“Here you go!” she shouted, and threw the ball down to the girl in the street.
“Thanks!” the girl called back, as she kicked at the orange and silver ball and brought it back to rest under her left foot. “Can you come down?”
Ashley gave one glance back at the mended frame. She figured she had imagined it breaking. She didn’t want to talk to anyone, but she guessed that the girl was on the soccer team her mom had been talking about. Maybe she would just see what position the girl played. She grabbed a pair of sneakers and bounded down the stairs. She almost ran over her mom, who was rearranging a display case.
“Oh, honey, I knew you would get over your funky mood. Make sure you walk Pickle later,” her mom smiled at her.
Ashley nodded weakly, and trotted out the front door of the store.
“Did I break anything?” the blonde girl asked. She tugged at the hem of a gray t-shirt with the F.C. Tulsa logo printed on the front. She gritted the two rows of her pearly teeth into a guilty smile. “I do that a lot.”
“No, it just bounced off a wall,” Ashley shook her head.
“Cool then,” the girl grinned as her guilt bubbled away. “I’m Brooklynn. I live over there on the top floor.”
She pointed to a new development of condominiums, across the street from the rows of renovated storefronts. The storefronts dated back to the 1920’s and had all been preserved, but the condo developments, stadium, and park across the street were all new. They had been built when the older buildings had been demolished. Ashley’s parents explained that it was all part of an urban development package, initiated by the city mayor, Price Phillips.
“Cool,” Ashley answered. She really didn’t want to talk, but she found that she didn’t have to say very much. Brooklynn just kept on talking.
“We moved here from Prue, way out in the country, two months ago when my dad got a new job. He coaches F.C. Tulsa, the professional soccer team. I’m on the U14 girls team. That means it’s for girls under fourteen. We’re having tryouts next week. Do you like soccer? If you do, you should try out for the team. Do you like shaved ice? It’s like a snow cone. My mom bought a shaved ice truck from this guy back in Prue, and she’s doing a lot of business. Let’s go get some. I’ll get you a peach. It’s the best flavor. What’s your name, by the way?”
“It’s Ashley. Ashley Nirran.”
Brooklynn had been talking so much that Ashley didn’t realize that they were two blocks down the street, in front of the ice truck, Jana Banana’s Shaved Ice. Brooklynn stood on her tip toes and giggled the order for two medium peach delights into the window of the teal truck. It was decorated with monkeys.
“Cool, here you go. It’s really good. Thanks, mom!”
Brooklynn waved goodbye to her mom, whom Ashley assumed to be Jana Banana, and walked Ashley back down the two blocks to her store and apartment. Brooklynn kicked her soccer ball as she walked, eating her dessert, and Ashley found herself kicking the ball when it bounced her way. She smiled, eating the fresh peach ice, covered in cream and honey crystals. Brooklynn was right. It was really good.
“So, here we are,” Ashley shrugged when they were back in front of the shop.
“Cool, you guys have one of the historic storefronts?” Brooklynn asked as she peeked inside the window.
“Yeah, my mom heard about it from my aunt, Patricia Freya. She owns Valley of Ashes.”
“I love that store!” Brooklynn said, walking in and eyeing the space. “Do you guys live upstairs, too? I know a lot of the kids on the block who live above their parents’ stores.”
Ashley nodded. She noticed her mom’s small smile out of the corner of her eye. Ashley had thrown a royal fit when they left Boston. She swore she wouldn’t make any friends and that she would lock herself in her room every single day.
This was different, she told herself. She was only making friends with Brooklynn for soccer. If there was one thing she couldn’t live without, it was soccer.
“Can I see your room?” Brooklynn asked, already walking to the staircase at the back of the store.
“Mom, this is Brooklynn,” Ashley made the introductions. “Brooklynn, this is my mom, Megan Nirran.”
As Brooklynn congratulated her mom on the new shop, Ashley looked around the small storefront and out the picture windows in the front. The street and nearby park was a bustle of activity. Couples strolled along the sidewalks and families with small children clustered on blankets in the park, soaking up the last of the autumn sun.
