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“Silas? No..” I smirked. “He’s normal. I don’t even think he has any occult blood in him. He’s perfectly normal. His father was....,” I sighed. “No one special...” Mom put her wand away and attempted to put her hand on my shoulder. I moved away. “Is this why you offered to move in?” “Clem...” “No,” I groaned. “I...I’d rather be alone right now.”
“Your grandmother was a vampire.” She started as she got off the bench. “I plucked many memories of her from you, because what she was...it wasn’t safe for you to know.” I felt my brain racing to process everything. A vampire? What?? Were those even real? No way....then again, people didn’t believe in witches. I heard the spark of her wand and my mind went blank. Soon a woman with silver hair came to my vision. It was grandma! “I am showing you what I took from you,” Mom whispered. “She died after a late hunt. She wasn’t doing well. Her powers were weak and your grandfather wasn’t fell enough for her to feed from.” “Grandpa?!” “Yes...she seemed sweet, but it was to lure others in. How she stayed in the public eye, I couldn’t tell.” I shook my head slowly. “How are you not a vampire then? And Uncle Vaan?” “I was told it would skip a generation. Yet you were only born a witch. My brother doesn’t have children, so I don’t know if it is then on his side....I haven’t seen him recently.” “So then....is Silas safe?” Mom sighed. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
Mom shifted in her seat before speaking softly. “There were things I kept from you because they were too dark. I protected you with your magic and encouraged you to explore the world...to go away to school.” “And you never called me back when Grandma Molli died...I barely got to know her!” I groaned. “How is that protecting me? You kept me from family.” Mom nodded. “I did. I endured enough. Your grandmother wasn’t well towards the end of her life.” “How old even was she? She barely looked over 30!” “She was much, much, much older than that,” she paused, “the blood of the occult runs in our veins, Clem, but it’s not all witchcraft.” I couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Okay, but what?! Who was she...?” Tears stung my eyes, but I quickly wiped my face. “I’ve a right to know. I have a child now...” She nodded. “That’s exactly why I feel I should tell you.”
I had mustered up the courage to speak to my mother about a month after Grandpa Xander passed away. Mom was distressed as she cared for him deeply, but was it the right time to ask about what happened? “Mom,” I started, looking away from here. “You’re wondering about some things, aren’t you?” She took the words right out of my mouth. My body turned slightly to just barely see her over my shoulder. I wasn’t ready to face her just yet. “Maybe.” Mom bowed her head and exhaled slowly. “I know I kept a lot from you, but you should know the details...”
Clem: All that was...a stepping stone, and I often felt it was planted too late. Grandpa Xander collasped not long after the family moved in. It was as if he was exhausted from a weight he carried on his shoulders. I felt like I missed so many opportunities to learn about our family...I thought we had more time. - - - - Is that how I introduce us? I found myself reciting our family’s story over and over to try and make sense of it myself, yet there were gaps I couldn’t grasp. What was it that I missed in the midst of my time away? I felt locked out of my family all while feeling embraced. I wasn’t going to let it slide... Once I felt I was ready, I walked back inside. My son was playing with my familiar and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mom polishing my offerings on my shrine to the Gods. I had to find a way to talk to her...
Clem: I had a decent childhood. A lot of it was spent practicing my magic with Mom, but eventually I found my own path with it. So...I did when any normal young adult did. I went to college. Hung around there for a bit till I realized it wasn’t for me... Screw you, midterm exams. I KNOW MAGIC!! Then I struggled to make ends meet with a crappy part time job and a butt load of student loans, which resulted in a lot of PB&J sandwiches. Too many, in fact. And of course...I suffered many rejections. One after the other. I started to think something was really off with me.
Clem: And from all of that came....yup, that’s right. Me!
