Magicals

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Arabella

Right before take-off I feel nerves and panic explode within me. I have never been one for flying. That might explain why I haven't been "home" in three years. That and technically my mom and I were in hiding, however, I am on a plane waiting for takeoff now. Leaving Paris is bittersweet, I think I truly found myself during my time here but I have missed home so much. Home is Daphne, Alabama, an average size town but small compared to Paris, France. Daphne is located right off I-10, it's a suburb to Mobile, Alabama. Being that it's on the eastern shoreline we have a beautiful bay area that always leaves the town smelling kind of salty. It really is a lot more fantastic than it sounds.

Once dad, Wayne and I are in the air I look down and watch as Paris disappears. I wish we could have left in the night just so I could see the city lights one last time but we don't always get what we want I think to myself. That's for sure, if we did I certainly would not have asked for the past three weeks. My dad and Wayne, his best friend and protector, are deep in conversation. Grabbing my ear phones and iPod, I hit play and within seconds I'm lost in the music, closing my eyes I drift off to sleep. Dad wakes me as we get ready to land. I'm not sure which is worse taking off or landing.

Making our way through the airport towards baggage claim I spot a familiar face about the same time as Wayne does. I hear the sigh as he sees Kathy, his wife for the first time since he got to Paris with my dad. I'm sure that's the longest they've been apart since they got together. I study her and find it odd yet comforting that she really hasn't changed. Kathy is the complete opposite of what my mom was yet, they were best friends and Kathy had taken the oath to protect my mom when she married Wayne. I can't really imagine what she must be feeling right now knowing that she couldn't protect her from death's hand. Wayne quickens his pace, as he reaches her he drops his bag and pulls her into his arms, hugging her as if he hadn't seen her in years instead of just a few weeks. Watching this I realize just how tall Kathy really is. Wayne stands at 6' 6", broad shoulders and square jaw, shoulder length curly sandy blond hair, and ocean blue eyes. Kathy comes right to his shoulders, I never noticed this before, she has to be at least 5' 10" and beautiful. I notice her caramel brown hair is not the short choppy bob it was when I left but now hangs to her shoulders. I really like it, it brings out her high cheekbones and hazel eyes more.

Finally, they break the hug and Kathy turns to me "Arabella!" she says drawing me in for a hug. It's familiar and exactly what I needed. Moms give the best hugs and I needed a mom hug. Pulling back but leaving her hands on my upper arms she says "Let me look at you, it's been such a long time" giving me a once over "well, you certainly have grown up Belle but you're far too skinny, we need to fix that". I laugh as she puts her arm around my shoulder and head for the exit as dad and Wayne finish collecting our luggage, Luna and Poe.

Luna and Poe are my two cats and yes they're named after books. Luna reminded me of my favorite character from Harry Potter because of her white coat and intuition. Poe on the other hand is named after my favorite author Edgar Allan Poe. Little did I know that when I picked the name that he would live up to it so well. Not only is he solid black with sky gray eyes he's also incredibly mysterious even for a cat.

Loading the car takes a lot more time that we had thought it would. We all pile into the car, Wayne and dad in the front, Kathy and I along with Poe and Luna in the backseat. Once again I feel the need for my iPod, I'm exhausted and don't really feel like making small talk, I go through my artists list until I find Sam Smith, pressing play and closing my eyes. We have a three and half hour drive from Birmingham to Daphne, so sleep sounds pretty good. Then I remembered that I promised I'd let Javier, my best friend from Paris, know once I had landed safely. I quickly grabbed my phone and texted "I'm officially back in Alabama" within seconds I had a reply that read "Well, if it gets too horrible just put on your red shoes, click your heels three times and repeat there's no place like Paris ;) "This brought a smile to my face, only he would give me a Wizard of Oz movie reference. Javi was the only one in Paris who knew my past and exactly what I really was. I sent him a text "haha, I'll remember that, tu me manques". In French we don't say 'I miss you' we say 'tu me manques' which translates to 'you are missing from me'. I felt tears form behind my eyes but refused to let them. I got one last text from him that said "Aww you too amour." I closed my phone and shut my eyes.