I have always been interested in the occult, as well as in legends and myths. I guess that I, like many others, liked to fantasize about being able to do more than what seemed possible for humans like ourselves. That was why I thought that it would be a good choice to write an essay about witchcraft for my English class.

    Rather than write what I thought about it, based on what other books had to say about the subject, I decided to try and find some material that a witch might use and try to get a first-hand feel for witchcraft. I figured that a book of spells would be the best place to start, which, if they followed the stereotype, would have knowledge within for a prospective witch to learn spells.

    I found several books at my local library, both new and old, and, of course, I went for one of the older ones. I knew that the age didn't make any of them more authentic than the other, but it still gave me the impression of authenticity. In fact, after I found out that it wasn't one of the library's books, when the librarian had simply given me permission to take it, my unconscious belief in its authenticity had been reinforced.

    I wasn't sure about my action being wise, but I simply didn't want to pass up on such an opportunity. So, secured in the thought that I wouldn't get into trouble, I went straight to my bedroom at home and began to look into the book. I found something odd right away: on the back of the book's front, hardbound cover was a place to "sign" ownership with blood.

    The thought of doing something like that was silly, so I instead spent a while leafing through the book, not being able to read the small, foreign text. I was still able to enjoy the numerous illustrations that were within, but it still wasn't satisfying enough even though I had known what to expect from when I had glimpsed inside its covers at the library. Why hadn't I picked out something in English?

    Then I suddenly became curious about the ownership portion of the book, and I took some time to ponder whether I should give it a try and experience as much as possible since the language made said experience limited. Before long I motivated myself to find a sewing needle, which I sterilized, and went to work expressing a drop or two of blood from my finger. When the first drop made its mark, I was suddenly blinded by the light that emitted from the book, which engulfed it completely.

    To make a long story short, I came to a bit later and discovered, with a shock, that I had become a witch. While I had thought that males could be witches, it seemed like that didn't apply to me or the familiar of this book. Actually, to better explain the situation, everything, from finding the book, choosing it and having it handed over by the librarian, had all been the work of the familiar. The familiar was a faery and, as she had put it, she had chosen me and we were bound together until death or when I decided to denounce ownership of the book.

    I was tempted to denounce ownership right away, but learning magic also weighed heavily on my mind; and how could I not consider learning magic so easily? I certainly wasn't happy about being a girl, and I said as much to the faery, but my new familiar told me that the spells within her book wouldn't work well with males because they were optimized for the feminine energies.

    That didn't stop me from looking for a spell that could transform me into my proper body, and my familiar was willing to help me to find the spell. I found it odd that the familiar was a manifestation of the book's contents, and that by looking in the section of the spells was like looking into a part of the knowledge in her mind. The book even included very minute details about how she looked, what kind of personality she had, and what her priorities were. One of her priorities was to help me and, being that she was capable of changing the language in the book into my native tongue, it became very possible for me to return myself to normal.

    But that faery... She really knew how to lay a guilt trip on me. She told me about how lonely she is and how much she would like a companion, but she can only show herself to me and she'd feel too awkward being too close to a male. She really couldn't help it because that was how she was designed, and a part of her design was to be a companion to a female witch since the spells focused on the fundamental usage of the feminine energies. Basically, she felt that it would be too awkward for her to be around a male, especially when teaching spells that wouldn't work very well for one.

    I eventually gave in and decided to be female whenever I spent time learning from her, and at other times that happened to come up. I figured that I couldn't complain too much since I still get to pursue my life as a male while I learn magic. It was a bit of a pain, but at least I'm warming up to my companion; she entertaining, friendly, easy on the lessons and her giggles were infection. I imagine that she had chosen me for a good reason: because we were quite compatible.