[center][url=https://fontmeme.com/fonts/the-boston-font/][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/230620/951e9147f03ea0ca6aa6692b16c20e81.png[/img][/url][/center][hr]
Helen was in her room, looking at herself in the tall mirror. Her mom Paulene helped her put on  a very beautiful [i]filipiniana[/i] dress that they bought in the local Asian market for a low price. She also helped her put on make-up and fixed her hair while Helen also helped out her mom. She left for a bit to get her purse from her and her husband’s room, leaving Helen to contemplate about the events that lead her to this point in her life.

It’s not like she didn’t want to go. It’s just that she was overthinking again and there were no ghosts around to help take her mind off things even for just a bit. She reckoned it would also be hard to make friends as she already thought that everyone there in her age already knew each other for a long time. In her experience, it’s hard to make new friends when everyone and their mothers’ were already friends and she’s the new girl.

“Helen? [i]Anak[/i]? Are you done? We don’t wanna be late for the ceremony!” Paulene knocked on Helen’s door. 

[color=darkgray]”J-Just a couple more minutes, Ma![/color] Helen called out from inside her room. Paulene just rolled her eyes and opened the door. She’ll see her daughter was just looking at herself at her tall mirror for the nth time, flattening her well-ironed dress for microscopic wrinkles.

“[i]Anak[/i], what are you doing? You’re already done, we should be on the road by now.” She said in disbelief as she approached Helen. “Oh dear, we look fantastic. Your Mama still has her groove on~” Paulene said jokingly, patting her hairdo as she was also dressed in her own [i]filipiniana[/i]. When Helen didn’t complain about her joke, she sighed, took her hands into hers, and made Helen face her. “Seriously, what’s the problem? Are you alright? You don’t seem to have any fever…”

Helen just looked at Paulene and sighed dejectedly. [color=darkgray]”I’ts just… I’m regretting saying no to you whenever you offer me to take a visit there. I was just focused on practicing to myself so I can be on-par to everyone's level there. I’ve barely made friends in college and the few ones that I knew since I was young already left for work in another state. What if… What if they don’t like me? Find [i]our[/i] magic weird?”[/color]

Paulene slowly nodded and sighed as well. “I understand your feelings, [i]iha[/i]. You should see the look on their faces when a brown–skinned Asian approached their doors and told them she wanted to join their group,, especially when they saw our ‘unorthodox’ way of practicing necromancy for the first time.”

[color=darkgray]”I, uhhh… I imagine it must be horrible?”[/color] “Well, it was all in my head. sure, I still got some side-eyes and the occasional awkwardness but still, they were all actually quite nice and accepting! Some of them are a [i]liiiittle[/i] bit difficult to get along with, it took quite an amount of time to get close to everyone too, but at the end of the day, I felt like I had another home outside of our home.”

Paulene and Helen looked in the mirror. “That’s what I want for you as well, [i]iha[/i]. Being a part of the Coven is one of the best things that happened in my life, apart from me meeting your dad and having the two of you kiddos. You’re gonna do fine there, sweetheart. You’re going to learn a lot more than what I teach you. You’re going to meet people you can become friends with, people you’re gonna butt-heads with, possibly a future love interest, who knows? At the end of the day, the Coven is a haven for people like us. Despite our differences, we help and accept each other. We protect what’s ours.”

Helen smiled a bit at her mother’s words, resting her head on her shoulder. [color=darkgray]”Thank you so much, Ma. I love you guys.”[/color] She said as they hugged each other tightly. “Oh, my angel… Let’s go get going already, you’re gonna make me cry and ruin my make-up!” Paulene joked as Helen finally laughed.
[center]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/center]

Eventually, Helen and Paulene were on the road towards the Coven House and being driven by Helen’s dad, Richard. He couldn’t contain himself from fanboying about the architecture of the House since he was an architect himself, and he said he’ll often visit Helen there every chance he could get. The three spent the rest of the ride exchanging jokes and uplifting Helen, which she very much appreciated. She already lived on her own when she went to live at a dorm during her college years but still, she could never get used to the feeling of being away from her family for so long.

When they got there, there were already a handful of guests catching up to each other as they went in line to enter the House. Helen kissed her dad’s cheek and hugged him before getting out of the car, her mother following suit as she kissed and hugged him good-bye too. 

“You ready?” Paulene asked as Helen breathed deeply and looked at her mom with a determined look. [color=darkgray]”Ready as I’ll ever be.”[/color] They walked hand-in-hand and got in line like the other guests, with Paulene smiling brightly on seeing her second home again and Helen trying to calm down her beating heart.