors fast and had us move as grandmother suggested. What was wrong seeing one of my great grandmother? It was all a hoax for magic for a prom date as I got back to situation at hand.

“You know Mrs. Gibson that you might want her to join the coven” suggest Ms. Talbert.

“I don’t know she’s from a long history of religion and voodoo?” my mother responded back to her.

“You know there is no practice here but us,” she remarked as she hand my mother her number. “It is for her safety” she remarked grabbing my mother’s hand.

“No better time than today.” my mother said looking at me.

I did not know what those eyes meant. There has been many family secrets kept from me. I knew my world is going to change. What could all this means over a few wax figures, powders, and herb oils?
It all seen like a bunch of crazy women believing in these things that could not actually cause anything to happen. I watched my mother as she purchase the items of her choice while looking at some of these weird things. I was wishing to be like most normal teenage girls who just wanted to have fun. Life at all for me was not like that.
What could it hurt for a little spell trying? I was a loner at school with no friends and a notebook where I wrote my song lyrics.

“Come on honey,” my mother remarked as I place the item back on the shelf and followed her to building that looked like a strange temple.

“Great grandmother tried dying like any other woman when an obsessive vampire bit her,” she remarked while entering sanctuary.

I stood still for a minute before laughing.

“That is crazy,” I laughed as I watched the cars on the highway though the window and lace curtain.

The magic group had taken it to another level. Come on vampires are not real. If so many people would be moving and using many steaks to kill them.

“Where is Blade when you need him?” I said laughing harder more I thought of her serious face.

“Who is Blade?” mother asked as she continue to walk through the entrance slower.

“It is a movie.” I remarked as I force myself to hush.

“A movie,” mother replied as our walk into the coven continue to be quiet.

Voodoo is the religion of the slaves who wanted to defeat their masters. They found power though procession of the spirits. It was unusual for a Wiccan to want me to become one in the coven if Wiccan is all nature.

It was the night that I will get to meet the coven. No it was not the prom for high school senior year. There were women all different creed. There stood one man out of them all. I wanted to just run out Ms. Talbert building which they called their Temple of Lineage.

“I am so happy you could make it tonight,” a tall blonde hair female said.

“I knew your mother and it’s an honor to have a combination of Wiccan and voodoo together,” a slender short Asian woman replied.
My mother shook their hands as they gathered. I notice all kind of strange items. The gathering seen like a party of freaks ready to start.
“Ladies, we are casting a circle tonight and the holiday of Beltane is a great time for our newcomer,” the handsome priest said giving me a big smile and gazing eyes at my mother.

“There one thing everyone in magic believe is equality and Hitler killed one of the greatest prophet that helped him in office but he suffer a fate that was pleasing to our mothers,” the priestess said accompany the handsome gentleman I known as MacGregor.
"A Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will" the group women replied to her remarked.

I was confused on the statement and stood closer to my mother who smiled. The night had begun with a blast for all creed of women who arrived. There were young and older women who stood side by side gossiping and gathering things they bought from their bags.

Many carried many flowers of all sorts and began to weave them.
“You’re going to need one when we leave to go McFadden beach,” a black female smile handing me a gathering of flowers.
“There will be no nudity?” my mother whispered to her.
“No. It’s illegal out here and we are gathering our flowers for dance and our fire pit as our guide for this holidays,” she remarked.
“I am Stormy.” the girl next to her remarked being about my age. She wore all black clothes, dyed hair and seen as much as depressive as I did being here with a group that needed to be admitted in asylum.
“Penny.” I shook her hand.
My mother was delighted to see that I was blending in with everyone. It worried her some since she never entered the coven as a voodoo practitioner. It was a love affair with Ms. Joan’s husband that started the troubles here in Texas.

Nevertheless, Ms. Joan our priestess put a terrible spell that would make no man talk to her. The malevolence spell of the black widow. I feel like it sort of fell on me as well since boys in high school detested the sight of me. I stayed up many nights looking at the mirror trying to find that word ugly. It felt as being dumb to the fact that I had attraction.  Although the spell was very cruel my mother never reverse it back and nor did Joan knew that MacGregor treated me like his daughter. It was all perform and fashions walking in town and the two of them never speaking a word to each other.
Since Joan felt mother knew her place there was nothing wrong with me joining the coven for my safety. The ride in our new friends van was comfortable. Many women was very excited about tonight. Many was chanting while others fix their headband of flowers around their heads.

I was happy that my mother was accompanying me on this ride. Many people talked about the little lonely beach. I like to call this place nowhere. No one care to know about us in large cities like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles to name a few. Many high school kids would take rides to this beach of nowhere to make out and drink.
No I was not planning on having a big belly for my senior pictures while people talk about how big of a slut I was. Nevertheless, I wanted to have my first kiss and maybe one man in my life I knew that was there for me. I guess I could live being this kind of freak.
The beach was vacant and I could see MacGregor lighting a fire pit. I noticed the high priestess using a chalice to go around as each female form a circle.

“Here’s goes to world of magic and voodoo,” my mother grabbed my hand while we joined the circle.

The scent of sage surround all around us. It was worst as preparing some of grandmother gumbo. It taste horrible and it smell just as worst.
“They are only cleansing the area like grandmother taught us in our Native American heritage,” mother comforted me.
The music started in this small coven. Before you know it MacGregor was known as the green man and some started to react the pagan customs.
I felt so drugged by the commotion that my head started to spin and I felt nausea. I knew that something was wrong with me. I felt like I could pass out but my eyes did not close at all.
“Granddaughter welcome to your gift.” I turn around to see my grandmother standing in the water where the water rolled in.

“Grandmother did I die.” I questioned as I walked closer to her in the waves.
“Mother.” a small child held grandmother’s hand tight looking at me.

She smiled as a bright light rolled on the ocean. I was sure I had die. There he floated on the waves in gold. Something like a special TV America mysteries show I watched, people in the North Carolina was shock of the strange bang and the lights that floated on the water.
“Penny energy is you and you will be the mother.” he spoke as the waves began to rush in.
In the minute of being in a trance I heard screams as the ocean began to surge.  I fell to the ground not feeling a pain.
“Wake up!’ I heard my mother as she patted my face.
I gasp for air as I saw my clothing soaked over my body. My hair rain down drops as I tried to lift up my head from the ground. It looked as thou I was washed up to shore.

“Get some of those towels.” Joan screamed as others rushed to help me off the ground.

It felt like I stop the whole holiday celebration. I felt like it was so much my fault that guilt was easy seen on my face. I wanted to apologize to this coven for stopping the ceremony. I had ways of turning people lives awful. I done it so much that my own father never returned because I had to become a witch. Mother gave me a big hug with the towel and a delicate kiss on the forehead.
“I had a dream about grandmother.” I told my mother as the nice group of women with flowers tied around their head help to dry my soaked dress that glue to my body.

“What did she say?” my mother questioned me as she help me up off the sandy shore.

“She called me granddaughter while another little child held her hand until the man who came with light spoke.” I replied.

Joan turnaround from pouring the water over the fire pit.
She stared at me with such amazement. She turn to Mr. MacGregor with such a look I cannot explain.
“What did the man tell you?” MacGregor asked walking over to me.
“Something about having energy and you will be the mother.” I just had a moment.” I quickly replied not wanting to shame my mother or myself any more than what I had that night.
The new female I met walked over to me and gave me a hug very tight. She pulled me closer to her whispering softly in my ear speaking.

“Welcome to your destiny my fellow sister.” Stormy replied backing away with a smile.

Those was the last words I heard in my mind as I stood hearing the waves over chatting women in the coven but my mind was blank of my experience. What is energy?  A mother not me and not never.