Wish

by Janet MacLeod

  “Come on.” I hurried towards the bed where I’d left the book. “I’ll show you.”

  “Look.” I gestured to it.

  Magic scurried to the bed and plunked her little body on top of the book as if he were an official guardian. He hissed at me.

  “Magic. Off.” I crossed my hands in front and stared down the little cat. He had attitude, but I won. He mewed unhappily, but didn’t interfere when I reached down to move him, sweeping his little body off. He scatted to my feet with a little hiss of unhappiness.

  I picked up the book and held the cover for Keith to see.

  He frowned and leaned in closer and then glanced down at my little feline friend. “That looks like Magic. Your cat,” he said.

  I nodded and opened the book. Keith walked closer to the bed and studied the next page and then he glanced at my neck. “And that picture looks exactly like your necklace.”

  I nodded.

  “The necklace I bought for you.” Keith stood perfectly still staring at the book. “I bought it at a pawnshop.” He rubbed his chin. “I’ve never been to a pawnshop in my life. But for some reason. I had to go there. To get your birthday gift. It’s like, man, it’s like I knew you had to have that necklace. Like I knew it would be there, and I had to be the one to get it for you.”

  We stared at each other without blinking.

  Keith scratched his head. “Man. This all seems so familiar.”

  I knew what he meant. It had a sequence to it, a pattern that felt as if it had been played out before. I didn’t know what any of it meant.

  “It’s kind of like a deja vous. Only different. The book, you telling me this.” His mouth stiffened as if he’d forgotten how to use his lips. “The forest,” he mumbled.

  “Why do you keep talking about a forest? I hate forests. You know that.”

  When I was about eight my mom took me on a hike. The details were hazy except for a fear I could actually taste. And it wasn’t a good flavor like bubble gum. No. It tasted like dirt. I had a vivid memory of running, tears pouring down my face as I ran from trees that seemed to grab for me. I’d fallen and cracked my head on a rock. Mom found me bleeding and brought me home. I’d hated forests since.

  “The forest isn’t a living thing, it won’t hurt you,” Keith said, just like he did in fourth grade when we were scheduled to go on a field trip. I’d faked the flu to get out of it then.

  “Whatever. Some people hate spiders, I hate tress.”

  “It was in my dream.” Keith’s voice was soft like a whisper. Hesitant. “About the forest.”

  I shuddered but curiosity got the better of me and I glared at him for making me ask. “What dream?”

  “The dream before we moved here.”

  I sat on the edge of my Mom’s bed and he plopped down beside me, leaving enough space between us so we were both comfortable. His legs looked like big tree trunks now. I banished the thought.

  He smiled at me, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I thought it was too strange to share. Well, it is too strange to share. But so is this.” He swept his hand towards the book and me.

  I opened my mouth to defend myself but closed it when he kept talking.

  “I was only seven. Almost eight, but I remember like it was yesterday.” He paused and ran his fingers through his hair. It looked soft, no tangles. I almost reached up to touch it. I waggled my head and forced myself to focus on his words. I really had become a hormonal freak in addition to becoming a witch.

  “We were living in Michigan. I had the dream and the next day, my dad came home and announced he’d been transferred. No warning, nothing. Boom. The house went up for sale and within weeks, we arrived in Grand Rapids.”

  Kevin shook his head as he remembered back. “It happened so fast. Anyhow, the dream. It was about a girl. Lost in the forest. It seemed like I’d known her forever. There was huge tress. A castle. And the girl. I remember everything about her. Her hair. Her eyes. She was so afraid of the forest, but so beautiful.” He stopped talking for a moment, staring into space. Then he bowed his head and glanced at me. “It was you. Just like you look now. I even saw that tattoo on your arm. It’s a Celtic Knot. When I saw it on your arm yesterday I searched on the Internet. It represents eternity. Some websites said it’s used to fight off evil, like a charm. It’s supposed to symbolize an uninterrupted life cycle. I drew a picture of it last night. I’ll give it to you if you want.”

