Phos smiled. "It was my pleasure."
Mary smiled as well. "Well, see you at school." They hugged, and she reached up and gently pressed her lips to his cheek, giving him a quick peck of a kiss.
He looked at her, surprised.
"What?" she asked.
He touched his cheek. "I thought that was something you only did for your mother and grandmother." He smiled. "Thank you."
Phos stepped back and turned, as he normally did before he translated away. But Mary stared at him. He was right. The only times she had ever kissed someone was when she kissed Mom or Ba on their cheeks.
"Phos?" she asked.
He stopped and looked at her. "Yes?"
Mary hesitated for a moment. Then she went up to and him and, this time, pressed her lips to his. Kissing him was like putting her mouth to hot coffee—burning but bearable. He tasted like coconut water, and she could feel some of the hair on his chin. Phos must've been caught off guard, because he didn't do anything at first. Then, he put his arms around her and pulled her closer.
Mary didn't know how long the kiss lasted. Not long enough, as far as she was concerned. But then her mouth started burning. The heat became too much, and she finally had to come up for air. She laughed. "There. So you know that you're not my mom or grandmother."
But Phos didn't laugh, too. He looked concerned.
"What is it?" she asked.
"You're mouth," he said. "It's red."
She wrinkled her brow and pressed her finger to her lower lip. "Ow!"
"You're hurt!" he said.
"Just give me a moment." Mary gently touched her lip again. It stung, and it was starting to feel sore. She remembered feeling the same way when she pulled a heavy pan out of the hot oven once and accidentally brushed her arm against the scalding upper rack. "I think I'm burned."
"A burn?" he asked. "I burned you?"
"It's not like you meant to," she said.
He looked at her. "It's starting to swell."
"I think I need some ice or something," Mary said.
"I think you need more than that," he said. "I'll take you to see your mother at the hospital."
Just then, the door to the roof started to open.
Mary turned to Phos and whispered. "Get out of here!"
"What about you?" he whispered back.
The door opened more.
"I'll be fine. Go!" she hissed.
The door opened all the way. Bruce stepped outside. "Oh, it juss you."
Mary looked around. Phos was gone. "Um, yeah. Just me. I was doing some star gazing." Her mouth was throbbing, and she tried hard to talk normally.
Bruce looked around. "Where your telescope?"
Crap, she thought. "Uh, my telescope? It's uh—"
Just then, a shooting star flashed by.
"Wow!" Bruce said. "Did you see that?"
Thanks Phos, Mary thought. "Yes! I was up here watching for shooting stars. I don't need my telescope for that. But I'm done now, so I'm going downstairs. Good night."
She made her way past Bruce to get down to her apartment. Once inside, she ran to the freezer, grabbed a bag of frozen vegetables, and put it over her sore mouth.
Back to Table of Contents
- 21 -
SPF
The next morning, Mom smeared a cooling gel onto Mary's mouth. She raised an eyebrow. "Curry?"
"Yeah, the leftover one in the fridge," Mary explained. "That stuff becomes nuclear grade when you let it sit for a while. OW!" She really had eaten that leftover curry before she and Phos went to Vietnam last night, and it really was spicier than when Mom had brought it home from Spice.
"Hold still," Mom said. "If it was so hot, why'd you keep eating it?"
"Because it was delicious," Mary said.
Mom laughed. "Well, take it easy next time. And keep this aloe gel with you, so you can put more on when your mouth starts hurting again."
Mary practically ate that gel like candy for the next few days. It helped with some of the redness, but her lips were still pretty swollen. "Did you get Botox or something?" Sienna asked at school. Days later, Mary's mouth started blistering. There was nothing that Phos could do about it. After all, he was all heat energy.
One night, Mary awoke to a soft tapping on her window. Phos knelt outside on the fire escape.
Mom was off that evening and watching TV in the living room. Careful not to make much sound, Mary opened the window. "Phos! What are you doing here?" she whispered.
