“Vance, are you mad that you came down here?” Tracy asked.

He shook his head. Than he whispered. “Not really. I mean since Bruce stopped hanging out with me, I was bored. Jerry was there on the weekends, but other than that, I had no one. So coming down here, I can change that.”

“I miss Mary Beth and Emily May, plus Peter, but I think this is better.” She whispered. “More things to do.”

“A school that doesn’t know either of us.” Vance said in a whisper.

Edited by Djkauf

Tracy, Vance, Maggie and a glimpse into a side of Sage's family, yet to be shown

Sunday February 27th 1983

Tracy walked into the house, following her mother and Aunt Shelly. At the T.V. was Vance, watching Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. Frank was in his favorite chair, watching with him. As the ladies came in, Frank looked over. “How was the drive?”

“Long. Very long.” Shelly said.

“We heard about Friday. How are you all holding up?” He asked, looking to Maggie.

“Well, we’re good. The weekend helped her forget, I think.” Maggie said. She looked to her daughter. “That reminds me, put some ice on that eye again. Go up and change, then you can come down and hold some ice on it.”

“Okay, Mom.” Tracy said. She headed upstairs, knowing her mother was covering the attack in the courthouse. It took her twenty minutes to change for bed, and round up her dirty laundry. She headed down the stairs, laundry in hand. She passed the kitchen and stopped at the washing machine, that was next to a giant freezer.

“Tracy, hold off on wash till tomorrow and we’ll do it all. But grab some ice cream and we’ll dish that up.” Shelly said. Tracy put her laundry down, then went to the freezer and pulled out a half gallon of rocky road. She took it to the kitchen, where her mother handed her a bag of ice and her aunt shooed her off and into the dining room area.

She pulled out a chair at the table and started watching the show on the T.V. A few minutes later, her mother put a bowl of ice cream down and called Vance over. Vance sat down across from her. “Wow, she really gave you one heck of a shiner.”

“Yeah.” Tracy said, nodding her head. “I wish I would have known she was there.” She sat there, looking at her ice cream, then she looked up to her brother. “She was worse than last time. This time she tried to bite mom and me.”

“Wow.” Vance exclaimed.

“Yeah.” Tracy said, then she decided to drop the subject. “How was your weekend?”

“Hung out with Moony Friday and yesterday morning, then I hung out with Uncle Frank and his car club.”

“Ready for school tomorrow?” Tracy asked.

“Not really, but it’s better than Palermo.” Vance said.

Tracy nodded in agreement. “Yeah. I’ve seen the school from the outside and hey, you know Moony and Jamie.”

“Plus Kevin and Bryce.” Vance added. “Hey, how was L.A?”

“Busy. I don’t think I’ve seen that many cars on the road ever.” Tracy said with a laugh. “Even this morning, the road was busy.”

“Really?” Vance asked.

“Oh yeah. I woke up to the sound of horns the past two days.” Tracy said with a nod. “Lot of traffic. But we got to see a mall. Nice one, several stories tall.”

“Cool. Did you talk to Aunt Alice, Heidi and Cheryl?” Vance asked as he dipped the spoon into the ice cream.

“Yeah.” Tracy nodded as she scooped up a spoonful of ice cream. “They are okay with me and they are going to meet us at Disneyland. Angie too.”

“Really?” Vance asked and Tracy nodded. “Cool. That will be fun.”

“Mom’s mom and Dad will meet us there too.” Tracy added. “But not Grandma and Grandpa from Oroville.”

“Well, we did just see them for eleven years.” Vance said with a chuckle.

“But still it would have been nice to see them again.” Tracy said,

Maggie sat down at the table with them. “You saw your grandparents on Friday and you will see them on the weekend when we go to move.”

“Move....” Tracy got out of her seat and went to her Aunt Shelly. “Aunt Shelly. can I use your phone? I wanna call a friend of mine, so he knows that I will be in town next weekend.”

“Sure, just make it fast. We’re expecting a call for your uncle Frank.”

“Okay, thank you!” Tracy darted for the phone in the kitchen and she began dialing the number she knew very well. A few seconds later, Peter’s voice came over the speaker.

