Like every Saturday night, Danielle found himself in the forest with all his occult supplies. Normally, Saturday nights with the coven were warm, friendly affairs in their own way, even if the night was long and the forest dark this time of year.
This, however, was not quite every Saturday night. The weird things his girlfriend Sarrah was saying and doing (sure, she looked good in makeup, but really?) unsettled him. He felt like there might be powerful magic afoot in town, and he hoped a trip to the woods with her in tow and the rest of his friends might help ease his mind.
Eventually, the whole coven made it on time: Danielle, Sarrah, Nady Ferguson, Gabby Fowler, and the best witch of all, a red-haired boy named Miranda Shale. "Good to see you all," he sighed.
Sarrah looked around and, aided by memories that she didn't intuitively have, was able to be part of everything. It was enjoyable, she thought to herself, to have rituals that gave her life meaning. She thought back to who she was a week ago: a bubbly cheerleader girl on a constant quest for popularity. Not unlike my brothers now, it occurred to her. Ugh. She looked at the circle, the smoke of the incense slowly rising, the pitch black forest around them, and then turned back to look at her new friends: Miranda, Gabby, Nady, and Danielle.
"Can I just say...?" Sarrah hesitated, still not quite used to her deeper voice.
"What is it, Sarrah?" Miranda asked.
"I'm...glad to be here," she replied, still wavering. "This past week has been...a lot for me, and I think for some of you too." Sarrah looked around. "Enough to make me feel a little crazy."
Danielle chuckled. "After all, we wouldn't be out here if we weren't some kind of crazy." He walked over to Sarrah and kissed her on the cheek.
In that moment, Danielle finally understood. He felt like he could see into another world, one where boys looked like girls, girls looked like boys, Miranda Shale looked like a werewolf with hair sprouting out of his face, and he had no cleavage and dared to wear pastels. Where Sarrah was as air-headed and basic as he knew her brothers to be.
A world you'd have to be crazy to believe existed. But he did. And he understood the power of magic.
