Tiger Lily

by Wende Dikec

  Nick caught it too. “Maybe it’s Goth Barbie, and not Ginger Barbie, who likes Ken. Now that would be interesting.”

  I bit my lip to keep from smiling, not quite ready to forgive him yet, but he made it difficult.

  We told Josh about the ghosts as we finished eating. He took it all in stride. I shared what had happened earlier with Miss Lin and the tea leaves, and neither one of them looked at me like I was crazy.

  “I told you he wasn’t dead,” said Zoe, reaching for some lemonade.

  “That’s because you’re a super psychic,” said Josh.

  Zoe gave him a sharp glance, like she thought he was being sarcastic. I almost laughed. Josh didn’t have a cruel or sarcastic bone in his body. He stared right back at her, completely innocent, and once again, a blush crept into her cheeks.

  “I’m a medium,” she said softly.

  “I’m an extra-large,” he said with a wink, and she giggled.

  “Did Zoe just giggle?” asked Nick, leaning toward me.

  “I believe so.” My shoulders shook with silent laughter as Zoe and Josh openly flirted.

  “You know what they say—opposites attract.” Nick stared at me with that hot look in his eyes again. I nearly had to fan my face.

  I got up and went into the kitchen to refill the lemonade and put the cookies on a plate. Nick followed me in.

  “Lily...” He stood so close behind me that if I moved an inch I would have slipped right through him. I didn’t want to do that. The idea of sliding through Nick’s body was almost painful to me.

  “There is nothing to talk about, Nick.” I stood very still, my back to him, the pitcher of lemonade in my hands. “Until we figure this out, it’s hopeless. There’s nothing else that needs to be said.”

  “Yes, there is.” Nick moved close enough to whisper in my ear. “Ti amerò fino al giorno dopo per sempre.”

  I almost dropped the lemonade. “You speak Italian?”

  Nick shrugged and gave me a sheepish grin. “I guess so.”

  “What does it mean?” My voice sounded strange and tight. We stood only inches apart and I could hardly breathe.

  “I’ll love you until the day after forever.”

  I thought I might swoon right there on the Spanish terra cotta tiled floor of my mother’s kitchen. Josh and Zoe came in and offered to help with the lemonade, breaking the spell. They chatted, completely oblivious to the fact that I’d been rendered speechless, clueless, and more in love than ever. I had it bad. This was not good.

  Surprisingly, things felt comfortable after that. Other than the fact that every once in a while, Nick and I would start staring at each other when I was in mid conversation with Zoe and Josh and I would lose complete track of what I’d just said, it went well.

  “Lily?” Zoe snapped her fingers in front of my face when I drifted off again. He’d said he loved me. In Italian. Zoe brought me back to the present with one snap of her silver skull ring embellished fingers.

  “Sorry.” I cleared my throat. “A little distracted.” Nick gave me a wolfish grin.

  “If you were any more distracted, you’d be comatose. Get with the program, Ginge, and stop staring at Nick.”

  Zoe may have actually begun to like me. She called me Ginge, the shortened form of Ginger Princess, almost like an endearment. She pulled a very large and beat up book out of her backpack, the cover so faded that I couldn’t even read the title. She opened it and starting skimming.

  “I found this at a garage sale, believe it or not. It’s all about passing from this world to the next. I thought about what Mr. Wan said about the portal needing to be closed the night of the full moon. I think our best bet is Saturday, at midnight. That’s the time the veil between the two worlds is thinnest, and that’s the night of the full moon. But let’s try to get rid of this last little ghost one more time.”

  Blobby, who’d been sailing happily around the room, came to a sudden stop. Zoe smiled. “Yes, we’re talking about you. You’ve been a very naughty ghost and it’s time to go back where you came from.”

  I grabbed the bottle of Ghost Be Gone. “What do I do?”

  Zoe shrugged. “No idea. Just try to squirt it I guess.”

  A few minutes later, we were all soaked, but the ghost still happily danced around the ceiling. Zoe wiped a drop of liquid off her nose. “Well, that was extremely ineffective.”

  “Sorry I got you wet.” I looked down at the bottle. “Mrs. Chang said it wouldn’t work if the ghost was stubborn. You are a very stubborn ghost.” I wagged my finger at the blob, and it swooped down to nuzzle my cheek. Cute little ghost.

