Beautiful Magic

Charlotte's great-grandmother was what those in the town called a seer. But Charlotte never thought much about that. She was too busy being impressed with granny herself. From granny's Lowcountry southern cooking to the way she sipped Old Tom Gin, always with one ice cube and a lime wedge in it. She also thought granny was a tough old bird. At least, that's how Charlotte's mom described her. Charlotte did see granny once, in the sweltering humid heat of the summer, pluck a rattlesnake right off the porch and throw it straight into the bayou. She tossed the snake casually, like she was flicking a mosquito, also prevalent in the area, off her arm.

Charlotte's family lived in Hardeeville, South Carolina. It was a city of a little less than three-thousand people in Jasper County. It was the lowest of the Lowcountry, with probably more varmints than people. With rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, copperheads, and coral snakes to contend with, not to mention the gators, one didn't have too much time to think about prophecies. So, Charlotte didn't think about them. One reason was that she loved science and having a reasonable explanation for anything and everything that occurred. She had no use for any kind of mysticism. Even when it was the talk of the town. Like when the next-door neighbor's daughter ran away. Ada Mae McGill had just turned eighteen and took off like the wild wind. Granny said she knew that Ada Mae had run off to San Diego, California. She even told the McGill family she would be found working in a diner called the Little Red Rooster. Ada's dad took off straight away to California and found Ada in that very restaurant. He brought Ada back with her tail between her legs.

And, thought Charlotte, who cared about Ada Mae when granny was cooking up shrimp and grits, chicken bog, okra, and collard greens? No matter how many times she ate granny's cooking, it was the most amazing thing she ever ate. And simply put, granny was one of Charlotte's most favorite people ever. Even when granny wasn't cooking, painting, or weaving stories, she would sit in her rocking chair and survey the children. Granny would swat the kids with her slipper if they stepped one toe out of line. Charlotte didn't mind, though; she loved her even then.

Then came the sad day when granny fell and broke her hip. She was already trying to recuperate from a bad case of pneumonia when she got out of bed and fell hard, her leg flailing oddly out to her side. The family called an ambulance that took her to the hospital. That's when the doctor did some tests and noticed something off with the bloodwork. More tests were done, and the prognosis wasn't good. Kidney cancer had taken root in poor granny's body.

A young seventeen-year-old, Charlotte sat next to her granny's bed, holding her hand and telling her that she loved her. Granny had grown weak, but she suddenly sat straight up in bed. "Charlotte," she said. "I see something. At some point, you will come across a small black notebook. You must take that book and do as it says. There will be magic in it."

Charlotte wasn't sure what to say, so she just nodded her head 'yes' as tears streamed down her cheeks. Like all of granny's prophesies, Charlotte was not concerned with the story. She was concerned with the disease taking her great-grandmother away from her and constantly wondering if something more could be done. Science was always growing and developing, and she hoped something could be done quickly enough to save granny.

However, that night granny passed away, and Charlotte never forgot the last words granny had said to her. She didn't believe them, but being the last words from her great-grandmother, she held them dearly, like a note of love that was left at the end. Even after Charlotte got married and had kids of her own, she often thought of her granny's words. Still, she always came to the realization there must be nothing in them, as there was no reasonable explanation for what she had said.

Then, one day, out of the blue, Charlotte was at the grocery store. As she came out to her car, she was startled to see a small black notebook sitting on the hood of her car. The black cover stood out against her light blue coupe. She looked around to see if the book might belong to anyone in the lot. She also cast her eyes around the area, looking for the person who might have left it there. But, she noticed the parking lot was eerily empty. Charlotte picked it up and saw that it was held closed by a black elastic band. She released the band and turned to the front cover, she saw it had a line for who the book should be returned to in case of loss, but there was no owner information written there. Charlotte's heart was hammering in her chest as the remembrance of granny's words started to echo in her mind. With trembling fingers, she flipped open to the pages in the middle, where a satiny bookmark was placed.

The words there were written in fancy cursive, complete with flourishes. The ink appeared to be gold. Charlotte couldn't believe what it said, "Donate one-hundred dollars to a charity of your choice."

