It was the Thursday after grams had passed. After I got home, I went to grams room to finish cleaning it out. I left all the furniture in there and put all of her old clothes in a suitcase. I couldn’t figure out where to put it though.

When I was done, I headed back to my room. I went into my room and got a change of clothes. I was pretty dirty from cleaning out grams’ room so I decided to shower. After I was done, I went to finish up some stuff I had to do for school the next day. College essays were due and I still had to rewrite mines. When I got to the door that goes into my bedroom, I looked over at the stairs that went up to the attic. I’ve been avoiding those stairs and the attic ever since the day grams died. I don’t know what it was. It was like something was calling me up there. I tried to ignore it, but it was no good. Like the dream, I couldn’t lose the feeling that I had to be in the attic. I figured that since I had to write out the words in my dream to get it to stop, I’d have to go to the attic to get this feeling to stop, so I went up into the attic.

There was nothing there, nothing that wasn’t there before, anyways. I went to the window that I had gone to the night grams died and looked out to see if I could see anything wrong outside. Again, everything seemed pretty normal. I turned around deciding that it was just my mind playing tricks on me. I was about to go downstairs when three sets of lights appeared. The first two sets of lights were white and they each seemed to be surrounding a figure in them. The other was just a lot of tiny blue orbs that came downwards from the ceiling.

“Grams?” Grams appeared from one of the white lights. Next to her stood a woman. As I looked at her, I remembered that she was the lady from my dreams. Next to her stood a blond man.

“Hello Alex.” Grams smiled.

I looked at the lady and said, “It’s you. You were in my dreams. You kept reciting those words over and over again.”

Grams sighed. She looked at the man and the woman. “I can’t leave you kids alone for one second, can I.” She wasn’t angry. She was smiling, still. The lady smiled too.

“Mother, please.”

Mother. She said mother. This lady was my grandmother’s daughter making her my mother. My mother… I finally got to see my mother. I couldn’t stop looking at her. I just couldn’t believe it. Her eyes were just like mine. Grams looked at me. Then she came to me and said, “Yes Alex, this is your mother. Andrea Rowe.”

I had no doubt in my mind that she was my mother Andrea. I didn’t even need grams to tell me. Grams pointed to the guy and said, “and this is your father, Alexis Rowe.” My parents. They stood right in front of me. After all these years of wondering how they looked like and how their voices sounded like, I finally met my parents. I walked over to them. I looked at my father. His eyes were green. Not normal green, they were sorta pale. He looked at me in return and had this smile on his face I can’t even describe.

He pulled me into a hug and said, “Thirteen years. Thirteen years I’ve waited to hold you again. Your mother and I have been watching over you all your life but I can’t believe that I’m actually standing next to you again.”

I looked at my mother and hugged her. “Oh, my boy. My beautiful son, how I’ve missed you so.” I turned to look at both of them and said, “I can’t believe both of you are standing in front of me. I thought I’d never be able to see you again. I guess I was wrong.”

Then I looked at grams. I couldn’t believe she was standing there after being dead for almost a week now. “I’ve missed you, grams.” I held her and stayed there for a few seconds.

“And I’ve missed you, Alex.”

I didn’t know how they were there in front of me but I was happy they were. “Grams, what happened? How are you all here?”

My mother came up to me. “Alex, the reason we are allowed to come down here is because we have to explain something to you.” She takes a deep breath. “Alex, the world is inhabited by two different types of magic: good and evil. Good magic is ruled by the natural order of magic, as is evil magic. The difference is that evil magic is controlled by The Source.”

“The Source?”

“The Source of all evil.”

“So in other words, the devil.” I didn’t expect that magic would be behind the fact that my parents and my grandmother were standing right in front of me. My father spoke,

“No Alex, The Source is more powerful than the devil.”

“For a long time, every form of good magic has tried to vanquish The Source. So far, no body has succeeded.” I looked at grams after she said this and wondered what she meant by no “body”. No way would a person try to go against something like The Source, would they? Did people even know The Source existed? “What do you mean by ‘no body’? And what does this have to do with anything?”

My mother began to speak again. “Alex, the people who try to kill, well…vanquish The Source are witches.”

“Witches? There’s no such thing.”

“Yes there are.” She took a deep breath again. “Your grandmother and I and all the Rowe’s of the past were witches. We all tried in our own ways to vanquish him but we all failed.”

“Witches? You and grams are witches? Dad, too?” I couldn’t believe that I was born into a family of witches. I couldn’t. There was no way.

“No, Alex. I’m not a witch. I’m a white-lighter.”

“A white-lighter. What’s a white-lighter?”

“A white-lighter is a witch’s guide. We help our charges battle The Source and vanquish demons. White-lighters are allowed to orb down whenever their charge needs them.” My mother was a witch and my father was some kind of angel, a white-lighter apparently. Did that mean that I was?

“Mom, dad, grams,” I looked at the three of them. “Am I a witch?”

Grams spoke up. “Alex, you are half witch, half white-lighter.”

“Half witch. I’m a witch.”

“Wouldn’t I be a warlock?”

“No. Warlocks are witches who became evil because their desire for power led them to kill other witches.”

I had so many questions but there was one in particular that I had in mind. “Does that mean I have to try and vanquish The Source?”

“Yes. It is the destiny of the Charmed Ones to vanquish The Source. But not right away. The time will come when he will be defeated.” She just said Charmed Ones, as in more than one.

“I know that this is all sudden but it wouldn’t have been if your grandmother listened to me.”

Grams looked at mom. “What does she mean, grams?”

She looked at me and said, “When you left the day you first came here, I came up here and talked to your mother. I decided I wasn’t going to unbind your powers unless it was necessary. The more I talked with your mother, the more I thought it would be better if you never found out about it and let you live a normal life. That night that I passed, I was going to strip you of your powers.”

“Is that what you were doing up here grams? You came up here to strip my powers?”

“Yes, that’s what I was going to do; against your parents wishes so that you wouldn’t have to fight The Source. What I didn’t realize was that he would find you and kill you to guarantee his victory.”

So it was settled. I was a witch. And I was also a white-lighter. I still didn’t know what she meant by Charmed ‘Ones’ though.

“You said Charmed Ones before. Will I have to work with other witches?”

Mom looked at dad and said, “Yes you will. Alex, you have two siblings. Your father and I gave up three of you. You have to find them. Only the power of three could defeat The Source.”

“I have brothers. Who are they?”

“We aren’t allowed to tell you. You have to find them on your own.”

“How will I know who they are?”

My father spoke this time, “Using this.” He held his hand opened and an object orbed into it. It was a charm. It looked sort of like a trinity but much larger. The figure was three ovals that connected somewhere in the middle of each with a circle around its center. “Whenever, you are around them, it will glow blue. It reacts to the white-lighter in them. You’ll have to be pretty close though. Because their powers aren’t awakened yet, it’ll be hard to get a signal.”

“Powers?”

“Yes powers. The three of you each have your own unique abilities.”

“Do I have my power yet?”

“You should since you called for them.”

I looked at grams and said, “When did I call for them?” Then I remembered. In the library, when the words stopped. They must have stopped because I said them, not because I wrote them down. “It was in the library, wasn’t it?”

“Those words I said to you in the dream was a spell.”

“A spell to call for my powers. What power do I have?”

“We don’t know. It could be one of three.”

“How can I find out?”

“When, I was pregnant with the three of you, I could freeze things. Maybe you can.” She grabbed a glass vase that belonged to grams and held it above the ground. “When I let it go, freeze it by opening your hand at it.”

“All right.” Mom dropped the vase and I did what she told me. The vase fell and shattered on the floor. “It didn’t work. What else could it be?”

“Telekinesis. I could move thing with my mind also. Try it on the glass.”

“How?”

“With your hand, gesture to where you want it to go.” I looked at the glass and tried it. It didn’t move. I tried it again but had no success. “What’s the other power?”

“Premonitions. That’s when you have visions. There really isn’t a way to test that.” She looked at my father.

He came up to me and said, “Yes there is.”

