Ruth could hardly speak, her head was in such a whirl. “Can I tell you another time, Mum?” she managed. “I’m so tired now.”
Mrs. Craze walked over to the bed and gave Ruth a quick, hard hug.
“Good night, my one and only wicked girl.”
Ruth laughed.
“Good night, my one and only crazy mother.”
Maybe two hours later, Ruth woke up with a start, her heart hammering. Something didn’t feel right. She’d forgotten to pull down her blind, and moonlight had flooded the room. Had something happened? Had she been dreaming? Her first impulse was to check on Rodney. Yes, there he was. She could see him sitting up there on the top shelf in exactly the same position. She didn’t even have to switch on the light because of the moon. So why did she feel so churned up and … uneasy? She pushed back the blankets and put both feet on the cold floor.
She knew what she had to do.
She slipped on her jeans, shirt, and sweater, picked up Rodney from the shelf, and put him back in her bag. Carrying her coat and shoes in one hand and the bag in the other she tiptoed out into the family room.
Howard was lying flat on his back on the couch, arms by his sides and dead to the world.
“Hey,” she whispered, touching his shoulder. “Wake up.”
He opened his eyes, blinked a couple of times, and looked at her quietly. He was so unsurprised that Ruth laughed under her breath. It was almost like he’d been waiting for her.
“Get dressed,” she said. “We’ve got to do something.”
They walked through the quiet backstreets down to the river that Ruth and Mary Ellen used to walk along on their way home from the city. Scooting down the embankment, they found the right path and from there it was only a short distance to the bridge over the train tracks. Ruth knew Howard must be tired. She was pretty tired herself. But he never complained, nor even asked what they were doing.
At last they arrived. They stood in the middle of the footbridge and looked down onto the tracks. Ruth thought of the last time she’d come to this spot with her aunt. She could see her in her red coat and black boots, her hair tucked under a felt hat and her face so pale. She’d had her first operation and was having chemotherapy. Ruth hadn’t had any idea how serious it was then, but Mary Ellen must have known.
“Will you come here sometimes?” Mary Ellen had taken her arm. “When you’re big?”
“Of course.”
“And think of me?”
“Yes.” Ruth had looked at her aunt. It wasn’t like her to get all mushy.
“I’ll be here whenever you come back,” her aunt had persisted.
“But what if you’re doing something else?”
“I’ll be here in spirit.”
“Okay.”
Mary Ellen had kissed the top of her head. And it was at that point that they’d heard the faint rumble on the tracks. They grinned and closed their eyes. Louder and louder it roared toward them, and then it thundered past and was gone.
They’d looked at each other expectantly.
“You first,” Ruth said quickly.
Mary Ellen laughed and put an arm around her shoulders. “Wings,” Mary Ellen said matter-of-factly. “Wings that I can fit onto my feet.”
“Wings for your feet?” Ruth loved the idea immediately. She could imagine them sprouting out the back of her aunt’s dainty feet, just above the heel. “Would you be able to fly with them?”
“Oh, definitely.” Mary Ellen laughed again. “And still have my hands free. I could carry things up into the clouds. I could piggyback you, for example.”
“Cool!”
“Come on, kiddo, or we’ll be late for your tea.”
They had turned around then and started on the walk home.
Howard watched as Ruth undid her bag and pulled out the battered rat and held him up to face the moon.
“Good-bye, Rodney,” she told the rat sternly.
“What are you doing?” Howard was alarmed. “We just found him!”
“And he’s yours now.”
“What?”
“Yours.”
Ruth thrust Rodney into Howard’s arms.
“But …”
“Until he stops being useful, and then … you pass him on. Is that clear?”
Howard smiled. It was a beautiful smile, unlike any that Ruth had seen him give before.
“You for real, Craze?”
Ruth nodded. She could hear a rumble on the tracks. It must be the 11:53—the last train of the night. The next would be the 5:03 in the morning. “Howard, quick! Close your eyes and make a wish.”
Ruth closed her own eyes as the train rattled past, and although she couldn’t see anything, she had a very strong feeling that her aunt was on it, standing at the carriage window, looking out and smiling. Mary Ellen was glad Ruth was who she was, and no one else.
Ruth let the relief roll through her. This place had worked its magic just as she knew it would. It wasn’t as if she had all her friends back or her aunt was alive again. It wasn’t as though she had a perfect house or family, or that she was famous or more special than her brothers. But somehow, she did feel lucky again. And that was something. It really was.
“Okay?” Howard asked.
“I think so,” Ruth replied. “Did you make a wish?”
About the Author
is a bestselling author in her native Australia. Her books include Cross My Heart (short-listed for four literary awards), Chain of Hearts (short-listed for the Ethel Turner Prize for Young People’s Literature), Rose by Any Other Name, and Somebody’s Crying.
This book was designed by Robyn Ng and art directed by Chad W. Beckerman. The text is set in 10-point The Serif Light, Light Plain, a typeface first published by Luc de Groot in 1994 as part of a larger family of fonts called Thesis. The display type is Memimas.
This book was printed and bound by R. R. Donnelley in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Its production was overseen by Alison Gervais.
is a bestselling author in her native Australia. Her books include Cross My Heart (short-listed for four literary awards), Chain of Hearts (short-listed for the Ethel Turner Prize for Young People’s Literature), Rose by Any Other Name, and Somebody’s Crying. She lives in Melbourne, Australia.
Jacket illustration © 2012 Ben Wiseman
Jacket design by Ben Wiseman
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When You Wish upon a Rat Page 20