by Kristen Pham
He stared at her with a sudden intensity. “I’m not interested in Logan.”
“Guys? You ready?” Henry’s voice called from the campsite.
She tore her eyes away from Thai’s and took a step toward her brother. “We’re ready. Let’s get a move on.”
It took four hours, three buses, two trains, and a long hike to get to the Anthony Chabot Regional Park in Oakland. By the time their tents were set up, they all collapsed into deep sleep.
The next day, as Valerie showered, she decided to take the opportunity to visit her old hospital. She’d never be this close again, and she had promised her friends there that she’d visit if she could.
“That’s nuts!” Henry said over breakfast when he heard her plan. “Zunya found you there before; he’ll expect you to go back.”
“Hey guys, what’d we miss?” Cyrus said, popping into view with Kanti.
“Valerie wants to visit her old hospital,” Tan said, braiding grass and sounding bored.
“She’ll get caught!” Henry shouted.
“It’d be something fun to do. We’re just rotting here, waiting for some guy to rescue us,” Tan said. He was clearly itching for a little adventure, which made Valerie grin. It was nice when Tan reminded her of Thai and not the bad seed.
“We could scout ahead,” Cyrus offered.
“And stay on guard the whole time,” Kanti added. “You guys are gonna go stir crazy if you don’t have a little contact with the outside world.”
Henry frowned, but he nodded slowly.
“There are some people I promised I’d visit if I could,” Valerie said to her brother. He must have sensed the depth of her longing, because his face softened.
“Okay, okay. But we’ve got to be smart about this.”
A few hours later, the group was standing in front of the hospital. Being “smart” turned out to be donning some cheap disguises that Valerie doubted would stop Zunya from recognizing them, but if it gave Henry a measure of peace, then she wasn’t going to argue.
“Why don’t you guys check around outside?” she suggested, peeking at the group from over the rim of her oversized sunglasses. “It’ll be weird if we all try to sign in for visiting hours. Besides, I’m less likely to stand out on my own.”
Cyrus started organizing everyone into groups, and Valerie stepped through the automatic doors into the hospital. The odor of antiseptic and floor wax brought back memories. Most people probably cringed at the smell, but for her, it was a reminder of holidays skidding down the halls in her socks and hours spent reading to the littlest of the kids in her ward—the best times of her life until she had discovered magic.
When she walked out the elevator doors on her old floor, the eyes of the woman at the nurses’ station widened at the sight of her. “Little Valerie Diaz! You’re back and you look wonderful, sweetheart. How have you been?”
“Hi, Darla,” she replied, unexpectedly shy. “I missed you all so much; I couldn’t stay away.”
“And we’re glad you didn’t! Dr. Freeman will be so glad to see you!”
“Who else is here? Jeremiah? Ming?”
Darla lowered her eyes, and Valerie braced herself for bad news—it wouldn’t be the first time that something had happened to one of the kids she loved.
“Jeremiah is doing great, in complete remission. He’s been home for weeks. But Ming…”
Valerie’s eyes filled with tears. Ming was only seven years old, and had the sweetest and most trusting person she had ever known.
“She’s not going to make it, sweetie. She’s only got a few weeks.” Darla came out from behind the desk and folded her into a hug.
Valerie choked back her tears. “Is it okay if I see her?”
“Absolutely. I know she’d love that.”
Valerie quietly pushed open the door of Ming’s room and saw her limp little body beneath a thin hospital sheet. She was hooked up to several machines, and she had never seemed so tiny as she did then. Her mother was sleeping in a cot at her bedside, and Valerie saw the dark circles beneath her eyes, like bruises.
How could life be so cruel, to create a mother who loved her daughter so much only to take her away? It used to hurt to see other children with their parents, wishing that she, too, had someone to care for her. But seeing Ming’s mother’s obvious suffering, she was suddenly glad that her parents never had to see her when she was at her worst, kept alive by machines and too weak to walk.
“Valerie?” Ming croaked, opening her eyes. “You came back just like you promised.”
“Of course I did. I missed you too much not to visit.”
Ming’s mother jerked awake at the sound of their voices. Her tense face relaxed a little when she saw Valerie.
“How kind of you to come, dear,” she said. “Dr. Freeman told us you were traveling the world, and to come all the way back—it means so much.”
“Well, I simply couldn’t stay away,” Valerie said. “I missed my best bud.”
Ming’s mother’s eyes were a little teary, and she quickly stood up and headed toward the door, probably so her daughter wouldn’t see her distress, Valerie guessed. “I’ll leave you two to chat for a few minutes.”
After her mother was gone, Ming turned to Valerie with wide eyes. “I was worried you wouldn’t make it before…”
Valerie squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry. I wish I had come sooner.” She knew better than to lie to Ming and pretend it would all be okay. A friend had once told her that pretending to believe she was going to survive for her family’s sake was the hardest part of dying.
“Luckily, Mr. Hopsalot kept me company,” Ming said, pulling Valerie’s old rabbit out from under the sheet.
“You kept him safe for me!” she gave her old toy a hug, and then pretended he was whispering in her ear. “Ming is secretly a princess? You’re sure, Mr. Hopsalot? Who told you?”
