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My great aunt used to call me Susan. I hated it--always so proper. But she was the only one, and she passed away a few months ago. I didn't know her very well, so I'm not too upset or anything. She's not even really my great aunt, just the only person who knew my dad's side of the family.
Anyway, I'm starting junior year at the College Preparatory Academy in the fall. I'm super excited, but a little nervous. It's been a weird summer. First we had to go to my great aunt's funeral in the middle of nowhere. I met some people who knew my dad--oh right, I guess I should tell you, my dad died when I was really little, so I don't really know him. And my mom doesn't know his family at all. Anyway, _that_ was weird.
My friend Kate's been in Paris the whole summer. She sent me a postcard. It looks like she's having a great time. And then I hardly saw Lindsay--she's my best friend since kindergarten. She and Josh hooked up at the end of last year, and I think she was busy with him all summer. That, and her parents have a ranch they go to in Montana. She hates it there--she says it's so boring, but I think it would be great to be out there. It's a working ranch, too, with horses and cattle and dogs and everything. Anyway, she's supposed to call me when she gets back, which will be in just a few days. I hope she calls. It's been... weird. I guess I said that already. Sorry.
The weirdest thing, though, is my great aunt left me some stuff in her will. I guess she was pretty rich--who knew? Most of the money went into my college fund; the rest was for my mom to help take care of us. But she gave me one thing--her attorney mailed it to us. It's a box, with some old Tarot cards in them. Anyway, I've been playing with them, trying to read fortunes and stuff. It's just for fun. But I don't want to show them to my friends. Not yet. I don't think they'd understand.
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You don't have any siblings, right? Just you and your mom?
What's your favorite subject? How good a student are you? Do you know where you want to go to college, or what for?
What do you do besides school? Job, music, sports, club, hobby, etc.
What do you do for fun?
What's so weird about the stuff in the box that you don't want to share it with your friends? You don't believe those old cards can do anything, do you?
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Yep, just me and Mom. My favorite subject is probably history. I love learning about what happened, and how that affects how we live today. It's almost like we're fated to repeat the same mistakes over and over again. Also, I love pretending I live in different eras. I'm a decent student. I get mostly Bs and some As. I know, most places that's supposed to be good but at CPA you've got to get As or it's no good. I do better in English and History and Spanish. I didn't do so well in Chemistry or Math last year. Luckily my friend Mike helped me--he's really smart. I've known him since we were kids. We went to different schools growing up, but he lives down the street from me, and we go to CPA together now. I haven't seen him all summer, either.
College--yikes! I don't know... I think I'll go to UC Berkeley, or maybe Cal Poly. I'm going to apply to Reed, I think, and maybe Northwestern and Carlton, but unless I get a scholarship I'm probably not going to be able to go.
I'm on the volleyball team at school. I also play the clarinet in the school orchestra and in a youth orchestra outside of school. I love to write and read--I probably do that more than anything. I also like to play video games sometimes and, this sounds really lame, but I like taking walks. Sometimes I'll just walk for hours out in the hills behind my house. I guess that qualifies for fun, right? Otherwise, Lindsay likes to go to the mall. She loves to shop or hang out at Starbucks. Otherwise, we'll go see a movie.
So don't tell anyone because they'll think I'm crazy but the box and the cards... I don't know, it feels weird to me. If you've ever held a bird in your hands you'll know what I'm talking about. They feel alive or something. I think Lindsay would think they are cool, but I don't know... we used to play Stiff As A Board when we were kids and use Ouiji boards and stuff. It was scary, but stupid. This is different. I don't think she'd get that--it would be all the same to her.
Okay, so you're right. The cards aren't real. But get this, every time I shuffle them, or when I I drop them and pick them up, the same card comes up. It's the Magician. It's starting to creep me out.
[This message has been edited by annepin (edited September 22, 2008).]
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The magician... that's like a symbol of power and adventure, I think. Have you googled what it means? Do you have any idea how it might apply?
Since you like history, have you ever done research into your great aunt's life? Where's she from? How did she know your dad's family? Are you the only person she left things to?
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Hey, cool, you know about tarot cards! I have researched the cards. But then I got a little freaked out and I stopped, though I still play with the cards. I'm not sure what it might mean... I think it has to do with school.
I don't know, lately I feel like I've been dreaming in my waking life or something. Everything feels like it should mean something, or should be familiar somehow... I know, it sounds really weird. But if it is an awakening, if it is a call to power, I'm ready for it.
There isn't a whole lot that I can find about my great aunt. But I haven't looked all that much, just in the easy places. My mom doesn't know how she knew Dad--she's just always been a part of our life, though really distant. I've gotten birthday cards from her for as long as I can remember. She left some things to other people, too. The lawyer said most of them were dead, and that she hadn't changed her will in, like, forever. I wasn't even mentioned by name, just as the child of my father. I tried to look up some of the other names but couldn't find anything. The majority of it went into some trust fund for someone I'd never even heard of. I guess they sold all of her things, except for the tarot cards. That's kind of sad. I bet she had a lot of nice things, and that they meant a lot to her.
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