  I reached up to touch my tattoo but all I heard was the echo of Keith calling me beautiful. I glanced down at my Jams and my tank top and imagined what my messy bed head resembled. Beautiful was not how I’d describe myself. Ever.

  I shook my head but he misunderstood and looked a little hurt. “That’s okay. You don’t have to take it.”

  “No, Keith, I’d love the picture.” He didn’t offer people his art often. It was kind of an honor.

  “Anyhow. It’s true, I swear on my father’s grave. When I went to school and met you. Well, I knew right away you were going to grow up to become her. The girl.”

  He wasn’t lying about the dream. He’d never swear on his father’s grave if he weren’t serious. Kevin’s dad died weeks after arriving in Grand Rapids. A heart attack. His mom went back to work. Eight years later she re-married her boss at the legal firm. Now Kevin had a whole new family. Stepfather and twin babies. But he loved his dad fiercely.

  “And you kept this from me, because…?” I asked.

  He cocked his head to the side thinking. “You would have thought I was a freak. You and Stevie took me under your wings. I didn’t want to scare you off. I liked being your friend. I still do.”

  Tears pushed out of the corners of my eyes. The whole hormonal becoming a woman thing again. An awkwardness hung between us that I’d never felt before. I moved my leg away from making sure we didn’t touch. I didn’t know what to say.

  I went after a nonexistent nail on my thumb, chewing the skin like a stick of gum.

  “Well. My Dad,” I finally said. “He’s involved in what’s happening now.”

  “Where’s the picture of him you were talking about?” Keith asked.

  I reached for the book and flipped to the page with the images floating in and out of focus.

  I spotted my dad’s face and pointed. “There. By this old man. Beside that boy.”

  Keith squinted. “I don’t see any faces.”

  I traced over the image of the man half responsible for me being born.

  Keith glanced at me. “I still don’t see any faces,” he said.

  “Can I see it?” He held out his hand for the book.

  Magic hissed. I clutched the book to my chest.

  The surprised look on Keith’s face echoed my own.

  “I don’t know why, but I don’t think I’m supposed to let you hold it.”

  He pressed his lips tighter. “This is weirdness.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  We were both quiet.

  “I would never hurt you, Sydney,” he blurted out of the blue, with more emotion than I’d ever heard him say anything.

  “Yeah. I know that.” I glanced at my feet and then back up at my friend. “We’re good.” I smiled. “Even though you never told me about your dream.”

  He rubbed his eyes and didn’t answer. “Keith?” I called. His mind had drifted far off, seeing something I couldn’t see. “Keith.”

  He gave his head a jiggle and then focused on me, forcing out a smile. He pushed back a stray curl. “Hey,” he answered. “Sorry. Just thinking.”

  “Come on, let’s get out of here.” I got up and waved my hand to motion him out of my mom’s room. Keith went towards the door and I waited until his back was turned before returning the book to the bed. Magic hurried to it and climbed on top.

  Keith glanced back. His eyes looked older, wiser somehow. I walked up beside him.

  “You have powers,” he said.

  It sounded like a statement more than a question but I answered anyhow. “I’m like
Sabrina the teenage witch. Only not as wholesome or pretty.”

  His laugh exploded from him like a mini firecracker. “You’re prettier. In a grungier kind of way.” His laugh faded. “So? What can you do?” he asked.

  I shrugged, faking nonchalance. “Well. I made a whole day fast forward when I wished it could be over. And sometimes when I wish for things they come true. But not money. I can’t wish for money. Cody told me.”

  “Cody?”

  “Long story.”

  “Do it. Make a wish,” he said.

  I hesitated and dropped my gaze, not wanting to make eye contact with him.

  “I wish I had my own smart phone. Hot pink. With a cool ring tone.”

  I held my breath. Nothing. I glanced up. Keith’s eyes were wide, his expression expectant.

  “It doesn’t always work.” I explained and my face warmed. “No one said I was good at doing the magic stuff. Wait. I wished you here, right before you came I said, I wish someone would help me figure it out.”

  “I’m not much of a help.”

  “No. That’s not true. I mean. I can talk to you about this. And you’re not running away or having me committed.”

