Magic & Mystery

Chapter 1 What A Life

The year is 2000 here in beautiful Virginia Beach Virginia and James, Shannon and Edith are 18 years old. James and Edith met each other a couple of years ago when they both took a trade class that started at the beginning of their junior year of high school. They quickly became great friends; although, little did James know that Edith had a big crush on him. She actually set him up with one of her girl friends and James went along with it but he had a secret he had yet to tell anyone...he was gay. James dated the girl but decided after a month or so that it was not fair for him to use the girl that way so he decided to come out and BOY did he. He told the girl an hour before going to Edith's house that night and by now Edith had introduced him to Shannon as well. James told them he was gay but they wouldn't believe him so James called for Edith's brother Wayne to come into the room. James apologized to Wayne in advance and kissed him as hard and deep as he could before stepping back. Wayne was shocked but had a bit of a goofy smirk on his face as he sat down. Edith and Shannon's jaws were on the floor and after a long pause they agreed that he was gay and they believed him. They all laughed, even Wayne who said it was the best kiss he ever had which made James blush and the girls laugh.

So, as stated it is now the year 2000 and the three friends are graduating tomorrow. They have their night of partying for tomorrow already planned out. Shannon as the most responsible of the three has been in charge of all of the money they saved up to just go crazy tomorrow night. Edith's mom agreed to be the designated driver and said we would all stay at Edith's for the night because she knew no matter what anyone said that we were going to get extremely drunk regardless of the law. Edith and Shannon went to Bayside High School on the west side of town which was considered the lower income side, while James went to Cox High School, don't get me started on a gay boy graduating from a school named Cox, which was on the east side of town, the more wealthy side of town. Both graduations were to be held at roughly the same time which meant they couldn't go to each others graduations. All of Shannon and Edith's family went to their graduation and were extremely loving and happy. James and his father never got along although there was a piece of James who always wished his father might actually love him but he always let James down by showing that he didn't care for him in the least. James' maternal grandmother who raised James with his mother, was the only reason that his father even bothered to show up. His father seemed to like and respect James' grandmother so when she told him in no uncertain terms that he better show up to James' graduation and treat James just as he had his brother, James' father finally agreed and made the effort to attend. James didn't really care too much that his father was there but it touched his heart so much that his grandmother did all of that for him. James knew that nobody would ever love him as much as his mother and grandmother.

The graduation went off without a hitch and James' family all met up at his grandmothers house for a small celebration. This is when his family all gave him graduation gitfts. His mother gave him a pair of cufflinks that had belonged to her father who passed long before James was born. His grandmother handed him a small jewelry box and a small silver ring with the inscription "Manila P.I." on it. The ring was dented and the inscription was beginning to fade in a way, showing its age. His grandmother told him that the ring was his grandfathers and he wore it all through World War 2. James cried and hugged his grandmother because he knew it meant the world to her to give this to him. He immediately slipped the ring onto his finger and held his grandmothers hands in his while swearing he would always wear it until the day he died. She cried tears of joy and gave him a hug and a big kiss. Then she said "Don't forget to open the other gift sweetheart."

James smiled at her through his tears and opened the box. It was a beautiful crucifix made of a combination of silver and gold. It had elaborate detail on it and James saw an inscription on it that he couldn't read. His grandmother pulled him aside into her bedroom to speak to him. Once the door was closed she took the crucifix from the box and put it on him. She put her hand up facing him and said "I know, you don't believe in the bible but you do believe in God. The inscription on this crucifix is in a language that is long dead and it has been passed down in our family for generations. I was told when it was given to me to be sure I gave it to my most beloved grandson when he was 18. We both had tears in our eyes but she pushed on. There are some things you need to know that you may not believe but they are true and you will find out soon enough now that you are of age and ready to begin life on your own. This crucifix with protect you in different ways depending on your physical condition."