Once they arrived at the hospital, Griffin and her dad took the elevator to intensive care. Griffin hurried in front of her father, clutching the box, until she reached room 807. Griffin stopped dead inside the room. It was empty. She gasped, and tears welled in her eyes. The hospital bed was perfectly made with an ugly mustard-colored blanket tucked tightly between the white sheets. The room had a plastic sterile smell. Griffin didn’t move. Her father came in behind her. “Huh?” he said.
“Dad?” whispered Griffin. Chills shot up her spine.
“Maybe they’ve moved her. Surely we would have been called if anything had happened.”
Just then a nurse bumped into them. “Mr. Penshine?”
“Yes. My mother was here in room 807.”
“We just moved her to the second floor. She’s doing so much better. She woke up, talked a bit, nibbled some toast, even told a joke.”
“Good news,” said her dad with a deep sigh.
Griffin reached for her dad’s hand.
“What room is she in?” asked Mr. Penshine.
“Follow me. She now has a full river view. The staff here call the rooms on this side of the hospital the riviera!” said the nurse. They followed her to the other side of the building. “I’ll go get her doctor for you folks.”
In her new room Grandma’s chest billowed up and down. She dozed in a deep slumber. Griffin’s dad bent over and kissed her on the cheek.
Relief flooded through Griffin as she ran to her grandma’s bedside.
“I need to go talk to the doctor. You stay here with Grandma.”
Griffin took her grandma’s hand. “They put you in the riviera rooms,” she said. “They knew you’d want to hear the river.”
Griffin walked to the window and slid it open. A light breeze blew through the room, and Grandma whispered from her bed, “Griff.”
“Grandma!” She ran to her side again. “Are you okay?”
Grandma Penshine did not raise her head from the pillow, but she smiled. Her cheeks had a healthy pink glow for the first time since she’d been taken to the hospital. “Sky is bright blue, isn’t it?” she said. “The breeze always feels different when it’s clear.”
“Yes, it’s blue. Grandma, I brought your box for you.”
Grandma Penshine smiled and propped herself up a bit in bed. She looked like a flower, soft and delicate. She took Griffin’s hand. “I have something to tell you.”
Griffin nodded, standing by the bed holding Grandma Penshine’s hand. “On Saturday morning your parents told me you were bringing an old lady a puppy, fulfilling a wish for her.” She adjusted two hospital pillows behind her lower back. “They told me about that woman Mariah Weatherby Schmidt, who had given you a box of these so-called lucky pennies. I have something very strange to tell you.” Then Grandma Penshine leaned forward, looking straight into Griffin’s eyes, and whispered: “I met her once when I was a girl.”
Griffin stared. Her mouth hung open.
“That’s the only time my life ever crossed paths with Mariah, but it was enough.”
“You met Mariah!” gasped Griffin.
“Right before my daddy and mama bought their farm, we were traveling through Kansas and stopped at an inn at the crossroads of Topeka.”
“The same inn!”
“That inn was a sparkling oasis with a beautiful fountain bubbling in the scorching Kansas heat. I begged my daddy for a coin to throw in the water to make a wish. I must have been around eleven years old. I had the most glorious red hair, like you do now.”
Griffin stared at her grandma’s thick white hair.
“I wasn’t born with white hair, you know,” she said, laughing. Grandma Penshine sat straight up in bed now. “We only stayed one night at the inn, and it was some of the hottest weather I have felt in all my life. I kept hearing these plunks and pings coming from the courtyard.”
Griffin thought, Of course my grandma heard plunks and pings!
“I looked out my window, and people were throwing coins in the fountain wishing for things: bicycles, money, blocks of ice, wheat to grow. I smiled, hoping those people’s wishes all came true.”
Griffin stared at her grandma with huge eyes.
“But then late that night, when it was still so hot and I could hardly sleep, I looked out my window and saw the young lady from the front desk, Mariah Weatherby Schmidt, swooping up coins in the blue moonlight. I hid in the darkness and watched. Every wild knot in my stomach signaled that I was witnessing a real live Wish Stealer!”
