Children of the Lotus {1}

𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖑𝖔𝖌𝖚𝖊

IT WAS NEARING nine o'clock on the date of October 30th when Ruby Dixon, 3 hours away from the exact time of her birth, was delivered the worst news of her life.

. . .

On the cusp of her 17th birthday, Ruby was ecstatic all throughout the day at school. Not only was it Thursday, not only had she just been named co-captain of her JV cheer team (even if she had to share with Paula Stevens, her worse enemy), not only had she received straight A's on her report card, but her crush of 3 months - Levi Fielder, had just asked her to join him for a movie the following Friday. Now, Ruby was merrily skipping along the cracked pavement of Westside Hallbury on her way to her cozy two-bedroom apartment that she shared with her Granny Theodora. Ruby smiled as she remembered her happy day and pulled her pale-pink knitted scarf tighter against her neck. The chill autumn wind nipped at her head and ripped small pieces of Ruby's unique snow white hair from her loose bun, whipping them around her ghostly pale face. Ruby's albinism certainly made her stand out against the aging sidewalk, with her snow colored hair and icy blue eyes sure to stick out like a sore thumb. 

Ruby grimaced as she felt the wind breeze through her worn-out track sneakers. She had been meaning to save money for a new pair from her part-time job at the local book store but the thought kept slipping her mind.

Continuing on the more the negative side of her day, practice that morning had been extra brutal and left Ruby's entire body feeling sore and weak. But even her freezing cold feet and residually aching limbs couldn't break Ruby's good mood and the high she felt from the aftereffects of her otherwise brilliant day. Her good luck thus far had actually given Ruby hope that she might actually have a decent birthday this year, which would be a first for the teenage witch.

Ruby remembered one year, on her twelfth birthday, a snake had climbed in through her open window and slithered its way inside her backpack without being detected. Suffice to say, Ruby didn't care much for snakes after that little incident. Then, three years before then, on the eve of her eighth birthday, a neighboring child had stolen her brand new shiny pink bike and left it wrecked in the ditch. Even though Granny Theodora had been sure to hex the boy temporarily as punishment, Ruby's birthdays had never recovered since. But perhaps this year might be different for the young witch. Perhaps, her luck had turned around.

Ruby shook herself loose from her wandering thoughts and turned the last corner of her walk onto Aloha Street, traversing the short distance uphill to her apartment in the small cul-de-sac. As she walked, Ruby reminisced on her childhood memories in this exact neighborhood. They'd settled here when Ruby was a mere 6 months old, after her parent's accident, and hadn't left since. As far back as she could remember, it had always just been Ruby and her Granny, Theodora Benton.

Ruby knew little of her witch origins - or rather had refused to look much into it. Theodora had never said any knowledge was off-limits to Ruby, but Ruby had always felt more connected to her human nature than her Wiccan one. Yes, she had been mildly curious about some aspects of her heritage, but no major curiosities.
Ruby stopped, having reached the little yellow house on the end of Aloha street with the chipped wooden door painted off-white. Smiling, Ruby rushed the door and gripped the doorknob. However, a strange presence washed over her as her skin came into contact with the cold metal. Granny had a visitor?
Twisting the knob Ruby simultaneously pushed with one numb hand against the old door and winced as it creaked open with the force. She proceeded to step inside the warm foyer and kick off her hole-riddled tennis shoes, calling out for Granny Theodora. Her response from the older woman came from the direction of the sitting room that was connected to the kitchen on Ruby's left. She headed towards Theodora's voice, but not before she dropped her backpack on the wooden floor next to a pair of men's dress shoes. As Ruby tracked her way to the sitting room, a sense of pending doom flooded through her entire being. Ruby finally crossed through the archway entrance and came face to face with Granny Theodora and an unidentified man as they enjoyed a cup of warm herbal tea.

The man was very tall - if Ruby had to guess about 6'4, and lanky. He had a curvy mustache pinned on either side by Abraham Lincoln styled sideburns the color of ashes. Piercing black eyes clashed with Ruby's own piercing glaciers, and she felt as though he could see her soul. The man was dressed in a fancy striped suit and a wooden walking cane sat leaned against the chair beside him. Ruby felt as though this man was a lot older than he looked, and was intimidated by his very prescence. Several documents were laid out neatly before them and Granny Theodora's weathered hand clutched a feathered pen tightly. Her grandmother looked as though she had been recently crying, with her pale weathered cheeks more ruddy than usual. Her bifocols were perched atop her crooked nose, with her wiry grey hair running away in every direction imagineable. Clearing her throat, Granny Theodora began to speak the words that would unwind all of Ruby's stress free day completely. 

"Ruby dear, why don't you join us? This is Magnus Fell, headmaster of Crescent Grove Academy for the Magically Gifted. We were just finishing up your enrollment papers."