Eden's Wish

by M. Tara Crowl

  “What did she do?” Tyler asked sharply.

  Sasha explained what had happened in Science.

  “What are Skye and Claire doing with her?” Cameron asked.

  “Showing their true colors, I guess.” Sasha dragged a French fry through a mound of ketchup.

  As they launched into a conversation about the loyalty of guys versus girls in friendships, it struck Eden that she was the reason Skye and Claire weren’t sitting with Sasha. They’d disliked Eden from the start, but Sasha had stood up for her. And she didn’t even know the truth about who Eden was.

  When the bell rang to dismiss lunch, Sasha walked ahead with Cameron and Devin, but Tyler hung back.

  “Eden,” he said low as he walked beside her, “I hope you’re not letting that girl get to you.”

  She looked at him in surprise. Tyler was far more perceptive than most mortals. And even stranger, he really seemed to care.

  “People only treat each other like that if they don’t know who they are,” he said.

  Eden had to look away.

  “You know that, right?”

  “I guess so.” If she was honest with herself, she wasn’t sure she knew who she was. She’d thought life as a mortal would fit her like a glove; she hadn’t expected so many new challenges on Earth.

  Her eye caught on her bracelet, and Goldie’s words came rushing back. If you’re ever unsure of who you are, she’d said, look at your bracelet and remember.

  “Anyway,” Tyler said as they reached her locker, “I hope the rest of your day is smooth sailing.”

  “Trust me, I do too.”

  But not ten minutes later, the day took another unexpected turn. The teacher in Eden’s math class hadn’t even made it through roll call when a student came in and handed her a note.

  “Eden Johansson?” she said, looking up from it.

  “Here!” Roll call was one thing she’d learned to do right.

  “No, this note is for you. Your mother is in the office.”

  The room filled with snickers.

  “Mommy misses you!” a boy called in a high voice.

  “My mother?” Eden stayed seated, perplexed.

  Next to her, Sasha gave her a strange look.

  “That’s what the note says,” the teacher said, glancing down at it again.

  Slowly, Eden rose from her desk. Every mortal in the class was staring.

  One of them was Gigi. But for once, she wasn’t wearing a smug expression. For some reason, she looked just as confused as Eden felt.

  Roll call resumed as she squeezed down the aisle of desks.

  Though she didn’t know what or who to expect in the office, Eden had a feeling it would involve Bola. But when she got there, her world history teacher was nowhere in sight. Instead, in a chair between two angry-looking kids, was a different woman.

  She was about thirty years old, slim, and stunning in a tailored mint-green dress. Shiny, honey-colored hair tumbled down her chest, and her catlike eyes were unbearably turquoise.

  She looked nothing at all like Bola, yet the sight of her affected Eden the same way. Awe, wonder, and disbelief filled her. She was looking at someone she’d been dreaming about since childhood.

  Sylvana rose from her chair as she entered.

  “Darling!” she breathed. “How I’ve missed you!”

  The next thing she knew, Sylvana’s arms were wrapped around her, pressing Eden’s face against her rose-scented neck. Sylvana is hugging me right now, Eden thought dizzily. It was so absurd, she could barely comprehend it.

  “Missed me?” was all she could think to say.

  “You didn’t tell me your mother was coming,” boomed Mr. Willis. For such a large man, he really had a knack for appearing out of nowhere.

  Eden felt five steps behind.

  “Jag skulle kommit fram igår,” the woman said. I was supposed to arrive yesterday—in Swedish.

  “What happened?” Mr. Willis asked. “Are you okay?”

  “Du är så snäll. Ingen fara, bara en inställd flygning.” You’re so kind. Everything’s fine, just a canceled flight. Then she batted her eyelashes at him.

  “Thank goodness!” Mr. Willis’s voice echoed through the office. “Eden, you must be so relieved to see her!”

  Slowly the pieces were coming together. Another alum had arrived—probably to try convincing her to return to the lamp, like Bola had.

  But Xavier and Goldie didn’t talk to Sylvana. They barely allowed her name to be spoken in the lamp. Why would they send a message to her?

