Steely grey eyes took in the dreary white hospital building. A young-looking girl with very light blond hair walked into the hospital and took the stairs to the fourth floor, where she worked with outpatients. This was
Kestrel Magnesia
Maxwell, better known to friends as Kessie. Kessie worked as a massage therapist and was considered one of the best in her field. Kessie had guessed why she was good at being a masseuse, because not only did she offer massages, she also used her unique gift to help patients feel better. Magnetic massage therapy, she supposed you would call it.
Kessie had lived with her "gift" for as long as she could remember. Her mother tells the story that when Kessie was a toddler, she ingested pure nickel from a leaking battery and was rushed to the ER. While there, the doctors discovered that Kessie seemed to attract everything metal in the room. After three weeks in the hospital, they concluded that there was no treatment or cure for Kessie's condition and they diagnosed her as the first person to experience Magnetic Dysplasia. In short, Kessie was a human magnet. Her parents found a clothing manufacturer who would infuse his fabrics with a magnetically resistant material, so that Kessie could grow up without worrying about attracting metal to herself.
By the time Kessie was eight, she had begun learning how to control her gift. Now, sixteen years later, she has learned to control the magnetism of her body so well that she can summon bursts of magnetic energy, use levitation-like powers to bring magnetic objects to herself, and reverse the polarity of her body to attract different magnets. At all times, Kessie has a small magnetic current running throughout her body, and she most often brings bursts of magnetic energy to her hands while giving massages. Long ago she learned that, if something was magnetic, she could attract it to herself or repel it, causing it to move as if by magic. Kessie also learned how to reverse the polarity in her body, though that is not usually desirable. She cannot physically control the polarity, but has found that when eating nuts or spicy foods it changes almost automatically. Kessie is also very good with directions, being that she is kind of a human compass. She can find her way out of almost anywhere if she knows which way the roads go.
Kessie is hoping that she can get married someday, but isn't sure who would want her and her "gift" of magnetism.
((regarding her name,
Kestrel because scientists believe that some birds use magnetism on their migratory routes, Magnesia after the place lodestones (magnetic rock) were discovered in Greece, and
Maxwell developed equations for the field of electromagnetism. Also, for Kessie's husband, I'd like the letter A))