by Jolene Perry
I shrug. I don’t know anything.
“The story feels real, Micah. It’s everywhere, not just in legends from the Bahamas. Those people are all over the world now. The woman who made those dolls was from a long line of people who practiced voodoo. She had magic. When all those people were cast into shadow, she had to make payment and give up her abilities.”
“Magic is for Disney movies.” But my words don’t have the snark I want them to, and a whole different kind of panic eases in. One that’s mixed with disbelief.
“She found some of the children of the people that she’d pushed from this life into shadow and slowly gave up her power—separating it so no one person would possess all of her skills.” His hands readjust on the steering wheel over and over. “Every place I’ve checked online has said the same thing. I even made a few calls to a small museum in the Bahamas, as well as this guy at Oxford whose doing his dissertation on Caribbean legends.”
What were her skills? I want to ask it, but the words won’t come.
“She had the ability to manipulate with touch, seek out other people with magical abilities and special talents, both shield and magnify the gifts of others…and…” He pulls in a breath. “Insight.”
“What’s insight?” But I already know. Goose bumps break out across my body.
“That’s you.”
It’s so incredibly insane, and yet fits everything we know. I’m not sure what to think yet, but I know it’ll take some processing. “So there are other people out there…like me?” It’s the only part of this that’s brought me any amount of hope. Wait. Shield and magnify. “Landon! You’re one too!”
“What?” He scoffs.
“Shield and magnify!”
He sighs. “Okay, Micah. I can’t do anything.”
“No.” I sit back a bit in disbelief. “But Landon, at the prom, when I ran into people and held on to you, I didn’t see, and then with Mom, all I had to do was concentrate, and I got my vision. Don’t you see? The shadows chased us, but didn’t get me. That was you.” My heart’s flying. There are other people like me, and I found one. Landon.
“Micah.” He sighs. “You’re just looking too hard. Seeing things that aren’t there. I don’t… I don't do anything.”
I’m half deflated, and half wondering if I’ll prove him wrong in the end.
His eyes find mind briefly before going back to the road. “You’re stubborn. You’re still thinking it.”
“Maybe.” Definitely. And I’m going to watch him, too. What are the odds…
“It’s passed down, Micah. My dad would have said something.”
“Like mine did?” I ask.
“No.” He shakes his head. “Your gift was probably passed down for generations from the time that the old magic voodoo woman gave that part of her magic to one of your ancestors. Just trust me when I say I don’t have any magical talents.”
I’ve thought this. I looked over it, and I know it explains so much. But…“I go from feeling like you’re in this with me, to feeling like none of this can be real.” Another chill runs through me. “And if it is real, I still think you’re a part of it.”
“I’m not going to argue anymore on whether I’m involved or not, because I’m not.” He gives me a weird look that tells me he thinks I’m crazy. “We’re headed to the Bahamas on the boat anyway, if I can convince you to come. Maybe we could learn for ourselves?” He starts to reach over for me twice but stops.
“Maybe…” And as much as I want to share this with him, maybe I don’t. Maybe nothing we’ve learned so far is right.
But the face…and it all fits…and when I think about Landon being a shield and magnifier, it doesn’t all seem so strange…
***
We jump out of the car at the hospital, and Landon takes my hand. I get another picture of his boat and contentment. It helps slow my heart and make this day less frantic.
“Dad said something about fate and I’ve been thinking.” We’re half-running toward the front door. “Last night you and I felt like we could erase things, but I don’t think we can. I don’t think there’s any way to erase things that will happen.”
“Then how did it change?” He glances over his shoulder.
“I think it’s like, a sketch on a piece of paper, only not in pencil, not in something you can erase.”
“So, like with a sharpie?” He smirks. Landon’s ability to be relaxed in almost any situation amazes me. I wish he’d done that when talking about where my “gift” came from.
“Yeah, Landon. A sharpie.” I humor him. “I think you and I folded it, moved the paper around so the end result looks different, but it’s not different. Not really. There was still an accident.”
“Interesting.”
“I’m trying to make some kind of sense out of this.” I lean in closer to him as we walk.
“Yeah, I go from wanting to make sense of it to trying to just roll with it.” He slides his hand out in front of him.
“How’s that working for you?” I tease.
“Today?” He looks at me sideways. “Not so well.”
For the first time all day, I laugh. It feels so good.
Mom steps out through double doors as we walk up to the information desk.
“Micah, he’s fine.” She’s slumped in exhaustion. “He’s going in for a few X-rays now.”
Relief. I lean my head on Landon’s shoulder as my body relaxes.
“Let me give you two a minute.” He kisses the top of my head and walks away to give us privacy. I don’t want him to go, but Mom and I need it.
“I get it,” she says as I step next to her.
“Get what?”
“Why you want to be with Landon.”
Just thinking about him warms me, fills me. “There are a million reasons why I want to be with Landon, Mom.”
“But I think the main reason is that he knows you. All about you.” She sits in a chair and motions for me to sit next to her.