  Sylvana placed a hand on Mr. Willis’s shoulder. “With your permission,” she said, “I’d like to check my daughter out of school for the rest of the day.”

  Mr. Willis’s face creased with thought. “Well, technically we need a doctor’s note…”

  Sylvana’s face fell—almost as if she were about to cry. Mr. Willis didn’t stand a chance.

  “But who am I kidding? You’ve just come all the way from Sweden!”

  “Oh, thank you.” Sylvana winked. “I promise we’ll behave.”

  When they stepped through the front doors, Eden braced herself for an attack. With no mortals in earshot, Sylvana was sure to snap like Bola had.

  But she was wrong. Sylvana stopped and turned Eden to face her. “Let me have a look at you.” She looked Eden up and down, taking in her skinny legs and long blond braid. She gasped. “Aren’t you beautiful!”

  Eden’s face grew warm.

  “Come on, you must know that. Or do those idiots in the lamp not tell you?” She grinned a million-dollar smile. “Tell me, do you know who I am?”

  “You’re Sylvana.” In the flesh. Eden couldn’t believe it.

  Sylvana nodded, looking pleased. “That’s right.”

  “But how did you know where to find me?”

  Sylvana waved a hand in the air as if that were a minor detail, as pesky as a fly. “I’ll explain everything. Now come on, let’s get out of here.” She took Eden’s hand and led her toward a cherry-red convertible.

  By now, Eden had gotten around to doing almost everything Xavier had warned her against. She’d swum in the ocean, made friends with mortals, and nearly lost the lamp. But since her arrival on Earth, she and the Rockwells had walked wherever they went. She still had yet to ride in a car.

  She’d seen plenty of them, of course. In the first two years of her career she’d granted a number of wishes for flashy cars with flashy names: Ferrari, Bugatti, Lamborghini. When the vehicles appeared she was always mystified. Sure, they were shiny and sleek. Each one had four wheels and an engine, so it could take you from place to place. But she couldn’t understand why mortals fixated on them. When presented with unlimited options, why would you wish for one of these machines?

  As if reading her mind, Sylvana said, “You been in one of these things yet?” Eden shook her head. Sylvana’s eyes flashed. “You’re gonna love it.” She held the door open while Eden climbed inside, then sat behind the steering wheel and slid a pair of aviator-style sunglasses onto her nose.

  “Ready?”

  When Sylvana turned the key in the ignition, the car came to life, purring like a metal beast. Excitedly, Eden gripped the seat. Her heart pounded as they pulled out of the parking lot.

  Since she’d never been in a moving car before, she didn’t have anything to compare it to. Still, she was pretty sure the way Sylvana drove wasn’t legal. She ripped down the road, racing past other cars and sailing through red lights.

  Eden closed her eyes. For her, this was paradise. She’d never known anything so exhilarating. Finally she understood why mortals wished for these things.

  “What do you think?” Sylvana’s hair was whipping wildly in the wind.

  “Incredible!” Eden yelled. “But where are we going?”

  “You’ll see.” Sylvana jerked the steering wheel for a sharp turn, and Eden noticed her manicured hands. On one wrist was a white-gold watch. Nothing on the other. She wasn’t wearing her genie bracelet.
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  As they cruised down the coast, Eden folded her arms on top of the passenger door and watched the ocean roll by. There was sunshine on her skin, wind in her hair, and no mortals picking on her or alumni nagging her to go back in the lamp. What was so great about school anyway?

  Eventually Sylvana turned off the coastal road and drove inland. She pulled the car into a space in a small parking lot.

  “This way!” she said, getting out of the car.

  This part of San Diego was notably different from the beachy terrain Eden had seen so far. Grass and trees surrounded them, and in the near distance were hills covered in shades of green and brown. Out here, it was much quieter than in Mission Beach.

  Sylvana led Eden to a field where a huge nylon parachute, striped with red, yellow, blue, and green, lay spread out and partially inflated on the grass. A stout man with a beard was blasting orange flames from a metal burner into the balloon’s mouth. A big woven basket, large enough for several people to stand in, lay sideways next to it, attached by a number of cords.

