by Adam Wallace
‘I’m so sorry, Pete. She died almost two weeks ago now. She was so proud of you though, she really was. She died talking about you, and she died with a smile on her face. She said to tell you she was proud of you for getting the flower. Did you? Did you get it?’
Pete nodded, unable to speak. Marloynne unwrapped the flower and showed it to Ashlyn, who stared at it.
‘Would it have worked? Is the magic real?’
Pete nodded again, while Marloynne told Ashlyn what had happened to King Cyril the Dearly-Departed. The Wilderene Flower was real, although what use it had now was beyond Pete. He figured he couldn’t use the pollen to cure his mum’s sickness. He was pretty sure death didn’t count as a sickness. Maybe his mum was meant to die. Maybe there was a reason for it, a natural order. He took the Wilderene Flower from Marloynne and told his two friends he needed some time to think. They watched him walk out of the room, desperate to help, but before long their attention turned back to each other and the love that had been reborn.
Pete sat out in the yard with the Green Book on his lap, as it had been so long ago. He opened it up, and waited.
‘Well, Pete McGee, you have returned victorious. Congratulations.’
Pete said nothing, waiting for the book to continue. The tone became mocking.
‘And now you have come to me for advice, hey? Well, I have to say it’s about time.’
Pete smiled despite his sadness. He knew that he had been right not to take the book with him on the journey, but he also had the suspicion that the book would not let him see out this quest without some contribution.
‘I do need your help. I failed, and now I don’t know what to do. I mean, I brought back the flower, but Mum’s dead. I was too late. I can’t believe that I went through all of that for nothing. I may as well have stayed and, I don’t know, maybe Dazene was right. Maybe I shouldn’t have left Mum and tried to be a hero.’
The book’s pages rustled.
‘No, young McGee. It may feel like that now, but you haven’t failed. You have succeeded in so many ways. You have retrieved the Wilderene Flower, a feat that evaded so many others. You have reunited two people who love each other, a wonderful achievement. You have found strength within yourself that you may never have discovered otherwise. And you are forgetting one thing, Pete McGee. You are forgetting that the flower also has the power to grant a wish. This flower, as you have witnessed, contains extremely powerful magic. If it can kill the King, what do you think the wish may be able to do for your mother?’
Pete caught his breath, the tears welling in his eyes. He spoke in a voice so quiet it could barely be heard.
‘The wish could bring my mum back to me.’
‘That’s right, Pete. It has the power to do that,’ whispered the book. It paused for a second before continuing. ‘Although, there’s also the little issue of your missing arm. The choice is yours.’
Pete closed the book fast, needing it to be quiet. Jeez, why did it have to say that? It was probably still cut about being left behind. The thought of wishing himself a second arm hadn’t even crossed his mind. All he had wanted to do was bring his mum back. But maybe she was meant to die. Maybe this quest was for his destiny to change. The right thing might be to do something totally for himself, just for once. Pete closed his eyes and imagined having two arms. He imagined the extra strength he would have, the extra balance. He imagined how the stares and whispers would stop. He imagined all the extra things he would be able to do, all the added bonuses of two arms, and not one of them came even close to having his mum back alive and healthy.
Pete smiled to himself. He was ready now. The last test of this journey had been passed. He held the Wilderene Flower in front of his face, visions of his mother flashing through his mind. Raising the flower to his nose Pete McGee breathed in deeply, silently wishing at the same time for the return of his mother, alive and healthy.
He waited, eyes still closed, waiting for something. A noise, anything. He opened his eyes. He had thought maybe there would be a flash of light, fireworks and his mother would appear. But there was nothing. He sat alone, in a yard, with a magic book on his lap and a weed in his hand. The wish hadn’t worked. He tried again, breathing in deep, saying the words out loud. Nothing. He sang the words. He said abracadabra. Nothing. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be. That wasn’t good enough for Pete though, whose guard finally came down. Suddenly, he lost all the strength he had shown on his journey. He felt like a little boy who had lost his mother and just wanted her back. He hadn’t even had the chance to say goodbye. He cried then. He fell to the ground and he cried until he had no energy left. Marloynne and Ashlyn, who had heard his anguish, ran to his side. They led him gently to his room. Pete McGee slumped onto his bed, exhausted, fully clothed, and fell into a deep sleep.
The sun streamed through the window. It had been doing so for a while, but right now it was coming through at just the right angle. Just the right angle, that is, to go over the top of the chipped cup on the table, straight through the open bedroom doorway, and smack into the left eye of a sleeping Pete McGee. He woke with a start. Then he realised that the blinds had been opened and Ashlyn and Marloynne were standing there watching him.
‘Man, we had to wait a while for the sun to get you in the eyes,’ Marloynne laughed.
‘Why didn’t you just wake me up then?’ Pete responded.
Marloynne shrugged and smiled, a twinkle in his eyes.
‘I dunno. This was more fun?’
Pete sat up, tangled in the covers.
‘I wished her back, you know. I wished her back, but it didn’t work.’
Marloynne and Ashlyn exchanged a quick glance then ripped Pete out of bed. Marloynne grabbed Pete’s arm and Ashlyn pushed him from behind, mock frustration in her voice.
‘Just come and have some breakfast. It’s been cooked especially for you.’
Pete went along although he lacked their enthusiasm. He knew they were just trying to cheer him up, but it wasn’t working. He still wondered why the Wilderene Flower had let him down. The blood thing had worked. Why hadn’t the wish? And who was that standing at the sink in the kitchen? He stopped dead in his tracks. Wait a minute. He knew that back. He knew that hair. He knew his mum. Pete cried out in delight. He jumped on his mother’s back and held her close, his arm squeezing the breath out of her. Mrs McGee spun around and wrapped her arms around her son, the love she had for him flowing out in her tears.
‘You did it, Sir Pete McGee. You are my hero. You are my knight.’
Ashlyn couldn’t hold back any longer.
‘She was just here, Pete. She was here when we got up. I don’t know why the flower didn’t work straight away, but it worked.’
Pete nodded into his mum’s shoulder, not wanting to let her go. He did let go though, to run and get the Green Book. He realised that the book had deliberately given him that one last test, to choose between himself and another. He opened it and whispered a secret thank you. Having to make the difficult choice made seeing his mother happy and well even more rewarding. He placed the book on the kitchen table then dragged his chair over so it was right up against his mother’s. While the book went on about how important its role had been to the whole quest, Marloynne and Ashlyn stood hand-in-hand and watched as Sir Pete McGee, the brave and noble knight, cuddled up to his mum. He was home again.
So that’s it. Not a bad journey at all, was it? In fact, it was a journey that you might indeed say was incredible! This then, gentle reader, is where we part company, for my story is finished. So until you read the book again, or hear my voice on the big screen in the movie version, be good, dream big, and always take the chance to show the world just how great you can be.
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