Charlotte slammed the book shut in exasperation. She certainly did not have an extra hundred dollars sitting around. She was tempted to throw the book away. But she felt like she heard granny telling her not to do that. So, she put it on the passenger seat, and it sat there for three days while she decided what to do. Finally, Charlotte, who couldn't get granny's words out of her head, decided she would contribute as requested by the book. She kept kicking herself all the way to the Warm Hearts for Furry Paws Animal Rescue. But, in addition to the prophecy, her granny had a favorite saying that kept propelling her forward: "Do good to be good. Be good to receive good." It wasn't meant that someone should do good works only to receive something back, but you become your best self by being generous. While Charlotte tried to be charitable, she definitely knew she could do better. However, living on a limited budget, she sometimes found it challenging.

Charlotte pulled into the animal rescue parking lot and got out. She felt somewhat foolish. What was she going to say? "A weird magic notebook told me to give you one-hundred dollars?" She took a deep breath and tried to push out any thought that could stop her from doing this, and she walked in. She immediately saw how busy the lone lady working there was. Without really thinking, Charlotte said, "It looks like you guys need help. What can I do?"

At first, the lady running the shelter, whom Charlotte learned later was named Annie, looked surprised. Then, Annie got a massive smile on her face and almost yelled, "YES! While I walk these dogs, can you please take out those trash bags," she said, pointing to a few white bags piled in the corner. "Then, I need to feed the cats, the kitchen is down the hallway, and all the food and bowls are in there." Annie let out a massive sigh of relief, then, "Thank you!"

Charlotte busied herself with the tasks, and since Annie was still out with the dogs when she finished, she also decided to clean the dog kennels. She wiped out the bottoms, shook the dog blankets out, and washed the food and water bowls before refilling the bowls with fresh water. When Annie returned, they swept the floors together, chatting like old friends the whole time.

After the chores were done, Annie once again got a huge smile on her face. "Thank you so much! That was so nice of you! I was so busy, though; I didn't even ask why you came in! I'm sorry! What can I help you with, now?"

"Oh," said Charlotte, nervously laughing. "I actually wanted to donate a hundred dollars to the charity." As she said this, she pulled out the check she had filled out before coming in.

"That is so nice of you, thank you so much! We can definitely use it."

At that moment, a well-coifed woman in a black suit came through the door. Behind her was a woman carrying a large television camera. The lady in front spoke in a loud, friendly voice. "Hello! Who is the owner here? I have great news!"

"I am," said Annie nervously, stepping forward.

"Well, I am Melissa Buchannan, and I'm with KLIVE Channel Five News! And, I'm happy to announce that Warm Hearts for Furry Paws Animal Rescue has won the Charity of the Year contest we sponsor! And… I have a twenty-thousand dollar prize for you!"

Annie's mouth fell open in shock. She muttered out, "Oh my… thank you! Wow! What? I can't believe this!"

"It's all true! We're so happy for you! And, another question, do you have any volunteers working right now?"

"Yes," Annie said, pulling at Charlotte's arm, "Charlotte is a volunteer. My only one."

"Well, I've only volunteered one day," added Charlotte.

"It doesn't matter. I have great news! You get twenty-thousand dollars too! We give a prize to both the owner and any volunteer working!"

Charlotte was so excited; she started jumping up and down a little bit. A while ago, she was worried about having enough money to donate the hundred dollars to the animal rescue. "Wow, that's amazing. I can't even believe it! Thank you so much!"

After the excitement died down a little bit and the camerawoman, Paula, got some shots of the animals up for adoption, Melisa and Paula left.

Annie hugged Charlotte and told her how happy she was that they met and how everything worked out the way it did. She also said she hoped Charlotte would come back anytime, even if not as a volunteer, but as a friend.

When Charlotte got back in her car, she had a warm, fuzzy feeling that she felt all over. Of course, she was excited about the twenty-thousand-dollar check that was now in her purse. But she felt even better about making a new friend and helping out all those animals. She was thrilled with how her day went. So thrilled, in fact, she didn't notice until she pulled into her driveway at home that the notebook was gone from the passenger seat. She was certain she had left it there, and she looked everywhere for it. Under the seats, in the door jams, the floor, and the trunk, even though she knew she hadn't put it there. She never could find the notebook again, and she knew there was no way to explain any of what had happened. For once, Charlotte decided not to worry about reasonable explanations and just embrace the magic.

Charlotte looked towards the heavens. A chilly night was rolling in; dark clouds heavy with rain started to cover the moon. She closed her eyes, letting the calm wind kiss her cheeks. "Thank you, granny, that was beautiful magic," she said.