  “I think we need to make a game plan for Saturday,” said Zoe.

  Josh slid his chair closer to her, and looked over her shoulder at the book. “What can I do to help?”

  Zoe’s cheeks turned instantly pink. “Your presence is enough, I think. You’ll amplify my power. Also, you might see or feel things I can’t. You should be very aware, tell me everything you’re sensing.”

  Josh leaned very close. “Right now?” His voice sounded a little husky.

  I looked at Nick, raising my hands in befuddlement, and he grinned. “And I think Ken likes Goth Barbie too.”

  Zoe seemed flustered. It would have been worse if she’d heard Nick’s comments. “Not right now.” Zoe scowled at Josh, but it didn’t seem to faze him. Zoe was obviously all bark and no bite. I decided to step in and help. I happened to be an excellent matchmaker.

  “We’re going to The Zone Friday night to try to find out more about Nick. You should come too.” The words were barely out of my mouth when Zoe turned her scowl on me.

  “Why does he need to come?”

  “Because we need all the help we can get.” I gave Zoe a stern look. She knew it was the truth. She just didn’t know my reasons were equal parts romance and necessity. I liked Zoe, and I wanted to help her out.

  “I’d love to come. It’ll be sort of like a double date.” Josh reached for a cookie, and munched on it happily. Both Zoe and I stared at him in confusion. He took his time chewing, and even had a long sip of lemonade before he explained. “Me and Zoe, you and Nick. Ka-bang.” Josh gave me a very pointed look to make sure I understood.

  “Ka-bang,” I said in agreement, and Josh grinned.

  Zoe slammed the book shut and gave him a death stare. “Not going to happen, pretty boy.”

  Josh’s grin grew even wider. “She thinks I’m pretty.”

  Zoe looked like she wanted to toss the book at his head. Instead, she just rolled her eyes. “Back to work. We’ll go to The Zone on Friday, and try to figure out if anyone there knows your friend, Nick. And we’ll ask about Bambi.”

  “Then I’ll go to see Mr. Wan on Saturday.” I looked down at my nails. I’d almost forgotten about Bambi. Melancholy Baby seemed babyish now. I wanted something darker. I might even go for red. I bet Bambi wore red. I had a sudden vision of a voluptuous dark haired biker chick with flashing eyes and blood red lips. I decided I didn’t like Bambi at all.

  “To get your nails done?” Zoe looked like she was getting a migraine.

  “To find out more about the soul reaper. Is there anything in your book?”

  Zoe opened her book and leafed through it slowly. “I don’t remember seeing anything, but I have another book at home. I’ll look in that one too.”

  “And then we get ready for Saturday night.” I bit my lip and looked at Nick. If we got the blob to leave on Saturday, I couldn’t help but wonder if he would go too. A scary thought.

  “Technically, it would be Sunday, since we begin at midnight.” Zoe still leafed through her book. I froze, and could feel the blood drain from my face.

  “Lily, what’s wrong?” Nick leaned close. Josh and Zoe looked up at me too.

  “Are you okay?” asked Josh. Even Zoe seemed worried. I could understand it. When I get pale, I’m nearly translucent, and I’m sure I was very, very pale.

  I turned to Nick. “Sunday is the day Rosie died.”
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br />   “A crisis is an opportunity for riding the dangerous wind.”

  Chinese Proverb

  Chapter Eleven

  Part of me was glad this would all be over by the time my parents got back from their respective trips. Part of me felt sick over the fact that usually my whole year centered on the day Rosie died. Recently, I’d been so focused on Nick, the soul reaper, and my little blob, that I hadn’t thought about Rosie at all.

  After Zoe and Josh left, I went up to her bedroom. My parents hadn’t changed a thing since the day she died. Clarice dusted and vacuumed, but nothing else was touched. A shrine to dead dreams.

  Sometimes, if I brought one of her blankets to my face, I could still smell her sweet baby scent. That’s where Nick found me. In Rosie’s closet, holding her blanket against my face, and crying my eyes out.

  I looked up at him and shook my head at my own foolishness. “How can you miss something you barely even had? She was only ours for a few months, Nick, but we just can’t seem to move on. Not my mom, not my dad, and certainly not me.”