"I'm sorry for waking you," he said. "But I would like you to meet someone."
She glanced at the clock on her nightstand. "Right now?"
"I would have waited until tomorrow, but she's very busy," he said. "And if she'll see you at all, it has to be now."
Mary thought for a moment. "My mom's here tonight. I can't be gone long."
"I'll have you back in no time," he said.
She climbed onto the fire escape and left the window open by an inch. Then she put her arms around his neck and blinked.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw they were standing on a beach. The sand was soft and powdery under her feet, and the air was heavy with salt and humidity.
"Where are we?" she asked.
"An uninhabited island near French Polynesia," he said, looking towards the water. "She's here."
"Punctual as ever," came a flowing voice.
Mary watched amazed as a small wave rolled onto the beach. But it didn't fall back with the other waves and kept moving up the dry sand, growing taller until it formed a slender figure robed in flowing crystal robes. An astonishingly beautiful face appeared on the figure's head.
"Mary, this is another radiant like me," Phos said. "You can call her Mayim."
Mary stood speechless as the watery creature flowed closer.
"My, my. That was quite a smooch," she said.
Mary wrinkled her brow.
"Is there anything you can do?" Phos asked.
Mayim took Mary's chin in her hands. If those could be called hands. She didn't have fingers.
"This might be a stretch for me," she said.
"You've helped burns before," he said.
"Fires," she said. "I wash, cleanse, and shield against energy like yours. But a burn on a human? That is a job for the M—"
"Please," Phos said. "Will you try?"
Mayim looked at him for a long time, as if they were exchanging words that Mary couldn't hear.
"All right," she said at last. "I will try something. Hold still, so that I can find the energy frequency."
Mary didn't move as Mayim placed her "hand" over her mouth. Suddenly, Mary felt cold. It stung as sharply as the burning pain she had already. The two types of energy felt like they were fighting against one another. Is this how Scotty felt when Phos touched him in the hospital?
Mary shuttered and wanted to pull away, but she fought to keep still. After what felt like ages, the stinging cold finally stopped.
Mayim removed her hands. "How does that feel?"
Mary opened and closed her mouth. It didn't hurt anymore. "That's amazing."
"Thank you," Phos said.
"Do not thank me yet," she said. "I helped the burn, but the skin is still damaged. It will peel tomorrow."
"But it's better," Mary said. "Thank you."
Mayim smiled. "Then you are welcome." She looked at Phos. "Just be careful from now on. And—"
They're eyes locked again as they exchanged silent words.
Phos nodded. "I understand."
"I must go," Mayim said. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Mary. I can see by your energy why he can not leave you alone."
Mary watched Mayim turn and flow back into the ocean.
"I'll take you home now," Phos said.
"Wait," Mary said. "What did she just say to you?"
"You heard what she said," he said.
"I mean the part that I couldn't hear," she said. "I'm not dumb, Phos. You looked worried."
He hesitated. "She just…reminde
d me of something. That is all."
By the look on his face, she knew there was more. "Well, can you tell me something about Mayim then?" she asked.
"What is it?" he said.
"She sorta looked human," she said. "How is that?"
"She chose to appear to you in her 'real' form but in a human shape," he explained. "It was rather daring. On the rare occasions that one of my kind has done that, humans have mistaken them for all sorts of things. But Mayim is around humans a great deal, and she knows quite a lot."
"Do you have a real form, too?" she asked.
He nodded.
"May I see it?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because my energy is different from hers," he said. "I could blind you."
"Oh," she said.
"It's time to go," he said as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Wait," she said. "I want a kiss."
"After what happened before?" he asked.
"It wasn't bad at first," she said. "Maybe if it's only for, like, three seconds. You won't hurt me then."
He thought for a moment. "Well, she did say to 'be careful.' But she didn't say 'no kissing.'"
Mary smiled. "Yup."
