Wish (8 page)

“I’m a witch,” I blurted out. 

      He scratched his head and sort of grinned. “Um. You’re
not so bad. This have to do with what Stevie wrote on the back of your shirt
yesterday?”

      “No. I mean it. Witch. As in Magical. Potions, cats,
Wicca stuff, you know. Do you believe in Magic?” I didn’t breathe waiting for
him to answer. 

“You mean your cat?” His smile didn’t reach his eyes. He
gently pushed me and the door aside, and took a few steps into the room. I
backed away and bent down to scoop up Magic, but he gave a meow of displeasure
and jumped out of from my arms.      

      “I’m serious.” I stared at Keith, trying not to cry.

“I know. It’s okay.” Keith stepped towards me.

      I took another step back but he reached out and touched
my shoulder.

As soon as our skin connected an image zapped into my head.
This time it was a blurry vision of Keith, as if I were spying on him from a
distance, but he looked right at me, even though I knew I wasn’t seeing the guy
in my Mom’s room. The boy I saw appeared to be Keith, but it wasn’t the friend
I knew. Instead of calm and casual, his eyes blazed with hatred. Keith never
looked at me that way.

I must have whimpered or cried out in fear because instantly
the vision vanished. I blinked at Keith. His fingers had left my shoulder. The
image of him in my head was gone.

He examined me with his gentle eyes. My Keith again. “Sydney?
You okay?”

“No.” I stepped back from him and rubbed my arm. “Something
really weird is going on.” My unexplained tattoo throbbed. My necklace tingled
on my neck.

“I know. You told me yesterday.” 

“Yesterday? We had this conversation yesterday?” The
sensation of a fast-forwarded video played in my head again and I remembered
talking to Keith after school before Cody drove me home. “You told me you were
open to things you didn’t understand,” I remembered. “You said you got feelings
about things.” 
          He nodded.

      “I told you I thought I might be losing my mind. That
it turned out I was like my mom after all.” I lifted my finger to the side of
my head and made the circular motion.

      Keith didn’t say anything.

      “Well.” I took a deep breath. “I’m not.”

Keith raised his eyebrows.

“Crazy,” I clarified. “I am like my mom, but I’m not crazy.”

      Keith’s mouth twisted upwards, an imitation smile. “I’m
glad. I wasn’t really worried that you were, but I’m glad you know it too.”

      I grabbed his hand, ready to pull back if I saw scary things
again. There was nothing. Relieved, I held on.

      “I mean. She’s not crazy either. She’s not really at
the Looney Bin. She’s at the Institute, just like Nana said. Only it’s an
Institute for Witches. Not crazy people.”

“In the forest,” he whispered.

“What?” I asked. “Focus, Keith. I’m serious. I think she’s in
trouble. And. I think my Dad has something to do with it.”

      “Your Dad?” Keith gave his head a little shake and
looked like how I felt when I tried to figure out a Rubik’s cube. Completely
baffled.

“God. It’s so complicated. Nana said he might show up. And
that he’s the one who’s crazy. And I saw his picture,” I told him. “My Dad’s
picture. I saw it in the book.” I cringed for a second. Nana would totally kill
me for telling him all this and about the book, but again. Where was she when I
needed her?

      “What book?” Keith pulled his hand back, hesitating as
if he wanted to run away, like a postal worker about to deliver mail to the
house with the Pit Bull. I sympathized.  

      “Come on.” I hurried towards the bed where I’d left the
book. “I’ll show you.”

“Look.” I gestured to it.

      Magic scurried to the bed and plunked her little body
on top of the book as if he were an official guardian. He hissed at me.

“Magic. Off.” I crossed my hands in front and stared down the
little cat. He had attitude, but I won. He mewed unhappily, but didn’t
interfere when I reached down to move him, sweeping his little body off. He
scatted to my feet with a little hiss of unhappiness.

      I picked up the book and held the cover for Keith to
see.

      He frowned and leaned in closer and then glanced down
at my little feline friend. “That looks like Magic. Your cat,” he said.

I nodded and opened the book. Keith walked closer to the bed
and studied the next page and then he glanced at my neck. “And that picture
looks exactly like your necklace.”

      I nodded.

      “The necklace I bought for you.” Keith stood perfectly
still staring at the book. “I bought it at a pawnshop.” He rubbed his chin.
“I’ve never been to a pawnshop in my life. But for some reason. I had to go
there. To get your birthday gift. It’s like, man, it’s like I knew you had to
have that necklace. Like I knew it would be there, and I had to be the one to
get it for you.”

      We stared at each other without blinking.

Keith scratched his head. “Man. This all seems so familiar.”

      I knew what he meant. It had a sequence to it, a
pattern that felt as if it had been played out before. I didn’t know what any
of it meant.

“It’s kind of like a deja vous. Only different. The book, you
telling me this.” His mouth stiffened as if he’d forgotten how to use his lips.
“The forest,” he mumbled.

“Why do you keep talking about a forest? I hate forests. You
know that.” 

When I was about eight my mom took me on a hike. The details
were hazy except for a fear I could actually taste. And it wasn’t a good flavor
like bubble gum. No. It tasted like dirt. I had a vivid memory of running,
tears pouring down my face as I ran from trees that seemed to grab for me. I’d
fallen and cracked my head on a rock. Mom found me bleeding and brought me
home. I’d hated forests since.  

“The forest isn’t a living thing, it won’t hurt you,” Keith
said, just like he did in fourth grade when we were scheduled to go on a field
trip. I’d faked the flu to get out of it then.

“Whatever. Some people hate spiders, I hate tress.”

      “It was in my dream.” Keith’s voice was soft like a
whisper. Hesitant.  “About the forest.”

      I shuddered but curiosity got the better of me and I
glared at him for making me ask. “What dream?”