  Nick outlined the shape of a small giraffe on Rosie’s blanket with his finger. “Maybe it isn’t about moving on or letting go. Maybe it’s about finding a way to hold on to your memories, but still live your lives.”

  “None of us have been able to do that. My parents are in a weird sort of limbo. They won’t come into this room, they can’t even say her name, and they run away every year on the day she died.” I took a deep breath. “And I feel so guilty. If I had just checked on her sooner...”

  Nick shook his head, running his finger down the side of my face. I couldn’t feel anything, but I closed my eyes anyway and tried to imagine I could. “It doesn’t work that way. It isn’t fair that she died, but it isn’t fair for you to torture yourself, either.”

  “I don’t,” I said, opening my eyes. Nick looked unconvinced. “Really. I just want to fix everything. To put things back in their proper places so it all makes sense again.”

  “Like you’re doing with me and the ghosts?”

  I gave him a wry smile. “I guess so.”

  Nick let me have some privacy as I got ready for bed. I brushed my teeth and hair, and laid the necklace from Mrs. Chang carefully on my dresser. When he came back, I’d dressed in my pajamas and had turned down the sheets. He leaned against the doorjamb, hands shoved deep in his pockets.

  “Can I stay with you?” he asked. He looked nervous, like I might make him go away. The truth was, I couldn’t stand the thought of being apart, even for a minute. I nodded, and patted the spot next to me on the bed.

  A warm night for early spring, I’d left my window open. A breeze floated in, ruffling the lacey curtains on my window. Nick lay on his side facing me.

  “Is Bambi your girlfriend?” I asked, sort of scared about what he might say.

  “I don’t remember,” he said, his voice soft and husky, “but I know one thing for certain.”

  “What?”

  “I’ve never felt about anyone the way I feel about you.”

  His eyes dark and full of emotion, shone with such yearning it almost hurt to look at them. All thoughts of the sexy vixen Bambi were pushed from my head. She didn’t matter. Only Nick mattered.

  “Me too.” I turned on my side to face him, only inches apart. “But I’m afraid. What if solving this means losing you?”

  He smiled at me, and ran his hand over my hair. It floated there, softer than the breeze from the window. “No matter what happens, I’ll find my way back to you. I promise, Lily.”

  He came closer, his phantom lips pressed against mine. Even though I couldn’t feel his physical body, I could feel him, in every glance, in every word, in every action.

  “Go to sleep. You have a big day tomorrow.” Nick wrapped me in arms that didn’t exist, and I fell asleep with my head next to his on my pillow.

  Hours later, I awoke with a start. Something was wrong. I felt pushed down on my bed, frozen in place, and so very, very cold. I looked around in panic and confusion, trying to figure out what had happened, and saw something dark and ominous slide across the ceiling of my room and hover just above my body. Not Blobby. Not my sweet, little ghost. Something oppressive and evil. I knew it in an instant. My pulse accelerated, my breathing came fast and shallow, and I began to shake. Fully awake now, I was terrified.

  I blinked, trying to figure out what to do, hoping it would just go away. Then my body started to move, rising up and down on my bed. The movements weren’t huge, but the fact that I no longer controlled my own body was the most horrific sensation I’ve ever experienced. I tried to scream, but couldn’t. I tried to get out of bed, but it found it completely impossible. I turned into a puppet, the black thing above the bed my master.

  Suddenly, Blobby shot across the room and pushed the dark thing out of the way. It jerked back for a moment, as if in surprise, and then oozed out of the open window. I took a deep breath and then screamed, and screamed again, before running over to the window and slamming it shut.

  Nick sat up in my bed, looking around with sleepy-eyed confusion. “What happened?

  I needed a moment before I could speak. “I think I just met the soul reaper.”

  I grabbed Mrs. Chang’s necklace and put it back on, one accessory that would not be leaving my neck again any time soon. I looked up at the ceiling. “Thank you, Blobby.”

  Blobby swooped down and gave me a peck on the cheek, before flying around the room in a happy ghost victory lap. Nick rubbed his eyes.

  “Could you please explain what’s going on?”

