Make A Wish

T   h   i   r   t   e    e   n

Make a Wish

 

Avery

            Sunday night had come and gone. I had been so concerned about the turnout of the evening that I had felt sick to my stomach which was another newly inherited human trait. In fact, everything turned out to be better than okay in the end. Claire’s curiosity never diminished it seemed to thrive on the new answers I had given her. She questioned many things in and about life, but it was just who she was. Once she found out the truth she didn’t let it overtake her. She ruled it not the other way around. The truth about me and my life didn’t really seem to faze her. All it did was help her understand a better way to deal with it.

            That night I leaned up against a big oak’s trunk and she fell asleep next to me with her head resting on my shoulder. I watched her intently through the night just like I had when she fell asleep in her tree house. I played with the waves in her soft hair and it felt like I was touching silk. The sweet aroma of sweet pea flowers and coconut filled the air whenever she was around me and I took a deep breath to take every last bit of it I could in. I never wanted a moment like this that I had with her to end for fear I would not get another one.

            She slept soundly with a content look framing her beautiful face. Her arm eased forward and wrapped around my torso as if to make sure I wouldn’t leave her. She had nothing to worry about; I wouldn’t be going anywhere. I rubbed her arm when light began to peek through the treetops to wake her. Her eyes opened and she looked happy and well-rested.

            She noticed how she was sprawled over me and even though I admit I didn’t mind it she released me. Then she noticed her splint had come undone and had fallen to the ground. She picked it up not realizing with which arm she had done so with. When she went to put it back she gasped realizing what I was seeing all along.

            “What? What happened?” She said concerned. She moved her now uninjured arm around in different ways testing it. “It’s healed itself!” She exclaimed.

            “Did you sleep well?” I asked even though I knew perfectly well that she had from her expression before and trying to ignore the previous question.

            “What? Yes, I did. Are you seeing this?”

            “Yes, it’s a miracle by definition.” Her mouth had dropped and she was staring.

            “But how?” She asked incredulously.

            “Do you really expect the Healer to give up His secrets?”

            “No, I suppose you’re right. I’m sorry; I didn’t ask you how you slept.” She said as she stretched her legs out and continued to move her arm around.

            “I wasn’t tired, but I enjoyed the time I spent looking at the night’s beauty.”

            “The night hides so many breathtaking things from us when we loose ourselves in the daytime.”

            “Yes, but sometimes the daytime shows us even more beauty in the things the night hid from us.”

            “Touché.” She said surrendering with a brilliant smile. I got up and held out my hand for hers. She took it with her newly healed arm to test its strength and I pulled her up to her feet.

            “If you don’t mind, I’ll walk you home.” I said.

            “If you wish.” We headed back through the cemetery hand in hand.           “Aren’t you going to get the blanket and books?” She asked.

            “I’ll come back for it later or I’ll send Irena or Jesse to pick it up.”

            “How come I don’t see Jesse at school?”

            “He doesn’t go to St. Casper.”

            “Why not?”

            “Protectors don’t need an education. We already know whatever it is we’re supposed to know. It comes naturally. Irena and I just go so it doesn’t look weird since we portray a teenage image. Jesse on the other hand likes to stay out of the public eye as it is so it doesn’t matter because he won’t be drawing much attention to himself either way.”

            “Oh. I like your family. Irena and Jesse seem really nice.” She added randomly.

            “They try to be.”

            “Don’t you have parents?”

            “No, but we have our Creator.”

            “Right. The three of you don’t look alike except for the fact you all have bright, thriving eyes that make people do a double-take when they see you.” She said and I laughed.

            “Yeah, it’s just the truth behind the light that’s so hard for us to contain to ourselves it shines through us; nothing much magical there.”

            “That’s it?”

            “Yeah, it’s not like we have little elves jumping up and down to turn on a light bulb behind our eyes our anything. In fact, it’s more of an optical illusion, but at the same time it’s really there, if you get what I mean.”

            “Everything is so confusing. It just seems to go around in circles with all of you.”

            “Yeah, I won’t deny that.” We reached her house and she walked up the porch steps as I stood before it unmoving. She spun around.

            “Can I ask you something?”