“It’s huge.” No one but Dad could understand how huge it is. “Not only does he know, but he’s okay with it. He gets it, and he makes me feel like not such a big deal.” I let our legs rest together and all I see from her is now. She understands. “Dad and I talked on my last visit, but I’ve never told anyone. I saw my face when I brushed against Landon, and I knew.”
“You saw your face?” A faint smile is starting on her lips.
“He was with another girl when I got that vision. I saw my face when we touched. I would have never told him otherwise.” And I almost didn’t. I can’t imagine that now.
“That’s a wonderfully romantic story.”
“Guess it is.” Tears come to my eyes. “So is yours.”
“What?”
“I saw Ethan’s face from you. I’d always seen me. Always. It made me crazy for a while.”
“Micah.” Her hand touches my face. It’s me.
“I don’t like what I can do, Mom. I don’t want it. Spending months on a boat with someone I trust, someone I’m in love with, sounds like the perfect break. The only way to get a break.” I close my eyes, pushing tears down my cheeks.
“I think it would sound like a perfect break to most people.”
“It still doesn’t seem real, not to me. It does to Landon, though. He’s been planning for a long time.” I let my head rest on Mom’s shoulder.
“Does he know how to keep you safe out there?”
I smile at her natural concern for me. “He does.”
“So, how soon do we have to say goodbye?”
“We’ll leave for dad’s wedding and won’t come back. But you can come and visit anytime.” It suddenly feels so soon.
“On your sailboat.”
“Yeah.” Landon’s boat, but I’m not about to correct her now. Now that she understands.
“It’s expensive to fly all that way.”
“He’ll take care of it.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“Thank you, Mom. I really
didn’t want to leave with you so upset with me.” The relief pulls another weight from my shoulder.
“And I don’t want you to leave at all.” She exhales. “But that would be the case no matter what.”
“I’m glad you have Ethan.”
“Me too.” She takes my arm, and I’m grateful for the understanding. Grateful that I’m leaving Mom in such good hands. And total disbelief that my trip is becoming real.
THIRTY-THREE
I tighten my hand with Landon’s on the plane.
“So, what’s going on with your dad?” I ask.
Landon shrugs. “I don’t know, but I don’t trust him. He’s in this business organization called The Middle Men, and he’s been on the phone with them constantly. He’s still asking me about you in weird ways. I swear I think he knows what you can do. He’s also been watching me way more than I ever remember. It’s weird.”
“But… What does that mean?” I pull my head off his shoulder to look at him.
“It means that I’m not very likely to tell my dad exactly where we are.” He frowns a bit, maybe in concern or sympathy, or sadness in not trusting his father.
“Why not?”
He pauses before answering. “I don’t know why, but I know it’s the right thing.”
Just like I know it’s the right thing to wait until we see my dad before asking him about the shadows. I just know. This is another thing I’m going to put on my list of reasons why I think Landon’s a part of this magic with me—whether he knows it or not.
I rest my head back onto Landon’s shoulder, hoping that we’ll get some answers as we travel to the Bahamas. Or maybe we’ll just find a bigger mess…
***
“So, do you see his car yet?” Landon shifts his duffel further up on his shoulder. We’re standing with our bags on the curb, waiting.
“No.”
“I’m just sort of nervous, you know?” His feet shuffle on the pavement.
I laugh again. “I know. You’ve mentioned it.” Like every thirty minutes on the two flights to Maine—except when we were talking about his dad.
We still haven’t figured out what Landon’s dad is up to with how he keeps asking about me, and how Landon’s sure his dad knows what I can do. Instead Landon’s worried about mine. The guy who works in city planning, and wears khakis every day. Not the guy who watches me too closely. Not the shadows Landon’s sure are from some ancient voodoo woman. Those things are apparently all part of our adventure together.
“What if he sees something…inappropriate?” Landon’s face flushes. Landon’s.
“We’re both used to it, Landon. You wouldn’t believe some of the things I’ve seen.” I poke him in jest.
We’re dancing. Dad’s wedding. His knees are buckled. His hands are tight and low on my waist. Nice.
“But he’s your dad.” The words come through his teeth.
I spot Dad’s car and wave.
“I’m going to be sick.” His hands rest on his stomach.
I laugh. “Landon, it’s fine, really. Think good thoughts.” I rub my hand up and down his bicep a few times.
“We both know that probably won’t work.” His eyes shift to mine and then stick on Dad’s car like glue.
“Probably not,” I agree.
“Crap, Micah. You could lie a little, you know, to help me out here.”
“You’re funny.” I lean up to kiss him, but he turns his head, and I only catch his cheek. It’s surprisingly satisfying to embarrass him like this.
“Hey, sweetie.” Dad climbs out of the car. I step forward and pull him into a tight hug. Dad feels better than he ever has. I love it. I love that I have understanding from both parents now. It feels better than I imagined. I’m sad for all the lost years of closeness we could have had.
“And you’re Landon.” Dad steps away from me and reaches out to shake Landon’s hand.
I’m suddenly curious if Dad’s looking forward to it, or dreading it. Or if he’s been doing this for so much longer than me that it’s all okay.
Landon glances between us a few times.
“Oh, right.” Dad laughs. “You might be a little nervous.”
