Isabel the Invisible

by Christine Bush

  When I left the room, she was dancing with a broom. Who said Mom didn't have a great imagination!

  The attic was really dark when I climbed up the stairs. With no daylight to peek in the far window, only the dim bulb cut through the blackness.

  Instantly, the smell of the attic, and the shadowed sight of Gram's rocker made me feel close to her.

  "Hi, Gram," I said out loud, even though I knew she couldn't hear me. I opened the black chest.

  I had a lot of questions on my mind. I was still puzzled about the magic potion. It had worked for me before. Why had I remained visible when I threw the pumpkin at Milton? I felt around in the trunk until I found the decorated can.

  Opening it, I took out the white card. I reread the instructions. The last line gave me the answer I needed. "This magic may only be used for five times per user."

  Like the wishes of a genie, I had used up my chances to be invisible. Once with Danny on the bike, once in soccer, once in math, once with the lunches, and once with the mail, it added up to five. I was done.

  I felt sadness come over me. I put the bottle of potion back in the can, and put the lid on tight. I returned it to the chest with a heavy feeling in my heart.

  The potion had done me a lot of good. I had helped Danny, I had made friends, I had gotten the courage to stand up to Milton, and now I wasn't afraid anymore. I had even helped Mom to meet a nice, friendly man, who had made her so happy she was dancing with a broom in the kitchen. Why wasn't it enough? Why did I feel so sad?

  I knew the answer, as I thought in the darkness. It was simply that I missed Gram. Even though my own life had improved so much over the past two weeks, I still felt so bad that I hadn't had a chance to tell Gram goodbye.

  I wished I had been able to tell her exactly how much she meant to me before she died.

  When I had the potion in my pocket, even when I hadn't needed to use it, I had felt close to Gram. It felt like we were sharing a secret or something. I felt like she had understood how hard it was for me to have the courage to do things, to make friends, to try hard at school. I felt like she had been with me.

  And now I felt alone again. I looked at Gram's pictures in the wobbly light of the attic bulb, and I could feel my eyes filling up with tears. I hadn't cried in weeks, since the day I had found the potion. I pushed the tears away.

  I decided to look through the rest of the trunk, trying to keep my mind off the sadness. That's when I found the album.

  It was way down at the bottom of the trunk, hidden from sight by the piles of papers and pictures that Gram had stored away. I pulled it out gently. The album was covered in plaid cloth, like the cloth that Gram had used to make her old apron. There was a picture in a frame, glued to the front.

  At first, I thought it was another picture of Gram as a young girl, because it looked just like the picture of Gram that I saw before. But when I looked closer, I was surprised. It was a picture of me, taken on that day when I had first gotten my balance on the two wheel bike. I was sitting on the bike, had a big smile on my face, and a happy look in my eye, like a kid who won a prize.

  I HAD been really happy on that day. I remembered it. And Gram had caught the look with a camera. And she had used the picture as the cover of this book.

  "This book is only to be opened by Isabel Robbins". The words were printed neatly on the cloth in dark black ink. "With love, from your Gram."

  My hands started to shake, and I could feel my heart hammering in my chest. Gram had made this for me, and I had never seen it before. I was very excited as I opened the cover.

  "To my Isabel," it began, in Gram's own handwriting. "By the time that you find this book (and I know that it will be you who finds it), I will probably have gone to heaven. I know how things sometimes happen in a surprising way in life. So I am writing and collecting these things and thoughts for you to keep. I want you to know exactly what is in my mind and my heart, even when the day comes when I am not with you anymore."

  It felt a little hard to breathe, and my heart was beating even faster, but I kept turning the pages.

  There were pictures of me as a baby, pictures of me and Mom, even a picture of my father, Craig. She had put a lock of my baby hair in the album, and the ticket stubs from the day when Gram, Mom and I had gone to see the "Nutcracker" one Christmas season in the city.

  "You are a child who is and always will be very close to my heart, Isabel. I have seen from the time you were a little baby, that you and I were so much alike. I have seen you grow into a beautiful young girl, ready to meet the world and to find your place in it. We share our magical imaginations, our curiosity about life, and our ability to love.

  "I want you to know forever how very much I love you, and how proud I am of you in all that you do. I don't mean to say that you are perfect -- neither am I. Nobody is perfect. We all have our fears and sometimes do things that we are not proud of.

  “But the trick in life is getting through the fears, and letting our natural instincts come through. There is a secret for you, hidden in this trunk, that will help you to face your fears.