  By the time I told Nick the whole story, with extra time needed to convince him I hadn’t been dreaming, the sun had already risen in the sky. I couldn’t fall back asleep. I still reeled from my encounter with the soul reaper.

  After pushing Nick out of the room, I showered and put on a simple pale blue cotton mini dress with capped short sleeves and a gathered waist. I slipped into a pair of tan low-heeled pumps and pulled my hair back with a woven brown leather headband. I had to use some concealer to mask my dark circles, but in the end, I looked fine. Externally at least. I found a pair of tiny gold earrings that matched the necklace, and then headed downstairs to find Nick.

  “Good morning.” He gave me a grin that made me blush. “You look nice.”

  I smiled at him. “Thanks,” I said, suddenly shy. I’d bared too much of myself last night, and adding that to my close encounter with the soul reaper, I stood on shaky emotional ground.

  Nick did exactly the right thing. As he followed me into the kitchen, he started to tease me. “So, do you even own a pair of jeans?”

  I reached for a box of cereal. Clarice hadn’t arrived yet. No bacon for me this morning. “Of course I own jeans.” I rolled my eyes at him.

  I poured my cereal and milk into the bowl and then hopped up onto the counter to sit. One of my guilty pleasures. I could never sit on the counter if Clarice or my mom were around. I swung my legs and dug into my Cocoa Krispies, another guilty pleasure.

  Nick put his hands on either side of me on the counter and leaned forward. I tried to ignore him. Hard to do.

  “Do you own anything black?”

  “Yes.” I wanted to go back to the chocolatey goodness of my cereal, but he raised one dark eyebrow at me, and I sighed. “One dress. For funerals.”

  Nick laughed. “I knew it.” His eyes raked my body as he looked at me slowly from head to toe. “It doesn’t matter. This suits you, princess.”

  I scowled at him. “So glad to have your approval.”

  He gave me a grin that just about stopped my heart. “Anytime.”

  Clarice arrived just as I left for school, eying me suspiciously. I gave her my sunniest smile. “I have to go to a study meeting. Bye.”

  I don’t think she bought it, but she could hardly fault me for my academic endeavors. I took my cell phone out of my purse though, knowing Mother would be calling shortly.

  Ten seconds later, my phone rang. I looked at Nick
and rolled my eyes as I opened the phone. “Good morning, Mother.”

  Lying has never been my strong suit. Lying to my mother was next to impossible. Sticking close to the truth would be my safest bet.

  “You’re out the door early this morning.” A very loud silence followed her words. It was my job to fill it.

  “I woke up early and couldn’t fall back asleep. I decided just to head to school and study before class with some of my friends.”

  “I’ve been having trouble sleeping too.” Mom’s voice sounded tiny and alone. I decided a rapid change of subject was in order.

  “I have a date for prom.” I gave Nick an apologetic look and mouthed the word “sorry” to him. He shrugged, but looked away. I could tell the subject hurt him, but it helped my mom. She babbled on and on about dresses, and I made happy sounding noises until I could finally get her off the phone. I hung up and looked at Nick.

  “Don’t be mad. I did that to distract her.”

  “I’m not mad,” he said, but he kept his eyes on the passing scenery.

  “I’m not going to go to prom with Josh. I’ve already decided,” I said.

  Nick turned to me, his eyes sad. “Don’t say that. I want you to go. You should have a pretty dress and do normal stuff. I just wish I could do it with you.”

  I pulled into my parking spot in the school lot. I’d been assigned number thirteen. I should have known this was going to be a bad year. The lot was almost completely empty, although a few students began to trickle in. I unbuckled my seat belt and turned to Nick.

  “There is no ‘normal’ anymore. Not for me, at least. I’ll go to prom if I can go with you, and that is my final word. I’ll tell Josh tomorrow.”

  Nick gave me a sidelong glance. “When you go to The Zone? Now that is going to be an interesting night out.”

  I grinned at him and got out of the car. The morning sun felt warm and sweet on my face. “And unless we get you back into solid form, going to the prom with the invisible boy is going to be interesting too. Can you imagine what people will say when we slow dance?”

  Nick glanced over my shoulder. “Uh, probably the same thing they’d say if you were seen talking to yourself in the parking lot. Head’s up, Lil.”