“Uh, I just...” Landon shifts his weight a few times.
“No, no. I understand. Maybe you’re really worried I’ll know more or see more than you want me to.” Dad’s lips are pressed together, and he’s holding in a smile. Its so much more emotion than I’m used to seeing from him. Carol’s been good for Dad.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Johnson,” Landon’s voice is stiff. Funny. I know he has to make nice with his dad’s friends, but my dad makes him nervous.
Dad laughs. “I’m Scott. Let’s get your stuff in the car.”
“Okay.” Landon nods, and lets out a breath. I see his shoulders relax in relief.
Dad winks back at me and rests his hand on Landon’s back. That answers my question. Dad’s curious. “So, you two are really going,” he muses.
“Yeah, Dad. We’re really going.”
Landon’s head jerks between us when he realizes Dad is touching him and must have seen something from our trip
“You love my daughter very much.” He stops at the open trunk of his car.
Landon smiles big. He looks at me first and then back at my bad. “Very much. Yes.” He reaches his hand out for them to shake, now that the original contact is over with.
Dad’s smiling widely at me, and then at Landon.
Unbelievable. This really is actually going to happen, and it looks like Dad is even sort of okay with it.
I climb in the passenger’s seat, and Landon crawls into the back.
“See Landon? My dad’s not so scary,” I tease as Dad starts up the road.
“Yeah, thanks, Micah.” His eyes widen.
Dad and I laugh.
“I’m glad you two are here,” Dad says.
“Me, too, Dad.”
“Me, too.” Landon finally leans back in his seat. “We’re about to meet our boat.”
And another piece of our adventure.
***
“You never saw shadows?” I ask as I sit across the table from Dad.
He shakes his head. “Sorry, Micah. The legend fits I guess, but that’s all it is. A legend.”
Landon sighs and leans back in his chair. He’s been so sure he was right.
“I want answers, Dad.” Desperately.
“I know.” He frowns. “I’m sorry I can’t help you, kiddo.”
I lean my shoulder on Landon, and he squeezes my leg. “It’s okay. Half the time I feel like we’re chasing nothing, and the other half of me says we’re exactly on the right track.”
“I’ve felt compelled to visit that area of the world many times. But only made it there once.” Dad fidgets with his napkin as Carol comes back to the table.
He hasn’t told her about his visions yet, but because Landon did so well with it, he’s thinking he will. I hope it goes well for him. I’m beyond disappointed that Dad doesn’t know anything about the shadows or the voodoo woman, but he’s told me before that he didn’t have answers, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.
Now it’s all a mystery that Landon and I hope to solve. At the very least, we’ll have an adventure.
THIRTY-FOUR
I’m having prom flashbacks. My blue dress floats around my ankles, and Landon’s in his tux, only this time it’s for Dad’s wedding. He and Carol are dancing much like Landon and I are—too close for company, noses and faces touching more often than not.
I lean into Landon and concentrate on Dad’s wedding guests in turn.
Beach. Love. Happiness.
The smell of new car. Speed. Loud music. Exhilaration.
It’s so easy when I’m with Landon. No visions when we’re touching unless I want there to be. It’s like, being connected to him gives me some control over what I do. He’s still far from being convinced. He thinks it’s all just me getting older and trying to manipulate a gift I’ve spent my life tryi
ng to get rid of.
“Dad saw you here.” My face is pressed against his lapel. I love having him this close.
“You said.”
“It was more than a month ago. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that far ahead.”
“So, maybe it’ll get stronger with time, huh?”
“With time? I’m not sure.” I breathe in again, soaking up the subtle smell of his cologne.
He lets go of me and steps away.
“Hey.” He knows what happens when we break contact. I both love and hate that he messes with me like this. I love it, because it’s now just sort of part of being Landon and Micah. But sometimes the new pictures are startling.
“It’ll be good. There’s nothing I’m not looking forward to.”
I reach toward him. He takes my hand in his.
The ocean. Blue sky and blue water. My bare back. My hands are on the large wheel of the sailboat. The wind whistles through the sails above us. Love. Elation. His fingers slide down my skin…
“How do you talk me into that?” I bite my lower lip as I smile up at him.
“What?” He leans closer.
“Into driving the boat without a top?”
“Oh.” He lets out a soft groan as his knees start to buckle underneath him. “Wow.” He lets out another breath. “That’s like, going to be above any fantasy I’ve ever even dreamed up.” He puts his legs back underneath himself and comes to standing.
“Me, driving your boat without a top?”
“You, driving our boat, without a top.” He puts his nose to mine and runs his hand over my hair.
“So, why can’t we just go straight to the Bahamas again?” I ask.
“Because our boat is in Maine and needs to be sailed down and because it’s hurricane season down there until October.”
“We’re sailing down the whole east coast.” It’s more of an out-loud musing than anything else.
“Yep.”
“Can we stop in New York?”
“Of course.”
“How about Washington D.C.? Can we stop there, too?” I laugh as his lips tickle my neck.
“Sure.”
“I heard there are some beautiful islands off of the Carolinas...” I run my fingers up and down his sides.