Ashley admitted that it would be fun to go to a soccer game with Brooklynn. She announced that her dad could get her friends tickets to the home games whenever they wanted.
Brooklynn practically tugged her up the stairs, anxious to see inside one of the storefront apartments. Ashley felt almost embarrassed that she hadn’t unpacked more. Back in Boston, her room was a cluster of colorful art, vintage furnishings, and artifacts from their family’s travels. Her whole life was still in boxes, so all she had to show Brooklynn was a plain old attic.
“Your room is an attic? That’s so cool,” Brooklynn gushed as they marched up the stairs.
“Yeah, I know. I can’t believe you kicked the ball that high.”
Ashley stopped and gulped as she stepped into her room. The small attic seemed to spin and stand perfectly still at the same time. Ashley’s eyes focused on the framed painting she had dropped just hours earlier. It wasn’t resting on the wooden floor where she left it. It was hanging on the wall in her bedroom, and something else was wrong.
Eva was gone from the painting.
Chapter 4
It Just Is
The canvas seemed to glow and vibrate light from the blank square in the frame. Ashley squeezed her eyes shut and opened them, willing Eva to appear in the painting, but the canvas still stood blank. It seemed to buzz with energy. Ashley felt light headed and grabbed the railing on the stairs for support.
“Do you have a trashcan?” Brooklynn’s words shocked Ashley back into place.
“Um,” Ashley put her hand up to her forehead to wipe away the sweat that had formed on her brow. The attic felt blazing hot.
“Never mind, there’s one in the bathroom,” Brooklynn said, as she tossed her ice cup into the bin. “No hugs for litterbugs.”
A cool breeze blew through the open window.
“Who is that?” Brooklynn asked.
She was casually pointing to the painting hanging by the window. The girl in the painting gazed back with a coy smile. The paint dulled to a flat finish on the surface. Ashley blinked again. She could have sworn that Eva Glass had disappeared from the painting.
“My great aunt, Eva,” Ashley answered, blankly. Her mouth was dry and her stomach was doing flips.
“She’s super cute. She looks like you,” Brooklynn mused as she looked around the attic space.
“Ashley!” her mom’s voice carried up the stairs. “Are you getting hungry for dinner?”
Ashley was getting hungry, but she wouldn’t admit it. She had gone on a hunger strike when her dad went out to get burgers for lunch. She hoped her dad would get one for her anyhow. He did, but Pickle had jumped up on the counter and was finishing off the last of the cheeseburger, when Ashley caved in and finally came downstairs.
“I know the best place,” Brooklynn called down to Megan Nirran, as she tugged Ashley down the stairs. “The Chavez family owns this place down the street called En Fuego, and they have the best tacos. They have this thing called the inside-out taco salad. It’s amazing.
“How is it inside out?” Megan asked when both of the girls were standing at the bottom of the stairs.
“It just is,” Brooklynn shrugged. It was the shortest sentence Ashley had heard her say all day. It struck her as funny, and she let out a short giggle.
“Well, I guess it just is,
then,” Patrick Nirran smiled.
He closed up the shop as Brooklynn, Ashley, and her mom walked under the strings of small lightbulbs, hung across the brick street. The sky was darkening and the lights above cast an ethereal glow down the street. Brady Street was blocked off by concrete barricades for five blocks to allow pedestrians to walk in the street. On Saturdays, they held open air farmers markets in the streets themselves. Between the streets, hung strings of lights, colorful prayer flags, and a few dream catchers. Some of the shops were dark now, but light spilled from the restaurants that were still open.
As they strolled closer to En Fuego, papel picado, colorful flags with designs cut into the negative space in the paper, lined the front of the building. The worn bricks contrasted with the restaurant’s brightly painted teal door and vibrant music rolled out into the street in waves of fluid rhythm. Ashley was completely under the spell of the music and let her parents’ conversation fade out into the background. The sharp bite of the scent of citrus turned her head. A dark haired boy in faded jeans stepped out of the teal door with an orange in his hand.