“Hello? Lowery house.”

“Peter, it’s Tracy.”

“Tracy! How are you, tell me everything that’s been going on!”

“Peter, I can’t talk long, my uncle is expecting a call. I wanted to say that I will be in town on Saturday and Sunday. We’re moving on Sunday and getting the last of the stuff from the old house. So can you let Emily May and Mary Beth know about it?”

“Sure, I can do that.” Peter said. She could hear the sadness in his voice.

“I wanna see you there too.” Tracy added.

“I wouldn't miss it for the world.” Peter replied.

~o~O~o~

Sage walked into her mother’s bedroom, just as Persephone was pulling on a clean shirt, her hair still damp from her shower. Moony and ‘Romy were off with their father. That left Sage’s chance to get to know more of her mother’s religion. Persephone looked to her daughter. “You’re sure, Baby? You want to go?”

“Yeah, Mom. You’ve let me make my own decisions for a while now. You’ve let me read every book I can get my hands on. I’ve read about the major religions. I’ve decided that I want to watch your monthly ritual.”

“You may have read them, but do you understand them?”

“Kinda. A lot of it just seems like the same story, from a different perspective.”

Persephone nodded. “I have heard that before. A lot of the stories seem to run in line with each other, but then there are things that differ. If you listen to what the Jewish people say, the Saviour has yet to be born.”

“And when I was at the church with Rachel, it just seemed like a lot of things are looked at badly. Like you can’t even breathe without making their God mad.”

“Their religion does seem to have a lot of rules, doesn’t it?” Persephone asked, aware that getting her daughter to ask questions and think could help Sage discover more about the different religions in the world.

“It does and when I’ve read the bible, it seems that some things are bad, then halfway through, it’s okay. But you don’t believe in that, do you?” Sage asked

“Sage, a better question is to ask what you believe.” Persephone said. Then she asked. “What do you think?”

“Well, a part of me doesn't know. I mean there must be something out there that watches over us. But if it’s like the Christian God, why doesn’t he stop things like when towns flood? What about hatred? I saw the passage that said love thy neighbor. Tracy and Rachel have even said it. Why....” Sage bit her lip, thinking of how to word what she was thinking.

She looked up at her mother. “What about those women like the one who attacked Tracy and me? She says she’s a Christian, but I thought they were supposed to be nice and love everyone. She’s attacking Tracy and threatening to do anything to get her out of town.”

Persephone patted Sage’s shoulder and shook her head, a slight frown on her face. “Sage, baby, you know that there are bad people in all walks of life. Christians, Muslims, Hindus even my religion. Each group has someone who makes the rest look bad. It’s how you act that matter.”

Sage seemed to cock her head slightly to the side and she asked. “How so? Like what you cast and stuff like that?”

“Sage, I believe that there are things bigger than us, who created us. I believe in a duality. A male and Female creator, ones who have been known by many names over the years. I believe that all life comes from them and returns to them. I believe in reincarnation. I believe in doing good, it will create good back to you and doing bad, will bring bad to you as well. I think we are all responsible for what we do in life and it is up to each of us to stand above the petty squabbles and try to promote peace in the world. I feel it is our responsibility to see past our hatred, anger and pride and be there to help others. That’s why I raised you the way I did. I wanted you to be responsible for your actions. You have to own up to your mistakes.”

“What about magic? You believe in that, right?” Sage asked

Persephone neither nodded nor shook her head, instead she kind of shrugged. “I believe that each of us has a power in us to tap into the Gods and Goddess to promote small changes on a personal level. I believe that we all have a power in us and we can do great things, but you have to be careful, sometimes ego, and anger can pervert a beautiful thing like magic and then you end up cursing someone and getting that curse back on you.”

Sage had been thinking one question that she just had to ask. “Mom, do you think magic works?”

Persephone nodded. “Yes. It’s not like you see in the cartoons, or in that dungeon game your Uncle played with you and you cousins, but I think it works. But what we do is more subtle. Quiet, but there. Like a whisper in a loud room. Like a light breeze on a warm day.”

“Like helping someone get better?” Sage asked.