“What did you do?”
“The next morning when we were leaving the inn, I begged my daddy for three coins. He said, ‘Didn’t I give you a coin yesterday?’ I told him, ‘Yes, sir. But I was only practicing then. Today is something different.’ He gave me three new coins and said, ‘Make your wishes, but don’t forget—the real luck is inside you.’ But you see, I knew what I had to do. On that hot Kansas morning, I held my first penny high in the sky. Right before I threw it into the fountain, I yelled at the top of my lungs ‘STOP!’ I think everyone in the whole inn could hear me! I only meant for Mariah to hear. I wished for her to stop stealing people’s wishes.”
Griffin gasped.
“I saw Mariah rustle the curtains in the office window. Her dark silhouette stood behind the white cotton.” Grandma Penshine was getting excited, remembering what she had done. She threw off the hospital sheets and leaned forward. “The second penny wish I did not say out loud. Silently I wished and tossed my coin high like a leaping ballerina. It hit the water, making a million sparks.” Grandma Penshine clapped her hands and looked up as if she could see the shooting sparkles.
“What was your second wish, Grandma?” whispered Griffin, tensing her whole body. She remembered what Mariah had written in her letter. The penny I gave you at the shop flew like a leaping ballerina vaulting into the water. That person didn’t say her wish out loud, but her penny was as dazzling as her long red hair.
“What was it? What was your second wish, Grandma!” said Griffin, her heartbeat going mad.
“For lost wishes everywhere to be returned,” she said, smiling.
Griffin clutched the side of the hospital bed.
“The third penny that my father gave me I put deep inside my pocket to keep. I decided then and there that I was going to make my own luck in this life. That’s what the penny in my old box is for, to remind me that we all make our own luck and to keep my dreams and wishes safe.”
“Then you don’t believe in luck or curses?” asked Griffin.
“I only believe in love, hard work, and a little bit of magic.” A beautiful smile lit up Grandma Penshine’s face.
Griffin grabbed her grandma’s box on the side table and opened it. She held that old penny in her hand. It bounced.
Griffin broke into a magnificent smile. When she caught her breath, she explained to her grandma what Mariah had said about the unlabeled penny. The unlabeled penny was indeed Grandma Penshine’s second wish, made when she was a little girl with hair the color of autumn leaves, caramel kisses, and blazing sunsets.
“I hadn’t thought about Mariah for ages, but it all made sense. Mariah stole my ‘STOP’ stealing penny. What a journey for that penny to land with you!” Reaching out both her arms, Grandma Penshine said, “Griffin, I think you’ve become the best thing any human can ever be. You’re a brave, brave wish giver. I love you.”
What lies behind us, and what lies before us,
are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Chapter
49
Grandma, I have the three last stolen wishes here in my pocket.” Griffin reached into her pocket and read the labels. “‘STOP,’ the unlabeled penny, and ‘world peace.’ What should I do with them?”
“‘World peace’ is a mighty big one, but not impossible. That one is for you to decide, but ‘STOP’ and my unlabeled penny have been returned to me, thanks to you, Griffin!”
; Griffin smiled. She had returned three pennies to their original owners. Griffin placed the unlabeled penny and “STOP” in Grandma Penshine’s hands. At that exact moment the river sounded loud and clear in both their ears. Grandma Penshine winked. She got out of bed and walked over to the window with the river below. Slowly she closed her fingers around her two returned pennies and made the exact same wishes. Then she pitched the two pennies into the river.
Plunk! Plunk! rippled and rang out.
“Such a beautiful sound!” said Grandma Penshine.
Griffin’s dad walked back into the room. “Mom, you’re up!” He hugged her. “You look as healthy as a young girl!”
“I feel like a young girl when I’m with Griffin,” said Grandma. “Griffin, can you please bring me my box?”
Griffin placed the mother-of-pearl box on her grandma’s lap. Carefully her grandma opened it and removed the large sapphire ring.
“What’s the ring for? Mariah had one just like this, but it was red.”
