Ilvermorny Year One: The Lost Witch

Blood Signature

The Mississippi sun finally set. It was pitch black along the dirt road as Wanda limped towards her home. She was furious, exhausted and most importantly not in the mood...for anything. She could not believe Sue Allen had the nerve to leave the nursing home before she could get to the car, leaving her to walk seven miles in the 100-degree heat. Wanda pondered as she walked. How did this happen?

The thought kept circulating through her head constantly as she drug her bruised and bloody feet down the dirt road. How in the hell did she end up here? She wondered as she continued walking while drenched in sweat from the day's heat and the night's humidity. She finally made it to the small patch of land she rented. She paused at the entrance to the driveway. She placed her hand on her hip and sighed with disgust as she looked at the rusty 20-year-old car parked in front of the nearly dilapidated single-wide trailer in which her family now lived.

She had done everything right. She got married before having children. She went to college. She made good grades. She tried to be a good mother and most importantly she worshiped God. She gave her God everything. She knelt down on her knees night after night and begged her God to change her life. She pleaded with him to save her sons. She prayed and prayed and nothing. Nothing but more upsets. Nothing but more drama. Nothing but more bills. Nothing but more of what she had already enough of.

Wanda decided to give her conflicted thoughts a rest and head inside the house. As she walked across the yard, every occasional step she would hear the crunching sound similar to stepping on a piece of newspaper. She ignored it but a few steps later, there it was again. She had just walked seven miles in 100-degree weather so it was quite possible that she was hallucinating, so she ignored the sound a few more times. Finally, as she attempted to climb the rotten steps to enter the trailer, one of the steps snapped in half, sending Wanda flying backward only to land flat on her back.

The hard fall left Wanda breathless for a few seconds. She coughed hard for a minute trying to regain her breath. She rolled over on her side ,still trying to capture enough wind to breathe,and that;s when she saw it. The envelope. All of the envelopes. They were everywhere. She rose to her knees then eventually her feet and looked out onto the yard. The gold writing on the envelopes was reflected by the yellow light of the single light bulb on the front porch. They formed a glittering trail between the mailbox and the front door.

Wanda began to hyperventilate. She thought she had more time. She thought the devil was going to spare her a little time. That's all she needed. But she had to do it now. She had to make her move tonight. Wanda marched up the steps and up to the door of the house. She opened it to see her worse nightmare had come true: Miles had opened the letters.

Unaware Wanda stood watching them, Trey and Miles still sat in the pile of hundreds of opened letters, laughing and reading them time and time again. Miles began rummaging through the pile.

"Look Trey, an unopened one!" Miles exclaimed. "You open this one"

Trey smiled and pushed the letter back to Miles, "No. It's yours. They're all yours."

"No Trey you open it. I don't want you to think it's all about me. You're my brother and I want you to share this moment with me."

Trey smiled and took the letter. The envelope read:

Mr. Miles Warren Cassidy

254 Drysdale Road

Waller Creek, Mississippi 39355

FINAL NOTICE

The back of the envelope had a cranberry seal and in the center was a four leaf clover shaped blue shield with an odd looking creature on each leaf. Trey ripped the through the sticker, pulled out the letter printer on thick paper and began to read: