"That means broomsticks and pointed hats, right? Cauldrons, potions, maybe warts, toads, cats, bats, and that kinda stuff? But aren’t witches girls only? Is that why Lola had an extensive garden, for her spells and potions? So that was a real spell we did earlier, wasn’t it? This is so cool. I’m from a family of witches. I’m a witch. I'm magic."

"Are you seriously crying?" Doc asked as tear drops swelled in Matt's eyes.

"You know I’ve been waiting for my Hogwarts letter to show up since I turned eleven," Matt responded, his voice cracking. He sprang up from his seat and started dancing around, more like flailing like an electrocuted chicken. "It didn’t come then, but it’s here now. I mean, my best friend turned into an awesome but terrifying beast now resting in the greenhouse caged in a magical circle, but I’m not complaining. That’s my acceptance letter into the magical world."

Doc, however, did not share the same enthusiasm and was giving Matt quite a somber look. "Well, I don’t know how to say this without breaking your spirit." Doc glanced away, mustering up the strength to say what he was about to say next. "You’re not like us."

"I’m not like what?"

"A witch."

"What?" Matt froze in the middle of his dance. All the joy in the world was slowly leaving his body.

"You’re not a witch." Doc even tried to look Matt straight in the eyes but quickly glanced away, noticing the devastation in Matt's face.

"Say what now?" He sank back to his chair, his head dropping on the table as a black hole of despair opened in the pits of his stomach.

"And I really think that is for the best." Doc quickly grabbed a can of cola and drank it in one gulp.

Matt disagreed on all levels but could not bring himself to argue. The black hole inside his belly may have sucked in his voice as well. It was, but for a few minutes, Matt thought that he would be a part of this whole other world he had just discovered. He was wrong. Even in that world, which his family is a part of, he was still an outsider.

"Do you remember the Tale of Two Brothers, the siblings who founded our town?" Doc asked, but Matt was too distraught to react. Why is he even bringing up this old tale in the first place? "One brother was said to have a gift, and the other is said to have none."

It is common knowledge in the family that these brothers are actually the Franco family's ancestors. "Wait, are you saying the brother with the gift... his gift was magic and he is a witch? I thought it was his natural gift for medicine? Isn't that why we have a hospital and why we have a lot of doctors in the family tree?"

"No, we're just really more inclined toward learning medicine, and they possess really great power," Doc responded, a hint of pride in his eyes. "However, that power was the reason why they ran away. Something dark is said to follow them, a curse. They had to leave the place where they came from, and that is why they created this community. This town became a haven for them and for anyone else who needed it. The town grew and flourished, but unfortunately, the curse caught up with them. One brother fell into darkness and the other disappeared."

Matt knows he is supposed to take a bite-sized moral lesson from this, but he is too disappointed to even waste time thinking about what it may be.

"Magic is power. The greater the power, the greater the tragedy." Doc had to clap the table to get Matt's attention. "The curse, or whatever it is, that has brought misfortune to our family for generations, it's magic. The power it brings affects us in ways, and we would have been better off without it. Those around us would have been better off not meeting us. Your mom and dad would probably still be around. Our family, my family..." He stopped. "When the time is right, I’ll tell you."

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"The only ones in the family who lived a longer, more satisfying life were those born without magic. Do you get what I am saying?"

Matt could not respond, and it was one of the longest moments when his mouth was kept shut. It was a staring contest between him and his uncle, and Matt could see in Doc's eyes how much he was pleading that Matt understand his thoughts. "I think so," Matt finally responded. "What you’re saying is you have prepared your will ‘cause you’ll be dead in a few months and I’d get to live till kingdom come because you have magic and I don’t."

Doc rolled the nearest piece of paper he could find and reached over the table just to smack Matt on the head, but it did not matter. It has been a long day, and all the excitement only led to bitter disappointment. In another universe, he is having a midnight snack with Doc, but with a different conversation. In that world, Doc has started giving him notes on how to use magic. It sounds selfish and pompous for someone like him, who is not without wealth, to be wanting more, but wanting something he can’t have is a feeling Matt is familiar with. There are just some things that coins can’t buy. Being a witch, being magic, runs in the family and yet somehow, destiny decides to screw him over again, and he is one of the few Francos without the gift. The universe really cannot decide where to put him. A paraiah in the normal world, and too normal for the magical world. Tiptoeing the line separating the two.

"Would’ve been so cool to have magic." Matt pulled himself up from his seat, the exhaustion finally catching up with him. "But it’s just another thing I have to learn to live without. Hey, it’s been almost a decade without Mom and Dad and we’re doing somewhat okay. Right? This is just another... " He wanted to sound lighter and more cheerful, but even his smile could not hide what he really felt. "He is going to be okay tomorrow, right?" Morgan was still caged in the greenhouse, and they said the first transformation is a dangerous one. "‘Cause I can’t just go to bed if he still needs help."

Doc nodded yes. "It’s always the most painful. The body has not gotten used to the changes that distort the body to take on the wolf form. We will have to talk to him tomorrow."

Matt tried to smile one more time before leaving Doc alone in the kitchen. He really wanted to go straight to his bed and close his eyes, but his feet led him somewhere else, and he found himself in his parent’s room the same way he did on the night he was told that they had passed away. The room is still the same, preserved to look the way it did several years ago. Now he wonders if they put a spell on it to keep it pristine. No dust, no dirt. It was the same. It still smelled of lilac, his mother’s favorite scent. His dad’s ship models were arranged beautifully in one corner. The large bed in the center was a lot smaller than he remembered. He was only six the last time he was here, after all. Even so, it was as inviting as it was that night.

Much of his energy was spent chasing after and running from Morgan, but what drained him the most was the disappointment of knowing he was not a witch. It wasn’t just because having magic and being a witch who could cast spells and brew potions sounded cool. It was his family heritage. Doc and Lola were both there for him to watch over him when his parents passed away. Matt’s memories of them are becoming blurry in his mind as the days go by, even if he tries to deny it. If not for their pictures scattered across the house, he would slowly start forgetting what they looked like.

Loud booming noises always freaked him out ever since he was little, and so thunderstorms always sent him into a frenzy. He would knock furiously on their door, and as soon as they opened it, he would rush in, jumping on the bed. He would snuggle in between them, tucked under the sheets, sharing their pillows. They weren’t just there to make him feel protected. They were there because they loved him more than anything.

That was nine years ago. And for the past nine years, when thunderstorms passed over town, Matt could never bring himself to go inside their room. The mausoleum was where he tucked himself in, next to their tombstones. There were no thunderstorms outside tonight, but his heart was pounding louder than he would have wanted it to. Matt dove straight for their bed, remembering just how safe and happy they made him feel.