“Yes, like sending healing thoughts to a sick friend.” Persephone said, nodding her head.

“Kind of like praying, like Rachel does?” Sage asked.

“Yes. See, in that way, a Christian is sending good will to someone, but asking someone else to heal the person in question. What I do I am personally aiming the healing power, I just ask the Gods and goddesses to help in the sending.”

Sage bit her lip as she thought about it for a moment. “I see. So you can heal and stuff.”

“You have seen what I do. You have used my bath herbs and oils before. You’ve practiced meditation with me before. You know a lot, for someone who isn’t in the craft. What I do is good, but it is between me and the God and Goddess. Others may look down on it, but that is because they don’t understand it.”

“Like Tracy? People don’t understand, so they hate her?” Sage asked.

“Yes, just like that.” Persephone looked at a clock. “Okay, we need to get going. That is, if you still want to learn.”

“Yeah.” Sage said with a nod.

“Okay, but you know the rules. You sit to the side and watch, but no getting into the circle, and no speaking while we are in the circle and busy, okay? When it’s over, before we come home, you can talk to the ladies, but I’ll tell you when.”

“Okay.” Sage replied. “Um, I...uh....”

Her mother stopped when she saw her daughter’s cheeks go a bright red. “What’s wrong, Sweetie?”

“Are they gonna be naked?” Sage asked. She had heard her mother and aunt talk about other rituals and she had heard they had been naked and that one was thing she was worried about.

“If they are naked, no one will force you to be naked. We understand how you feel about yourself. Plus, it’s about forty degrees right now, so it is cold. I doubt many of them will be running around in the cold night air, while naked.” Persephone stopped and smiled in that motherly way. “Also, you’re not a legal adult. That makes you way under age and I wouldn’t force you to be naked in front of anyone, other than a doctor.”

“Thanks.” Sage said, feeling relieved.

“I’m your mother and a Wiccan, not some evil monster.” Persephone put her hand on her daughter's cheek. “Just be good and quiet and I promise you can speak to the others later.”

“Okay.” Sage said again and followed her mother out of the house.

Persephone stopped to lock the door and she decided to give her daughter one more chance to back out. “Sage, if you want, you can stay home. I promise, all we are doing is the ritual for the full moon.”

“No, I wanna go. I wanna watch.” Sage said.

“Okay. Also, your cousin Casey is there. Lilian figure’s she is old enough to get to see this, and we’re trying to make sure that you’re thirteen before you join the coven. But when you’re there, you can not play around. You two have to be good.” Persephone locked the door, then checked it, then she headed for her VW bus. She unlocked the passenger door, then walked around. When she got into the driver’s seat, Sage was looking at her and as she put on her seat belt, Sage asked another question.

“What about Stacey?” Sage asked. “Will she be there?”

Persephone shook her head. “We’ll break Stacey into this when she gets about eleven and a half.”

“So in half a year?”

“Well....” Persephone held out a hand and wiggled it back and forth. “We agreed that you three would get exposed to this and then you can make your own choices. We may expose her now, and just let her come along, but only when you hit thirteen, can you join in the celebrations. But one big rule is that you can’t go telling people about this. No telling Rachel, Brooke or Tracy.”

“Why not?” Sage asked.

“Sage, not a lot of people understand this.” Persephone told her daughter.

“Why not?” It was a simple question, and one that was hard to answer at time. Persephone knew this. “It’s not illegal, is it?”

“Sage, you know how some people just hate something just to hate it. Its nothing you or I can do, they just hate us. Be it your red hair, your way of thinking, or how your body is.” Persephone said. “People blown things out of proportion. If you were to say your mother is a Wiccan who does magic, people would hear you say I am a witch and then they would get defensive, thinking I am here to rot your soul.

“Does Uncle Harvey know?”

Her mother nodded. “He knows and while he may not agree with it, he will not get in the way of your Aunt’s religion, unless he feels the girls are in danger.”

“And he’s never felt that was going to happen?” Sage asked.

“Not that I know of.” Persephone said. “Now let’s get going.”

“Where are we going?” Sage asked as her mother started her VW bus.