Ming was giggling at her silly banter when Dr. Freeman came through the door. He stopped short when he saw Valerie.
“I should have known when I heard Ming laughing for the first time in days that you must be here. Are you visiting, or checking in?” he asked.
“Just a visit,” she said quickly, without meeting his eyes. “I’m fine.”
“I must say, I’m very glad to see you. I’ve had a few wakeful nights worrying about you since you left.”
Valerie was surprised. He was always so gruff and matter-of-fact—she was never sure if she was anything more than an unusual medical case to him. But as she watched him gently evaluate Ming, she could see how much he cared for them all. How did he keep his heart from breaking when he lost a patient like Ming?
“Come by my office when you’re done here, Valerie. I’d like to examine you before you go.”
“Okay,” she said, considering whether it would be wrong to sneak out. As much as she missed her friends at the hospital, there was no way that she wanted to stay there longer than she had to.
After he left, Ming held out her hand to Valerie. “Will you stay with me till I sleep? Tell me a story.”
“Absolutely,” she said, and she crawled into bed beside her. With Ming’s little head resting against her shoulder, Valerie wove a tale of a beautiful princess battling a fierce dragon. She stopped when Ming’s gentle breathing told her that she was asleep.
Only then did Valerie let herself cry. Her tears ran fast down her cheeks, dripping into Ming’s hair. What was the point of having the power of giving life if she couldn’t save Ming with it? Even if she died using her magic on Earth, she had to try. She concentrated, remembering the pulse of energy that had passed through her when she saved Sanguina. Nothing. It was as if her magic was dammed up against a wall that she couldn’t break through.
She hammered and hammered against it, trying to find some tiny crack. Nothing. She began to sob. This couldn’t be happening. She had saved a woman who had tortured her brother, but she couldn’t help Ming, who brought nothing but sweetness into the lives of those she touched.
Beneath her fingers, Valerie felt soft fur. At first, she thought it was Mr. Hopsalot, but when she looked down, she saw that she was stroking the golden fur of Darling, the little creature she had rescued on the Globe.
She gasped with surprise and gave him a hug. “How are you here, buddy?”
He nuzzled into her shoulder and her grief drained away, replaced by hope. Darling was a healer on the Globe, but she didn’t know if his magic would work on Earth. “Can you save her?”
“Valerie? What’s happening? Who is this?” Ming asked, her eyes fluttering open.
“He’s my friend, and his name is Darling. Don’t be scared, Ming. He wants to try to help you.”
Darling jumped into her lap, and Ming stared into his wide eyes. His heart glowed red beneath his chest, and she watched it beat with wonder.
“You’ve got magic, just like Valerie, don’t you?” she asked softly. Darling smiled and executed a little somersault on her lap, which made Ming giggle. She gently tickled him, and Valerie listened with delight to their adorable laughter.
“He’s like a little bear cub! I love him already. I wish you both could stay here with me always,” Ming said.
Darling chattered in a language that Valerie couldn’t understand, and jumped into Ming’s arms. As they hugged, Darling’s heart glowed a brighter red, and Ming’s eyes opened wide. A shudder passed through her little frame and Valerie clutched her close, suddenly afraid of what was happening to her.
After a few agonizing seconds, it was over, and Ming’s head fell back on her pillow. She was sound asleep. Darling’s eyes were filled with happy tears.
“Will she be okay?” she whispered.
Darling nodded, but his limbs looked heavy, and his soft fur had lost some of its shine.
“Will you be okay?” Darling executed a little spin on Ming’s lap, and she laughed. “I hope that’s a yes.”
“Val, the natives are restless. Everything okay here?” Cyrus asked, popping into view. He took a step back in surprise when he saw Darling.
“What are you doing here, buddy?”
“Cy—he’s here for real. He’s not projecting. He came to help Ming.”
Cyrus sucked in a breath. “I’ve heard rumors, but never believed them.”
“This has happened before?”
“There are a couple of legends passed down in my guild about kids on Earth being helped by Darling, but no one I know has seen it happen. It must have helped that he already had a connection with you.”
Valerie stroked Darling’s fur. “Thank you. I can never tell you how grateful I am. However you did this.”
Darling murmured softly, and then the air around him shimmered. He was gone.
“Well I never!” Valerie and Cyrus both jumped, realizing that someone else was in the room. They relaxed when they saw it was Chern, a Grand Master of the History Guild who had helped them travel on the Globe. He was nice, but afraid of his own shadow.
“So sorry to scare you! I hate when people sneak up on me, too. Azra told me where you were, and I projected here as quickly as I could. But you all seemed busy and I didn’t want to interrupt. But I must, I’m afraid!”
“Why? Is everything okay?” she asked, worried.
“It most certainly is not! I was walking by my guild yesterday, and I overheard a scraggly young man asking for you. Goes by the name of Shade, if I remember correctly.”
“Oh, Jack. He’s a friend—sort of.”
“Are you quite sure? I must say he didn’t seem like a proper young man. And I was worried he might learn that I knew you and come to my house demanding information. You can understand how upsetting that would be for me.”