He chuckled. "In that case—"
Phos kissed her. Short and sweet. It still felt like a hot pot on her mouth, but Mary didn't mind.
"Okay?" he asked.
She nodded and wrapped her arms around him so that they could translate back home. Mary was glad. As long as they stuck to their three-second rule, Phos wouldn't burn her. She also made a mental note to get SPF lip balm. After school the next day, Mary stopped by the corner store to buy some.
Again, the woman behind the counter told her the price in Vietnamese.
Mary stared at her for a moment. Rather than argue this time, she paid for the lip balm without a word. The woman also said nothing as she gave her the change.
Mary turned to leave. But at the door, she stopped and looked back at the woman. She didn't know much Vietnamese, but she did know how to say thank you. "Cám ơn, chị."
The woman looked at her in surprise. Then, she nodded. "You wewcome."
Back to Table of Contents
- 22 -
Promise
Mary,
I may have something. Email or call when you get this.
- Drew
Mary deleted the message from her inbox. She hadn't figured out how she was going to tell Drew about Phos. Or even if she should. She closed the computer and leaned back in her chair. Phos was supposed to pick her up soon for their next date, and she felt weird. Drew had made it clear that Phos shouldn't be possessing Carter. And she had agreed with him before. But things were different now, since Phos told her who he was. And since he was keeping Carter alive, he shouldn't leave him yet. Or her.
In fact, Mary was starting to feel like Phos shouldn't leave at all.
The buzzer rang. Downstairs, Mary found Phos wearing cowboy boots and a hat.
"Good evening," he greeted. "Have you ever seen a rodeo?"
"Just in movies," she said. "Is that where they kill cows?"
He wrinkled his brow. "I think you're thinking of bullfighting. That's in Spain."
"But there are bulls involved, right?" she asked.
He nodded. "They don't kill them, though."
"Just making sure," she said. "Are we driving or translating?"
"Translating. We're going to Texas." He smiled. "And I have a surprise for you there."
They went up to the roof and translated. Instantly, they were at a fair, complete with rides, cotton candy, and clowns twisting balloons into animals. But unlike the fairs she'd been to before, everyone wore a cowboy hat.
They followed the crowds to an outdoor arena with stadium benches arranged around a large oval rink filled with dirt. The air was thick with the smell of farm animals.
They took their seats, and Mary looked around nervously.
"Is something wrong?" Phos asked.
"I don't know," she said. "I'm reading all the signs around here. Why are all the sponsors hospitals and urgent care clinics?"
Before he could answer, an announcer with a heavy southern accent boomed into the microphone. Mary couldn't understand anything he said, but the crowd apparently did, and they whooped, hollered, and raised their beer bottles into the air.
For the next hour or so, they watched several events. In one of them, young men jumped from their horses and wrestled small cattle to the ground. The goal was to get the animal onto its side and tie three of its feet together with a cord. Even though the cows were small, they were strong and irritated.
Then came the agility races, which Mary appreciated better. Women had to ride their horses through an obstacle course without knocking over anything. The ones who posted the fastest times with the fewest penalties won.
Finally came the event that Phos was eager to see. "Here is the bull riding," he said. "This is the main event of the evening."
Mary watched as young men strapped on padded vests and tan leather gloves. Then, there was a loud crash! Mary looked in the direction of the noise and saw handlers coaxing a monster of a bull into the narrow bucking chute. A guy who looked young enough to still be in high school climbed up the iron bars of the chute and mounted the bull, gripping the braided rope handle as tightly as he could. Sweat gathered on his brow just under the rim of his hat.
The crowds cheered as the announcer said the rider's name. Seconds later, the air horn blew, and the chute swung open. The bull leapt out into the rink, leaping and bucking into the air while kicking up storms of dirt. The rider was whipped about like he was a rag doll. He had to stay on for at least eight seconds. And the longer the young cowboy rode, the louder the cheers came.
The seconds on the timer ticked down.