Persephone smiled. “It’s a secret. We’ll meet your Aunt, cousin and Grandma Baker there.” She put the old bus in reverse and pulled in to drive by their trailer.

Sage looked at her and shot her mother a huge grin. “Grandma?”

“Yeah, she stays up here on the full moons. She’ll be with your Great Aunt Agnes.” Persephone said with a nod.

“Aunt Agnes?!?” Sage asked, getting more excited.

“Yes. She’ll be there too.” Persephone said with a nod.

“What about Moony, Romy and Dad?” Sage asked, looking in the mirror at the house.

Persephone waited to answer her, until they pulled onto the main road. “Well, your Dad has no problem with me and my religious choices. He doesn’t push or pry and I don’t force my beliefs on him, although, his old hippy ways are still in tune with my thinking. Moony hasn’t really asked about it, nor does he seem interested. He knows about it, but I guess its just not cool enough. And as for ‘Romy, I would like to wait, until she is old enough to not tell everyone in her class that her mother dances around naked, in the woods, casting spells. That’s not a meeting with the school I look forward to. But you, you’re grown up and you understand the need for privacy.”

“Yeah.” Sage said with a nod. She leaned back in the seat as her mother headed down the road and stopped at a light to merge on the highway.

~o~O~o~

Sage had sat off to the side with her cousin and they watched, while Sage translated for Casey. When it was over, the girls were separated and Casey was talking to their grandmother. That left Sage and Persephone. But after a few minutes, Persephone excused herself and left the room. It was then an older woman came walking over, smiling at her.

“Aunt Agnes?!?” Sage said in surprise

“Sweet pea.” The woman said in her British accent. It had been almost three decades and she still had it, and was proud of her accent. It was a bit softer than when she first moved to America, decades earlier, but she still had it. Agnes leaned in, but didn’t do any of the cheek pinching her other great aunts did. Instead she hugged Sage, which Sage never minded. Agnes always smelled of fruit and flowers. “How are you, Sage?”

“Good.” Sage replied.

Aunt Agnes nodded. “Good. I see you finally wanted to see what it is we do here?”

“Yeah. Mom has let me ask questions and she lets me read things, but I wanted to see first hand.” Sage stated. “I never knew you went to her rituals.”

“I helped train your mother. Your Grandmother and I both. I trained your Aunt Lillian and your uncle Joey too. I learned from my mother, your Great Grandmother. She was a wonderful woman. Plus others in her circle.”

“Will Mom and Aunt Lillian teach me?” Sage asked.

“Sage, honey. Your mother has been teaching you for years. The herbs, the incense, the lessons about you having the power to change you. The talks about how you should treat the Earth and others. That’s all how your mother thinks. That is how we all think. She may have been a hippy for a while, but unlike many people she knew, she was that way, before it got big. She promised to not shove her thinking on you, but to give you access to all the information you wanted. Be it Judaism, Hindu, Buddhist, or Christian. She wanted you to make your own choices in life. That’s the reason she pulled you away from the hospital when you were a wee babe. She wanted you to make all your choices. She didn’t want to place your fate in the hands of a stranger that doesn’t know you.”

Sage nodded as she thought about what her Aunt said, then she asked a question that had puzzled her for some time. “I always wondered why, if Mom was a Wiccan, why she celebrated Christmas?”

“Well, there is a good reason for that. First of all, is that Yule is our Christmas and like Christians, we decorate an evergreen tree. We give gifts. We do a lot of things that Christians do. But the other reason is family. Your father’s family is Christian, he just doesn’t shove his political or religious views on you and your siblings. They are not hardline Christians. But they can get opinionated. If his family comes over, they would question the lack of a tree and presents. Also, you kids would be teased for not getting gifts. You’ve seen how the children who don’t celebrate Christmas get treated at school, right?” Her Aunt asked and Sage nodded.

“We have a girl from the Jehovah's witness that gets teased for it. Plus there is a boy who is Jewish, he gets teased too.” Sage looked to her aunt. “But why do you celebrate it? I mean you, Mom, Grandma, Aunt Lilian are all witches, why do you celebrate Christmas, if you don’t believe in it?”

