Mark of the Rising Sun

It was two years later that it finally came time for me to start my training as a witch. I was surfing the web, checking e-mail, just passing the time when I got an e-mail from an unknown sender. It read like this:

Dear Angela,

We are happy to tell you that you have been chosen to study magic at the prestigious American Wizarding Academy for Youth, or A.W.A.Y for short. You will be expected in classes in three weeks’ time at the start of the next term. If you are unable to make it for any reason, or wish to decline our offer of admittance, please notify us by the end of the week, otherwise we will expect you on Monday January 10 at 9:00am. Attachments have been added with directions to the school and a list of supplies you will need for the coming school year.

Sincerely yours,

Professor Hawethorne

I had to look at the words for several minutes for the message to sink in. I had been accepted into the best school of magic in the entire North American continent. The best teachers sought employment there, and only the most powerful magic users were admitted. I was in total shock. I was not expecting this at all; They had the toughest curriculum, the most daunting courses, and I was about to start my journey into the magical realm that would dictate the fate of the world.

Still a bit shaken, I opened the attachment for the items that I needed to have for classes. To my surprise, there weren’t many items on the list. The first, and most important based on the bold print and the fact that it was underlined several times, was a Focus. Unsure of what that meant, I looked at the rest of the list. Mostly books, a few minor objects, a laptop, man you needed one of those for everything these days, and finally the school uniform.

The uniform wasn’t too bad, but to my dismay, girls had to wear skirts. I had avoided wearing these previously, trying to hide the fact that I was in fact of the female persuasion, but I could do it no longer. They knew who I was, and would expect me to dress appropriately for my gender. With a sigh of dread and acceptance, I printed off the list, as well as, the original e-mail for my parents.

I took the printed items down the stairs to the living room where my parents were watching some sort of magical program on the T.V. At the sight of me with the papers in hand, my dad paused the screen and turned to me. “What do you have there, pumpkin?”

“Just an e-mail from a magic school, no big deal.”

“No big deal, it is a huge deal. The school you get accepted to determines the quality of life that you have afterwards. It determines what kind of jobs you can get, how good you are. The teachers at some of the schools are so bad, you will learn only the basics on any given subject. Your mom and I were lucky and were accepted into Bartholomew’s. That’s actually where we met. We had a great time there, and got a pretty good education. So, what school did you get into?”

I hesitated a moment before saying, “AWAY, I’m going to AWAY.” There was stunned silence after this proclamation.

“You’re kidding me, you’re going to AWAY? That’s only the best school around. Give me that letter.” He read it aloud, pausing after each sentence. “I can’t believe it, my little girl is going to AWAY. I couldn’t be any prouder. You’ll get a first rate education for sure there. I wish I had gotten in, but my powers just weren’t good enough. I had a friend that went there though, and by the time he was done, he was able to do things with his magic that I could only dream of.”

He reminisced for a while mom got all teary eyed. They both went on and on about how proud of me they were, and how lucky I was to be getting such a top-notch education. I got tired of it after about five minutes, but I persevered through the whole thing much to my chagrin.

After I wanted to melt into the floor for about the twentieth time, they finally stopped and asked about the school supplies. I handed them the second piece of paper, and they perused it for a while. After some debate, it was decided that we would leave immediately to buy the items I needed for my educational purposes. I think Dad just wanted to brag to other witches and wizards about me getting into AWAY, and I think Mom thought so too.

On the way out of town, I finally asked what had been on my mind since I had first saw the list. “By the way, what is a Focus?”

Mom fielded this question, “Every person of magical descent needs an object that they can use to channel their power through. Everyone’s is different, but they are all magical items, and are all special. We carry them with us everywhere, but most of the time they are hidden as they need not be out to use. Some are obvious, others are innocuous and easy to hide. It all depends on the user.”

“But how do you decide what Focus is right for you?”

“When you get to the magic supply shop, there will be Focuses all over. You will be drawn to the one that is right for you. You don’t really choose it, you just kind of know, like if you had a radar or something.”

I thought about this for the rest of the car ride. How can a person be drawn to an item like that. It didn’t make a lot of sense to me, but I figured I would figure it out when I got there. Maybe it was just a matter of the sense of style a person had, or like how girls tend to be drawn to pretty things like unicorns and rainbows. I could understand that at least, and was pretty sure I had it figured out when we reached our destination.

The magic shop was old, but not decrepit. It kind of had that homely look, like one of those mom and shop places that you hardly see any more since they were run out of town by big businesses. The sign on the front just read, “Freddy’s old time magic shop” and you could see a bell on the other side of the door that would signify the arrival of new customers. All in all, it hardly looked like a place where real magic was sold. I had learned from experience that appearances can be deceiving.