            “Anything.” I said encouraging her to continue. Last night opened my eyes to what kind of a person she really was. I admired the fact that when things got tough or difficult she didn’t back down especially not without a fight. This led me to believe I could tell her whatever she asked and wanted to know.

            “Why does everything seem so perfect when I’m around you? I never feel lost. When I know you’re in my presence I feel happy because you chose me to be around even though I don’t measure up to standards. I feel warm and loved and it just doesn’t make any sense. It’s like for the first time in my life I feel like I belong. Like a void that was inside of me has been filled. Whenever you’re not around me I feel lonesome and I can’t stop thinking about you. You say that all you do is protect me and that’s what your life is centered around, well, in some way it feels like mine is centered around you as well.” She rushed out half tripping over her words. I thought about what Logos had said to me. Just try to find a balance and you have to make sure that Claire doesn’t begin to have the same desires as you or else there will be catastrophic consequences that occur in both of your lives. I knew no matter how much I wanted her to say she loved me or even had a thing for me she couldn’t and it was selfish of me to wish that. I didn’t know the details about the consequences Logos mentioned, but the few ideas I had I knew I could not let Claire go through.

            “That’s part of my job entitlement. I want you to feel what it would feel like to be a child of the light.”

            “Then why doesn’t the whole world have a Protector? There would be fewer conflicts, suicides, addictions, and all the other things that damage people physically and mentally in the world today.”

            “People don’t accept us openly. A good percentage of the time we’re rejected and the other times we have already accomplished what we set out to do.” I complied.

            “Will you ever leave me?”

            “Hopefully.” I said not realizing the effect of the words it had. Her brow furrowed into a cute little wrinkle between her eyebrows and she stared back examining me from the inside out. “I’m sorry that came out wrong. I don’t want to leave you. I really like being your Protector, but my whole purpose of protecting you is to get you to a point where you don’t need me anymore. I can’t be selfish about this so I have to say, for you; the sooner I’ve completed my task the better.”

            “What if I don’t want you to leave?”

            “Then I would have failed miserably. You were never even supposed to know I existed to have the desire for me to stay. I made a mistake in the beginning which caused all our secrets to be exposed to the human race through you.”

            “You don’t think I’d tell anyone about your life and your secrets do you?”

            “No I don’t, but that doesn’t stop others from thinking that.”

            “Please, believe that I respect the life you’ve chosen to lead and I won’t take advantage of you because of what I know. That’s not the type of person I am and I hope you see that.”

            “I do see that and I do believe.” I looked at my watch. “Claire, you should go in and get ready now so you won’t be late for school.”

            “Oh, that’s right. Thank you.” She said. I was expecting her to go inside, but she just stood their in the silence for a minute almost as if trying to figure out what to do. Without warning and to my surprise, she leaned down into me and pecked me on the cheek. The place where her lips had been was warm and it tingled. She paused to smile at me with a knowing look in her eyes that she had seen the surprise that reflected from my expression. She found my shock amusing then she waved goodbye and hurried inside.

›š›š›š›š

Claire

            I got ready as fast as I could. Everything happened in a blur until I got outside again. Avery stood just where I had left him except he was wearing new clothes and his hair had been smoothed out more. Just above his head was a barely visible ring of light that was revealed from the sun’s rays. I smiled to myself as I saw the halo. It was a reminder that I was the one who held this beautiful creature’s secret and he had to trust me with its safety.

            “Well, hello.” I said hopping down the steps and taking his outstretched hand once again.

            “Are you prepared to officially begin your day?”

            “I most certainly am.” The day went by as any other usual day would except for the fact I had Avery by my side. We went to our first hour together and passed notes back and forth throughout Mr. Lombardi’s speech about the three branches of government. After that Avery walked me to all my classes and we ate lunch together. When Kayla saw me she would stick her nose in the air and walk on by making it obvious that she no longer wanted to associate herself with me. Bobby would cast a side glance at me when he thought I wasn’t looking, but I caught them out of my peripheral vision. As for Brendan, he would stare at me with an evil glint in his eye that he tried to hide in hope that maybe I was just having an off day and wanted him back. I didn’t. Avery picked me up from Spanish and we headed to Drama, our last class of the day, together. Ms. Argus had us practice a few of our scenes and we completed them flawlessly.