But the cowboy was slipping from the bull's back, and with a few seconds still to spare, the bull threw him off like a fly. The young man landed with a loud and painful thud on the dirt.
Rodeo clowns jumped out into the rink, and their calls and saggy clothes got the bovine's attention. The bull looked at one particularly annoying clown, pawed the ground once, and charged.
"Watch out!" Mary cried. But she wasn't heard over the cheers as the clown jumped the fence just as the bull ran past him and out the gate. The audience whooped again as the rider got back to his feet and walked off the field.
"That was brilliant!" Phos said. "You know though, I think he might have been able to hold on just a little longer if he…Mary? Mary, are you all right?"
Mary had buried her face in her hands. "No."
"You're shaking," he said. "Are you cold?"
"No, I'm not cold!" she snapped. "I'm terrified!"
"Terrified?" he asked. "Of what?"
"Of this!" She pointed at the next rider and bull as they took their positions. "That beast could've killed that guy. And people are cheering!"
Phos looked at the audience. Then at her. "It's a sport to them. It's what they do for fun."
"It's a stupid sport!" she said, looking at all the hospital sponsor signs again. "People can get really hurt here. I don't want to see anymore. Take me home."
The air horn sounded, and the new battle began. Mary wasn't sure, but this bull looked bigger than the first.
"But Mary, this isn't any more dangerous than driving a car," Phos reasoned.
The cowboy was in the air and on the ground in a couple seconds. Clowns came to get the bull's attention, but he didn't seem to care about them. He already had his eyes set on the downed rider. And with a powerful snort from his massive nostrils, he charged.
Mary heard a disgusting snap! as the bull's head collided with the rider's rear. The cowboy flew at a perfect arc across the field. The bull pawed the ground again, but a bunch of clowns managed to get his attention this time, and they got him back through the gate. A couple a medics rushed out to the field to see to the rider. After a few tense seconds, they were able to get him up and awkwardly out of
the rink. The crowds cheered again.
"At least a car won't come and break your butt after you've gotten out of it," she said. "Please. Let's go."
"Hey kid!" A bubble-bellied cowboy from the prep area pointed at Phos. "You're up next. Come on!"
Mary looked at Phos. "You're in this?"
He smiled sheepishly. "Surprise?"
She didn't return the smile.
"Come on! We ain't got all night!" the cowboy shouted.
Phos stood. "I'll be right back."
He walked towards the prep area, where the handlers were getting a gray bull ready. This animal had to be bigger than the first two by at least a billion pounds.
Mary jumped to her feet and ran after Phos, catching him by the arm. "Phos, don't! This is stupid."
"It'll be all right, Mary," he assured her.
"No it won't!" she cried. "Look, I know you find our human recreational activities fascinating. But you'll get killed!"
"Killed?" he asked. Then he chuckled. "Mary, I can't be killed. I'm not made like that." He took her hands. "I'll be fine. You'll see."
She tried to argue more, but he was already walking into the restricted area. A couple of clowns told her she needed to go back to the stands. Mary told them where they could go as far as she was concerned. She went and sat down with crossed arms, determined not to enjoy this.
Phos strapped on a padded vest and gloves. Then he mounted the gray bull. This one was just not having it. Even in the narrow space, he jumped and got his front hooves over one of the lower bars on the chute. The handlers eased him back into place.
Phos had apparently given the announcer a phony name, which he bellowed into the speaker. Then, the air horn sounded, and the gate flew open.
The bull raged out onto the field. He twisted and snapped about with such force that he looked like he would break himself in half. Wild snorts and clods of dirt flew. Mary swore that fiery breath came from his mouth.
Phos held on. With all the bucking and snapping and twisting, he managed to hold onto the reins. The seconds on the clock ticked down. The crowds went ballistic.
The air horn sounded again. Eight seconds had passed. Phos had done it! Even the announcer cheered with the audience as clowns ran out to distract the bull so that Phos could jump off unharmed.
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