“Of course,” she said. “If I see Jack, I’ll be sure to let him know not to bother you. But I don’t think he will.”
“Azra thought Valerie needed to know this?” Cyrus asked suspiciously.
“Well,” Chern blustered, “she didn’t see the urgency, but I insisted that she must know now. I couldn’t rest without telling you.”
“Thank you, Chern. It’s good to know you have our back,” she said.
“Of course, dear. I’ll leave you then,” he said, and vanished.
Cyrus burst into laughter. “How could you thank that guy? He’s only worried about saving his own skin.”
“He cared enough to come to warn me. That should count for something.”
Cyrus rolled his eyes. “Whatever. We should get outta here before your brother has a heart attack.”
“Can you tell them everything is okay? I have to see Dr. Freeman before I go. I sort of owe him.”
“Okay, but make it quick. Otherwise Henry’s gonna come in after you.”
He popped out of sight, and she leaned over Ming one last time and gave her a kiss on her forehead. She wished that she could be here when she woke, and see the joy on her mother’s face. She was like Santa, leaving before the presents had been opened. A wave of pure relief and joy carried her down the hall to Dr. Freeman’s office. Inside, he was bent over his laptop, concentrating.
“Dr. Freeman, you’re not going to believe it. Ming is cured!”
His eyes were knowing and worried when they met hers. “What makes you think that, Valerie?”
“I saw it for myself. You don’t have to believe me. Go check her!”
“Of course I will. I can’t imagine how upsetting it is for you to see her like that.”
“Yes, but now she’s better. Trust me.”
“I really wish that were true. But tell me, how could that be possible? I want you to think, to really struggle against your disease. Forcing yourself to accept reality is an important part of combating schizophrenia.”
Her mood fell. “I see. I probably wouldn’t believe me, either.”
“Let’s get you checked in, at least for a day, Ms. Diaz. I’ll give you a complete workup.”
He had a determined bent to his mouth that she didn’t like one bit. “Dr. Freeman, thank you for everything you’ve done for me, but no.”
Without saying anything more, she raced down the hall, ignoring his calls after her. He’d never believe it if she told him of her magic, even after he saw that Ming was cured.
As she burst out of the hospital into the sunshine, the exuberance of Ming’s recovery returned to her. After all, last year she had been alone with a death sentence hanging over her. Now, she had friends waiting for her and magic inside of her.
That night, after everyone had gone to sleep, Valerie stayed awake, staring into the dying flames of their campfire and remembering her day. How had Darling known to come to her? Had he recovered yet from saving Ming?
“I’m back,” Thai said, sitting beside her on the ground.
“Tan had a good day,” she told him.
“Yeah, he did. But not as good as yours.”
She smiled widely. “It really was amazing. A weight has been taken off my heart. Once I’m on the Globe, I’ll visit Ming again and tell her everything. I know she’ll believe me.”
“Somehow I think it’s thanks to you that she’s going to live.”
“No, I didn’t do anything. I couldn’t even touch my magic.”
“But you tried to save her, didn’t you? Even though it could have killed you.”
“Thai, you can’t be mad about that.”
“I’m not mad. I’m in awe. Even though it was Darling’s magic that cured her, I think that the way you cared about her—more than your own life—was what called him across the universe. That’s what I love about you.”
Her heart stopped beating when he said those words. Then it sped up to three times its normal pace when he leaned over, his lips millimeters from hers. He hesitated, and she leaned forward, closing the space. She’d imagined her first kiss a thousand times, and she thought she’d be all s
weaty palms and worrying about whether her lips were too wet or too dry.
But she didn’t have time to think about anything other than what was happening. A coil of emotion unspooled inside of her, sending threads of light through her entire body. His hand reached up and cupped her face, and she wound her arms around his neck.
After a minute, he pulled back. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t—”
“Are you kidding?” she said, and then pulled him back for another kiss. How could she ever have doubted that it would be this easy—this perfect—when it was with Thai? She could drown in this moment, and she didn’t care if she never came up for air.
She knew it the second that Thai gave in, pulling her close and threading his fingers through her hair. But in the middle of her bliss, a blinding flash of panic seared her entire body.
Abruptly, she was pulled out of herself and into Henry’s mind. He was terrified.
Chapter 4
“Get away from me!” Henry shouted. His fear was so palpable that Valerie could swear it was her own. Without meaning to, he had pulled her into his mind, as he had done many times before when Sanguina had frightened him over the years. But now, she knew that this connection and the magic that sustained it were draining her life.
“Henry, it’s okay. Let me go and I’ll come find you,” she tried to send her thoughts to him, but her words weren’t penetrating.
He ran blindly through the woods, and she saw the flickering light of the campfire through his eyes. But before he was close, he tripped over a tree root and landed on the ground. A shadow loomed over him.
“Not again, please. You can’t touch me, you can’t hurt me,” Henry chanted to himself.
In the light of the moon, she saw the face of the man near him and relief washed over her. It was Chisisi.
“All you all right, young sir? Allow me to help you up.”
“He’s safe; he’s a friend,” she tried to communicate to her brother. Something of her relief or words must have come through, because abruptly his mind let hers go, and she was back in her own body.