  I knew she was talking about the invisible potion. I kept reading, my eyes glued to the page in front of me.

  "It is something that was left to me by MY grandmother, many, many years ago. I have a feeling that you will use it wisely, and then, when you don't need it anymore, you will save it for the special day in the future, when you can pass it on to help someone else. Maybe it will be your granddaughter or grandson. It will be a grandchild who is very, very special to you, as you are to me."

  I felt very proud that my Gram had felt that I was so special. But at the same time, I felt sad that I had never really told her how special that she was to me.

  But then, Gram's words in the book surprised me even more.

  "Isabel, if I have passed on before you and I get to talk about some of the things that people might like to say to each other before they die, I want you to know what I think. I think that you would tell me that you love me, as much as I love you. I think that you would tell me that you would miss me alot. I will miss you, too.

  “I also think that you would tell me that you will remember the special moments that we had together as you were growing up. I will honestly tell you that those minutes were some of the most precious times in my life, and I hope that you will remember them forever.

  “I would also like to tell you that I hope you will not be too sad, for too long, because there are many exciting people and places in this world, and not nearly enough time to enjoy them all.

  "I like to think that my spirit will always be with you, especially because we are so very much alike. Keep using your wonderful imagination, and keep our memories cherished, and you will do just fine. I love you. Goodby, my Isabel. Love, Gram"

  I closed the book and held it tight against my body for a few minutes. I felt very strange, as if I could hear my own heart beating in my ears.

  At first, I thought I was going to cry, but the tears didn't come. Instead, I felt like a wave of calmness came over me. I felt a feeling of peace that I hadn't had since Gram had died. It felt like everything was going to be OK.

  Gram had said goodbye to me. And in her written words, she had let me say goodbye to her, too.

  I closed the big black trunk, leaving my magic potion safely tucked in the painted can, hidden in the trunk. I held the memory book in my arms, as I tiptoed down the steps, turning the light off at the bottom. I felt lighter, somehow, like a giant weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

  In my yellow room, with Gram's newly framed watercolors hanging on the wall over my bed, I climbed under the covers on my bed, keeping my special gift from Gram right under my pillow.

  I have a feeling I was even smiling in my sleep.

  Chapter 19

  Several days passed since my discovery in the attic. Danny and I were out in the front yard, building a pile of leaves that was probably a contender for the world record.

  The weather was
a little cooler, and with each breeze that came though, more leaves floated down from their branches to join the ones on the ground. I have never seen so many leaves in my life.

  We would take turns running up the sidewalk, leaping into the air when we got close to the humongous pile, and dive right in. We had them stacked so high, it was like landing on a pile of mattresses. We had tried to get my mom and Danny's dad to take a leap, but they looked at us like we were crazy. Some people have no idea how to have fun (besides painting).

  Taking a leaf break, Danny and I were laying on the pile, looking up into the sky which was beginning to show through the half empty branches.

  "Wouldn't it be neat if we could fly up to those clouds, Isabel? I bet they'd be even softer than leaves."

  "Hmmm. What an imagination!" I wasn't about to break it to him that clouds were just a bunch of wet air, and if we tried to lie down on them we would fall right through. That's the kind of thing that can wreck a kid’s day. He'll learn it soon enough in science class.

  "Wouldn't it be neat if your mom and my dad got married? Then we'd all live in the same house, and you'd be my big sister."

  "Hmmm!" I said again. "I think we'll just have to wait and see what happens."

  "They could paint together. Maybe I should ask them about it." Little kids can be so incredible, if you know what I mean.

  "Danny, let's just keep out of it. Of course it would be great, but we have to mind our own business. After all, it's up to them. We can't do ALL the work -- "

  I giggled when I thought of my mad dash to mix the mail. What Danny didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

  I felt really good, lying there in the leaves. I felt good, that is, until a rumbling noise reached my ears. Someone was coming down the sidewalk. I didn't even have to lift my head to look. It was Milton.

  "Uh Oh, Isabel!" Danny spoke barely in a whisper. "Here comes trouble."

  I sat up in the leaf pile, as Milton's bike skidded to a halt. On my high pile, I was taller than he was on the bike. The thing that surprised me the most was that fact that I didn't feel afraid. I have to admit that I felt one flash of concern when I first heard him, but looking down at him on the bike, I knew it was going to be OK.