Grams responded, “How?”

“If he has the power of premonitions, he’d be able to see in my mind.” He looked at me. “When it looks like I’m about to orb, put your hand on my forehead, ok?” I nodded. He closed his eyes and soon enough, he started to glow blue like when he first appeared. I touched his forehead and tried to pick up something. I thought it worked but he told me it didn’t.

“Maybe I’m not a witch.”

“No, you are. Alexis, orb up and ask the elders what went wrong.”

“You got it.” The blue lights appeared again. When they disappeared, he was gone. I sat there wondering why they didn’t work. And then the question hit me.

“Mom, is dad going to be my white-lighter?”

She started to answer when someone orbed in. “Nope. I am.” He could’ve been at least twenty. “How’s it going Andrea, Mrs. Rowe?”

“Luke? You’re going to be my grandchildren’s white-lighter?”

“Yeah. The elders told me this morning. I would’ve come earlier but I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“Luke, you’re twenty one years old. Are you sure you can guide them?”

“It scared me a little at first but after watching over them with Alexis, I figured it’d be all right.” He walked up to me. He offered his hand to shake. We shook and greeted each other. “I’m Luke, your white-lighter.” I answered, “Alex.”

“I know. Your father and I are friends. When I went through training, he was sorta like my coach. Whenever he watched over you and your brothers, I was there with him. I could tell you tons of stories about your parents.”

“Really, can you?”

“You bet. Whenever you want. I know what it’s like to grow up without your parents. All right, I have to go. The elders are calling.” He waved goodbye at my mother and at grams and he orbed to wherever it is the elders are. It was twenty to midnight.

A few minutes later, my father returned. Mom asked him, “Did you find out anything?”

“Yup. Alex doesn’t have his powers yet.”

“Why not?”

“The Source is almost at his full strength. He isn’t close to being strong enough to surface yet but with his power, he has control over a lot of demons. If any of them attack Alex and all he has is the power to freeze to protect himself, he’ll be on the run forever and won’t be able to find his brothers.” He looked over at grams. “They said if he had more time to prepare, his power would have expanded enough for him to take on demons on his own. They hold you responsible for that, Thea.”

“Oh, do they? We’ll see.”

“They are going to give Alex all three powers. He’ll have the ability to communicate with his white-lighter telepathically. Also his powers will be expanded. They need time to work it through.”

“All three powers? Is that safe?” I looked at my mother for an answer.

“Alexis, will he be able to handle all of that power?”

“Normally, no. But since he’s half white-lighter, the healing powers will allow him to. For a while, anyway.” He turned to look at me. “Whenever it is that you do receive your powers, don’t use the healing ability unless it’s an emergency. You won’t be able to heal yourself, just others.”

“Until when will I have all three powers?”

“Until the three of you come into this room and call The Book of Shadows. Their power will also be expanded when they receive them until that time. When the third of three receives his powers, the power of three will be reconstituted and the telepathic ability will be returned to the Powers. After the Book has been summoned, your powers will settle and the three of you will have the power that belongs to you. I’d keep that spell your mother gave you in mind.”

“Is it possible that The Source come to attack?”

“He can but it isn’t likely. If he does, he’ll lose his strength and it’ll take him longer to surface.” I was kinda relieved by that.

My father looked at mom and grams. “We have to go. We did what we came to do and we’re only allowed to stay till midnight.”

“Alex, if you ever need us, you can call us with a spell in the Book. We’ll see you later. Good luck, sweetie.” I walked up to my mother and gave her a hug. “Bye mom.”

I shook hands with my father and said bye to him as well. Then I went to grams. “I’ll be here to help you out. You won’t see me, but you’ll know when I’m around. Goodbye Alex. Oh yeah, if you ever need Luke, just call him. White-lighters can hear their charges from wherever they are.”

“Later, grams.”

The same lights appeared. Dad orbed away. Mom and grams were surrounded by the white lights and soon vanished. When they were gone I made my way to the stairs that led downstairs. Before I left the attic, I heard my grandmother say, “Oh and Alex, throw all those clothes away.”