  He tried to smile again but the corners of his mouth failed to turn upright. “Why doesn’t this freak me out more than it does?”

  I lifted my shoulders and dropped them with a sigh. “Turning sixteen totally sucks. Nothing surprises me anymore.”

  As if to prove me wrong one of Nana’s favorite old songs from the seventies suddenly began playing. My eyes opened wide and my head felt frozen. It was Witchy Woman by the Eagles. The pocket in my Skeleton Jams vibrated. I reached inside and pulled out a Pink covered phone. The ring tone was Nana’s favorite song. I flipped it open.

  “Hello?” There was no answer on the other end.

  I dropped the phone on the floor and Keith and I raced out of Mom’s room.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Keith followed me into my bedroom, tracing my steps to the make-up table Nana gave me when I was ten. I picked up a brush to pull through my tangles and he and plunked down on the bench. He’d been in my room a million times, but somehow now it felt awkward, a boy in my private sanctuary. This whole hormonal becoming a woman thing was much more complicated than I’d thought.

  “You wished yourself a new phone,” he said. “So. That’s kind of cool. Isn’t it?”

  “I am never using that thing,” I snapped. “It’s evil.”

  Nana would be proud.

  “Still. I mean. It just proves it more. You’re special, Sydney. Somehow, I always suspected. Like the dream. And now this. Magic.” He puckered his mouth and wiggled his lips back and forth. “I fit into this somehow. I mean, I bought you that necklace.”

  I reached for elastic as he rose, raking through his own hair. My fingers brushed against his. As soon as our skin touched, my eyes closed in pain, as if he’d reached into my insides and twisted them around. And, so not in a good way.

  Instinctively with my other hand I reached for my necklace. I rubbed it and the cold metal against my fingers rescued me, and my ability to breathe returned. I gasped, as if I’d been drowning.

  “Sydney?” Keith raised his hand as if to touch me, but I raised mine in the air to stop him.

  “What happened?” he asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said as honest as I could be for the moment. I’d sensed something dark inside him, something I didn’t think Keith knew was there.

  It scared me.

  I wrapped my arms around myself and shuddered.

  “I think it might be easier to go crazy,” I mumbled.

  “What?”

  I motioned for him to stand. “Nothing. Hey. Will you to wait for me downstairs? I think I’ll get ready. We can go to school. ”

  Keith got up. “We don’t have to go if you don’t want to. I can skip.”

  “I don’t need corrupting you on my conscience.”

  “I don’t mind. This is pretty huge. We can go to the mall. Hang out. Think things through.”

  “You’re sure. You hate the mall.”

  He nodded.

  “Okay,” I finally said. “Um. I have to get ready?”

  His cheeks turned red and he looked around as if he’d just remembered we weren’t kids anymore. He smiled the Keith smile I knew and loved. “Sorry. No problem.”

  He walked past me, out my door.

  “I’ll be down in a minute, don’t leave,” I shouted after him.

  I waited until his feet clomped on the stairs, and then hurried back to my mom’s room. I rushed to her bed, brushed Magic and off the book and picked it up and opened to the Sentry Page. My eye caught something I hadn’t noticed before. At the bottom of the page there was an etching.

  “Beware of the SHIELDERS.”

  Magic screeched.

  I barely muffled a scream and grabbed at my heart and shot my cat a dirty look. Shaking my head I closed the book and hurried to the walk in closet. Glancing over my shoulder, I placed the book inside the cubbyhole, closed the trap door and slid the rug back in place.

  I darted out of my mom’s room down the hallway to the bathroom. I winced at a new achy cramp in my stomach. An idea crept into my head. I was a witch who could wish for things. Hmm. This called for another experiment.

  “I wish this Period was done. Gone. No more,” I said to my reflection.

  My cramps lessened. Yes. They were going. Going, going, gone. My mood got a little less crappy. I stood up straighter. Hey, maybe I needed to rethink this witch business. The money I could save on Midol alone. I grinned. Oh yeah baby. No more Aunt Flo. Just to be safe though, I stuck a fresh paddy thing in my panties.