Agnes chuckled. “I told you. We celebrate Yule. It is like a different version of Christmas. But still we give gifts for you kids. Your Uncle Joe in Vermont is the same. He has his own path. It’s like ours, but he has a wife who understands. She’s also very good about his hobbies, religion and political belief, so he doesn’t push his lifestyle on her. She doesn’t push her life on him. They found a good middle ground and the two of them love each other a lot.”

“Oh. Like letting him play the role playing games he brings out with him?” Sage asked.

“Yes. Just like that.” Agnes said.

“Oh.” Was the only thing Sage could reply with.

“We still hold our beliefs, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be nice and help other people with theirs, or give our family what the others have.”

“That’s nice.” Sage said.

“And that is what we want to give to you. That sense of playing fair. Helping others who may think differently and always be responsible for your actions.” Her aunt said. “But that’s enough talking for today. You need to get back with your mom. You have school in the morning.”

“Yeah.....”

“Baby.” Her Aunt Agnes said, as she hugged Sage. “You’ll see me again and if you come with your mother, you’ll see me in a month.”

“Okay. I’d like that.” Sage said and she hugged her Aunt back.

~o~O~o~

Tracy rolled over on the bed and looked at her brother, the glow of the night light barely showing him. “Hey.” She whispered to him. “You awake?”

“Yeah.” He answered back. The beds they were using were along the east and north walls of the room, both stopping at a table near the window. Tracy’s head was near Vance’s and the room was quiet. She knew her aunt and mother were both downstairs, watching T.V. and talking, and their Uncle Frank was in bed, so he could get up early and drive to his job in Berkeley.

“Vance, are you mad that you came down here?” Tracy asked.

He shook his head. Than he whispered. “Not really. I mean since Bruce stopped hanging out with me, I was bored. Jerry was there on the weekends, but other than that, I had no one. So coming down here, I can change that.”

“I miss Mary Beth and Emily May, plus Peter, but I think this is better.” She whispered. “More things to do.”

“A school that doesn’t know either of us.” Vance said in a whisper.

“Yeah. I am sorry for any of the bad things. Like the dress Grandma made you wear.”

“You had her stop. So I don’t mind.” Vance said. He rolled over and propped himself up on one elbow. “And God knows what I would have done if I would have stayed Bruce’s friend. I may have beat you up in December....”

“Vance....” Tracy didn’t what to say. She had hoped that Vance would have never been bad to her, but he used to be a jerk.

“Tracy, face it, I was mean to you and I tried to ruin your life.” He sat up and sighed. “I practically handed you to him, with telling him about your dress over the phone. I had been a jerk to you for so long, but you never cared. Heck, you helped me....”

Since their heads were near each other, she reached out and touched his arm. “Its okay. I love you too, big brother.”

“Thanks. I just hope I didn’t screw up your life too much.” Vance said.

“How did you screw it up?” Tracy asked him as she sat up in bed.

“I called Bruce. Bruce wanted to embarrass you in front of the school. But you caught him stealing and he got really mad.” Vance said, sitting up and facing her. “So in calling him, I gave him a reason to try and hurt you. Then he really wanted to hurt you after we both stood against him. Then Clark took pictures because you got his brother arrested.”

“Vance, you didn’t make him come to the property.” Tracy stated.

“Maybe not, but I still feel guilty.” Vance replied.

There was a tapping at the door and it opened up, showing Maggie standing there. “I know you two want to talk, but you have school in the morning, Vance, so you should get some sleep. Young lady, you should rest too.”

“Yes, Mom.” Both kids said.

“Good night, you two.”

“Night, Mom.” Both of her children said. She waited for them to lay down before she shut the door.

Once they heard her walk from the door, Tracy reached out, touched her brother’s shoulder again. “Vance, thanks for everything you have done. I’m glad to call you my brother.”

“Thanks.” He said in a hushed tone. “I’m glad to have you as a sister.”

Now I kicked around the idea of Persephone and family being Pagan for some time and felt the time was good to bring her out of the broom closet. Keep in mind, this is not a magic story, but just a story, involving a religion that exists.