“Hey, Blaze!” Brooklynn shouted down the street. Ashley’s head turned to a different boy in track pants with curly, dirty blonde hair, cut into a long mohawk. Brooklynn skipped down the street to this new boy and drug him, laughing, to Ashley and her parents. Brooklynn was good at dragging people around, Ashley concluded. Blaze obviously knew Brooklynn and swept her up into a hug, swinging her around him with her feet sailing around to follow.
“Brooklynn,” Blaze gave her a huge grin. “You have a new friend?”
“Always,” Brooklynn rolled her eyes. “This is Ashley Nirran and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Nirran. They own the shop a few doors down from you guys. Blaze’s dad, Tom Hathaway, owns The Soccer Shack. Blaze seems extra friendly today.”
She shot Blaze a look. It seemed as though Brooklynn knew everyone, even though she had only been in town a few months. Ashley wished she were that outgoing.
“Stoked to meet you Ashley,” Blaze politely extended his fist for a fist bump. “I’m just picking up some take out. We just got three whole teams’ jersey orders. It’s gonna be a long night.”
Brooklynn and Blaze walked the Nirran family farther down the block to the teal doors. A metal sign with chipped, white paint and red, flashing neon signaled that they were at En Fuego. The interior of the restaurant was tiny, but it was bustling with activity. A large patio to the side provided plenty of seating. There were even a few miniature golf holes around the patio area to keep guests entertained while they waited on their orders.
“Dom, what’s up, man?” Blaze raised a palm to the dark haired boy, for a clasped handshake. He was finished with his orange. The peel littered the gravel around his feet, but Ashley could still smell the citrus.
“Not much, man. Got your order,” he said. His voice was much quieter than Blaze’s. His hair was gelled into a neat, stiff style. He washed his hands and grabbed two white paper sacks and handed them to Blaze. Then, he took the money from Blaze and deposited it into the register.
“Extra salsa?” Blaze smiled as he took two backward steps into the street.
“You know,” the boy smiled and nodded his head.
“Bye Brooks! Nice to meet you, Ash and fam!” Blaze called behind him as he jogged back to the Soccer Shack.
“Brooks?” Ashley asked.
“He’s always giving people nicknames,” Brooklynn laughed.
“Oh, I get it,” Ashley nodded. “Is he your boyfriend?”
“Blaze?” Brooklynn asked, surprised by the question. “No, he’s a nice guy, though. I have a boyfriend back in Prue, but I don’t see him very much. His name is Dylan.”
Brooklynn squirted some antibacterial gel into her hands. The boy behind the counter grabbed a pencil from behind his ear and a notepad.
“What can I get you guys?” he asked.
Brooklynn explained that the Nirrans were new on Brady Street and that they had bought one of the storefronts about two blocks down. She ordered inside out taco salads for everyone and grape sodas, imported from Mexico. She said that it was the only soda she would ever drink. Patrick Nirran paid the boy and dropped a generous tip into the jar. The boy called out the orders to a man in the back and disappeared into the kitchen.
It was a nice night, so Brooklynn and Ashley picked up golf balls and clubs from the side of the building. Patrick and Megan relaxed at a table under one of the chrome patio heaters. The girls played a few holes of mini golf until a woman in a flowered apron brought thick paper plates, each topped with a fried, dome shaped tortilla, flowing with melted cheese.
“Wow,” Ashley’s mom exclaimed.
“It’s okay, there’s salad inside,” Brooklynn laughed.
They all cracked into the tortillas, revealing layers of flavorful chicken, crisp vegetables, and cool sour cream. Ashley could see why Blaze wanted extra salsa. It was light and fresh, with punches of lime.
“Can I get you anything else?” the woman in the floral apron asked. She smiled in the dim light. “Oh hello, Brooklynn. I didn’t recognize you.”
Once again, Brooklynn introduced Ashley and her parents to Ignacia Chavez. She and her husband, Miguel owned the restaurant. Ignacia was from Chiapas and met Miguel when she was away at college in Austin, Texas. They were married and moved to Tulsa shortly after their son, Dom was born.
