Kindred Spirits

by Phoebe Rivers

  “One of you must have pulled down those skeletons in there!” David balled his hands into fists. “There is no way they just fell down! How did you do that? Why did you do that?”

  “Not me,” I said.

  “I didn’t touch it.” Mason’s breathing sounded better.

  “They just dropped,” I said. “That’s the truth.”

  “Weird,” David muttered. He opened the door leading back to the narrow hallway. “Pete? You fixing that?”

  Mason took another breath with his inhaler, then tucked it away in his backpack.

  “That was superscary,” I said as we stepped outside. The humid sea air felt great against my face. I inhaled the sugary sweetness from the fudge shop across the way. “I’m never going in there again.”

  Mason shrugged. “It wasn’t so bad.”

  “Seriously? I heard you scream.”

  “Just getting into it. I didn’t want you to be the only one screaming.”

  “What about your asthma? My aunt Charlotte has asthma attacks when she’s panicked.”

  Mason’s eyes flashed. “I’m not your aunt Charlotte. It was that fog machine. I couldn’t breathe with that. And I don’t like small spaces. I was so not scared.”

  I didn’t believe him, but I didn’t want to argue. So far, Mason and I had never agreed on anything.

  Avery and Miranda were waiting for us. Lily, Luke, Garrett, and Nate hurried out a minute later. “They cut it short,” Luke grumbled. “Something broke down.”

  “It was so good, right? Epic scary,” Lily gushed. “I am definitely coming back. I need to finish it.”

  We dissected the different scares as we made our way through the crowds toward the pink-and-white awning of Scoops. Lily’s uncle Paul owned the popular ice-cream shop. He wasn’t technically her uncle, just a close family friend, but the Randazzos all called him “uncle.” Lily had so many uncles and cousins that I guessed they figured why not add one or two more.

  The eight of us squeezed into a booth made for six. I was wedged between Lily and the tiled wall. Mason ended up across from me.

  “It’s a good thing Sara gave Junior to David,” Lily said. “Otherwise, it would be un-bear-ably tight.” We all groaned at her joke.

  “Why’d you do that?” Mason asked me. I couldn’t read his expression. Was he upset that I didn’t have the bear? Had giving it to me really meant something?

  “I’m going back for my bear, whose name is not Junior, later,” I assured him.

  Lily shifted to talk with the others about Midnight Manor, leaving me and Mason facing each other. I pointed to the flavors printed on the blackboard. “Look,” I said, “they have one called Bear Paws. Lots of brownie pieces, caramel, and nuts in it.”

  “Too much stuff,” he replied. “That’s not an ice-cream lover’s flavor.”

  “I love ice cream, and I like Bear Paws,” I replied.

  “You might think you’re an ice-cream lover, but you’re not really. Ice-cream lovers are purists. Vanilla. Chocolate. Strawberry. No stuff in it.”

  “There’s stuff in strawberry ice cream,” I said.

  “What?”

  “Strawberries.” I grinned.

  Mason didn’t grin back. “One fruit doesn’t count. The rule is you can’t clog up a good vanilla or a good chocolate with tons of random stuff.”

  “What rule?” I asked. “Who makes the rules? You?”

  “No, not me. Everyone knows the rules.”

  “Not in Stellamar. I bet Bear Paws is one of the most popular flavors here,” I countered.

  “Your town’s ice-cream taste is corrupt then. You need to get back to basics.” He gave me a smug smirk.

  “You’ve got to be kidding!” My voice came out much louder than I’d planned. Everyone stopped talking and stared.

  Avery reached around Lily and tapped my shoulder. “I’m going to the bathroom. Want to come?”

  I knew she was trying to save me. Mason was being a pain. He still flashed that smug grin, like he was smarter than us. But for some reason, I wanted to keep talking to him. I wanted to be near him. I had that same warm feeling under my skin that I’d felt when I first saw him. I didn’t know what it meant, but I wanted to find out. “I’m good, Aves, thanks,” I said.

  The waitress came by and took our orders. I ordered Bear Paws. I had to.

  “I just had the best idea!” Lily squealed. “I’m going to have my birthday party at Midnight Manor. How awesome will that be? Maybe David can get his boss to close it down just for my party. And you’re all invited!”