      “The dream before we moved here.”

      I sat on the edge of my Mom’s bed and he plopped down
beside me, leaving enough space between us so we were both comfortable. His
legs looked like big tree trunks now. I banished the thought.  

      He smiled at me, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I
thought it was too strange to share. Well, it is too strange to share. But so
is this.” He swept his hand towards the book and me.

I opened my mouth to defend myself but closed it when he kept
talking.

“I was only seven. Almost eight, but I remember like it was
yesterday.” He paused and ran his fingers through his hair. It looked soft, no
tangles. I almost reached up to touch it. I waggled my head and forced myself
to focus on his words. I really had become a hormonal freak in addition to
becoming a witch.

“We were living in Michigan. I had the dream and the next
day, my dad came home and announced he’d been transferred. No warning, nothing.
Boom. The house went up for sale and within weeks, we arrived in Grand Rapids.”

      Kevin shook his head as he remembered back. “It
happened so fast. Anyhow, the dream. It was about a girl. Lost in the forest.
It seemed like I’d known her forever. There was huge tress. A castle. And the
girl. I remember everything about her. Her hair. Her eyes. She was so afraid of
the forest, but so beautiful.” He stopped talking for a moment, staring into
space. Then he bowed his head and glanced at me. “It was you. Just like you
look now. I even saw that tattoo on your arm. It’s a Celtic Knot. When I saw it
on your arm yesterday I searched on the Internet. It represents eternity. Some
websites said it’s used to fight off evil, like a charm. It’s supposed to
symbolize an uninterrupted life cycle. I drew a picture of it last night. I’ll
give it to you if you want.”

      I reached up to touch my tattoo but all I heard was the
echo of Keith calling me beautiful. I glanced down at my Jams and my tank top
and imagined what my messy bed head resembled.  Beautiful was not how I’d
describe myself. Ever.

      I shook my head but he misunderstood and looked a
little hurt. “That’s okay. You don’t have to take it.”

“No, Keith, I’d love the picture.” He didn’t offer people his
art often. It was kind of an honor.

“Anyhow. It’s true, I swear on my father’s grave. When I went
to school and met you. Well, I knew right away you were going to grow up to
become her. The girl.”

      He wasn’t lying about the dream. He’d never swear on
his father’s grave if he weren’t serious. Kevin’s dad died weeks after arriving
in Grand Rapids. A heart attack. His mom went back to work. Eight years later
she re-married her boss at the legal firm. Now Kevin had a whole new family.
Stepfather and twin babies. But he loved his dad fiercely.

      “And you kept this from me, because…?” I asked.

      He cocked his head to the side thinking. “You would
have thought I was a freak. You and Stevie took me under your wings. I didn’t
want to scare you off. I liked being your friend. I still do.”

      Tears pushed out of the corners of my eyes. The whole
hormonal becoming a woman thing again. An awkwardness hung between us that I’d
never felt before. I moved my leg away from making sure we didn’t touch. I
didn’t know what to say.

      I went after a nonexistent nail on my thumb, chewing
the skin like a stick of gum.

      “Well. My Dad,” I finally said. “He’s involved in
what’s happening now.”

      “Where’s the picture of him you were talking about?”
Keith asked.

      I reached for the book and flipped to the page with the
images floating in and out of focus.

      I spotted my dad’s face and pointed. “There. By this
old man. Beside that boy.”

      Keith squinted. “I don’t see any faces.”

      I traced over the image of the man half responsible for
me being born.

      Keith glanced at me. “I still don’t see any faces,” he
said.

      “Can I see it?” He held out his hand for the book.

Magic hissed. I clutched the book to my chest.

The surprised look on Keith’s face echoed my own.

      “I don’t know why, but I don’t think I’m supposed to
let you hold it.”

      He pressed his lips tighter. “This is weirdness.”

      “Tell me about it.”

      We were both quiet.

      “I would never hurt you, Sydney,” he blurted out of the
blue, with more emotion than I’d ever heard him say anything.

      “Yeah. I know that.” I glanced at my feet and then back
up at my friend. “We’re good.” I smiled. “Even though you never told me about
your dream.”

      He rubbed his eyes and didn’t answer. “Keith?” I
called. His mind had drifted far off, seeing something I couldn’t see. “Keith.”

   He gave his head a jiggle and then focused on me, forcing
out a smile. He pushed back a stray curl. “Hey,” he answered. “Sorry. Just
thinking.”

“Come on, let’s get out of here.” I got up and waved my hand
to motion him out of my mom’s room. Keith went towards the door and I waited
until his back was turned before returning the book to the bed. Magic hurried
to it and climbed on top.

   Keith glanced back. His eyes looked older, wiser somehow.
I walked up beside him.

   “You have powers,” he said.

It sounded like a statement more than a question but I
answered anyhow. “I’m like Sabrina the teenage witch. Only not as wholesome or
pretty.”

      His laugh exploded from him like a mini firecracker.
“You’re prettier. In a grungier kind of way.” His laugh faded. “So? What can
you do?” he asked.

      I shrugged, faking nonchalance. “Well. I made a whole
day fast forward when I wished it could be over. And sometimes when I wish for
things they come true. But not money. I can’t wish for money. Cody told me.”

      “Cody?”

      “Long story.”

      “Do it. Make a wish,” he said.

      I hesitated and dropped my gaze, not wanting to make
eye contact with him.    

      “I wish I had my own smart phone. Hot pink. With a cool
ring tone.”

      I held my breath. Nothing. I glanced up. Keith’s eyes
were wide, his expression expectant.

      “It doesn’t always work.” I explained and my face
warmed. “No one said I was good at doing the magic stuff. Wait. I wished you
here, right before you came I said, I wish someone would help me figure it
out.”