  “Is that a hot air balloon??” Eden squealed.

  “Looks like it, doesn’t it?” Sylvana crossed her arms and smiled.

  “Are we going up in it?”

  “Would you like to?” She removed her sunglasses, revealing those blistering blue-green eyes.

  “Are you kidding? Yes!” Eden rushed up to investigate it more closely.

  “Hello, Jerry!” Sylvana said, waving to the bearded man.

  He beamed and saluted her. “Hey there! She’s nearly ready to go!”

  “How did you arrange this?” Eden asked Sylvana in wonder. “Do you live here?”

  “Here? No!” Sylvana ushered her away so Jerry couldn’t hear. “I’ve been on Earth for more than six hundred and fifty years,” she said. “Long enough to know what to do—and how to do it—in every city.”

  Eden’s mind was spinning. She was desperate to learn all about Sylvana.

  “Do you travel much?” she asked.

  “All the time! How could you not? There are so many beautiful things to see, so much delicious food to eat, so many gorgeous things to wear…” Sylvana winked. “Life on Earth is good.”

  Eden was bursting with excitement. Finally, someone was validating all the wonderful things she’d suspected about the world—and even better, it was the alum she’d always looked up to!

  “All aboard!” Jerry called. The balloon had become so full of air that the basket was sitting upright on the grass. He helped Eden and Sylvana climb over the side, and then he joined them.

  “Here we go!” he announced as they lifted off the ground.

  Eden leaned over the edge and watched San Diego spread beneath her like a picnic blanket. Houses, roads, cars, and trees all shrank to miniature proportions. From up here she could see how homes were intricately arranged in subdivisions, and how the ground rose and fell to form graceful rolling hills.

  She closed her eyes and focused on the feeling of flying. She wanted to remember every second.

  When she opened her eyes, Sylvana had produced two ice-cold glass bottles of Coca-Cola. She handed one to Eden, then held out her own to clink against it. She leaned next to her on the basket’s woven side, and together they took in the landscape below.

  Eden glanced at Jerry, who was on the opposite side of the basket. Piloting the balloon seemed to occupy his attention.

  “So where do you live?” Eden asked.

  “Paris, mostly.”

  Paris. It was meant to be one of Earth’s most wonderful cities.

  “Hey, look over there!” Sylvana pointed to the west, where the ocean shimmered magnificently in the distance.

  Eden sipped her Coke and marveled at her good fortune. Sylvana was even more fun and carefree than Eden had imagined. Being with her was like being swept up in a wonderful tidal wave. And now that she’d seen how mean and uptight Bola was, her take on immortal life was even more appealing.

  “I knew you’d be cool,” Eden said with satisfaction.

  “And I knew you’d be cool,” Sylvana said. “I mean, look. You’re a very special genie. At—what are you, twelve years old?—you’ve done something no genie has ever done before. You found a way to escape the lamp. You’re my hero.” When Sylvana smiled, her teeth actually seemed to sparkle in the sunlight.

  Eden squinted. This had to be a joke. The woman she’d admired her whole life was telling her she was her hero?

  “You’re not mad that I escaped?”

  “Mad? I think you’re brilliant! If I’d figured out it was possible to leave through the spout, I would have done the same thing in a heartbeat! I was trapped in there for almost sixty years, and spent every day of it dreaming of freedom.”

  “That’s what I do,” Eden said. Her hunch was right! Sylvana was different too.

  “I hated it,” Sylvana said. “To punish them, I screwed up every wish I ever granted. So much for their little paradise!”

  That explained why no wishes were listed in her section of the course guide. Sylvana had probably heard hundreds of lectures like the one after the Darryl Dolan granting.

  Sylvana clicked her tongue. “They didn’t tell you, did they?”

  “They never wanted to talk about you at all.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Of course they didn’t. I’m not surprised. I’m their big, bad secret.”

  “They said no other genie has been as ungrateful as me. That all the rest of you understood the honor of the position.”

  “Yeah, all the rest of them did. Except for me. And you.” She smirked. “We’re two of a kind.”

  Eden grinned. For the first time, here was someone who understood her.