Ashley observed that Ignacia liked to talk as much as Brooklynn, so she decided to clean up their plates. She cleared the trash and dumped the garbage into one of the cans next to the building. There were even more activities for guests around the back side of the building. There was a horseshoe pit and a few small tables with dominoes on top.
Ashley loved to play dominoes with her neighbors back in Boston. When she was little, she used to scam money for the ice cream truck by acting like she didn’t know how to play.
“You know how to play?” the dark haired boy with the quiet voice asked, stepping out of the back door and bringing the delicious smells of the kitchen with him. He shrugged on a navy jacket to offset the chill in the air.
“Not with strangers,” Ashley answered.
“Okay, okay. You don’t have to act snotty,” he answered, sitting down at the table.
“What?” Ashley asked, hiding a smile.
“I’m joking. You’re just quiet because you’ve just been around Brooklynn all day. I know how she is,” he said, making a puppet with his hand and flapping the mouth at lightning speed. Ashley laughed.
“Okay, let’s play, but I’m not very good,” she said, trying to shrug innocently. She thought back to the time she scammed her favorite neighbor, old Clarence, out of five whole dollars.
They played the first round, and within minutes, Ashley was beaten soundly. The boy was really good at dominoes. They played another round, and even though Ashley dropped the act, he won by twenty five points.
“Wow,” Ashley said. “You’re amazing. You must practice a lot.”
“I play with my mom all the time. It’s her favorite game,” he replied.
“So, your name is Dom, like Dominic? I know Blaze is always giving people nicknames.”
Ashley realized that she had been talking to him for a good twenty minutes without knowing his real name.
“No, my name is Domino,” he smirked.
“It is?” Ashley asked.
She couldn’t stop herself from blurting out the question, immediately covering her mouth after it popped out. Domino laughed. His eyes had a chestnut brown shine to them.
“Yeah, Ash,” he joked at Blaze’s nickname. “It just is.”
Chapter 5
The Legend of the Fire Ghost, Told by Domino Chavez
Domino didn’t know what to make of the quiet girl, with the shiny auburn hair at the restaurant last night. He was a cert
ified introvert himself, and was used to fading into the background. He didn’t know why he let himself talk to her so much. Or why he was letting Blaze bother him so much, lately.
Domino let his mind wander as he walked to school. The Phillips Museum loomed in his path. He always walked a little bit faster as he passed the old stone building, across the square from the restaurant. There was a chill in the shade, and still a bit of visible char around part of the stone foundation from the fire a few years ago.
When Domino was ten years old, the building had mysteriously caught fire. The whole block had to be evacuated, as the fire consumed the entire west wing of the museum. Over a million dollars of artwork and artifacts had gone up in flames, including a priceless painting of Eva Glass, one of the women accused of witchcraft, and burned at the stake in Colonial Massachusetts.
The real-life Eva had died in flames when she was executed, over 400 years ago. Rumor had it that Prospero Phillips, the lieutenant governor of the colony, was so obsessed with her, that he had her burned alive, rather than see her married to anyone else.
It wasn’t the chill in the air, or the charred remains on the building that made him speed up. When he was ten, the night they evacuated because of the fire, Domino had watched the building burn. He was sure his eyes were playing tricks on him, but he had seen a man, standing in the fire.
He tried to tell his mother, but when they both turned back to the building, there was nothing there. They only saw the flames, and the smoke pouring from the windows and doors.
Domino sped up even more. The old building always gave him the creeps.
BAM!
Domino jumped a mile, as a shadowy figure sprang out from the building and grabbed him. He struggled, then gathering his strength, he twisted and broke free of the grip. A few quick breaths later, he turned to face his attacker.
“Blaze!”
Domino muttered a curse word in Spanish under his breath and gave Blaze a hard shove back into the stone building. Blaze just hopped away, laughing.
The Fire Ghost (Phantom Elements Book 2) Page 2