  Everyone agreed it was a great idea. We’d go to Scoops afterward, and then the girls would sleep over at Lily’s. Miranda and Avery threw out suggestions as the waitress placed big glass bowls with our ice cream in front of us.

  Immediately, hands shot in all directions. Scoops kept all the toppings on the tables. You could take as much as you wanted. I reached for the chocolate sauce.

  “Pass the caramel,” Mason said.

  “Toss me the crushed cookies,” Luke called.

  “Sprinkles, please,” Avery said. “The colored ones, not the chocolate ones.”

  “I call them jimmies,” Nate replied.

  “What’s that mean? They’re sprinkles, ’cause you sprinkle them.” Avery laughed loudly.

  “Pass the caramel,” Mason said again. His request was drowned out by our loud voices as we reached for topping after topping. His hand stretched toward the bottle, but it remained barely out of range.

  I wanted to help, but the caramel was too far away from me, too.

  “Hey—” I started to call to Luke, who sat on the other side of Mason and was closest to the bottle. I stopped when the bottle moved.

  All by itself.

  Centimeters only.

  Barely anything.

  But it moved right into Mason’s hand.

  By itself.

  I glanced around the table. Had anyone else seen? Everyone was digging into their ice cream. No one cared about a bottle of caramel sauce.

  Mason poured the caramel onto his vanilla ice cream. He didn’t seem aware of what had just happened.

  I had seen it move. I knew I had. But I couldn’t explain how.

  The room began to sway, and a wave of dizziness rolled over me. I stared at my melting ice cream, trying to push back the sudden nausea. My arms prickled with unseen heat rash. Was I sick? Was that why I was seeing things?

  “You okay?” Mason asked, leaning toward me. Was he actually concerned? He sounded concerned.

  I raised my eyes. At the end of the table, the shimmery figure of a boy in short pants and a cap came into view. He raised up on his toes and waved at me.

  “Henry!” I cried, attempting to stand to see him better. The tabletop of the booth stopped me.

  I couldn’t believe it. Henry was here. Out of my crafts room. Out of the house. On the boardwalk.

  In Scoops.

  “Who’s Henry?” Mason asked.

  My brain did backflips. Had Henry moved the bottle? How long had he been here?

  “The doggie!” Henry cried. His voice was thin, barely audible above the clatter of spoons and laughter.

  Dog? Oh no! Where was Buddy?

  “The doggie . . . he went bye-bye,” Henry said. He waved his sticklike arms. He was clearly upset.

  “Henry!” I didn’t know what else to say. Had he let Buddy out onto the crowded boardwalk too?

  “Who is Henry?” Mason asked again.

  “Yeah, Sara, who are you talking to?” Miranda added.

  “I need to go. Now.” I gave Lily a nudge to move her and Miranda and Nate out of our side of the booth. “Henry is, uh—” I stood in the aisle now, inches away from the ghost boy. “He’s a family friend.”

  “Really? Here in Stellamar?” Lily asked. She prided herself on knowing almost everyone in our town. “I never heard you mention him before.”

  “He’s Lady Azura’s friend.” That was true. Sort of. Henry certainly wasn’t my
friend. Not now, at least. “I just saw him outside. I need to say hi, help him find his way back to our house. He gets lost easily.” I was rambling and I knew it, but I had to get out of there. And bring Henry with me.

  Henry tried to scoot around me, but I blocked his path.

  “What about your ice cream?” Avery asked.

  The last thing I wanted was the thick scoop of Bear Paws. I pulled a five-dollar bill from my pocket and pushed it onto the table. “I’m full. I need to go home. See everyone later. Got to catch up with Henry!” I waved, then tried to discreetly push Henry out onto the boardwalk with me.

  Henry flailed his arms. He didn’t want to be pushed. And there was nothing solid for me to hold on to. He flung over a bowl of gummy worms on one table, then knocked a container of chocolate crunchies on another. Candy scattered to the floor. Even though my back was turned, I felt Lily giving me a weird look. There was nothing to do but keep walking. I certainly wasn’t going to confess that I was trying to corral a runaway ghost.