  I glanced at myself in the mirror. Gah. Well this was still a mess. I needed time to look normal but I didn’t have time. I smiled. But I did have magic.

  “I wish I’d had a shower and shaved and put on fresh make-up. And that my hair was blown dry and flat ironed like they do it at the hair salon.” I glanced in the mirror. Presto. I grinned. Yup. Some parts of this witch biz I could get used to.

  I hurried back to my room to pull on some clothes.

  “You look nice,” Keith, said as I descended the stairs.

  I’d looked down at my yoga pants and t-shirt. Not exactly a grand fashion moment but I’d figured this was a day that called for comfort. I frowned, wondering if he was mocking me.

  “No, really.” Keith paused and then I swear his cheeks got kind of blotchy. Like they do when he’s embarrassed.

  “You look uh, good. I don’t know. You always look good, but you look really good.” I reached the bottom of the stairs and stopped, holding the rail.

  “I always look good?” I demanded.

  “Yeah you always do. I don’t need to point it out to you.” He turned away from me.

  I scrunched up my nose. “Uh. No I don’t and yeah, you do. Whatever. What class are you going to miss?”

  “Art.” He lifted his shoulder and looked back at me. “You?”

  I was glad for the change in subject matter. “Science. Mr. James won’t even notice I wasn’t there.”

  Keith nodded. There was an unverified but often repeated rumor that Mr. James kept a flask of whiskey locked in his desk at school. Kids in his class didn’t even have to write papers to get a grade. He gave everyone a mark whether they wrote or not. It was suspected he didn’t even look at anything handed in, except for the papers of the really smart kids who would notice.

  “You’re sure you don’t mind missing art?” It was his passion and we both knew it.

  The doorbell interrupted us. We both snapped to attention and stared towards the front door. It rang three times in a row. Quickly. Then a pause and it rang three more times.

  “Stevie,” we said at the same time.

  “Don’t say anything to her about this stuff,” I said as I walked towards it. “Not yet.” I glanced back over my shoulder.

  Keith nodded his expression gloomy. We’d never kept secrets from
Stevie. Not before today. But this wasn’t like anything else.

  The front door flew open before I reached it. “Hey, Sydney,” Stevie shouted as she walked inside. “It’s not even locked, you dork.”

  She spotted Keith behind me. “Oh,” she said in a normal voice. “You’re here, too.” She frowned. “What the heck are you wearing, Keith? What is wrong with you two?”

  Keith and I glanced at each other and then at Stevie. He frowned and I covered a smile with my hand.

  “What’s the big deal? It’s a shirt.”

  Stevie stuck out her tongue and made a face to show very clearly what she thought of his shirt. “Not a cool shirt.” Then she turned to me. “I thought you were alone. That maybe you still had cramps. Cody said you stayed home because you weren’t feeling well. By the color on his face I thought you told him you had your period.”

  She giggled and pointed at my face. “Yeah. That’s the same color.”

  I ignored her and gestured at Keith to come as I slipped on shoes. I really wanted to tell Stevie I had magic powers and I’d just wished my period away. Gone. Just like that. Ha ha ha.

  “You two are going back to school?” Stevie asked as Keith bent to tie his Converse shoe laces.

  “We were going to head to the mall.” I wanted to tell her to leave. So I could be alone with Keith. Talk about what was happening. Try to figure out what the heck to do with my witchiness.

  “Can I come?”

  Keith and I exchanged a quick glance and he arched his eyebrow up. I lifted my shoulder slightly.

  “I guess. Yeah. Or course. Sure.” I opened the door and Stevie went outside and I waited for Keith to pass me so I could lock up. “Hey How’d you get here anyhow?”

  “Cody dropped me off,” Stevie said.

  I pulled the door shut and locked it.

  “Cody?” I asked and turned to her.

  She shrugged and this time it was her cheeks that turned a pinker shade. “He offered to drop me off, so I said yes.”

  Keith gave her a playful shove with his shoulder. “Stevie’s got a boyfriend?” he teased.

  I laughed with him as Stevie scowled and held out the house key to her. “Can you put this in your pocket, Stevie? I don’t have any.”