Becoming by Evelyne Crowe

Author:Evelyne Crowe [Evelyne Crowe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Evelyne Crowe
Published: 2023-05-30T00:00:00+00:00

Normalcy Lessons

Life on a farm was much more what Rachael was used to than living in an apartment in town. The large farmhouse was full of laughter and shouts and normal sounds of a boisterous family—the difference for Rachael was that it was a loving and accepting family instead of a scared and frightened one. She had never realized how much she had walked on eggshells around her own parents until she got to stop doing it. She was free here to be herself. All of herself. And it was giddying. She was free to laugh and play just as much as she was to cry or pause. Dinners weren’t silent affairs where they had to listen to scripture or judgments or lessons. Instead, everyone shared what had happened during their day and if someone didn’t want to talk or had a bad day, their reticence was respected or their problems listened to. Space was respected. It was such a simple concept, yet Rachael was so grateful for it.

And to watch Diana and Sam together—two people who were very obviously loved and respected each other—be together and work together. It was just as enlightening.

“I don’t think my parents were very happy,” she said one night to Drake, sipping tea on the front porch.

They were wrapped in light blankets and were on the porch swing together, enjoying a moment of privacy. Living with his parents was great, and it was also not so great. The house was busy and full and there were rarely moments where it was just the two of them.

“No?” Drake never pressed for more information than she was willing to give, but she knew he was curious about her life before she came here.

She shook her head. “My Dad was not a forgiving man, or a happy one. He demanded my mom and sisters behave as ‘good women should,’” she quoted, anger riding under her words. “Submissive and quiet, biddable and stupid.” She couldn’t hide the bitterness.

Drake kissed her temple. “Boring. And how on earth did you pretend to be any of that?”

She laughed. “Poorly, it turns out,” she replied wryly. “I got in trouble a lot.” And she had, too. The consequences had gotten more severe as she had gotten older until she had learned to hide herself better. Still, she had never been the submissive or biddable type and her dad had known it. She had taken to hiding early on, avoiding him as much as possible. This had been easy — he was often out of the house doing “men’s work” leaving her and her sisters at home with their mother. Because of her magic, Rachael had self-isolated a lot, especially on days she was tired or emotional when the risk of discovery was higher. She became very good at pretending and very good at watching others’ behavior so that she could fit in. But pretending doesn’t make one belong. Rachael had felt the sting every time curses were cast at magic users. How

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