You know that you have ADHD when the words fly off the page and form unreadable texts, but what's the name of your condition when you see the same words forming an image?
That's what happened when I started reading that black parchment.
The white letters started flying off and culminated in the form of a beautiful woman. She was tall, at least from my perspective, with long flowing red hair, that seemed like flames in the lighting of the room, blue shining eyes and incredibly fair, white skin.
I was left speechless when this floating and radiating woman started speaking.
"Hello Adolpha, I am your mother. This is an avatar letter I left you when you were little. It is formed by your inner power that has awakened today."
My mother's voice was soft, and had a gentle tone. Her face was calm as she spoke and even though I would be excused if I freaked out right then, her words brought a feeling of serenity over my overly anxious self.
" I understand that I've hurt you... I couldn't have done otherwise... It was to protect you."
She continued, her tone saddening, revealing the pain of a mother leaving her child behind and I kept wondering... Protect me from what?
"But now, as you turn 15 I can no longer protect you that way, I can no longer keep you in the dark and hope your ignorance will not attract THEM."
The seriousness of her tone, what I have seen today and the crazy talk of my father made sense in her next words.
"Let's start from the beginning Adolpha, I know it won't make sense but this is the truth of this world, I promise.
At the beginning, of this world, there was a formless void and inside it, two powers were stirring up.
Chaos and order.
Through their conflict, the world took form. The matter of this universe and the darkness spontaneously arose as they merged.
But two other forms also took shape.
On one hand, from the primordial order, the power to give meaning, to make life, came the Gods. Creatures of unfathomable power, creatures of beauty and serenity, governing the matter and forming it according to their will.
On the other hand, from the primordial chaos, the principle of destruction, of frenzy and revolution came the Titans. Immense beings towering over mountains, destroying the creations of the Gods and wishing everything returned to it's primordial form.
Naturally, the two opposing forces collided.
The Gods fought the Titans on equal footing, their strength equal, their strategy equal, and so the both of them were destroyed in the frenzy of battle.
But the primordial powers they represented longed for conflict and so from the dead bodies of the gods and from the blood of the titans arose two different kinds of humans.
Wiccans and Daemons.
Wiccans possessed the "spark" of their ancestor God, they possessed the ability to wield magic over natural phenomena, and they also received a special power, which was different for every one of them. We call it the "Gift".
The Daemons were different. They possessed extraordinarily powerful bodies, and even though they could not control it, they possessed the ability to tap into the well of magic and create destructive phenomena."
I was stunned.
A deep feeling overtook me. Not of terror, not of pain but the feeling of discovery. The feeling of "That makes perfect sense!", even though it really didn't. Something clicked inside me and I felt strong, powerful and finally able to understand everything.
"You, my child, my beautiful Adolpha... You are a Wiccan. Your ancestor God is Wodin. God of death, war and wisdom. You are a creature of order."
Everything came into place, I accepted my place, I felt serene, I felt like this was it.
But...
The craziness continued.
" But that is also the reason I left.
Daemons, the creatures of chaos and descendants of the titans... They have one last ability I haven't shared.
If they kill a Wiccan whose powers have manifested, they can absorb their spark, and thus they can use their Gift."
Huh? What? Now that sense of serenity left and was being replaced by anxiety again.
" And they can also sense Wiccans.
So I had to leave, at least until your powers manifested, until you were ready.
I fight Daemons daily, my presence in your life would have created pain, and you could have died at any moment."
Okay now that protecting thing made sense. I felt that sense of abandonment I carried with me for my whole life dissipate and her words, even though they terrified me, finally gave me a feeling of being worth something.
"Baby you need to find me.
I left to protect you, but I will not just wait until you will turn 15. I plan on creating something.
A school for all Wiccan children. Protected. A place to grow in power, a sanctuary for the hunted."
Yes! Now we are talking. Not only do I get awesome powers but I also get the chance to leave that terrible school behind! I love Hillsborough Meadow but that school is really holding me behind. My only regret is... Leaving that school means leaving Mark behind...
"I do not know where I will build it. I don't know how I will do it. But if I have succeeded by the time you are 15 you will be able to find a clue in the great tree...
Baby I need to leave you now, there is no more time for me to talk... You have everything that you need, take my Magus and learn the craft in your journey, use the things I left behind in that envelope, and find me."
The image of my mother started disappearing and the parchment I held in my hands slowly turned to ashes. With tears falling down my eyes I smiled.
The great tree. I know exactly where that is.
I will be seeing my mother soon.
I packed my bag full of clothes, took a roll of cash I was saving up and put the things my mother included in her envelope inside. I walked downstairs and I glanced at my father.
"Adolpha, did she speak to you? Did you see her?" He asked me, looking as if the answer would change his life.
"Yes" I said and he jumped up faster than I could see and hugged me.
"Finally! It was true! It was all true!"
I held him back and put my head between his arms.
"Yeah, but Dad... I-I need to go."
"We'll go together!" Said my father determined. He looked like he wouldn't take no for an answer.
"Okay! But first... What's a Magus?"