  “Is that why you don’t talk to them now?”

  “Are you kidding me? When I got out of there, I never wanted to think about those two again.”

  “What about the other alumni they don’t talk to? Like Kingsley and Violet. Were they like us too?”

  “No, they were good little genies.” Sylvana sniffed dismissively. “Doing everything their masters asked. But after they retired and came to Earth, they met me. And I helped them see the light.”

  “The light?”

  “Yeah. You know. The injustice of the whole system.” She flipped her honey-colored hair so that it bounced and shone. “See, they say that we’re part of a legacy like no other. That part is true. But it’s a legacy of oppression. Think about it. Each of us genies is born into captivity and forced to grant idiotic mortals whatever they might desire. We don’t get to make decisions about our lives. We’re born into slavery. On Earth, that’s illegal.”

  Eden had never thought of it quite that way, but she supposed it was true. Much of what Sylvana was saying had run through her mind during lonely hours in the lamp. She’d just never called it what it was.

  “Xavier and Goldie are tyrants,” Sylvana went on. “Not to mention, world-class liars. After I retired, I finally learned about Xavier’s little jaunts to Earth. For me, that was the worst lie of all—because he knew how badly I wanted freedom.”

  That bubbling, burning anger rose up in Eden again. It had been the same for her! She’d never dreamed she’d meet someone who felt the same way.

  “Everything you’re saying,” she said, “is exactly why I left the lamp.”

  They were flying high now, suspended among the clouds in a dreamy upper layer above the world. In more than one way, Sylvana had given her a whole new perspective.

  Sylvana took Eden’s empty Coke bottle and set it on the floor. “I just got a great idea.” She placed her hands lightly on Eden’s shoulders. “Why don’t you come with me?”

  “With you? Where?”

  “Back to Paris! I can show you my life. You’ll have a suite in the grandest hotel. I’ll show you paintings and sculptures by history’s finest artists, and we’ll eat the most divine food you’ve ever tasted.”

  It was quite an offer: the chance to explore one of Earth’s greatest cities with the woman she’d alway
s longed to meet.

  “We’ll have so much fun together! It will be like you’re really my daughter.”

  Eden couldn’t stop smiling. A few hours ago, her problems had seemed insurmountable. But now that she’d met Sylvana, they were no bigger than the tiny trees and buildings far below.

  “Okay,” she said. “I’ll come.”

  “You will?” Sylvana clasped her hands in delight. She hugged Eden close, so Eden could smell the rose scent on her neck once again. “You’re going to love it, I promise.”

  When the balloon landed, they thanked Jerry and climbed from the basket.

  “My private jet is waiting for us at the airport,” Sylvana said as she led the way to the parking lot. She pointed a small black device on the key chain at the red convertible, and unlocked the doors with a beep.

  “Oh,” said Eden, feeling disoriented. “You mean we’re going now?”

  “Why not? We’ll stop and get the lamp, and then we’ll zip straight over.”

  Eden frowned. “Did you say the lamp?”

  They’d reached the car. Sylvana blinked innocently.

  “Well, you don’t want to leave it here, do you?”

  “I guess not,” Eden said hesitantly, climbing in. Why did it matter?

  “By the way, where is the lamp?” Sylvana slipped her sunglasses back onto her flawless face.

  “In my locker, back at school.”

  Sylvana winced. “Okay. I guess you’ll have to go in and get it. Just make sure to avoid those two kids.” With a jerk, she backed the car out of the parking space.

  Eden felt uneasy. Taking off for another country without talking to Sasha or Tyler didn’t seem right. “Avoid them? Why?”

  Sylvana didn’t seem to hear. They’d started speeding down the road, even faster than before.

  “Can I at least say goodbye?”

  Again, she didn’t answer. Eden raised her voice. “CAN I SAY GOODBYE?”

  “No,” Sylvana said sharply. She took a breath and smiled. “I mean, what’s the point? It’ll just complicate things.” She nestled tiny white earphones in her ears and tapped the screen of her cell phone.

  “We’ll be there in thirty minutes,” she said to someone on the phone. “Have everything ready.”