            The cast list was posted outside the auditorium after school and we all rushed to see who had made the parts. Avery and I, as promised, were given Romeo and Juliet. We stepped back and I saw Bobby approach the bulletin board with a sliver of hope in his eyes. His face fell and he walked away with his head down. My mouth dropped when I saw Brendan and Kayla, who was under his arm, go up to look next. Brendan jumped up and shouted.

            “Yes! I got the part as Tie-bolt!” He yelled with a fist pumped in the air.

            “Honey, it’s Tybalt. Tib-bolt.” Kayla said in a caring tone making sure she annunciated honey loud enough so those around could hear. She turned back to the list and followed it down with her polished finger until she found her name. “Hmm.” She mumbled to herself. “This can’t be right.” She turned around and trotted off with Brendan at her heals. I rushed over to the list to see who they were playing. Kayla received the role as Lady Montague and Bobby received the role as Paris. No wonder they were both upset. A splash of guilt hit me for not being more sympathetic to Bobby’s feelings, but wasn’t he the one who turned his back on me? Why should I be blamed? I shrugged as if in response and turned back to Avery.

            “Are you happy with the cast?” He looked down at me asking.

            “Yes, why shouldn’t I be? I got the part I wanted.” I said somewhat absently. He tilted my head up so our eyes were looking into each other.

            “Are you happy with me as Romeo?” For some reason this question puzzled me. Did I want him as Romeo? Or did I just feel bad for Bobby because he deserved the role? What was I thinking? I did want Avery as Romeo.

            “Of course! I feel very lucky to have been the one chosen to get to play alongside with you.” I said.   

            “We were chosen together.” He wrapped his arms around me and gave me a tight hug. Even though I couldn’t see his face I could feel him smiling. My eyes landed on Bobby standing in the corner. He watched us intently. His chocolate brown hair was messy from him running his hands through it. His eyes were fierce despite that they were swollen and that he looked tired. His glare was focused and determined. I broke away from Avery and slowly began walking towards him. He looked at me scared for a second and then turned around and ran. Before I could make up my mind to run after him or not, Avery grabbed my arm. “Let him go. He’s not ready for what you have to say.” I looked at him and saw his eyes reflecting my own. Tears welled up and coated my eyes.

            “I miss him.”

            “I know.” He took my hand and we walked out. The tears dried and my thoughts of Bobby disappeared along with them. “I have a surprise for you.”

            “What?” I asked.

            “Follow me.” He started running through the bordering forest and I chased him. I was happy I had started running again. It allowed me to keep up at least for the first fifteen minutes. After that, I realized I had been running so fast that my heart was pounding abnormally.

            “Avery!” I called. He spun around and raced back to me. “I need a break.” I sat down on a large boulder resting against a large tree.

            “Of course. I’m sorry. I get carried away when I run.” He gave me a large goofy grin like he just told me the funniest joke in the world and was waiting for my response. I smiled back.

            “Me too, except I stop when I am out of breath.” I said accusatory. He sat down next to me.

            “I don’t need to breathe.” He stated matter-of-factly. I looked at him in awe. His eyes filled with amusement and he laughed.

            “Don’t laugh at me.” I commanded him. It didn’t sound convincing.

            “Let’s go.” He pulled me up and we walked out of the forest into a clearing. In the distance there was a quaint town. We followed the path to the buildings. I looked around at the cobblestone walkway and the little shops with the interesting items they specialized in selling. There were hanging flowers everywhere in a large arrangement of colors. Our abrupt intrusion caught a few of the bystanders’ attention briefly.

            “It’s cute.” I said.

            “The town isn’t what I want to show you.”

            “Oh?” He continued to pull me along, past a café, and up a set of marble stairs into a stuffy building. It smelled old, but in a good way. It was like going back to one of your old houses after moving from place to place and smelling the scent of when you used to live there: familiar and homey in a lonely forgotten way. It was quiet from its desertion. Books were perched along the round walls. Their bindings in dark blues, greens, burgundies, and blacks were torn and weathered. The gold edgings had been faded down to a light yellow on the side of the pages diminishing their elegance. “Where are we?”

            “We are at the town’s library.”

