I got home from school and dropped my backpack on the couch. I called out that I was home, heading to the bookshelf. After some searching I found the book I wanted and flipped it open.

     Thunderstorm - Large

As I walked to the kitchen I looked over the ingredients. We had everything. Setting it on the table, I pulled out the old copper pot. Not the iron pot, because magic doesn’t like iron, and not the porcelain pot because Mama would get annoyed if I used it to make a spell.

I filled the pot halfway up with water and set it on the stove. I debated calling for Mama to light it, but decided I could do it myself. Thankfully it started instantly, it always scares me when it takes a few seconds to start. As it started to warm up I pulled the magic polvorosado off the shelf and dropped a pinch into the water.

It dissolved instantly, turning the water a clear fuschia. I waited until it started to sparkle before going to get the other ingredients. You have to wait for the water to sparkle before adding anything, or else the magic might not work.

     Add the following ingredients, before the water reaches a boil:

     2 - white dove wings. For full effect they must be clean and have all their feathers.

I found the dove wings, made sure they were clean, and dropped them in the water. The water glowed for a moment before becoming opaque. The wings had been accepted.

     5 - bees with stingers. For more lightning, add more bees, not exceeding 20.

I found the jar of bees and shook five out onto my hand. They had stingers. I dropped them in one by one, making sure the water glowed for each bee.

     1tsp. - powdered rooster bone. For louder thunder, add more powder, not exceeding 3tbs.

I noticed we were running low on rooster bone powder. I’d have to tell Mama when I was done. I put a teaspoon and a half into the pot, since the powder we had was weak. Mama suspects that some of the bones must have come from a hen.

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

     3 - blue feathers. These must be naturally blue, and not dyed.  For more rain, add more feathers, not exceeding 9.

It took me a while to search through our bag of feathers for three blue ones. Blue feathers were used in all the rain spells, and since rain is important Mama gets asked to make them a lot.

     1 - hair or fingernail clipping of the person on whom the storm shall be centered. For faster effect, use a larger number of hairs or clippings.

I smiled, pulling a handkerchief out of my pocket. It had taken me all afternoon to get one of Jason’s hairs. I was about to drop it in when Mama came into the kitchen.

“What are you making?” she asked, smiling at me.

“A thunderstorm.”

“Where are you sending it?”

“To Jason.”

She took the hair from me. “Now, dear, you know we are not supposed to use magic for evil or revenge.”

“But-”

“I know Jason annoys you, but you can’t lash out at him with any sort of curse.”

“But-”

“Give me one of your hairs, if anyone asks I’ll say I was teaching you one of the more complicated rain spells,” she said, holding out her hand.

“But he said that his papa told him our magic is cute, but compared to wizard magic, witch magic is weak and lame,” I said quickly.

She thought for a moment, her eyes twinkling. “Said that, did he?” She dropped Jason’s hair into the pot. “How many bees did you put in?”

“Five, like the recipe says,” I answered promptly.

Mama picked up the jar of bees. There were about a dozen left. She shrugged. “Mrs. Hitchens was in town today, she said we should go by tomorrow to get some honey.” She emptied the jar into the pot. “We can get more bees while we’re there.”

“Yes, Mama,” I giggled.

“Always remember,” she said sternly, “we do not use magic for revenge.”

“Yes, Mama.”

The spell reached boiling point, and a dark purple cloud rose out of the pot. It traveled up the chimney as Mama turned the stove off, yellow lightning cracking in its heart. She took my hand, and we walked to the front porch to watch.

“However, using magic to defend ourselves, and to prove we are not to be trifled with, is fine,” she said.

“Yes, Mama.”

The cloud grew as it moved over the town, stopping over a house near the center. Eighteen lightning bolts erupted at once, hitting the house. The house caught fire as thunder rolled towards us. Rain quickly followed, enough of it to put the fire out. 

Mama crossed her arms, grinning. “How’s that for cute?”