  "Hi, Milton," I said in a normal voice. I had tried to be normal to him all week at school, even though he kept looking at me funny. I hadn't told anyone at all about his pumpkin disaster, because he had kept his promise. He hadn't been creepy to anyone all week.

  But every one in a while, I would catch him looking across the room at me, as if he couldn't believe his good fortune. I think he really thought that I'd blab it all over the place. He was looking at me that way now, as if he thought I would tease him. It was as if he couldn't believe that someone could be nice.

  "Hi, Isabel. That's a big pile of leaves."

  "Absolutely the biggest. Maybe a candidate for Ripley's Believe it or Not, don't you think?"

  Milton laughed, and the sound made me smile.

  "Did you ever jump in a leaf pile this big, Milton? It's fun."

  He shook his head, not saying a word. Danny was watching me closely, still a little afraid of Milton.

  "Come on, Danny, let's show him how it's done." We demonstrated our leap, laughing as the leaves scattered in our landing.

  "Your turn, Milton."

  He looked at me blankly. "You mean, you want ME to jump in the leaves?" You would have thought I invited him to jump into a lava pit in a volcano. "You're inviting me to PLAY with you guys?" He was a hopeful glimmer in his voice, like a little kid.

  It made sense, all of a sudden. I was remembering so many things that Gram and Mom had always told me, and so many things that I had learned in the past few weeks in school.

  Things were not always what they seemed. People could sometimes surprise you. You could assume things about people that were not necessarily true. People sometimes acted in certain ways (and it might be ways that drive you crazy) because they didn't know how else to act.

  Elizabeth was not shy, she just needed someone (me, of course) to talk to. Alex could be a nice guy. Claire and Mary and Brenda were now my friends, because I had invited them to my party, and had gotten to know them.

  And Milton, big old mean Milton the Maniac was not as scary as he had seemed. He acted like he didn't like anybody to cover up for the fact that nobody liked HIM. And he really wasn't so bad, once he stopped stealing your lunch and teasing. He was just Milton.

  "Come on, Milton, give it your best shot."

  All of a sudden, he was whooping like a wild man and flying through the air. Even I have to admit it was a most fantastic jump. Milton soared through the air, and landed next to us in the leaf pile.

  "Really cool, Isabel," he said quietly. "This is totally cool."

  We jumped up and did a few more rounds of leaf jumping, and then we collapsed, laughing at each other, with Danny climbing on Milton.

  "Hey, little guy," Milton said to Danny when we were quiet, "I'm sorry about scaring you with my bike. I really didn't know you were in the leaves." His face was very red. "And I'm sorry for that day when you fell off your bike."

  Danny looked him in the eye, then nodded his head like a little man. "OK. Just don't bug me again, Milton."

  "Are you kidding? Not only won't I bug you, but I won't let anybody else bug you, either. You just let me know if anybody gives you a hard time."

  Danny smiled, ear to ear.

  We all fell back on the leaves, looking up into the clouds again. It was amazing. I was having fun with Milton the Maniac. I wasn't a chicken anymore. I had a best friend named Elizabeth, and lots of other new friends. My mom and Danny's dad were getting along fine. I was keeping my fingers crossed.

  And even though I missed her as much as ever, I could even think about Gram now without feeling like I was hurting inside. She had left the book for me. That album was a wonderful way to say goodbye and to let me know that she knew, without a doubt, just how much she had meant to me. There had been so many surprises since that first discovery in the attic.

  "Hey, Isabel," Milton's voice brought me back to the present. "You know what would be really neat?"

  He was lying back, eyes searching the clouds. "Wouldn't it be really neat to be invisible?"

  Who would have ever guessed it? Milton the Maniac Martin had an imagination! A wild imagination! I sat up and looked at him, impressed.

  "Cool idea, Milton. I think it would be awesome. I think it could really change your life.”

  If he only knew!

  The End

  About the Author…

  Christine Bush is the author of many award winning, wholesome romantic mysteries and short stories for adults.

  A sixth grade teacher for many years, today Christine can be found teaching Psychology at a local college, and is a family therapist in private practice. She loves to write and tell stories. She lives in the country in northern Pennsylvania with her family and two parakeets, Amelia and Buddy.

  ‘Isabel the Invisible” is her first middle grade novel, launching the series “The Kids of 6A” about the adventures of Isabel’s fun loving sixth grade class.

  Stay tuned for more!

  Christine loves to hear from her readers and young writers!

  Visit Christine at www.ChristineBush.com

  Or

  Email her at ChristineABush@aol.com

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