Suitcase of Stars

by Pierdomenico Baccalario

  The grand opening was scheduled to start at 5:17 in the afternoon, but Aiby asked me to come a little earlier to give her a hand with some last minute preparations.

  As I pedaled my bike, Patches followed behind me. I’d pinned up the right leg of my dress pants so they wouldn’t rub against the chain and get grease on them. I held a small bunch of flowers that I had picked by the river. I tried to carry them lightly so they wouldn’t get shaken up while I biked, but I ended up brandishing them like a club whenever I hit a bump in the road.

  At the turn in the road, I could see that Mr. Lily had done a great job hiding all traces of the episode with the giant. All the damage had been cleverly concealed, and Burnt Beach was filled with new shrubs, oak trees, and fresh green saplings. In the distance, just beyond the Enchanted Emporium, I saw a hot air balloon anchored to the ground.

  I hopped off my bike and leaned it against a rock. As soon as Aiby saw me walking toward her, she ran over and hugged me. She looked so beautiful that I could hardly breathe. There were a thousand things I wanted to tell her, but instead I held out the scrubby looking bouquet of flowers I’d picked and blurted out the first complimentary thing that came to mind: “Wow, Aiby! I almost didn’t recognize you.”

  It was true, in a way. She wore a gray dress that was tied at the waist with a large bow. Her sparkling ballet pumps must have been magical since they were almost blindingly bright. Her hair was tied back in a long ponytail, and she wore tiny pearl earrings. She looked like a real princess come to life. But underneath it all, I knew she had the heart of a rebel.

  “Flowers? For me?” she purred. “You shouldn’t have, Finley!” Judging by the way she held the wilted bouquet to her nose, I knew it had been the right choice. I let her take me by the hand and lead me to the Emporium as if she were showing me the way for the first time.

  Meb was near the front door. She waved and smiled. She looked elegant in a short dress patterned with blue and yellow flowers. I had to admit that she was a gifted dressmaker.

  The Lily family had set up a series of tables against the cliff, and all of them were loaded with plates of food. A light sea breeze played with the ends of the checked tablecloths, making me wonder if they were actually flying carpets in disguise.

  “Welcome, Finley,” Aiby’s father said in his strangely detached manner.

  I nodded at him. “Hi, Mr. Lily,” I said. “Hey, Meb.”

  Meb smiled and pointed out that I still had my pants pinned up on my right leg. I blushed and bent down to remove the pins, hoping no one would see how red my face was.

  “It looks like you’re all here,” Mr. Lily said enigmatically. “Shall we begin?”

  Aiby nodded and disappeared into the shop. A moment later, she emerged holding two small but ornate wooden boxes.

  “Dad and I have talked a lot over the past few days,” Aiby said. She looked at her father before continuing. He returned her gaze, then glanced at me and Meb. Then he nodded.

  Aiby handed one of the boxes to Meb, and then gave the other one to me. “These are gifts for saving the Enchanted Emporium and our family,” she said. “We want you both to know how much we appreciate all that you’ve done for us.”

  Meb and I looked at each other uncertainly.

  “Finley, my daughter said that you were able to read the incantation,” Mr. Lily said.

  I wasn’t sure what he was referring to. “At the old castle,” Aiby added. “You know, the letters that moved around on their own.”

  “Oh, that,” I said, smiling. “We read it, yeah, but we didn’t understand a single word of it.”

  The Lily family laughed. They seemed to be relieved. But it was a lie. I’d been able to read their family name written underneath the skull. I decided to keep that fact to myself — for now.

  “It takes practice, like everything,” Aiby said. She motioned for us to open the boxes.

  I nodded at Meb to open hers first. The box contained a golden key with a stem that was shaped like a bee.

  “We’re asking you to become an associate of our Emporium, Meb,” Aiby explained. “We need someone who can repair things, someone who knows how to tinker with magical objects that are broken or no longer work. We want that person to be you.”

  Meb didn’t say anything, but she held the bee-shaped key to her chest and blushed.

  I opened my box. It also contained a golden key, but this one had a stem shaped like a scorpion.

  Aiby smiled warmly at me. “Finley, for the courage you showed against the giant, and the way that you wielded the spear and shield like you were a true champion . . .” Aiby trailed off, seemingly fighting back tears. In that moment, I wanted to tell her that she didn’t need to explain anything. That it was fine, and of course I accepted her gift. But I didn’t have the courage to say it in front of Meb and her father, so I just stared at the key and waited for her to finish speaking. “We’re giving you this key because we would all feel safer if you agreed to become the Enchanted Emporium’s protector.”

  I couldn’t believe my ears. I was overcome with emotion and couldn’t speak — which is, after all, the simplest and the most complex kind of magic all at once.

  Then again, what could be said? The Lilys were asking us to go into business with them. No, it was even more than that. It was a bond with their family, too.

  “I don’t know what to say,” I said, which was truthful. I bent over and let Patches sniff the scorpion key to the Enchanted Emporium.

  “What do you think, Patches?” I asked. “Should we accept?”

  My best friend looked up at me and let out two satisfied barks.

  “You heard him,” I said. “We’re in!”

  “Me, too,” Meb said.

  Aiby and her father exchanged a relieved sigh.

  “Okay, now we really are ready to open shop,” they said.

  And for the first time, the four of us stepped inside the Enchanted Emporium together.

  There would be no point describing word for word how the grand opening went. Needless to say, it lasted late into the night. The fireworks were set off over the sea, which made them doubly spectacular. There were more than a thousand guests, but the arsenal of magical pots and pans provided more than enough food for everyone. Many guests arrived by boat, several arrived by carriage, and one, as I mentioned earlier, showed up in a hot air balloon. There were many bizarre collectors of magical objects, young and old, male and female, and some whose age or gender I couldn’t determine.