  Out on the boardwalk, I cornered Henry near the funnel-cake stand. Bubbly grease mixed with the sweet smell of powdered sugar. Only three people stood on line. I tried not to move my lips as I spoke to Henry.

  “Where’s Buddy? Is he lost?” I couldn’t imagine how I would explain losing Buddy to Lily. Or her family. Or Mason.

  Henry took a step forward, his eyes finding the swirling lights of the rotating Ferris wheel down the pier. I blocked his path. “Where is Buddy?” I repeated.

  “Doggie went with your daddy . . . out . . . they went out.” Henry reached sideways and swiped a hunk of powdered sugar off a small girl’s funnel cake, causing a mini white blizzard to explode at her feet. Tears rolled down the girl’s cheeks. Her mother hurried to her rescue, bringing the pastry back for a second coating and warning her daughter to be more careful.

  “So Buddy’s with my dad?” I asked. I needed to be sure.

  “Yes . . . I came to find my doggie.”

  I exhaled. Buddy wasn’t lost. That was huge. I narrowed my eyes at the ghost boy. “How’d you get out?”

  “The door was open.” He darted around me and across the boardwalk. I hurried after, weaving my way through a family on vacation, keeping my eyes all the time on his translucent body.

  “Henry! Stop!” I yelled.

  He halted in front of Midnight Manor. He stared in wonder at the neon sign.

  “Eleanor left the crafts room closet door open?” I asked. It didn’t really matter. He was here. He was out, but I still wanted to know.

  “And the front door!” His squeaky voice was filled with glee.

  I groaned. My great idea had been to make Eleanor Henry’s babysitter. I’d figured if she was staying with us anyway, she might as well be useful.

  Bad idea. I could see that now.

  “We’re going back,” I announced. I tried to sound forceful.

  “Hey, Sara!” I spun around. David waved to me from the ticket stand. “Your bear’s cramping my style.”

  I made my way over. Henry stayed put, transfixed by the outside of the haunted house.

  “Thanks,” I mumbled, reaching for the stuffed animal.

  “Hey, you’re not mad, are you?” asked David.

  “Mad?” I watched Henry take a step backward.

  “About in there. Me yelling. I didn’t want to lose my job,” David explained.

  “No worries,” I said, distracted. A man with the most enormous belly walked in front of Henry, completely blocking my view. That was dangerous. “Thanks for watching Bear. I need to go, okay?”

  I hurried away. I felt as if I were always running away from people. But what choice did I have?

  I managed to grab on to Henry’s shimmery hand. I held tight, not sure how we were attached and afraid to let go. Marching down the boardwalk and heading back home on Beach Drive, I dragged a gigantic stuffed animal in one hand and the ghost of a boy in the other.

  Chapter 9

  I was angry when I finally found Lady Azura, and I don’t really get angry very often. Lily always says it’s weird that I never yell and scream. I always tell her that’s just not me. But today I thought I might scream. Just a little.

  “Eleanor and Dwight are a menace!” I exclaimed, pushing back the curtain to Lady Azura’s fortune-telling room.

  She sat in her large armchair, shuffling through a deck of tarot cards. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

  “What do you think?”

  She shook her head. “Sarcasm does not become you, Sara. Sit down and calmly tell me what is bothering you.”

  I plopped into one of the wooden chairs circling the round table. “Your guests are bothering me.” I told her about Eleanor’s failure as a babysitter and Henry appearing at Scoops in front of all my friends.

  “Where is Henry now? And Buddy?” Her face wrinkled with concern.

  “Buddy was with Mrs. Randazzo in their front yard when I walked home. She couldn’t understand why I was hugging their dog so much when I saw him. Dad brought him back.” I rested my hands on the brocade tablecloth. “I managed to get Henry upstairs into the closet. It wasn’t easy. He loves that dog.”

  “So it seems. But everything ended well?”

  “Because of me. Lily and Mason and David and who knows who else think I just ran off on them. It’s all Eleanor’s fault.”

  “I am sorry, Sara. I realize Eleanor and Dwight are quite trying to have around.” She rested her hands in the lap of her ash-gray skirt. “But Sara, you made the choice to leave Henry out while you went with Lily. It wasn’t a wise choice.”