“Your grandfather gave this to me long, long ago. He bought it in the fanciest jewelry shop in Topeka. If I recall correctly, I remember him saying it was a very old sapphire, an antique from England. It was once part of a large garnet and sapphire ring. But the jeweler separated the two stones, made them into two different rings. Grandpa bought the blue stone instead of the red one. Blue is the color of the sky and ocean, two things that will always help you remember joy. The ring is now a gift for you.”
Griffin slipped the ring onto every finger. It fit best on her thumb.
“We should probably save the ring until you grow up,” said her dad.
“Yeah,” said Griffin, smiling. She stared at the ring. It looked like a piece of the sky set still and clear behind glass. Could Mariah’s ring once have been attached to my grandma’s ring? Mariah and my grandma entwined?
“And the yarn? What’s that for?” Griffin held up the yarn by one end as if it were a dead opossum’s tail.
“I bought that yarn more than seventy years ago!”
No wonder it smells so bad! thought Griffin.
“That yarn is from a carnival that passed through Topeka. The man selling it said it was magic yarn. Said the skein of yarn was the thread of life, and if you saved it and didn’t cut it, you would live a long, long life. All I know is that he sold it for way more than regular yarn ever cost! Oh, and the yarn salesman was very handsome!”
“You fell for that?” teased Griffin’s dad.
“It was worth every penny. Even back then I liked the idea of a long thread of life—made me happy just thinking about it. I think every young girl in Topeka that summer bought some of the magic yarn!”
“Is it magic, then?” said Griffin.
“It must have been magic to the man who sold it for more than plain old yarn is worth!” said her dad, laughing.
“Can I have it?” asked Griffin.
“It’s yours,” said Grandma Penshine.
Even though it was musty, Griffin planned to keep it in her Mysterium Collection Box.
“What is the white stone for?” asked Griffin.
“I found it by the river bank when I was a girl. I thought it looked so polished and pretty, like a giant pearl. Must have been washed by the water for at least a hundred years to be so smooth. I never found a use for it, but always thought I would one day.”
“Can I give it to Charlemagne?” asked Griffin. “I’ve been looking for something special for his terrarium for the longest time.”
“What a great idea! I bet it was once a throne for a turtle king. He’ll love it!”
Griffin smiled. Then suddenly a shadow crossed her face. “Grandma, Mariah gave me a black polished stone, said it was a mirror to see the future, but it scared me and I broke it by accident.”
“That’s a lucky accident. Don’t go looking into objects to tell yourself the future, look only in your heart. What did you do with all the black broken pieces?” she said.
“I forgot to clean them up. They’re under my bed.”
“If you don’t mind, I’d love to have them to use to pot my orchids,” said Grandma Penshine. “Orchids are some of the most lovely, graceful flowers in all of nature, but the funny thing is they bloom best in tiny jagged rocks and coarse bark. Somehow they can use ugly things to create incredible beauty.”
“I’ll sweep the pieces up for you,” said Griffin, smiling. She thought of all the pink, orange, and yellow orchids that filled her grandma’s house. “What will you do with your last lucky penny, the one you always kept in your box?”
“That is also for you. I made many wishes on that penny long ago, and they all came true.”
“They did?” said Griffin.
“Yup. You know what was the best wish of all?” said her grandma.
“What?” said Griffin and her father at the same time. Griffin smiled.
“A long, healthy life full of love,” said Grandma Penshine. “If you’ve got that, you’ve got everything.”
The best wish of all.
Chapter
50
The sounds of drums, horns, trumpets, and whistles electrified the air. A marching band, reporters, and news cameras gathered in the sunshine in front of the town hall. Dr. Fonda, the representative for Pennies for the Planet, had traveled to Dadesville to collect the check the bank had written after counting all the coins.
Griffin, Garrett, and Alfred had been invited to stand on the platform set up in front of the town hall next to the bubbling town fountain, where in half an hour they would present the giant check to Pennies for the Planet. Mayor Alexander of Dadesville would speak first and introduce them. Thousands of people packed onto the town green. Hot dog vendors, potters, artists, and local clubs all set up booths.