            “It’s so close to home, why have I never known this place was here?”

            “Because it doesn’t want people to know it’s here.”

            “How come?”

            “It enjoys the peacefulness and quietness seclusion has to offer. It is the oldest part of this town calculating it’s existence back about 200 years ago. It has multiple books on any and every topic you could ever wish to know more about. Of course, these books you probably have never heard of before, it is still an excellent source to obtain information.” I had slowly begun to drift away from him while he was talking, towards a shelf that was labeled journals. “Oh, and this library has the best collection of genealogy records I have ever seen.” He walked up behind me and slid one of the journals out and handed it to me. It was a dark red color and scrawled across the front in elegant gold script it read Annabelle Scarlett. I looked up into Avery’s face, but all he gave me was a smile and a throb of his bright eyes.

            As I looked back down at the book, I noticed something had grown around my wrist. It was a long, thin, green vine. It appeared to be ivy, but I dropped the book in surprise before I got a good look at it. The fall ripped the vine from around my wrist and it curled back around the book and imprinted itself there, fading into gold like the calligraphy.

            “What was that?” I asked worried.

            “These books hold more life in them then you can see from the outside. Their dust covered bindings contain hidden magic. Until someone decides not to judge them by their cover their contents will remain a mystery. It looks like this book trusts you with its story. It’s coming alive from the inside out.” I looked at him incredulously with wonder.

            “Who is Annabelle Scarlett? Is she related to me?”

            “She is indeed. Her story is in your hands. You’ll have to read it to find out.” He grabbed my hand again and dragged me out and once again down the marble stairs.

            “Don’t I have to check it out?”

            “This library doesn’t request you check books out. It’s the other way around. If a book attaches itself to you, you are free to take it. In other words the book chooses you. Come on there’s one more thing I want to show you.” He pulled me along quickly without giving me the chance to ask anymore questions. We ran along the cobblestone path a ways to the middle of the small town. Standing in the middle was a large fountain. Crystal blue water drained from the top trailing down in a waterfall. It collected in a clear pool at the bottom. I looked a little closer at the fountain and noticed that words were embedded on the sides. They were all different kinds of quotes from famous intellectual scholars, philosophers, and authors. “This is the Fountain Pen.” Avery stated proudly. “It has been here since the library was built. It was built in honor of those who had been gifted with understanding and knowledge.  It was believed that it held a power to make deep desires come alive to those who were worthy and pure. One day a kind hearted and good man was visiting this town and got notice from his boss that he needed to come up with a new campaigning idea for his business and it was needed the next day. He came to the fountain to think, but was lost in the town’s loveliness that he just wasn’t having any ideas come to him. He reached into his pocket and felt a small round trinket. He pulled out a rusted old penny and tossed it behind him, landing in the fountain’s water soundlessly. Deep down he wished that the good Lord would bless him with perhaps a new idea he could offer his boss. With that it came to him, instead of using ink and a feather quill to write he would create a device that contained the ink inside of it and when pressed down onto parchment it would dispel the ink. He would call it the fountain pen after the name of the fountain where he was at when the idea came to him. He sold the idea to his boss and got a promotion. His new invention landed him at the top of his company and he became very rich.”

            “I never knew that’s how the fountain pen got its name.”

            “Well, it’s just a myth that has never actually been proven true, but at the same time never been proven false either. You should make a wish.”

            “I don’t have a penny.”

            “Are you sure? Check your pockets.” I reached into my jean pockets.

            “They’re empty.”

            “Check again. This time make sure you search as deep as you can.” So I reached in my pockets all the way until my fingers touched the inside seam. I moved them between the sides until finally my fingers touched a cool metal object. I grabbed it and pulled it out. Sure enough a penny was lying in my hand. I closed my hand to keep the penny safe. Avery came up behind me and moved his arm next to mine. He put his hand around my clasped one with the penny in it.

            “Close your eyes.” He whispered in my ear. “If it goes in soundlessly your wish will come true. Make a wish.” He brought my hand down. I knew what I wanted to wish for immediately. A stream of words flowed through my mind with hope. I knew the next motion; he followed my arm as I brought it back. I opened my hand and the penny flew through the air behind us. There was silence.

© By Amanda Gloth