“Lily it’s time to come in dear.” I looked up from my book to glance towards the house. I could see my mother standing on the old wood deck. She’s a beautiful women, long legs, slim with shoulder length blonde hair. I got up from my favorite spot in the yard and headed towards the house. The house was built on a large propriety, and in the middle of the back yard is a huge willow tree. When I was younger I would climb the tree and swing from branch to branch; throughout the years I have gone from climbing the tree to sitting under it and reading books. “Let’s go dinners getting cold.” mom yelled. I admire my mother, for fifteen years she has raised me, cooked, cleaned, and worked a job all by herself. With no help from family or friends. Before I was born my mother had a falling out with her family and no longer talks to them. I’ve never met my father and I’ve only asked about him once when I was younger. She told me that he loved us and wished he could be with us, but his family didn’t approve of her; so mom raised me by herself. As I walked up the steps into the house I spotted a car I didn’t recognize parked in the driveway. I walked into the house and headed to the dining room for dinner, I was surprised to find a strange man sitting in one of the chairs at the table next to mom. “Lily please come sit down. There’s something we need to talk to you about.” I took my usual seat and looked up at my mom.

“So what do you want to talk to me about?” things seemed weird, mom was sitting in a seat next to the strange guy. She was holding his hand and looked worried.

“Lily, this is your father.” the man stood up and bowed to me.

“Lily, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Your mother has told me so much about you over the years. I just wish I could have been here.” I couldn’t believe it. Here I am sitting at the dinner table looking at a man who couldn’t turn his back on his family to be with me and my mother, but he can show up a week before my sixteenth birthday and bow to me? Act like this was some business meeting. No, this is not okay. I stood from the table and walked away. Once I got out of the dining room I ran up to my bedroom and locked the door. I walked in circles around my room trying to calm down. Walking over to the window and looking out at the road, a soft knock sounded at the door.

“Honey, please come out. We need to talk.” I walked over and unlocked the door to let mom in. She took a seat on my bed and padded the spot next to her. When I sat down she started to explain.

“There is a reason your father is here and you need to hear him out. I think once you hear what he has to say you will understand.”

“Mom he’s not my father. A father doesn’t abandon his child.”

“Honey I know you’re upset and confused but if you would just listen everything will come to light.” Come to light, what a strange expression. I agreed to hear him out and we headed down the stairs to the dining room. I took a seat next to mom and waited for the man to speak.

“Where do I start.” he said before standing up and pacing the room.

“My name is Lucks Barley. Your mother and I met when we were third-year students in high school.” He went on to explain how they had fallen in love and were together for a couple of years. “When we found out we were pregnant we were so happy. We told your mother’s family first and they weren’t very happy about it. They ended up throwing us out of the house and disowning your mother. We only hoped my family would take it better, but we were wrong. They made the decision that we were no longer allowed to be together. They sent me away, to a place where I couldn’t leave without them knowing, and if I would have left they would have done horrible things to you and your mother… Over the years Rose has sent me letters, keeping me up to date with what was going on here.” Luke looked over at my mother. I could see the love in his eyes and I wanted to cry. “I wish I could have been here to watch you grow up. To teach you and raise you…My family has a lot of power that kept me where I was. But now you’re turning sixteen and they can’t keep me away any longer.” He put his arms around mom and looked over at me with a soft smile.

“What’s so important about my sixteenth birthday?” this time mom spoke up.

“Honey a gift has been passed down through our families for generations. It’s passed through blood and when you were born it was passed on to you.”

“Yeah, I have known idea what you’re talking about,” I told them, they sounded crazy.

“In our families at the age of sixteen our powers come to light,” Luke said. There’s that saying again.

“Come to light. What does that even mean? And what powers? I don’t understand.” I asked, I really want to run out of the room.

“Honey you have been asking me for years, how I do it all. The truth is I use magic.” mom said it like it was normal to have magic powers. Mom sat down at the table and watched all my emotions cross my face. Anger, disbelief, confusion.

“What do you mean magic? Are we some kind of family out of Harry Potter? Is Haggard going to show up with a cake that says happy birthday you’re a freaking witch?” I stood from my chair and started to pace. “Are we a family of witches? Is this going to turn into an episode of Sabrina?” I waited for an answer. They just looked at me.

“Well.” my parents said at the same time. With that, I ran from the house. I ran bare foot out the back door to my safe place. To my tree. I wrapped my arms around the trunk and just stood there. I couldn’t stay on the ground, it connected me with reality. So I started to climb until I got to a strong thick branch half way up the tree. I sat on the branch putting my back against the trunk. Once I was safe I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. Tears started pouring down my face. I haven’t cried in years and now I couldn’t stop. So I let the tears fall, rolling down my cheeks and falling to the ground so far below. I can’t believe my parents think their witches and that I will be one after my sixteenth birthday. What’s next? The linen closet was a portal to different worlds? I’ll have to run through a pillar to get to a train that will take me to some crazy school? This is nuts. I don’t want to fly around on broomsticks or use a magic wand to make things blow up.

“I just want to be normal,” I said out loud to myself.