  It was a celebration of different cultures, languages, and costumes from every corner of the world. I was fairly certain that every country in the world was represented in some way that night.

  Patches barked at everyone he could, without exception. He ran from table to table, shamelessly begging for scraps. By the end of the night, his belly was so full that he could only lie on his back and moan contentedly.

  Doug was telling three pretty girls all about his exploits with the giant. I’d never seen him so proud and happy. I saw Mom and Dad chatting with Reverend Prospero close to the entrance of the red house.

  The Lily family had asked everyone to bring their invitations with them because they had been scented with a magical perfume that allowed the guests to enter the Emporium and look around.

  At first, I wondered if it was a good idea to let the residents of Applecross into a store filled with magical goods. As it turned out, seeing the store for themselves set their minds at ease and seemed to dismiss any worries they had about witchcraft and devilry they’d previously gossiped about. Most of them described it as a cross between an antique store and a bookstore.

  Toward the end of the evening, one of the guests who had mostly kept to himself approached Aiby and whispered something in her ear. It was the man who had arrived by hot air balloon. His wispy mustache made him look like someone who had long contemplated the most profound questions of existence for many years.

  He chatted with Aiby for a while. When I passed nearby, I overheard Aiby s
ay, “They’ve all disappeared? And no one has found them? That’s very interesting, Mr. Tiago.”

  I was curious. I stopped and asked, “What’s wrong?”

  Aiby turned to me. She looked like she’d just stepped down from the silvery moon in the sky. She hesitated as she always did when she was asked to share one of her many secrets. Aiby introduced me to Mr. Tiago, then leaned in close to me and whispered, “I still have a lot of things to explain —”

  But I didn’t wait for her to finish. “I know,” I whispered back. “All in due time.”

  I proudly lifted my half-empty glass of apple juice in a toast. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Tiago,” I said. “And Aiby, you look positively radiant this evening.”

  After delivering that ridiculous line, I bowed and walked away like some corny hero from a bad movie.

  I joined Doug and my parents. A short while later, we were heading back home together as I wheeled my bike alongside me.

  The moon’s silvery glow peeped in and out from behind the clouds as we walked, occasionally bathing the entire scene in spectral light. As I walked together with my family, I felt at peace. I finally understood that what Aiby had said was true: no one can know everything.

  I’d learned to love the mystery of it all.

  I was born on March 6, 1974, in Acqui Terme, a small and beautiful town of Piedmont, Italy. I grew up with my three dogs, my black bicycle, and Andrea, a special girl who lived five miles uphill from my house.

  During my boring high school classes, I often pretended to take notes while I actually wrote stories. Around that time, I also met a group of friends who were fans of role-playing games. Together, we invented and explored dozens of fantastic worlds. I was always a curious but quiet explorer.

  While attending law school, I won an award for my novel, The Road Warrior. It was one of the most beautiful days of my entire life. From that moment on, I wrote and published my novels. After graduating, I worked in museums and regaled visitors with interesting stories about all the dusty, old objects housed within.

  Soon after, I started traveling. I visited Celle Ligure, Pisa, Rome, Verona, London, and many other places. I’ve always loved seeing new places and discovering new cultures, even if I always end up back where I started.

  There is one particular place that I love to visit: in the Susa Valley, there’s a tree you can climb that will let you see the most magnificent landscape on the entire planet. If you don’t mind long walks, I will gladly tell you how to get there . . . as long as you promise to keep it a secret.

  I once had a very special friend who had everything he could possibly want. You see, ever since we were kids, he owned a magical pencil with two perfectly sharp ends. Whenever my friend wanted something, he drew it — and it came to life!

  Once, he drew a spaceship — and we boarded it and went on a nice little tour around the galaxy.

  Another time, he drew a sparkling red plane that was very similar to the Red Baron’s, only a little smaller. He piloted us inside a giant volcano that had erupted only an hour earlier.

  Whenever my friend was tired, he drew a big bed. We dreamed through the night until the morning light shone through the drawn shades.

  This great friend of mine eventually moved to China . . . but he left his magic pencil with me!

  Enchanted Emporium is published by Capstone Young Readers

  A Capstone imprint

  1710 Roe Crest Drive

  North Mankato, Minnesota 56003

  www.capstoneyoungreaders.com

  First published in the United States in 2014 by Capstone

  All names, characters, and related indicia contained in this book, copyright of Atlantyca Dreamfarm s.r.l., are exclusively licensed to Atlantyca S.p.A. in their original version. Their translated and/or adapted versions are property of Atlantyca S.p.A. All rights reserved.

  © 2012 Atlantyca Dreamfarm s.r.l., Italy

  © 2014 for this book in English language (Capstone Young Readers)

  Text by Pierdomenico Baccalario Illustrations by Iacopo Bruno Translated by Maria Allen Original edition published by Edizioni Piemme S.p.A., Italy Original title: Una valigia di stelle

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

  Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on the Library of Congress website.

  ISBN: 978-1-4342-6516-6 (library binding)

  ISBN: 978-1-4342-6519-7 (paperback)

  ISBN: 978-1-62370-039-3 (paper-over-board)

  ISBN: 978-1-62370-212-0 (ebook)

  Summary: Have you heard of Cinderella’s glass slipper? What about Sinbad the Sailor’s Flying Carpet? There are many magical items in the world — but only one place where they’re safe: the Enchanted Emporium. For centuries, seven families have competed for ownership of the store — and some of them are willing to do whatever it takes to get their hands on the powerful objects housed within. Only Aiby Lily and her friend Finley have what it takes to stop the shop from falling into the wrong hands.

  Designer: Alison Thiele