Griffin was supposed to meet Garrett by the information booth at ten thirty a.m.
“Griffin!” called Garrett.
“Hi,” she said, smiling. She carried a bag of Go Green, Save the Earth, and Peace rubber wristbands in a bag to hand out to kids.
“Hi. This is pretty cool,” said Garrett, looking around at the huge crowd gathered to celebrate something they had started. Griffin gave him a Save the Earth band. They wove their way through the booths.
“Griff!” called Libby, running up to her and hugging her. Maggie, Madison, Audree, and a few other girls were right behind Libby. “This is so awesome. Congratulations!”
“Thanks,” said Griffin. She hugged her friends, each wearing a different wristband. Everywhere people munched on organic popcorn and licked raspberry clouds of cotton candy. People kept stopping to congratulate her and Garrett as they made their way to the stage. Garrett stopped to talk to some of his friends.
Passing Mr. Luckner, Griffin saw him eating a huge cotton candy cone like a little kid. “Hi, Mr. Luckner,” she said.
“Hi, Griffin. I’m thinking I should assign a big science project every year!”
“Maybe,” said Griffin, still smiling. She gave him a Go Green wristband.
Mrs. Gideon came up to Griffin. She wore a colorful velvet patchwork skirt and a necklace of small clay squares with Chinese symbols for good luck on each one. “I’m so proud of you! I hand-copied one of Shakespeare’s sonnets for you as a gift for all your work to help our planet. It’s Sonnet XCIV. The one we talked about in class.”
Griffin accepted the beautiful poem written in calligraphy. When she read it, the lines that meant the most to her were: “They that have power to hurt and will do none … and to temptation slow … They are the lords and owners of their faces.”
“Thank you so much, Mrs. Gideon. I will save this forever,” said Griffin. She gave her a Save the Earth wristband and rolled the poem into a scroll to keep in her Mysterium Collection Box. With Mariah’s curse she could have hurt a lot of people, and she had been tempted. But she’d refused to end up a rotted lily with cruelty twisted in her face. She now knew: She owned the light inside her.
“Griffin,” said Mrs. Gideon, “the Traveling Glo
be Theatre Company left town early. Some kind of date mix-up. Such a shame. I’d hoped our class would get to see them perform.”
“We could always do Hamlet and act out some scenes. My grandma taught me the best line from that play. ‘Angels and ministers of grace defend us always against curses, evil wishes, and witches!’ Or something like that,” she said, smiling.
“Hamlet? What a wonderful idea! Maybe we will! I could still use my Festering Lily Perfume too,” she said, and winked.
“It’s your perfume?” said Griffin.
“I bought it at a Shakespeare festival at Stratford-upon-Avon in England. I thought it would be perfect for a lesson on sonnets!”
Griffin laughed. So that was Mrs. Gideon’s secret!
Samantha, Martha, and Sasha—overdressed with giant bags with nothing inside them, and high-heel shoes that kept sinking into the mud—stood a few feet in front of her. No one noticed them. People were more interested in celebrating saving the planet and listening to the music than talking about Samantha’s new clothes. Samantha called to her, “Griffin, what are you handing out?”
Griffin said, “Wristbands to remind people about what’s important. Do you three want one?”
“Okay,” said the girls.
To Martha, Griffin gave a Go Green band; to Sasha, Save the Earth; and to Samantha, Peace.
The three girls studied the bracelets like they were reading a foreign language.
“Uh, thanks,” said Samantha and her gang, trying on the bracelets.
“They look good on all of you,” said Griffin, and she kept walking.
Garrett called out, “Griffin, over here!” He waited for her at the platform base. Mayor Alexander was ready to go up and speak. Principal Yeldah was one step behind him.
Griffin waved and ran toward Garrett.
“Look!” gasped Griffin as she approached the stage. “Look! It’s Stanley! And Aurora!”
“Who?” said Garrett, looking up at the two musicians onstage ready to play.
“Stanley from the library and Aurora the harpist from the music center. Aurora!” called Griffin. “Stanley!”
The Wish Stealers Page 15