When I stepped into the store, it looked like it had on the outside, but you could feel the magic permeating the atmosphere, at least anyone who was magically gifted could. I looked around and there were only a handful of people shopping, most only glanced up for a second to see who entered before going about their own business. This was good, I didn’t want to be the center of attention like I figured I would be if they learned about my school.

Seeing a sign for Focuses, I went over to a different corner of the store than everyone else was at. They were all older shoppers who had already gotten their Focus a long time ago. I walked among the objects looking at some, passing by others with some indifference. I felt foolish, nothing here even caught my eye. Most of it looked like dusty old junk that I wouldn’t give to my worst enemy. I scoffed as I walked by an old eyeball, a witches hat, and many other things I didn’t even have names for.

When I reached the end of the aisles, I started to turn around to start the whole debacle again when I felt an invisible force draw me not to the tables, but to a side door marked employees only. I moved closer to it, and realized that whatever force was guiding me, was leading me in there. Looking around, and not seeing any staff, I opened the door and slipped inside.

It took a while for my eyes to adjust to the dimmer lighting of the hallway, but when I did, I found myself in the office areas of the workers. Still being guided by an unknown force, I found a stairway to the basement, and like a moth being drawn to a flame, I followed the stairway to the bottom into an unlit room. I fumbled around blindly for a light switch and flipped it on, bringing the room into view.

It was a storage area for the store. They had all kinds of boxes scattered about no doubt full of more merchandise that had yet to make it to the shelves. Ignoring most of the boxes, I went straight to one like an arrow to a bullseye. It had been opened, but the contents were still neatly packed inside. Ignoring neatness and organization, I dug through the box until I reached a velvet laced box that looked like a big ring case. After some hesitation, I opened it up to see what was inside.

I laughed and shook my head as I saw the object. It was a gold bracelet, beautiful in both looks and design. I stared in wonder at it for several minutes before taking it out and looking at it closely. There was an image engraved in the metal, and without looking too hard, I knew what it was. It was the mark of the rising sun. I had been drawn to it again, my destiny. I could not fight it. Exasperated, I tucked the bracelet back into the case and turned to the doorway.

Suddenly remembering where I was, I hurried to return to the store proper where customers were supposed to be. I was just about to reach the door, when a voice behind me spoke, “Hey, what are you doing back here? Customers aren’t supposed to come back here.” He paused a moment, “and what’s that in your hand? Trying to steal from us?”

The case floated from my hand to his, and I felt a sudden pang of loss. “I’m sorry. I was looking for a focus, and I felt drawn out here to the basement. I tried to find an employee, but didn’t see one and the force was too strong to ignore.”

“Oh, I see, so you weren’t trying to steal anything?” I shook my head, “Well, if that’s the case, we’ll take this to the counter and you can get it with the rest of your purchases.” Then he escorted me back into the rest of the store where my parents were impatiently waiting.

Seeing the employee practically dragging me along, my dad asked, “And just where have you been young lady? Your mom and I have been worried sick looking for you, and then I find you in an area you shouldn’t be.”

I looked at him ashamedly before replying, “Sorry Daddy, I was just finding my Focus. You guys said I would be drawn to it, and boy were you right. It was in the basement of the building.” Then I gave him the look, you know the one I am talking about. I had gotten really good at it in the 7 years I had been a girl.

Giving in, he sighed, “Just don’t do it again, at least tell us when you are going to go running around like that. We may not be your birth parents, but we still care about you and your well-being. That being said, did you find what you were looking for?”

“Yes Daddy, I found my focus.”

“Good, your mother and I got the rest of your things, let’s go pay for it all.”

We followed the clerk to the front where mom was waiting with the rest of my supplies, there were several books, a few objects that I didn’t know what they did, but were on the list, and of course, the bracelet.

The clerk picked it up, “Now since this item hasn’t been processed yet, or priced, I need to see what it is we’re working with.” He opened the case and whistled, “Wow, this is a beauty. And pure gold by the weight and look of it. It’s going to be pricy.” He turned it around for my parents to see.

“Wow,” Dad said, “That is the most amazing Focus I have ever seen. Nothing is too good for my little girl. I will pay whatever you need for it.”

He rung up all the items and then added a reasonable price for the bracelet. When all was said and done, the cost was over a thousand dollars. I couldn’t believe how much everything was. Although my bracelet took up a majority of the price. Without balking, my dad pulled out a credit card and swiped it. Before I knew it we were packing everything into the car and driving for home.

I insisted on taking the Focus though, and when we got into the car, I opened the case and just gazed at it. Finally, I pulled the thing out and slipped it onto my wrist, and to my surprise, it fit perfectly. I admired the way the light reflected off it, and the stupendous craftsmanship of the jewelry. Then I noticed the mark again, and the novelty of it wore off. I was again reminded of the responsibility that came with my gifts, with my friend Hope, and the world I had become a part of. This was just the beginning of things to come, and I needed to be ready.