  “I know, but since Eleanor and Dwight showed up, everything has been upside-down.” I didn’t want to say that it had started once she became famous and all the clients appeared.

  She reached for my hands. “Be patient. I am doing my best to help them find what they are looking for and move on. I truly am.” Worry clouded her eyes. She treated her clients’ troubles as her own.

  I sighed. My anger had faded. I couldn’t stay mad at her. “Okay.”

  She continued to hold my hands. Her thumb circled my palm. “Something else weighs on your mind. Tell me about it,” she urged.

  And so I told her about all the strange things that had been happening. The caramel bottle moving. The skeletons falling for no reason. The milk bottle toppling. The drink spilling. The ball changing direction.

  “I think spirits did it, but I don’t understand why I couldn’t see them. I can always see them.” I hesitated. “At least, I thought I could.”

  She let go of my hands and shakily pushed herself to her feet. She wandered about the room, running her finger over glass shelves and side tables as if checking for dust. She always moved when she was deep in thought.

  “There’s another explanation,” she said finally. “Telekinesis.”

  “What’s that?”

  “The ability to move objects with only the power of one’s mind,” she explained. She turned to me. “You were there when all these events occurred. Did you do anything to move the caramel sauce? Did you focus on the bottle? Think about moving it?”

  “I . . . I don’t think so,” I said.

  “Did you want these things to happen?”

  “Maybe. Kind of.” I thought back. “I didn’t want the skeletons to fall, but I did want to help Mason get out of there. Now that I think about it, we were able to get out of there when we did because those skeletons fell. And I did want the green bear, so I wanted Mason to win, so I kind of wanted that last bottle to fall. But is wanting something the same as actually moving something?”

  “If you want it enough. The mind is a very powerful tool.” Lady Azura studied me carefully.

  “Do you think I can do this telekinesis?”

  “Before today, I would’ve said no. It’s not a power that I have tracked along our family tree.” Lady Azura kept a detailed chart of the women in our family going back centuries. Not every woman had powers. They often skipped generations. My own mother h
ad had no powers. And all the women with powers didn’t have the same powers. Some could communicate with the dead, some could read minds, some could predict the future, some had visions when they touched personal objects, and some could do all.

  “Telekinesis is very, very rare,” she added. “It seems unlikely to me that you caused those things to happen. I believe your original idea of an unseen spirit is more correct.”

  “But I could be developing it. I could have it a little, right?” I wasn’t sure how I felt about adding another power to my menu . . . but this seemed like a really useful power to have!

  “Maybe, but telekinesis requires great mental strength and lots of practice to control it.”

  “Wait!” I jumped from my seat. “Is it possible that someone could learn how to do it?”

  Lady Azura let out her husky chuckle. “Sara, you and I know all too well that anything is possible.”

  “So could Lily have done it? Could she have taught herself?” I knew Lily had been practicing moving objects with her mind. She’d been trying to tell me something earlier. Could this have been her big secret?

  “I do not believe this is something Lily could have possibly taught herself. It would have to be a latent power that has come to the surface . . . but I have never sensed that Lily has any powers. Have you?”

  I wasn’t sure. I didn’t think so . . . but then again, other than Lady Azura, I had never met anyone with powers. Would I somehow sense it? Was it possible my best friend had powers too?

  Lady Azura didn’t know the answer. She was a big believer in keeping an open mind and letting the truth reveal itself. “If it is a spirit, you will eventually see it. If it is Lily, you will see that, too. And if it is you, the window will soon open wider and you will be able to better see what you can do.” She lifted a small, see-through crystal from a porcelain bowl on her glass shelves. “This is clear quartz. Add it to your necklace.”

  “What’s it do?”

  “It enhances psychic abilities. If you possess telekinesis, this crystal will bring your powers into clearer view.” Her brown eyes glimmered. “How exciting that would be. The first of us to mentally move objects!”

  The doorbell chimed. Lady Azura checked the slim gold watch on her wrist. “Ah, Mrs. Merberg is back. Maybe we will make progress today.”